• A "digital citizenship for grown ups"--dealing with spam
• A heads up re: passwords and H: Drive file saving
• Preparing student devices for next year
• A Quick Google Form for everyone with student devices
• August Tech Training Schedule

No more! When you get those unsolicited email, Google wants to help you out by giving you a spam button! So let it! Because listen, it is easy for businesses to get email addresses and send you stuff. It isn't personal, you haven't been hacked-- you are a public employee; it's going to happen. But it's no big deal. Follow these three steps to mark email as spam and it will stop coming to your inbox. Check out the screenshot below to see what to look for.

1. Check the box next to the email (you can mark more than one at a time, get them all at once)
2. Click the stop sign SPAM icon in the top menu bar
3. Choose REPORT SPAM in the popup (and unsubscribe if you want to)

Done, done and done! Make this a habit instead of deleting or ignoring.

Want to know something? I send emails I want to spam also. Like Lakeshore-- if I want to know about a sale, I check my spam. Or Newsela-- if I want to know recent articles, I check my spam. Because just like the deleted trash emails, spam stays in the spam label for 30 days before Google deletes them automatically.

So, you know how we started a new program last year to change your district password? That's because... you get the idea. Here is what will be new next year: you will need to reset your password at least once a year. Don't be surprised when you come back in August and we ask you to reset your password. Teachers-- make a note in your new plan book to reset it when you return to your classroom. August password reset will become the new normal routine. Start fresh with a new school year.

Bottom line: You will need to reset your password in August. You can reset it any time you want-- if you think someone else knows it, or you have forgotten it, or if you just embrace change with enthusiasm

(Don't remember how to do it? District webpage--- menu--- reset my password . You only enroll once, then you can reset any time you want. Or click the blue button below for a google doc that will remind you of the steps)

You will have "view only" access to your H: Drive for the next year, but won't be editing or saving files there anymore. That is what your Google Drive will be for.

Something to do in June (maybe that day after school is out)--- take a look at your H: Drive if you use it and clean out some of the files you don't need. For me, it was years worth of sub plans and parent letters. Save a template and let them go.

Here's another idea: Maybe you have files on your H: Drive that you don't use, but don't want to lose. Consider putting them on a flash drive then deleting them from your network H: Drive. That way, you won't have the unused files cluttering up your Google Drive, but you will be able to access them from the flash drive if it turns out you need them.

Note: if that Google Drive view feels unfamiliar and you want a view that looks more like windows, just put in a support ticket saying "Please install File Stream on my computer." File Stream will let you navigate your Google Drive files with a Windows type view. You just might already have it, and someone will come by and show you how to use it.

CHROMEBOOKS AND IPADS--- THIS IS FOR ALL Y'ALL!!

If you use Google Docs/Slides/Drive (and I hope you do) there are couple tips:

1. NAME OR DELETE UNTITLED FILES--- Have students open Drive (the app on iPads, or drive.google.com on chromebooks) and search for "untitled." They can either name or delete all the files they didn't name originally.
2. MOVE FILES OUT OF MY DRIVE into folders-- Have students create a folder for this school year, if they don't already have one from Google Classroom (My Drive--- Classroom--- name of your GClassroom)
3. Show them how to drag or move all files from this year to that folder. This will clean up their Google Drive for next year. (not sure how? I'd love to come walk your class through it and show you at the same time)