The Friday Tech Tip

Happy Friday! This week's Tech Tip is brief but I wanted to add in a few other things about Gmail and making it work best for you Use the Search Feature in Gmail - The top box is a search feature just like a Google search. You can search emails that you sent by typing to:  and the subject. You can search messages from specific users by typing in from: and then their user name or to: and then putting messages that you have sent to others Set a Vacation Response -  By going to Settings you can automatically set a response if you are out of the office. And finally - There is a great free program Called Boomerang for Gmail - Now you can schedule when you want Emails to send out. Have an important email but don't want to send it out till next Friday? Then Boomerang can schedule and send that out for you. Have a great weekend and a great holiday break. Take Care, Clint

Happy Friday, One of the reasons that I love December is the best of lists that come out.  I'm a big music guy so I always enjoy reading critics choice of the best albums of  2017. (Which,I guess I'm not cool anymore or I'm old because I didn't listen to any of them but I am trying out some of them now.)  Also, I love watching sports so I enjoy reliving t he best plays of 2017 .  I don't watch a ton of Television but when I do I make sure that it is something I will enjoy by checking out, you guessed it, the best TV shows of 2017 . So, with our big switch to Gmail on Monday I wanted to share with you the Clint Winter 10 best features of Gmail.  10. Customize the appearance of Gmail - Everyone's Gmail can look different!  You can choose a theme or upload your own pictures. You can now read your email while looking at a serene lake. It makes it that more peaceful.  9.  Archive your mail -  Gmail is Unlimited  you ca...

Happy Friday! A few weeks ago I asked the question, how do you learn?  For me, I learn from other professionals everyday through Social Media. What works best for me is Twitter. Others love using Pintrest, or Instagram, or Facebook. There are educators and scholars who use all types of Social Media to learn Professionally. If you decide to create a social media account I highly encourage you to create a "Professional" account that you use for Professional learning. The tool that I use the most is Twitter.  This would be seperate from a personal account that you may already have. Twitter is a great way to communicate with teachers from across the state and world.  Often there are real time education twitter chats that happen at a certain time during the week. For instance, a popular one here in Georgia is the #TechtalkGA twitter chat on Monday nights.  There is also a #SATCHAT #ELACHAT, and others. HERE is a link to all types of educational Twitter Chats ...

Happy Friday everyone! Last week Bruce Stuart and I were fortunate to be able to attend the GAETC Conference. This is a time where Tech Leaders  from across the state are able to come and learn about new technologies, and programs. I came across some tools that I thought would be beneficial to you. I learned a good bit about Google Chrome Extensions.  Extensions are like apps in the Google Chrome browser. As a tech department, we often push out extensions for testing, security, etc. . . You and your students can also go to the chrome store and browse extensions and install them yourself. Once installed they are there until you take them off.  I would like to showcase a couple of extensions that we have pushed out and and then a couple that you may want to check out and see if it is something that you want to use. If your students are using chromebooks then the district ones below will automatically show up. For you, on your teacher laptop, you just have to login to...

A week or two ago I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine who also has a career with instructional technology. We were talking about how learning is different now than when we were in school.  As a teacher I bet you learn differently as well.    For example, a real world  random question that someone asked me last night  "Hey Clint, who was the drummer of the Allman Brothers Band?” Let's break this down. If it was a mere 25 years ago and I was asked that I would have to remember the question, go find an Allman brothers CD or tape, open up the linear notes and find the answer. Or, I would go to the library and find an old copy of a Rolling Stones, or get on the microfish to find an article. I would then write down the answer or commit it to memory.  Thankfully I didn't have to do that.  I did what most of us do when we don't know the answer to a question. I got out my phone and searched "Drummer Allman Brothers Band"I quickly read a...

Happy Friday and almost Happy Halloween! As part of having a  ECSD Google Account you also have access to creating your own YouTube Channel. If you go to YouTube.com and click sign in and sign in with your ECSD account you can create a channel.  (Click on the picture below to see this) Why would you do this?  One of the many  benefits is that you can create your own playlists. For example, now that conferences are over I may have shared a few youtube video tutorials with my students' parents to help them with their math practice at home. Now, I can say, "Check out my Youtube Channel of categorized playlists.Example,  Here is the Unit 2 playlist you can go back and reference"  It's all in one place and you can add and edit.  Also, a benefit of having things on YouTube is that you can get YouTube on just about anything.  Smartphones, Televisions, gaming systems. etc. . . Also, if you have access to devices, you could pair it with a service ...

Over the Fall break I took my family on a Fall Camping Trip in the middle of nowhere Western North Carolina.  Ok, it was just outside of Robbinsville, NC. This was the first time that we have ever visited this part of NC.  But, the crazy thing is, I didn't pack a map.  To be honest, I can't think of the last time I used a paper map. I, like many, plugged my phone in and followed the Waze app till we got to our destination. I knew exactly how long it would take us, the cheapest gas on the route, and if there was road construction ahead. Knowing directions and locations is still very important but I did not have to memorize anything. I could think more about the why of my journey and not the what. ( For the record, always be aware of your surroundings )    So, that made me think about a service that both us and our students have access to.  Google MyMaps .  With Google MyMaps, students and teachers can create their own maps. Students and teacher...