DISD Ed Tech News
March 22, 2017
Save the Date! - Tech Day 2017 is August 10
This year's Tech Day will be slightly different than last year. We will combine our District "Welcome Back" meeting with Tech Day to give you a day packed with learning. Staff will meet at Dumas High School by 7:30 to pick up badges and your personalized schedule for the day and then converge in the auditorium for our District's annual Welcome Back presentation with Mr. Hysinger. Tech sessions will start at 9:45.
You will want to be sure to go to the closing session at 3:30 in the auditorium this year as we are going to have lots of door prize drawings, including a personal iPad mini for some lucky winner!
10 Chrome-ifying Tips and Tricks - TCEA TechEdge Blog
Learn how to power up your Chrome browser usage with these tips and tricks that require no extensions or add-ons, just plain Chrome goodness!
Are you an avid user of the Google Chrome browser? Did you know that Chrome is full of shortcuts and hidden functions that can save you time? I’ve compiled my favorite tips and tricks that will help you work faster and do more with your favorite web browser. All you have to do is carve out a few minutes and learn how to take advantage of them.
Save Web Pages as PDFs
Google Chrome has a built-in PDF writer. Open any web page, press Ctrl+P on Windows (or Cmd+P on your Mac) and choose “Save as PDF” from the list of available printers in order to download that page as a PDF file. No extensions required.
Make Favicons Your Bookmarks
In Chrome, there is another way to get quick access to your favorite websites by creating a favicon of the website instead of whole URL text. To do this, first click on “Settings” (the vertical dots icon in the upper right-hand corner), select “Bookmarks,” and then select “Show bookmarks bar.” Next, bookmark a site by clicking on the Star in the omnibox (address box). Then right-click on the bookmark and delete the text in the name box, leaving only the favicon.
Pin Tabs
In Chrome. there is an option to pin a tab that can minimize the tab to display only the icon. When you have a number of tabs opened, this feature is very useful, as it will display the icons, leaving more space for multitasking. This option also avoids tabs lost on the side of the screen when you have numerous tabs open at one time. To pin a tab, right click on the tab, and select “Pin tab.”
Open Recently-Closed Tabs
You can open any recent tab that has been closed by mistake. To do this, press Ctrl + Shift + T. You can also reopen it by right-clicking on the title bar and selecting “Reopen closed tab.”
Go into Incognito Mode (Secret Mode)
For private browsing, you can enable incognito (secret) mode, where Chrome will not keep your browsing or download history. You can enable secret mode by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N, or by clicking on “Settings” and selecting “New incognito Window.” Using incognito mode is great for reserving hotels, booking flights, or shopping. This way, your email is not later plagued by spam or ads.
Navigate Between Tabs Quickly
You can navigate between opened tabs very quickly by using some shortcut keys. Use Ctrl+Tab to navigate tabs one by one, Press Ctrl-1 to go to the first tab, Press Ctrl-2 to go to the second tab, and so on. You can also switch to the last tab by pressing Ctrl-9.
Open Multiple Pages on Start Up
You can control what page or pages appear when you launch Chrome on your computer. Rather than opening your browser with just one homepage, Chrome gives you an option to open several pages as it starts up, providing an instant access to different websites and services you prefer to start your day with. To set your startup pages, select “Settings” and then scroll to “Settings.” Under the On Startup section, select “Set pages” and enter the URL of your preferred start-up pages.
Solve Mathematical Problems, Equations, and More
The omnibox can solve mathematical calculations. It can even solve questions such as “How many cups in 4 liters?” Try to add or multiply any math calculation in the omnibox without pressing the enter. For example, try typing, 60 x 90 and see what appears.
Play Media Files in Google Chrome
Did you know that you can play a wide variety of movie and music files (.avi, .mov, .mp4, .mp3, .mkv, .ogv, .ogm,.webm, .wav etc) using Google Chrome? Simply drag your file into the search bar and enjoy listening or watching it play. Chrome can even be used to view images and open Microsoft Office files and PDF files as well.
Bookmark All Tabs
If you have several tabs open and want to bookmark them all at once, all you have to do is right-click on one of the tabs and scroll to “Bookmark all tabs.” A bookmark popup dialog box will appear asking you where to save your bookmarks.
If you are interested in learning more about TCEA or in joining the organization you can read more at this link.
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Discovery Education - Spotlight on Strategies
One of the more frequently overlooked areas of Discovery Education is the Teacher Resource section where you will find all sorts of professional learning videos, curriculum guides and useful tips and tricks for getting the most out of your subscription. Their Spotlight on Strategies section is designed specifically to help teachers learn strategies for engaging with digital media in a practical, deep, and meaningful way. They focus on creative, research-based instructional strategies, presented by teachers for teachers to support teaching and learning across the curriculum. For those teachers who feel that they just don't have the time to search through the many strategies that are highlighted on the site, there is a way to learn some new methods of incorporating digital media that you can get in small bite-size chunks once a week. They've put together a handy six-week program called Spotlight on Strategies Challenge to get you started. If you register anytime in March you will receive weekly emails highlighting a different strategy with ideas for how to use it in the classroom. You can try these strategies with your students and share their engagement and excitement. Teachers can even share photos of their strategies in action in their classroom to receive a free Bulletin Board kit every week through March and April.
Be sure to check out the other teacher resources on Discovery Education such as:
Discovery Educator Network
Explore K-5
Explore 6-8
Explore 9-12
Puzzlemaker
Featured Programs
Virtual Field Trips
Discovery Now
Teacher Community Conversations & Connections
Each Dumas ISD campus has a unique 8 digit code that will allow you to log in and set up your teacher account if you've never set one up before. Please see your campus tech or email Instructional Technology if you need that code.
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What's New In GSuite for Education
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Update Your Google Drive Plug-In for Microsoft Office before April 20, 2017
For those who already have the Google Drive Plug-In for Office installed on your computer you will want to update it before April 20. In an effort to make the plug-in more secure and easier to use Google will release a newer version (1.7.17.0). After April 20 users will no longer be able to sign into the older versions of the plug-in. You can download the latest plug-in version here.
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Dumas ISD Instructional Technology
Email: rhonda.artho@dumasisd.org
Website: http://www.dumasisd.org/about-education-instructional-technology
Location: Teacher Training Center, DHS
Phone: 806-935-6461 1029