Waffle Bytes

Filters can be a wonderful way to control your Inbox.  Here is how to set them up. First, go to the gear icon in the upper-right hand corner of the window when you are in mail - Select Settings from the menu that pops-up - In the Settings window, select the tab Filters and Blocked Addresses - In the Filters and Blocked Addresses screen, click on Create a new filter - The next window will have lots of options to choose from in setting up your filter.  A reminder that Google's foundation is as a search engine - these items you select will actually perform a search of all your mail items that match the criteria (as few or as many as) you select - These items can search by: Who the email is from Who the email is to Keyword(s) in the email subject Keywords within the email (anywhere) Eliminating results with other keywords Emails with attachments Eliminating chat results Emails in a certain size range This gives total flexibility to getting exactly w...

There is a little trick you can use to force users to make a copy of a document, if wanted.  I often run into a situation with my professional development where I need participants to fill out a form.  In the past, I would make it view only and then ask them to make a copy of the document.  Then I would spend way too much time troubleshooting for people that struggled with this.  Now, I provide a modified link that asks them to make a copy of the document.  How? Grab the URL of the document - Change the "edit" at the end of the URL to "copy" - This modified URL is what to share/post/email with those that you want to copy the document.  The user will get the following - Notice that the only button choice on there is Make a copy.  Permissions still hold true when doing this.  Your document needs to be shared as view only either globally (everyone with the link can view) or individually (the group or individuals need to be added with...

This is HUGE for those of you that either weren't quite ready to move to Google Apps yet, or that needed to use programs outside the scope of what the Google Drive apps could provide. Previously, if you uploaded a file from your computer, made a change to the original on your computer, and re-uploaded the updated file you ended up with two (or more) of the same file.  You probably needed to look at the dates associated with it to know which was the newest version - and if it got copied over as a Google document, you had the possibility of lost changes. Now, from Google - "Once launched, when users upload files that have the same filename as an existing file, they’ll be deduplicated, and the old file will be in revision history. This is so that if any mistakes are made, users can get back to the previous version. Similarly, uploaded folders will be merged with folders of the same name." Here's the message that appears when you begin using this -   You do...

From the Library of Michigan -    Early Literacy Instruction: 10 Research-Informed Practices That Can Change Every Classroom Content provided by BloomBoard. This webinar takes place on September 26, 2016 @ 2 p.m. ET Register for this webinar now. As in many states, far too many of Michigan’s children are not reading proficiently by the end of grade three—and the situation continues to worsen. Addressing this problem can require broad and significant improvement in instructional practices. Toward that end, an Early Literacy Task Force (ELTF) in Michigan identified 10 research-informed classroom literacy instructional practices for Pre-K and 10 such practices for K-3 that can have a meaningful impact on student literacy. In this presentation, Nell Duke, Susan Townsend, and Naomi Norman will share these instructional practices, and discuss how the ELTF is working to make them a focus of professional development throughout the state of ...

Free webinars offered on September 28 , 2016 at 10:00 am OR 2:00 pm   Register NOW for this LIVE event to learn how to find ALL products fast & stretch your schools dollars by using the REMC SAVE Bid Project. Registration:  10:00 am session: http://goo.gl/YP51Kl 2:00 pm session: http://goo.gl/wyb0am Each attendee will be entered to WIN 1 of 2 Gift certificates from School Specialty and Office Depot for a REMC SAVE Bid project item. For regions who attend as a team, attendee lists must be emailed to remcbids@remc.org to be entered for a gift certificate prize drawing.  

Finally!  You can create and use columns in a Google Document...without the hack of inserting a table!! Columns is now an option in the Format menu (between "Line spacing" and "Lists").  You can select between 1, 2 and 3 columns - Selecting More options... brings up the following pop-up -  Again, in the pop-up, you can select between 1, 2 and 3 columns -  You can also change the spacing between columns, and select to have a line in that space -  It is important to note that the line will not appear between the columns unless you actually use both columns -  This also means there is an additional option in the Insert menu of a Column break -   And, you can apply columns to a section of the document if wanted - 

There is a nice added feature which allows you to set an expiration date on a document.  This way if you want to limit the amount of time a person has access to a document, you can set it and forget it...rather than having to remember to go back and revoke their access later.  As far as I can tell on my account, you can use this feature with Documents, Sheets and Slides (it did not work with Forms). To use this features, add the people you want to share the document with.  After adding them, there are two ways you can set an expiration. Method #1: mouse over until the clock icon appears, click on it: Method #2: Click on the dropdown and select Set expiration: Once you select to set expiration, you have some default options - 7 or 30 days.  Or you can set a custom date - One important note - you can only set expiration for those with comment or view roles.  You CANNOT set it for people with edit rights.  If you try to add it to someone with...

Great opportunity for students to propose and create an initiative! "Strive for a Safer Drive (S4SD) is a teen driving initiative aimed at reducing serious traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities among Michigan’s most inexperienced drivers – teens.  It is presented by Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) and the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP)." Participation is free and could save a life. All Michigan high schools are eligible to apply.  Up to 50 schools will be selected to receive $1,000 to develop and implement a student-led, peer-to-peer traffic safety awareness campaign.  Campaign topics may include distracted driving, seat belts, impaired driving, speeding, and winter driving. High school teams will submit a final project. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top five schools. Students have the opportunity to: Gain valuable experience in leadership, problem solving, teamwork, and project management. Showcase creativity and ...

From Brandy Archer at MeL - some great resources that you may find useful: Greetings, Below are links to great Open Educational Resources (FREE).  Some of these (Word Generation) I have shared before.  Keep scrolling down and you will even see some quick mindfulness activities to help students focus. SERP MEDIA Open Educational Resources for Public Use . Visit the SERP Media Website . LITERACY : WordGen Weekly . Visit the WordGen Weekly Website . WordGen Weekly (the “original” Word Generation program) is a supplementary curricular resource that offers a series of discussable dilemmas designed to promote academic language and other academic practices prioritized in the 21st century learning standards. The program is unique in its cross-disciplinary design, giving teachers of ELA, science, social studies, and math the chance to collaborate on the shared goal of helping students use aca...