Waffle Bytes

Knowing about and using the Archive button in your email is one key to keeping your Inbox under control.  When looking at an email message, OR if you have checked next to an email in your inbox, you have several options at the top, the Archive icon is the very first one (which should clue you in to the fact it is important!) Using the Archive, means having at least a basic understanding for what it does.  Here it my very simplified explanation I provide in my trainings: Google uses a "label" system instead of a "folder" system.  With a folder system (what many of us trained to with programs such as Outlook...and even before electronic mail when dealing with paper mail), mail is stored in a specific location - it can be in 1 location, and 1 location only.  So you need to remember where you "put" it.   Whereas a "label" system deals with (essentially) sticky note labels "attached" to emails.  I can put as many - or as few

Over 1500 new or updated resources have been added to #GoOpen Michigan! Check out these additions which provide more for every curriculum area - NEW International Astronomical Union (57 resources) - set of activities/lessons bundled under Astro EDU set NEW Code.org (342 resources) - includes lesson plans for CS Discoveries, CS Fundamentals, and CS Principles NEW National Endowment for the Humanities (405 resources) - EDSITEments set with a variety of resources including lessons, activities and readings NEW US Census Bureau (62 resources) - K-12 activities from the Statistics in Schools project UPDATED CK-12 resources (798 resources) - updated flexbook resources

The REMC Association is gathering data to inform us on which projects Michigan educators are using, along with what future project topics would be of value to you.   Please take 2-3 minutes to fill out this brief form - REMC Association Survey -  to help inform our work.   Please share with other educators in your district.  If you have questions, contact me at wafflem@calhounisd.org.

There are a few emails that I use on a regular basis - the email body is pretty much the same each time, just a small part of it is changed.  An example is the Technology Tidbits emails I send out when we are doing a series - the only part that changes is the actual tidbit, while the introduction and other information stays the same.  To not have to recreate this email each time (or find an old one and copy and paste it), I have turned on the Email Templates and created a template email to use. 1. How to turn it on: When in your email, go to the Gear icon and select Settings Click on Advanced in the tab options across the top of the settings window - Scroll down the list until you find Templates - Click Enable, and then click the button to Save Changes - 2) How to set up a template: Open a new email.  Compose the standard message you want to turn into a template, just as if you are creating a new message. You can even format the message as desired, including li

Michigan Electronic Library has a plethora of resources available to Michigan teachers to support your teaching and student learning.  I would suggest exploring the following: the variety of curriculum resources , categorized by subject area and other topics such as career & college ready skills, Makerspace,  and technology.   flyers to help you educate students on evaluating electronic resources professional development eResources

There are many options available to format your email message if you would like.  You can find the formatting toolbar by clicking on the A in the menu at the bottom of your message compose window There are the following options on the formatting toolbar that pops up: Undo & Redo - undo or redo your previous actions within the message Font - choose the font you prefer Font size - choose from a select few options the font size Bold, Italics & Underline - standard, though try to avoid underlining as that signifies a link Color - you can choose a highlight color (the background behind selected text) and/or the font color Alignment - standard alignments are options Lists - create either an ordered (numbered) or unordered (bullets) list At the end of the toolbar is a downward pointing arrow.  This has some additional options: Remove formatting - this is VERY useful if you pasted in formatted text from another source as it will strip out all the formatting  Stri

Gmail now allows for you to create messages ahead of time, and schedule when they are actually sent.  If you schedule a message you will have a new label on the left called Schedule, so you are still able to access the email (ie. to edit, or send immediately) if needed. Composing your email message.  When you have finished creating your message, look for the arrow next to Send (probably this is part of a blue button) Click it to see the option to Schedule Send When you click on Schedule send, it will open up a box with 3 suggested dates/times you may want to send the email You may 1) click on one of these options and the message will go into the Schedule queue.  Or 2) you may click on Pick date & time to select a different date and/or time Once you choose 1) the date and 2) time you would like the message to be sent, 3) click on the blue Schedule send button to schedule the email. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Technology Tidbits, brought to yo

If you need to share a photo with your email recipient(s), you can attach it within your email message.  Here are the steps to do this. Begin composing your email message.  When you are ready to attach the photo, click on the Image icon at the bottom of the compose window You can add the photo any of the following ways: from your Photos folder (part of your Google Apps account) from an Album you have created with your photos uploading the photo from your computer/device using the Web URL to access it Additionally, you can select to have the photo appear inline where the cursor is, or as an attachment at the end of your email message After selecting the photo, click Insert:  - and the image will be added to your email: If you selected to have it inline within your message, if you click on it you have some options under it: you can decide to size it between 1 of 3 ways (small, best fit, or original size) you can remove the image from the email mess

The American Prospect  magazine, in partnership with Omidyar Network, announces the first annual American Prospect Essay Contest.  Many Americans are considering how to create a more inclusive economy. This competition will give high school students the opportunity to read and reflect on one of four renowned books exploring how the economy works in terms of poverty, race, markets, and democracy. The students’ essays will explore where the economy falls short and what we might do about it. Prizes total $30,000: First place for juniors and seniors is $10,000; second place $5,000; third place $2,500. First place for freshmen and sophomores is $5,000; second place $2,500; third place $1,000. Forty honorable mentions will be awarded at $100 each. The  Prospect  will publish the winning essays at  Prospect.org  and feature a selection in the print edition.  The deadline for submissions is  March 31, 2020 . F or further information, go to  Prospect.org/EssayContest .

If you need to share a file that is located in your Google Drive, you can attach it via your email message.  Here are the steps to do this. Begin composing your email message.  When you are ready to attach the Google Drive file (or multiple files), click on the Drive icon at the bottom of the compose window A window will pop up saying 'Insert files using Google Drive.'  You can find what you want to attach by using any of these methods: using the search within your whole drive select something from a shared drive selecting a file that was shared with you looking at recently modified files upload a file (you can do this instead of attaching the file as previously shared) Once you have found the file, 1) select the file, and 2) choose to share it as a link or attachment Click on insert The attachment will show up where your cursor was within the email.  It will have a little icon to indicate what kind of file it is.  Finish composing your mes

If you need to share a file that is located on your device with a person, you can attach the file via your email message.  Here are the steps to do this. Begin composing your email message.  When you are ready to attach a file (or multiple files), click on the paper clip icon at the bottom of the compose window The standards "open" window will pop up 1 - Select the file you want to attache, then 2 - click on Open 1 - The file will be added at the bottom of the message; if it is larger (or you are on a slow Internet connection) you may see a bar showing the attachment progression.  Once it is loaded the title of the attachment will convert into a hyperlink and an X will appear next to it on the right side. 2 - The attach icon will change to include a piece of paper around - this is an indicator that there is an attachment connected to your message (if you have a longer message and are not looking at the bottom this can be a useful You can attach multiple fil

You may want to add a hyperlink to your email for your recipients.  This is very easy to do when creating your message. (Here is the short video for this topic: Adding a Hyperlink .) When composing your message, 1 - highlight the text you wish to link and then 2 - click on the link icon in the bar at the bottom Or you can use a shortcut by pressing Control + K The hyperlink window will appear.  1 - this is the text that will be linked; if you didn't highlight text, this will be blank and you can type in the text which should appear in the email message. 2 - this is where you put the URL (link) you wish to direct them to This will create the hyperlink in the body of your email message so people can directly go to the linked page Thank you for joining us for this episode of Technology Tidbits, brought to you by Melinda Waffle (Calhoun Intermediate School District), and CJ Walker and Du Bui (Jackson County Intermediate School District)