Copy Comments to Google Classroom Docs and Slides

Several months ago I shared a blog post about "How to Force a Docs Copy WITH Pre-Loaded Comments to Help your Students". The post explained a URL trick you can use to not only make a copy of a document, but to also copy any comments you have made in the Doc.

This can also be a creative way to provide additional resources, links, and assistance to your students in their projects. Instead of just getting a copy of a worksheet, HyperDoc, study guide, or other document, students can also have comments pre-loaded into their copy of the document. These comments can provide them with:

• Additional directions
• Hyperlinks to resources
• Voice recordings from the teacher
• A checklist of items for the student to resolve
• And more

The only drawback was this trick does not work in Google Classroom. So if you use Classroom to push out copies of Docs or Slides to students, there was no way to also copy the comments during that process.

Until now…

See below for details on a great new Chrome extension that lets you copy comments for Docs and Slides when making copies through a Classroom assignment.

What's New in Google - March 2018

Catch up on everything new in G Suite for Education from March 2018, and see great ideas and resources!

Because the end of the month fell during Spring Break for most all of our schools, we did not hold our normal monthly Google User Meeting. However, I still wanted to share out all of the new updates from the month, so I have included them below.

We will be back on track with live Google Hangout meetings at the end of April. The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:

• Connect Google-using educators
• Share the latest Google Apps news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Apps is being used within schools
• Ask questions and get answers

The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below for all of the updates from March 2018 for G Suite for Education.

12 Terrific Podcasts to Learn Something New Everyday

As lifelong learners, we should always be looking for ways to learn something new everyday. One of my favorite tools for this is podcasts.

This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me well. If there was an "Eric Curts Bingo Game" one of the squares would be:

• Eric says "Speaking of that topic, I was just listening to a podcast recently that talked about that, and I learned…"

For what it's worth, some of the other squares would probably be:

• Eric drinks a Coke Zero.
• Eric tells you about a movie or TV show you JUST HAVE TO SEE.

Back to podcasts though… I have blogged about podcasts before, including 11 of my favorite podcasts that deal specifically with Educational Technology. I would encourage you to check out that post to see that list of recommendations. However, podcasts can be a great way for you, and your students, to learn information from a wider range of topics.

At last count, my podcast app indicates that I am currently subscribed to 155 podcasts. Now I certainly can't listen to all of those, but they provide me with new options everyday to learn something new. In this blog post I would like to share some of my favorite podcasts for learning new information. These can be great for your own personal growth, to bring into class and incorporate into a lesson, or for your students to use for their own learning.

Note: Some of these podcasts can have episodes that deal with more mature topics, but the hosts are always good about mentioning that early in the episode if that is the case.

The Bionic Educator

This year at the Ohio Educational Technology Conference, I had the privilege once again to take part in the FREd Talks. FREd Talks are sort of like our version of TED Talks (FREd stands for "Finding Real Education").

These presentations are usually called Ignite Talks or something along those lines. They are quick 5 minute talks where you have 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds.

In the past I have done FREd Talks or Ignite Talks on "The 4 C's of Education" and "The Big Blank Wall" For my talk this year I did "The Bionic Educator". I have been fascinated with the rise of artificial intelligence and what that means for education, teaching, and learning. This is a topic I expand on in longer sessions and keynotes, but I tried my best to boil it down to just 5 minutes of the most critical ideas.

See below for a recording of the presentation, along with a written version of what I shared.

My 2018 MACUL Sessions

I am excited and honored to be presenting at the 2018 MACUL Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan this March 8th and 9th.

I always look forward to an opportunity to see old friends, make new friends, share some ideas, and learn so many new things from others.

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at MACUL 2018, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

3 Ways Google Drive and MS Office Can Live Together in Harmony

- Coke versus Pepsi
- Star Wars versus Star Trek
- Google Drive versus Microsoft Office
These are the timeless struggles of humanity.

So you are using Google Drive and its productivity tools such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides. But you still have Microsoft Office files from years and years before. What can you do with all of those existing Office files? Is there any way for your Microsoft files and your Google Drive to live in harmony?

Although Microsoft Office and Google Drive can often be thought of as competing products, they actually can work together in many ways. Google allows you to store all of your Office files in Drive, and then once they are there you can use them in three main ways:

• You can convert your MS Office files into Google format
• You can leave the files in MS Office format and then do light editing with a helpful extension
• You can leave the files in MS Office format, but then open and edit them locally in Office with the Drive File Stream tool

In this blog post we will take a look at all three of these options and how they work. You may end up using all three, or find just the one that works best for you and your specific needs. See below for all the details.

3 Googley Valentines Activities for Kids

With Valentine's Day coming up, this is a great time to highlight some activities I really love! In this case I am talking about technology activities for students that tie into the holiday theme while also promoting creativity and writing.

I this blog post I will be sharing three Valentine-themed projects that use Google tools. Two of them are ideas I have shared in the past, and one of them is new twist on an old idea for this post. Hopefully you find all of them to be fun ways to engage your students, while working on practical skills.

See below for a description of each activity, access to all the templates, and links to the original blog posts for the projects I am re-sharing. Hope you love them!