Month: March 2022

Currently, Google Calendar has a feature called Appointment Slots. Using this feature, you can set up a block of appointments on your calendar that other people can reserve. For example, you can set aside 2 hours that you’re available to meet with parents in 15-minute slots. Parents can then book one of the 15-minute slots at a time that works best for them.

It’s a great feature, BUT… the one big issue with appointment slots is that a Google Account is needed to use it. This was a limiting factor to it being useful to schools. read more

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AutoDraw is one of Google’s A.I. experiments that allows you to start drawing, and then it guesses what you are drawing. It gives a list of images and you can just pick the one you want. Google AutoDraw is completely free.

To get started, visit: https://www.autodraw.com.

You can use the tools in the toolbar to get started with drawing a picture. Use the 2nd tool (outlined with the red box) to use the magic features of AutoDraw.

Draw your picture first, then check out the options at the top (outlined in red.) It guesses what you are drawing, and then gives options to choose from. read more

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I’m a big fan of the puzzle game Wordle. If you haven’t played it (really?!), you have six chances to guess a five letter word. Wordle was developed by a Welsh software engineer named Josh Wardle. He sold his little puzzle game to the New York Times for a seven-figure sum!

Wordle’s success has spawned a ton of copycat games. My new favorite is Factle. Factle is the “unofficial trivia based version of Wordle.” The concept is simple: put facts in order. Whether it’s the highest paid sports figure, the countries with the largest population, or the biggest vegetable exports, it’s been done in Factle.  read more

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We first got word of a planned update to the views in Gmail in December of last year. This week, it has begun showing up in Google accounts including our NWOCA email system.

I am calling this a facelift rather than an update since really they have mostly only made some cosmetic changes which appear to make perfect sense.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the two views: 

  • New interface on the left, old on the right.

    Really the major difference is on the left hand side you now have a small sidebar with 5 icons. The hamburger menu is separated from the Gmail logo and below it the 4 main sections of the new Gmail interface are listed. read more

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If you are looking for real life applications, puzzles, interdisciplinary connections and creative interactions to be a part of your student’s math learning experience, you need to take some time to look at Mathigon.org.  Mathigon is a site that provides your students an engaging opportunity to explore and discover math.  

They provide a course library of lessons focusing on various grade bands: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-10, and Grades 11-12.  These are lessons that will guide the students through the content.  Some of it is still being constructed but there are some great ones to begin with. read more

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