Google Classroom Calendar Integration!

A new feature to Google Classroom is having a calendar integrated with each class.  Every time you create a class, (and even for existing classes), a calendar will be created.  The calendar will be available in the Google Classroom environment and in the Google Calendar app. 

As of right now, the calendar will add any assignments and announcements with due dates only. However, you can manually add information to the calendar too.  

To access the calendar, login to Google Classroom and click on the About tab in your classroom.  You will be prompted to view the calendar in Classroom or open it up on Google Calendar app.

The calendar can be viewed in two different ways as shown below:

1.  Google Calendar view in Classroom

2.  The calendar will be accessible in the calendar app, under the 'My Calendar' section.

If you already had a calendar created for your class, you can export the events from that calendar and import it into the Classroom calendar.  This will prevent you from having to maintain multiple calendars.

Here's how you do it:

• go into the Google Calendar using the Calendar app
• click on the down arrow for the old calendar under 'My Calendars', select 'Calendar Settings'
• click on 'Export this calendar'
• a zip file will be downloaded to your computer, unzip the file by double clicking on it, and an ics file will be available
• click on the 'Gear' button at the top right side, then 'Settings'
• click on the 'Calendar' tab
• click on 'Import Calendar'
• click on the ics file, then click on the appropriate Classroom calendar
• click on 'Import'
• click on 'Close' and go back to calendar
• You are done! Your events should be added to the Google Classroom calendar

You will have all of your events in one calendar!  Now you can delete the old calendar that you created prior to the Calendar integration.  

Note:  If you would like to add events to the Classroom calendar, you must do so in the Google Calendar app.  Students can view calendar events by going into the calendar app. Students can only see assignments/announcements that have a due date in the calendar view in Google Classroom.  

Google Apps Update Alert - Sheets Formatting

More formatting options after pasting content in Google Sheets

Posted: 21 Sep 2015 06:13 PM PDT

By default, when you copy and paste content in Google Sheets, the formatting of that content is maintained (unless you use the Paste special function). This launch gives you alternative formatting options at your fingertips, allowing you to paste only the values contained with a cell (e.g. the numbers or text, without any formatting) or the formatting of the cell itself (e.g. the fill color or border design). Each option is easily accessible—after you paste, a small widget will appear in the bottom corner of the cells you’re pasting into. Clicking on that widget will show you the option to Paste values only or Paste format only. Interested in saving even more time? In Chrome, use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + V to automatically paste values without their formatting.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

Launch release calendar
Launch detail categories
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Google Apps Update Alert - Gmail

Block and Unsubscribe in Gmail Posted: 22 Sep 2015 11:31 AM PDT To avoid disruptive emails and help people using Gmail stay in control of their inboxes, today we’re launching a new Block feature in the Gmail app on Android and the web. Future mail from blocked email addresses will go directly to Spam (and can always be unblocked in Settings). In addition, the Unsubscribe option is now coming to Android, making it easier to opt out of eligible mailing lists and newsletters directly from the Gmail app.  Check out the Help Center for more information.  Launch Details  Release track:   Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace:  Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) for the Block feature on the web. Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility) for the Block and Unsubscribe features on Android. Impact:  All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI More Information Help Center Get the Gmail app on Google Play

Google Apps Update Alert - Calendar Migration

Easily migrate calendar events to Google Apps Posted: 16 Sep 2015 10:02 AM PDT The Google Apps data migration service lets Apps admins easily migrate user data to Google Apps via the Admin console, with no additional software or hardware installations required. The process is easy—just enter basic information about where the data is coming from, specify the type of data to include in the migration, and select the users to migrate. Admins could already migrate emails, labels, folders and contacts with the data migration service. With today's launch of calendar migration support, admins can now easily migrate calendar data from one or multiple Microsoft accounts (including Office 365, and Exchange versions 2007 and above) to Google Apps accounts. The data migration service can be accessed in the Admin console via the Migrations icon on the home screen. Check out the Help Center for more information. Launch Details Release track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace:  Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) Impact:  Admins only Action: Admin action suggested/FYI More Information Help Center

Google Apps Update Alert - Slides and Sheets

Presenting on the go and charts made easy in the Google Slides and Sheets Android apps Posted: 16 Sep 2015 01:47 PM PDT As previously announced, you can use the Google Slides app on your mobile phone to present to any screen using Chromecast, AirPlay, or Google Hangouts(Android only). This launch makes that task even easier for presenters, allowing them to change and preview slides from their phone’s lock screen and to toggle between a presentation and video in a Hangout. When presenting, it’s important to keep your audience’s attention. Typing and retyping your mobile phone’s password to unlock your screen and advance your presentation can be time-consuming and distracting. With this launch, when you use the Slides Android app to present to a Chromecast device or Hangout, a notification will remain on your phone’s screen, even when it’s locked. Clicking on that notification will give you options to move forward or backward through your slides or to exit your presentation entirely.    Because sometimes you want to see your audience, this launch also makes it possible to switch to video when presenting to Hangouts via the Slides Android app. It’s easy—simply tap the video camera icon at the top of your screen to view and pin other Hangout participants.      In addition to the above enhancements to the Slides Android app, this latest release also includes improvements to the Google Sheets Android app. Charts in Sheets allow you to display data in ways that are often easier to understand and more compelling. You can already create a multitude of charts in Sheets on the web; with this launch, you can insert charts and change their type using the Sheets Android app as well. For instance, if you insert a bar chart fromExplore, you can now quickly and easily change it to a column chart directly within the app. For more information on these new features, check out the Help Center articles below. Launch Details Release track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) Impact: All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI More Information Present slides Create a chart or graph Edit and format your chart Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted Launch release calendar Launch detail categories Get these product update alerts by email Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Reuse a Post in Google Classroom

I found a great blog post from +Michael Fricano II from Edtechnocation about how to reuse a post in Google Classroom.  In his blog, he explains how to handle the post in case you forget to select 'make a copy' of the attachments for the students.

He suggested, don't delete the mistake assignment, just reuse the post, and keep 'create new copies of attachments' checked.  Once that is completed, then you can delete the mistake assignment.

I thought it would be helpful to share this information with my audience.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Formatting Responses from Forms

When you create a Google Form, a response sheet is automatically created with a record of all of the responses from the form.  This response sheet is a spreadsheet. 

However, if one of the responses is a long response, this will cause the data to overlap in the columns next to it, making it difficult to read the data.  You can apply formatting features to the cell, but the formatting does not remain when a new response is added to the sheet.  See the image below.  

In order to keep the formatting for all new responses in the sheet you must perform the following:

• Go into the Response Sheet.
• Add another sheet by hitting the plus sign at the bottom of the screen.  A new sheet will be created and named Sheet2.

• Click on the Sheet2 tab.
• Go to cell A1, and type the following:  =QUERY('Form Responses 1'!A:K,"Select *",1)
• A and K are the columns in the sheet
• Format your column accordingly
• Now submit another entry into your form and the cells will keep their formatting features.

Note:  The form responses 1 sheet will have the entries in the original format.  The Sheet2 sheet will have the entries in a formatted state.

Create Question Option in Google Classroom

Posting a question is a new feature of Google Classroom.  It will allow a teacher to post a question to all the students in the class.  As teachers are using Google Classroom, these are some of the features I am experiencing with it.  

If you would like to share your experience with "create question" option, please leave a comment.  Thanks!

To post a question on the stream:  

1. Click on the round plus button at the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Click on 'Create Question'

A few things you should be aware of:

Once the question is posted, the teacher has the option to allow all students to see and reply to other's response, or to edit the responses.

A view of the student's response to the question.

All students in the class will be able to see everyone's response.

Once a student submits a response, they cannot change it.

The student will see a 'DONE' status on their stream for the question.

The Google Hashtag Directory

It is very difficult to keep up with changes and updates from Google. I most definitely learn from other people in my PLN on Twitter, Google Plus, and by reading blogs.  Every time I blog about Google, I always include certain hashtags in my social media posts which are distributed on Google Plus, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.  As you can see, hashtags are not just for Twitter, they can be used on all social media platforms.  

Thanks to Kasey Bell, from Shake Up Learning, she has put together a list of Google Dictionary hashtags that are commonly used on her blog.  

I definitely learned something new from her blog post.  I hope you did too!

Most Commonly Used:  

• #GoogleEdu Google in Education: Google's official hashtag for all things Google in Education. 
• #GAFE Google Apps For Education: Any topic related to Google Apps for Education

Other Hashtags:

• #Google:  Connects to anything related to Google
• #GoogleSearch: This will help connect you obtain information on searching techniques. 

Google Events:

• #GAFEchat: A Twitter chat about Google Apps for Education. This chat was created by Kelly Fitzgerald, and takes place the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month from 8-9 pm (CST). This is a great chat to learn about GAFE. 
• #GAFESummit:  Google Apps for Education Summit official hashtag,  

Google Certifications:
Google updated the certifications over the summer and gave us new hashtags. Follow these hashtags to connect and learn with Google Certified Innovators and Trainers.

• #GoogleET (Google for Education Certified Trainers)
• #GoogleEI (Google for Education Certified Innovators)

More Specific Hashtags:

• #GoogleClassroom: Information and conversations about Google Classroom.
• #GplusEd:  Google+ is a social media platform. 
• #EduHangout: Google Hangouts Become a connected educator or learner by using Google Hangouts.  

Google Apps Update - Manage iOS Devices

Manage apps on employees’ iOS devices directly from Admin console Posted: 09 Sep 2015 09:10 AM PDT Earlier this year, we introduced Mobile Application Management (MAM) for Android devices. Today, we’re launching that same functionality for iOS devices. iOS Mobile Application Management enables Google Apps admins to recommend specific mobile apps they want their employees to use on their managed iOS devices. Admins can easily whitelist the apps of their choosing from within the Admin console (Device management > Mobile > Manage Applications for iOS devices). By default, the following six apps are pre-whitelisted: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Once an app is whitelisted, an employee can easily discover and download it from the Device Policy app (recently made available in the App Store) on their iPhone or iPad. This ensures that new and existing employees can easily find and download the apps they need most—without having to scour the App Store or recall specific app names from their orientation. If an employee then leaves the organization and the admin wipes their account, they can be sure that all of that employee’s managed work apps are uninstalled as well.   Check out the Help Center articles below for more information. Launch Details Release track:  Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) Impact: Admins and end users Action: Admin action and change management suggested/FYI More Information Whitelist iOS apps Mobile Management overview Manage iOS devices Google Apps for Work on iOS devices Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted Launch release calendar Launch detail categories Get these product update alerts by email Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Bookmarks and Google Classroom

If you are a teacher using Google Classroom with your students, I would highly recommend that you suggest to them to bookmark your Google Classroom in the browser.

After they join your Google Classroom, have them click on the star on the omnibar in Google Chrome, and allow them to bookmark the page to the bookmark bar.  

This will allow them to arrive quicker and more direct to your Google Classroom.  Students can have multiple bookmarks on the bookmark bar for all of their classes. 

Google Voice Typing Feature

Google users now have the option to use Voice Typing in their Google Docs.  It allows you to dictate your ideas directly to Docs, both in Chrome on the web and via the Android and iOS mobile apps. When using Docs on the web, simply select Voice typing in the Tools menu, click the microphone button to activate the feature, and start speaking —no keyboard necessary. When using your phone, just tap the microphone button on your keyboard to begin. Voice typing is available in more than 40 languages.

Share to Google Classroom Extension

Send students to the same website with Share to Classroom Chrome extension

Posted: 02 Sep 2015 12:40 PM PDT

Today, we’re launching a new Chrome extension for Classroom called Share to Classroom. This extension makes it easy for teachers to send all of their students to the same website during class. Once the extension is installed, a teacher can simply open a website and “push” it to his or her students, triggering that website to open on the students’ devices as well. (It also works the other way—students can “push” websites to their teachers.)

Google Apps admins can install the extension for their entire domains, making it simple for teachers and students to get started. Both teachers and students need to have the extension installed in order to push web pages to one another. Note that the Share to Classroom extension works on any laptop, including Chromebooks, Macs, and PCs.

The Share to Classroom extension is only available to Google Apps for Education and Google Apps for Nonprofits customers using Google Classroom.

Google Apps Update Alert

New features, new look for the Google Admin mobile app Posted: 02 Sep 2015 02:30 PM PDT The Google Admin mobile app allows Apps super admins to easily manage users and groups, contact support, view audit logs and do other common administrative tasks all from their Android and iOS devices. With today’s launch, we’re streamlining some of the most popular admin experiences, integrating admin actions with mobile communications and introducing a new look and feel. The new features, launching today for both Android and iOS, include: Richer user profiles with support for groups and several new attributes Ability to perform bulk actions on users and groups Ability to send text (SMS, WhatsApp, etc.) messages to users when adding them or resetting their password The user experience has been redesigned using material design principles―aligning with the new look and feel announced for the Admin console on desktop earlier this year―providing a seamless experience across platforms and devices. Check out the Help Center for more information on the new Google Admin app for Android and iOS. Launch Details Release track:   Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace:  Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) Impact: Admins only Action: Admin action suggested/FYI More Information Help Center: Android Help Center: iOS Get the app on Google Play and the App Store Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted Launch release calendar Launch detail categories Get these product update alerts by email Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Hangouts services to be served from ‘hangouts.google.com’ Posted: 02 Sep 2015 01:24 PM PDT Following the launch of the new standalone Google Hangouts homepage, Hangouts-related services and web traffic will be served from ‘hangouts.google.com’ in addition to existing host names. This change is happening gradually over the coming weeks. There is no required action for Apps customers. Launch Details Release track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release for Hangouts-related services (G+, Gmail, etc) over the coming weeks Rollout pace:  Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility) Impact:  All end users Action: FYI