Waffle Bytes

Data from Project Tomorrow's recently released  Speak Up Survey  shows teacher preferences for face-to-face professional learning conferences declining from 47% in 2010 to 40% in 2017,  according to eSchool News . The same survey found that teachers aren't comfortable with new practices like using digital tools for student collaboration, personalizing learning for each student, or creating project-based experiences. REMC is here to help! Check out out free Virtual Courses, open to all Michigan educators. September and October session topics include: Inquiry and Questioning with Technology, Google for Learning, Literacy and Technology, Social Media, Open Education Resources (OERs) and more. Sessions take place over a three-week period. Free SCECHs available.  Register here . Still have questions?  Contact us !

A new feature is being added to many popular Google Tools - the quick-access side panel.  You will be able to see this (and maybe already do) on the left side of your Google Calendar & Email.  From the Google Suite Update Alerts , [y]ou’ll [also] be able to access three G Suite products from Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings: Google Calendar: Quickly reference, create or edit invites.  Google Keep: Easily take notes, create lists, and see your other content.  Google Tasks: Manage your tasks and to-dos.  In Calendar, you will only see the icons for Keep & Tasks -  Here in Mail, you can see icons to access all three - To hid or show this panel, there is a little chevron (or arrow) at the bottom that can be clicked -

From Liz Breed of the MeL Team: This week's MeL Minute highlights the changes to the Government, Legal, and Michigana portals. Just like a library's physical stacks need to be managed, we have been busy weeding and re-arranging to ensure the content in these three portals is up-to-date and organized. The Library of Michigan site will now house our government, legal and Michigan content and, where it made sense after weeding, any content that remained in these three areas has been co-located with existing content to create a “one-stop” experience for users. Michigana Content from the MeL Michigana Portal can now be found in two places on the Library of Michigan site. In the “For the Public” section, check “Michigan Materials” and “Newspapers”. The Michigan Materials area includes links to County Guides, Historical Research Collections, Michigan Imprints from 1851-1876, Michigan Bibliographies and Michigan Digital Collections. The Newspapers area includes links to th

Most of you are using the new version of Google Forms, but many of us still have functioning forms that were created in the older Form interface.  From the July 20 G Suite Update Alert - "we will be upgrading forms that use the legacy interface to the new interface" Important dates for you - From Aug 22 (last week) on if you open an "older" form to edit, it will be automatically updated to the new look forms that have been untouched for a year or more will be automatically updated Starting Nov 21 all forms will be updated  Just a heads up as the older service shuts down!

Brought to you by the MeL Team - World Book Kids,  a resource for K-5 learners, offers an abundance of content and tools designed to increase knowledge and enhance 21 st  century learning .  Take a closer look at interactive articles, STEM resources, maps, pictures, videos, a section dedicated to animals, biographies, and more! Start with the captivating, image-driven homepage designed to draw in young researchers by sparking inquiry and curiosity. Search and browse options make finding information simple.  An intuitive search bar and explore browse feature encourages reluctant researchers and aides in spelling and vocabulary building. Kids can seamlessly search for information on thousands of subjects or visually dig for topics of interest. Complex topics are broken down into easy-to-read text, which helps young learners build fluency. Content is paired with a wealth of images and videos, translations in more than 100 languages, and a text-to-speech tool to support En

Free Digital Skills Curriculum for Teachers Google has created FREE ready-to-use digital video lessons that teach students the practical skills needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Teachers are able to choose from free curriculum that suits their needs. The lessons are flexible for every schedule, learning environment and level of experience and encourage engaging and interactive learning. Each lesson has closed-caption downloadable video introductions, step by step videos, time recommended to complete, discussions, a list of skills covered, instructions, detailed lesson plans, engaging scaffolded activities, state standards, and rubrics to assess student progress. All they have to do is sign up! Check it out here .

What can you do when you get an invitation to a meeting you cannot attend?  With a recent change, it is now easy to propose a new meeting time.  While viewing your calendar, click on the event you are invited to and want to propose a change in meeting day/time. When the detail window pops up, look at the bottom in the response bar for an arrow on the right side - When clicking on that arrow, you get 2 more options.  Click on Propose a new time to do that - When you select to Propose a new time, you get a new window.  The left pane of the window lets you RSVP and propose a new date and/or time.  You can also add a message.  On the right, it will display the calendars of any invitees for which you have viewing rights to help you suggest a time with minimal conflicts.  When done, click on Send Proposal - You have now proposed a new time to the organizer of the event.

From Sean Cwiek of the MeL Team: Today we have some MeLCat search strategies that you may not be aware of courtesy of the MeLCat help desk.  First up, locating an item in a particular format. Did you know that you can include the format you desire in your keyword search (E.g., search for "catching fire dvd", "catching fire large print", or "catching fire large type" instead of just "catching fire".)? It makes searching for format a whole lot easier. Another search tip for known titles is that numbers may need to be spelled out. Not always, but it does happen. If you can't locate a title when using a numeral, spell it out and see if that helps. We know that some library staff are leery of using keyword searching but sometimes it will get you results that you otherwise can't. If you are unsuccessful using the phrase searches (title, author, series title, the various types of subject searches), try entering your terms as

From the MeL Team -  Did you know World Book Online offers an excellent digital resource for those learning Spanish or non-native speakers? MeL provides access to Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos, the optimal beginner’s Spanish language reference tool. Ideal for elementary-aged Spanish speakers or students learning Spanish, EEH offers World Book’s meticulously curated content, rich multimedia, engaging features and so much more! Easily toggle between articles directly from World Book Kids or start from easy to navigate homepage. Access popular features such as Mundo De Animales (World of Animals) to explore a wealth of animal facts, images, and videos for more than 100 different animals. The compare tool gives users quantitative information such as lifespan, size, weight, and where the animal is found in the world via a side by side comparison, which is great for visual learners! Another popular feature, the visual dictionary gives users the opportunity to browse ima