I am preparing for class tomorrow and am showing a video to compliment my digital citizenship lesson. While the video is appropriate I do not want the distraction and worry of ads that pop up next to the screen on YouTube.

There is a simple way to prevent this with as few as four clicks.

Click 1: Copy your URL
Click 2: Paste into this Website: https://safeshare.tv/
Click 3: Click Generate
Click 4: Submit.

You can now show the video from this screen ad free or you can download it to your computer.

Enjoy safe watching!

Apple announced today that it is now possible to collaborate with others using their suite of tools. 

This is great for all those teachers who want to make a Keynote with other teachers for Back to School Night.

Here are the steps and a file to download of the steps at the bottom of the post

Today I had a couple of requests on how to edit a PDF. 

There a couple of ways to do this in Google Docs. One way allows you to write on top of the PDF but not touch the format. This is great when you need to fill in a form and then email it back to someone.

The second option allows you to edit the text of the PDF.  The good news, is you don't need to rewrite all the text! The bad news is

1. It does not maintain the format. So if you have a table, it will become simple list. 
2. It does not transfer images or graphics of any kind.

The work around for images is to simply take a screen shot or do a search for the image.

I attaching a quick screencast here to help walk you through the steps. 

I love using Google Forms.  There are an untold number of uses for forms. When you make a Google Form it populates a spreadsheet (Google Sheet) with the responses. Making a form is easy and it allows you to keep all of your responses in one place. I can easily create  blog posts on each one of the ideas below, but just to give you an idea here are some of the fun ways you can get started using forms.

Ways I  like to use forms are:

1. Feedback: Have students give peer to peer feedback by putting a project rubric in the form. Students then score and comment on each other’s work and I can send them their responses. Student’s are very candid with each other and offer good insight into each other’s work.
2. Collect Assignments: Create a form and have students turn in the link to their Google Doc. This is an easy way to track who turned in an assignment and keeps your Drive clean!
3. Exit Slip - a quick form with any of these is helpful
   1. I wish, I think, What if . .
   2. 3 Things I learned, 2 Things I want to know, 1 Question I still have
4. Essay Starter, Understanding Texts and sharing evidence (see Slides below for examples)
5. Reading Log
6. Self-Grading quizzes! I love this feature for assessments!
7. Check-in - How Are You Feeling Today?

I love Google forms and want to thank Jeffery Heil (@jheil65)  for permission of sharing his slide presentation “Game of Forms” and refer you to Alice Keeler (@alicekeeler) who has helped me learn a lot about forms and sheets with her blog posts.

To get started with forms and to find the form Templates in the “New Forms” go to “forms.google.com”  There are even pre-made templates you can use to get you started, such as, exit slips, assessments and worksheets. You can also customize the look of your form, by choosing a background color or creating your own header. See the image below to help you navigate. If you tried the “old” forms and want to run back to that version, look for the runner in the bottom left hand corner!


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See Jeffery Heil's CUE 2015 Game of Forms Presentation below for some ideas on how to use Google Forms.

One of the great advantages of using  the internet is the ease of finding images for exactly what we need, when we need them. Google provides filtering techniques to simplify your search and the ability to check if you have the right to reuse or modify the image you have found.   



​One of the fun things you can do when you search for an image is to filter your search by color. I love to share this Google Slam that shows an older version of the Google search engine, but it gives you a good idea of what is possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTO6X9vhzQM

The look of the search screen may be different, but the filters are essentially the same. It is easy to search by, size, color, type, time, usage rights and to choose to display the size of the images.

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Keep a copy of this blog in the form of a Google doc, by downloading it below.

I am experimenting with my layout today and would love some feedback. I have embedded my blog document for a change, as well as, making it available for download below. If you would like a Google doc copy, you can click the link within the document. Let me know what you think of the new format. I am not sure I like the embedded document.

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Adding Photos taken on your phone to Your Weebly


We are are used to taking photos on our phones, why not update your website right from your phone? Here is how to get those photos that  are on your phone into your website in just a few easy steps!​

It is hard sometimes to remember the rule to never share passwords. Recently, in order to help someone from a distance a password was shared, because a user was desperate and far from school. Unfortunately, this compassionate response turned into a security breach when the password was then shared again and the power of the password proved too tempting.  

It is a good reminder to us all to keep our passwords private and to make sure our devices are secure.  

We use Mac's and if you need to set a password on your device it is easy to do in just four simple steps. 

Our default setting is to leave the old password field blank, so faculty can easily set up their own passwords, which makes this evan easier. 

The four simple steps are below.