Customize your Google Apps Launcher aka "The Waffle"

The more and more teachers are starting to use Forms, the more they have asked for a faster way to get to it.  I found it is possible to customize your waffle!  Delete the apps you aren't using, and put your favorites towards the top of the list.   Check out "App Launcher Customizer for Google™"  This little trick made my day!

Math Motivation, Digital Rulers and more!

The BEST Chrome Extension for a Digital Ruler and Protractor.

Kids can install these two extensions onto their Chrome toolbar, and then they can use a ruler and protractor on their computer screen!  Click here to find out more about these extensions with a short video explanation from Ed tech blogger Eric Curtis.

A Little Motivation to Practice Math

Looking to find reinforcement activities for struggling math students, or enrichment for those who are ready for more?  Check out LearnStorm2016!  Maybe we can even create an in-school challenge between classes?

  
Students will...
1) Sign up and work on Khan Academy to get better at math and learn new skills
2) See their progress add up toward personal goals and help the school top weekly leaderboards.
3) Earn rewards and recognition, including a chance to attend an epic, in-person final event!

iXL and Google Classroom Make Sharing Even Easier

Are you using iXL and Classroom?  The two are now working together to make sharing assignments one less click.  Click HERE to find out more!  Thanks for sharing Coach Mike!

Sort spreadsheet with tabs with RowCall

Have you ever collected a large spreadsheet with information and wanted to sort the data with tabs?  For example, the whole school responds to a survey, and you want to sort the results by grade level.  Another example, teachers sign up for a PD session topic, and you want to sort by interest to make groups.  Or, a class completes the same exit ticket with Google Forms and you want to sort the daily results by student name.

There is a Google spreadsheet add-on called "Rowcall" that makes this a breeze!  The best part is that the individual tabs will automatically update as new information is entered.  

PD in your PJ's!

Join CCSD59 staff on Twitter the first Thursday of every month at 8:00pm.  Tonight we are chatting about Social Emotional Learning.  New topics every month.  A great way to collect ideas and resources from fellow educators.  #D59Chat

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a chance to catch up on whatever it is you love to do over break!

If one of your New Year's Resolutions is to try something new in your classroom, I would love to help and plan with you!  Please send me an email with your thoughts and times you can meet.

In the meantime, here are a few helpful links I pulled from the latest blog edition of practicaledtech.com 

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Here are the week’s most popular posts on FreeTech4Teachers.com:
1. 10 Good Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms Add-ons for Teachers
2. 5 Great Things You Can Do With Google Sheets
3. A Short Overview of 12 Tools for Creating Flipped Classroom Lessons
4. Click to Spin – A Fun and Free Random Name Picker
5. 15 Good Tools for Quickly Gathering Feedback from Students
6. 11 Apps and Sites for Learning to Code
7. EDPuzzle Now Has a Google Classroom Integration

Looking for online PD/Graduate Credits?On January 5th Richard Bryne is starting a new section of Getting Going With GAFE (Google Apps for Education). Three graduate credits are available in that course. More information about that course is available here.

January 11th begins a new section of Classroom Blog Jumpstart. More information about that online class is available here.

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