5 Little Google Tricks that Make a Big Difference

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     Google is taking over education. The Chromebook is everywhere, and so many students now have access to Drive. The collaborative features, ease of use, and availability make Google products a favorite of lots of teachers. It's also a favorite of administrators because it's so simple to manage.
    What can you do to take it to another level, though? Sometimes it's all about the little things, and that's what this blog is all about. These are five little tips and tricks that will take your Google game up a level.

• Converting to Google Products

     Let's face it; many teachers are coming to the beautiful world of Microsoft. Google has only been taking the education world by storm for 10 to 12 years. Many teachers have been teaching longer than that, and they have a whole host of resources that are in the Microsoft format.
     There is an easy way to fix that, especially for Word. Start by clicking the settings wheel in the top right, and then check off the box that converts everything into a Google Doc. As soon as that's checked off, every time you upload a Word Doc, it will automatically switch to a Google Doc. For Slides and Sheets, you will need to upload first and then hit the button that says convert to the corresponding Google product
     If you use Google Classroom, this trick is a MUST. It makes the workflow in Google Classroom so much easier. If you don't use Google Classroom, it's still a great thing. It allows you easy sharing and collaboration. You can easily share it just by changing the last word in the URL from edit to copy 

• Easy Sharing

​      That brings me to the second little tip that is incredibly helpful. Google is easily the sharable collaborative format. You can change how you share things out by simply changing the end of a Google URL. This great graphic from Tony Vincent will show you some outstanding ones.

* Credit Tony Vincent learninginhand.com

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• Drive is more than just Docs, Slides, and Sheets
  

​     Every time I deliver PD in Google Drive, it amazes me how many folks don't know this. If you click new and then more, there is a button that says connect more apps down at the bottom. This feature opens Google Drive up to a whole other set of apps.
     There are great educational tools in there like WeVideo, Kami, Pear Deck, and more. You might also find that tool that lets you do that one thing you have always wanted. The overall beauty though is that if it's in Drive, it makes the Classroom connection easy!

• Forms Differentiation
  

      Google Forms is more than just a place to do quizzes and surveys. It's a place where you can differentiate and personalize learning. You can literally build quizzes in forms that are impossible to fail. It's super easy.
      It all comes down to adding multiple-choice questions and sections. At the bottom of each multiple-choice question, there are three dots in the bottom right corner that you go to section based on a response. Sections are basically new pages. It allows you to send students to one page if they get the question right, and a different one if they get the get the question wrong.
     It allows you to add a video or a different question if they get it wrong. Where it really can be great, though is that you can insert a live URL to take kids anywhere on the internet. You can do things like adding a HyperDoc link that asks students to complete an activity if they get it wrong. It means the possibilities are endless.

• Google Drawing
  

​      Google Drawing is one of the most underused apps in the Google Sphere. The possibilities of use are endless. The whole idea is that you get what amounts to one slide with space on either side, and you can use shapes to build things like mind maps, comparison maps, and magnetic poetry.

An excellent resource for this is Eric Curt's site which can be found HERE.

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