PPS Instructional Technology

Google recently launched the ability to make templates of your docs, slides, sheets and forms, and store them in a district template gallery.  The idea of having district templates for docs, slides and sheets is nice, but I feel the real game changer is the ability to turn forms into templates.  In the past there wasn't a good way to take a form and provide it as a template for others to use.  There was no "view only" option in forms.  With the new template gallery, sharing forms is easy!  Here is how to get started. Creating a Form Template for the District Step 1: Go to forms.google.com Step 2: Click on Template Gallery Step 3: Click Submit Template Step 4: Select a form from your Google Drive by clicking the Select A Form button. Step 5: Check the Submit a copy of the file instead of the original  box.  This will make a copy of your original document.  That way you have a copy you can make your own changes on that won't effect everyone else who i

Computers are everywhere, changing every industry on the planet. It is up to us as educators to help prepare our students to meet the technology challenges of the future. If you've heard about the Hour of Code before, you might know it made history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code. The Hour of Code 2016 is happening again this year, during Computer Science Education Week, December 5-11 .  What will your class do? You may be saying to yourself...I don't know anything about computer science, how can I teach my kids this?  Good news?  There are so many wonderful opportunities out there that are student directed, that you do not need to know ANYTHING about computer science in order to give your students this opportunity.  Below are some excellent resources for getting your kids excited about CS! Hour of Code : The Hour of Code site from Code.org has many wonderful projects to get student started, including Minecraft ! Code.org : Appropriate for Y

Even though deer-hunting season is well underway, hunting for web tools to use in your classrooms is not how many of you wish to spend your limited planning time. So, to help you all out and to make finding just the right tool easier, Paul and I, along with the 3rd-5th Grade Chromebook Pilot Teachers, have developed an awesome new resource for you. The 1-1 Web Tools Elementary Resource Page is a filterable list of websites that other teachers have found valuable to use in the classroom. Looking for a tool to use in math instruction? Filter down by subject and grade-level. Check it out today at: https://sites.google.com/portageps.org/elwebtools

The PPS Tech Department is always happy to help our teachers, students, and staff with their tech needs.  In order to make ourselves accessible, and get you the help you need in a timely manner, we have multiple ways for you to get help.  The #1 way for you to get help is to contact the help desk at x5102 or help@portageps.org .  Even if you are unable to reach a person at the time of your call, make sure you leave a message so someone is notified that you need help.  Tickets are automatically created when a voicemail is left on the x5102 line.  DO NOT HANG-UP!  We can't help you if we don't know you need help. If you are looking for tech tips, head to the PPS Tech Training blog .  This is where the Tech Integration Specialists post their tech tips and other great resources to share with the PPS teachers.  Want to request a new tech tip?  Found a great resource and want to share it with others, or learn more about the tool and how it can be used in your classroom?  Submit a T

I frequently get asked by teachers if it is possible to upload files to a google form.  There are many reasons that teachers may want students to do this.  Maybe they need pictures for the yearbook, or they want them to upload an mp3 file of them playing a piece of music, or having a conversation in a foreign language.  Maybe you had your students draw a pictures to explain a concept in science, and now you want them to attach a picture of it to the form as part of an assessment.  Not to long ago, this was not possible.  We had some creative work arounds, but not the simplicity many teachers wished for.  Thankfully, Google heard your pleas and has now added the attach a file option! In the article, New Time-saving Features in G-Suite for Education , author Ryan Webber states: Also debuting today, is a top-requested feature from our education customers — the new “File upload” question type. Students can now upload files from their computer or Drive — all of which are neatly collecte

Paul and I go to a lot of tech conferences/meetings as part of our jobs as Technology Integration Specialists.  We always enjoy the idea sharing and conversations we have with our fellow EdTechies, and every now and then we have one of those "Oh my gosh! Why didn't I think of that!" kind of moments.  Thankfully, our most recent "Ah-ha" moment is one that many of you have also been pondering, especially as we move to 1-1 with chromebooks.  I hope you find this little tip as awesome as we did! Last week, we had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the MiGoogle Conference (#migoogle) at Lake Fenton High School.  During the conference, one of the presenters - Justin Knull (@Everyday_Genius), shared the idea of using Google Slides as a Microsoft Publisher replacement, specifically in regards to creating newsletters.   Finding a good replacement for Publisher has been a struggle for us as we have moved almost exclusively to the Google world since there

Paul and I go to a lot of tech conferences/meetings as part of our jobs as Technology Integration Specialists.  We always enjoy the idea sharing and conversations we have with our fellow EdTechies, and every now and then we have one of those "Oh my gosh! Why didn't I think of that!" kind of moments.  Thankfully, our most recent "Ah-ha" moment is one that many of you have also been pondering, especially as we move to 1-1 with chromebooks.  I hope you find this little tip as awesome as we did! Last week, we had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the MiGoogle Conference (#migoogle) at Lake Fenton High School.  During the conference, one of the presenters - Justin Knull (@Everyday_Genius), shared the idea of using Google Slides as a Microsoft Publisher replacement, specifically in regards to creating newsletters.   Finding a good replacement for Publisher has been a struggle for us as we have moved almost exclusively to the Google world since there