May 22' Instructional Tech Updates

Wow!  I can't believe another year has ended, but I am sure glad this one has.  It has been a lot harder this year then in years past.  It has been a cold and rainy spring which is good for keeping students engaged, but doesn't do much for my mindset when I never get to see that big ball of fire in the sky!  I am looking forward to spending some time with family, friends and of course more baseball this summer!  

I wish all of you who are leaving Unit 5 success in your next journey, and to those who are retiring; LUCKY YOU!  There is an article for both groups in this Instructional Tech Update!  Just take a look, there is something for everyone!  

Google Workspace for Education Updates to Google Products

Google Workspace for Education has been very busy!!  Take a look at all the new items which are or will be available in Docs and Classroom! 

First - you may have noticed the comments icon has expanded to include comments, emojis, and suggested edits. 

Emoji's in Docs

Second - Start a Google Meet from a doc, sheet and presentation.  This will automatically share the document with the participants so everyone is working off the same information. 

Join Google Meet from Doc

Third - Google Docs has an new option called Dropdown.  Simply key in @dropdown anywhere in the doc and the dropdown menu will appear.  You will see the various options for this tool when using it for a project status for groups of students or as a team of teachers. Take a look and see how you would use it. 

Dropdown Menu

Fourth- Classroom has finally added the schedule from multiple classes!  This one was a long time coming and many teachers had been upvoting it.  Well it is finally here.  Take a look at the ease of assigning an assignment across multiple classes at different times!!

Schedule Across Multiple Classrooms at Different Times

Fifth - Google Classroom will be releasing the availability to create practice sets within Classroom. Student can get feedback as they answer questions and teachers can get immediate information on how students are learning. Take a look at this new feature coming soon! 

Practice Sets

As with any Google update, we don't know exactly when it will hit our domain.  Most of these are ready for your use, and practice sets should be up and running this fall.