Welcome to the 💯th edition of the Tuesday Tech Tips!
In today's Tuesday Tech Tips, read all about a quick way to take a screenshot on a Chromebook, a resource to use YouTube ad-free with your students or in presentations, a scam targeting school district employees in Monroe County, a free random name chooser and group maker that lets you save your lists, and more! ➡️ ➡️➡️ | 💡 Quick Tip 💡 We recently told you about the Windows keystroke shortcut to take a screenshot. By request, today we're sharing how to do it on a Chromebook.  Control + Show (the key above the 6 that looks like a rectangle next to two vertical lines) takes a screenshot of the whole screen. Control + Shift + Show lets you select an area to take a screenshot of. Find all the details on this HERE, with a BONUS TIP on how to record your Chromebook screen. |
Do you have a tip or idea for the Tuesday Tech Tips? Or a request for a topic or question you'd like to know more about? Please let us know! You can email us at joseph.lombardo@greececsd.org with your submission.
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Use YouTube ad-free with Watchkin
The ads in YouTube can be a real intrusion into a lesson or presentation that incorporates a YouTube video. For those of you that remember ViewPure, Watchkin operates in essentially the same way. Viewpure was blocked in GCSD since it turned out to be a way for students to circumvent our filters. It's also out of business, so there's that, too. Watchkin is currently an alternative.
For example, at this link you can enjoy highlights of Notre Dame dismantling USC in tackle football, but, you're likely going to be presented with ads:
Alternatively, using Watchkin, you can watch the same glorious video at this link, without those pesky advertisements:
If you visit Watchkin.com, the process will be clear. Please note, there's documentation on their site about adding a bookmark and an extension to convert a YouTube link to a Watchkin link- however that currently isn't available in our environment. But with a quick copy and paste, your YouTube links can become ad-free Watchkin links.
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No, the Superintendent isn't Texting You
We recently became aware of a scheme happening where a staff member gets a text purporting to be from Superintendent Kathy Graupman. There are texts like the one shown above being sent with the names of at least four other district superintendents in Monroe County.
Please have a look at the screenshot of the texts. It comes from area code 213, which is in Los Angeles. The initial text is signed "Thanks, Ms. Kathleen Graupman." No one besides my mother signs their texts. The initial text included a sense of urgency with "text me back as soon as you can." Things like this should make you question the validity of a text.
There is virtually no legitimate scenario where an urgent text or email comes from out of the blue from someone you don't regularly communicate with. Please remember to remain vigilant to avoid being the victim of a scam.
And don't ever buy gift cards for someone on the internet. Ever.
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Random Name Selector and Group Maker
There are plenty of sites out there that let you make as random name chooser, but most of them don't let you save your work, or they're overloaded with ads, or both. We've got a solution for you that's almost ad-free*, lets you save your lists, and is very easy to use.
Check out flippity.net HERE. There's enough there to keep you busy for very long time, but we're looking at the top row, 4th column, "Random Name Picker." Click "Instructions," follow the directions, and in just seconds, you can create and save your random name choosers/group makers.
For example, are you having a hard time deciding which ITT is your favorite? Get help deciding with the spinner HERE.
- Okay let's clarify that asterisk* above. When you go to the Flippity home page, there are ads. But, the spinners and other tools you create there don't have ads. So when you pull up your random name chooser like this one HERE on your Interactive Panel in front of your class in the moment, there won't be any ads.
When SMART Notebook retired their name chooser, that was a dark day for many of us. Flippity can make those clouds go away.
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Looking for PL Hours? Be sure to check out the ITT’s page for Recommended PL HERE. You’ll find upcoming webinar and session opportunities, as well as ongoing opportunities for digital tool certifications and self-paced learning. These offerings are updated frequently so bookmark the site and check back often!
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For assistance with these topics, or anything else related to instructional technology, please click HERE to book an appointment with your building's ITT.
