PPS Instructional Technology

Over the last couple years, many of our technology tools have come from Google thanks to the Google Apps for Education initiative.  Your tech integration specialists have offered training on a wide range of Google topics including, GMail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sites, Blogger and more.  We realize, however, that it is not always possible or easy for you all to attend trainings.  Also, some of you prefer to learn at your own pace and on your own time.  If you fit in to one of these categories, then Atomic Learning will be the resource for you.  They have short online tutorials on a plethora of topics including all things Google.  Here is the latest Quick Tip sheet from Atomic Learning: The link from the quick tip is: http://goo.gl/DgvVMz

Here's another Google Mail video with a couple of nice to know features. This is the last of the GFC four part series, but don't worry we still have other sources to pull from. Gmail: Responding to Email with Gmail We are starting this short 4 minute video at 1:51 and it discusses... Conversations Adding a Vacation Responder Of course, you can always start from the beginning if you want some of basic tips.

The following video is another in a series of four that talks about how to use gmail. (We have sent you two already.) Gmail: Sending Email with Gmail Feel free to start this short 4 minute video at 2:08 seconds in and it discusses... Formatting Your Message Adding a signature Feel free to start it from the beginning to watch the whole thing. There are always little tricks to pick up.

Portage Public Schools has a subscription to the online training site Atomic Learning.  This site offers great online training opportunities for those of you who enjoy learning at your own pace.  Here are some of the recent training opportunitites related to Google.  Enjoy! Recent Training Releases Atomic Learning regularly updates our training offerings to keep you up-to-date on the latest and greatest educational technology. Recent additions to the training library include: Gmail Training (update) Google Calendar Training (update) Google Documents - Creating & Organizing Training (update) Google Documents - Editing & Formatting Training (update) Google Documents - Sharing & Collaborating Training Google Forms Training Google Presentations - Collaborating & Sharing Training Google Presentations - Creating & Editing Training (update) Google Spreadsheets - Basics Training (update) Google Spreadsheets - Chart & Formulas Trainin...

We received a number of replies from individuals who were very thankful for the last Gmail video we sent out. So we thought we would send you another! Gmail: Creating Filters with Gmail This short 3 minute video discusses... Automatic Message Filters Searching Gmail (Find anything) After watching the video, feel free to contact us if you have further questions.

Even though we have discussed archiving mail and labels in this blog post  and this one , some of you would like a more visual tutorial.  For those of you who would like more information about managing Gmail, please watch this short, 3 minute video. Gmail: Managing Email with Gmail This video discusses... Archiving Mail Labels (Folders) After watching the video, feel free to contact us if you have further questions.

As promised in my last post, here is how you can personalize your background even more by creating your own custom theme. Step 1: Click on the gear in the top right hand corner of your inbox. Step 2: Select Themes from the drop down menu. Step 3: Scroll down until you see "Custom Themes". Step 4: Choose Light or Dark Step 5: Select your image from one provided, or upload your own. Step 6: Click Select. All done.  Now you have a custom theme!

Have you looked at a friends Gmail inbox and seen a nice/interesting background image?  Do you want to get away from the boring white background of GMail and spruce up your screen?  Let's face it, a lot of us spend way more time looking at our inbox screen than we would like.  Shouldn't what we are looking at appeal to us?  Well the good news is that it is very easy to change the background theme of your inbox. Here is how... Step 1: Click on the settings gear in the top right corner of your Gmail inbox. Step 2: Select Themes from the drop down menu. Step 3: Choose the Theme that fits your style, or create your own custom theme (more on that later). All Done!  No saving required.  When you select your theme it will automatically change.

Do you want an easy way to create shortcuts for your Google Apps (Gmail, Blogger, Docs, etc.)?  It is as easy as a couple clicks. Step 1: Right-click on a Chrome application from your new tab screen: Step 2: Select Create shortcuts... Step 3:  Choose Desktop, Pin to Taskbar, or both.  Click Create. Here is what your choices would look like New desktop icon: ...or taskbar icon:

There are a couple ways to check your spelling in Google mail. Spell Check in the Chrome Browser The first is the simplest.  If you are in Google Chrome, their is an automatic spell check in the browser. If you spell something incorrectly, it will be underlined in red. You would then just right click on the misspelled word and select the correct spelling. Spell Check in GMail You can also spell check in the compose window. Click on the triangle by the trash can in the bottom right corner. Select "Check spelling" The misspelled words will be highlighted. Click on the misspelled word and select the correct spelling.

I frequently get asked.... In Outlook I used to be able to sort by the "from" to find a message by a particular person.  How do I do that in Gmail? Bad News: You can't sort by the from in Google Mail Good News: You CAN search by the from in Google Mail.  Here is how... Step 1: While in your inbox, click on the triangle in search bar at the top of the screen. Step 2: In the From box, type the email address for the person you are searching for. Step 3: Click the Blue magnifying class. Step 4: You will now see all your emails that particular person sent you. Note: You can also search by To, Subject, Has the Words, and Doesn't Have. Happy Searching!

Chrome allows web services to ask if you’d like to use them to open certain links. While most links generally take you to another page, some links can open programs and perform other actions. For example, mailto: links can open your email program. In order to make email links open in Gmail instead of Outlook, you will need to do the following.   When you open Gmail in Chrome, a protocol handler icon  appears in the omnibox/webaddress line next to the star bookmarks icon.  Click it to show the following options: If you'd like to allow Gmail to open all email links, select the Use Gmail radio button. When you click a hyperlinked email address on a page, Gmail's compose window will open. Select No to keep how your computer opens email links the same way as before (ex: Outlook). Choose Ignore to prevent the request from appearing again when you visit Gmail. You will want to select the first option. Then select Done. Now your email links should open in GMail inst...

When your "folders" transferred over from Outlook, they all were labeled with "inbox/..." because all your folders were in your inbox in Outlook. Many of you have asked how to rename your labels/folders so they no longer say "inbox" on them. Well here you go... To rename your label, hover over your label you want to change.  A little down pointing triangle will appear next to the label. Click on that.  Select Edit.  Rename your label.  Click Save.

If you make changes to your contacts that you want to undo, you can restore your full contacts list to an earlier saved version. This allows you to undo changes like: Recovering contacts that have been accidentally deleted Restoring contacts after an unsuccessful sync Undoing a recent import Undoing a recent merge To restore your contacts to a previous version Follow these steps: Click Gmail at the top-left corner of your Gmail page, then choose Contacts. From the More actions drop-down menu, choose Restore contacts. Choose the time you'd like to revert your contacts list to (e.g. 10 minutes ago, one hour ago, one week ago, etc). We suggest that you also make a note of the time that you restore your contacts, in case you'd like to return to where you started. Click Restore. You'll see a confirmation at the top of the screen when the rollback is complete.

Have you wondered lately how to format the emails you are composing?  How about attaching a document to your email?  In Outlook, the formatting options were at the top.  In Google Mail, the formatting and attaching options are located at the bottom of the compose window. Let's start with formatting... To begin, open a new message, or reply to a message. To open the formatting tool box, click on the "A" next to the send button in the bottom left corner. Here you will find many useful tools, like: Fonts (there are 11 fonts to choose from) Text size (small, normal, large, or huge) Font color and highlighting/background color Alignment (left, center or right) Numbering and Bulleting Increase or Decrease indent And my personal favorite = Tx which removes formatting from text you have copied. Next up, attaching items to your emails... Also in the Send bar line you will see a paper clip and a plus sign.  Hovering over the plus sign will open up several ...

In my previous post I explained the differences between Outlook Folders and Google Mail Labels.  I also explained how to add a label to an email. In this post, we will go over how to create new labels. Here's how to create a label that you can add to any of your messages: Method 1: On the left side of the page, click More at the bottom of your labels list. (If you don't see "More," grab the gray dividing line with your cursor and drag it down to show more labels.) Click Create new label. Type the name of your new label and click Create. Method 2:  You can also create a new label for a message in your Inbox by selecting the box next to the message, clicking the Label button above your message list, and then clicking Create new. If you are unsure if you have that label already, you can type the name of the label in the search box at the top of the menu.  If the label is not already created, it will give you the option to create new. Ha...

In Outlook, we filed our emails in Folders.  Then when our inboxes got too full, we would archive our messages, which were then saved on our U: drives.  This wasn't a perfect process, but we all got used to it.  Now with the new email system, many people are wondering how they organize their emails.  The answer is Labels. Here are some basics on Google Labels vs. Outlook Folders Google Labels An email can have more than one Label If you delete a Label, it doesn't delete all the messages with the label An email can have many Labels at once (ex - inbox, reading, 2013-2014, assessments) making it easy to find it later. You can search emails by Label (ex - label:tech-tips) Outlook Folders You can only put messages in one Folder If you delete the Folder everything in the folder is deleted as well You have to remember which folder you put the message in so you can retrieve it later You can't always do folder specific searches So, how do you label your ...

One of the most commonly asked questions I get about Google Mail is, "How do I create a signature?".  This is a very simple process and only takes a couple clicks. Step 1: In Gmail, open up the settings by clicking on the gear, then choosing Settings. Step 2: Scroll 2/3 of the way down the page until you see the word "Signature".  Type in your signature.  I usually check the box that says, "Insert this signature before quoted text..." Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select "Save Change". ALL DONE!  Now your electronic signature will appear at the bottom of all your emails sent from your PPS account.

The compose window in Google Mail is traditionally locked to the bottom of your screen.  This works fine most of the time, but there are some instances when in would be beneficial to have a compose window that you can move around so you can minimize your browser.  There is a very simple way to make this happen. All you need to do in order to have a movable compose window is to hold down the shift key while you are clicking compose with your mouse ....Tada!  Movable compose window. Fixed window: Movable window:

It is possible to have Google Mail send a notification on new mail to appear on your desktop. It's in the settings. Click on the Gear. Choose Settings from the list.  Scroll down until you see "Desktop Notifications". Select "New mail notifications on". Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select, "Save Changes".