LATEST BLOG POSTS
Discover AI While Using Google with Your Students
In our last AI-related blog, we provided an overview of 5 Practical Ways AI Can be Used in Education. Here we explore the many facets of AI built into Google. Google is a popular platform used during teaching and learning in the workplace, and even at home. There’s Google Drive for “storing, accessing, and sharing […] READ MORE
Paced Instruction with SMART Learning Suite Online
SMART Learning Suite Online (SLSO) can be used as a stand-alone product, or can be integrated with Google Workspace for Education, Microsoft Teams, Canvas, and more. A feature of SMART Learning Suite Online that we like to draw attention to is the option for teacher-paced and/or student-paced learning. While delivering lessons to students synchronously via […] READ MORE
Productive Backgrounds in Zoom Meetings
Virtual meetings have become commonplace in our times of virtual and hybrid learning. Teachers and students have worked from home this past year and Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom meetings have added many features to meet (pun intended) this need. One popular feature is the use of a virtual background during the meetings. This […] READ MORE
5 Tips for Wrapping Up Your Year with Google
We’re almost there! Long days on the beach are so close you can smell the ocean air and feel the warm sun on your face. But, before you kick back and relax, taking some time to wrap up this year’s affairs will help set you up for success for the next school year. Here are […] READ MORE
Text Fonts for Dyslexic Readers
If you have students that struggle with reading text due to Dyslexia, adding Dyslexic-friendly fonts to your classroom materials will help a great deal. In our training sessions on this topic, we stress that students, parents, and teachers need to remember that Dyslexia does not affect intelligence. Instead, it involves difficulty in learning to read […] READ MORE
3 Reasons to Welcome Social Media Into Your School District
It’s hard to believe how much the role of social media has changed since the debut of the first social media platforms. It has quickly become a part of the everyday life of many people around the world, whether it’s as a creative outlet and pastime, a way to market a personal business, communicate with […] READ MORE
Using Google Chrome as a Media Player
There are so many things you can do with Google Chrome that some of its best features never reach the surface of the user’s interface. One such great and powerful feature is using Chrome as a media player. Whether it is photos, videos, PDFs, PNGs, and anything in between, Chrome is very adept at many […] READ MORE
Learn Google Classroom strategies straight from Alice Keeler
Google Classroom is a game changer! Join Alice Keeler and the OTIS for educators team for two FREE webinars on Google Classroom. Learn some great strategies that will help you get the most out of Google Classroom, whether it’s getting more organized, or emphasizing a student-centered approach to teaching. Cleaning Up Your Google Classroom to […] READ MORE
Using the Microsoft Whiteboard App with Microsoft Teams Classes
Whiteboards are a great collaboration tool, especially during remote and hybrid learning. With Microsoft Whiteboard, you can enable your students to collaborate on tasks, give feedback during lessons, and much more. Whiteboard can be used as a stand-alone app, or as an integrated part of your Microsoft Team classes. Let’s take a look at how […] READ MORE
5 Ways to Use Kami in the Classroom
Have you ever found an amazing document that you wanted to share with your students digitally only to find that it’s a PDF? Rather than deal with the hassle of having students record their work in a separate document, or trying to embed a screenshot of the PDF in a word document, use the Kami […] READ MORE
How to Use the Google Chrome Tab Search
We’ve all heard or experienced the sentiment in this meme, right? It’s especially accurate for those who love to multi-task while either teaching or preparing a lesson, and then forget where everything is. Helping you solve this too-many-tabs chaos is a hidden gem of a feature from Google Chrome: Search Tabs. While this is not yet a […] READ MORE
6 Tips for Wrapping Up Your Year with Microsoft
Summer is so close. You can almost hear the sound of the ocean and feel the warmth of the sun on your face. But, before taking that much-deserved break let’s take a few moments to make sure we are nice and organized for the end of the school year. Below you will find six quick […] READ MORE
STEM and Remote Learning in Early Childhood Education
When it was clear that remote learning was not going to be a short-term situation, we had to sit down and come up with a plan. As you know, creating a plan for early education, in any circumstance, requires careful and thoughtful analysis. With remote learning, we had to throw away many of our best […] READ MORE
EdTech Essentials with Monica Burns (3-Part Series)
Join educator, author, and speaker Monica Burns and the OTIS for educators team for this three-part webinar series that will explore essential EdTech topics alongside actionable tips and favorite tools. Join one or all three! After the live broadcasts, these PD sessions will be in the OTIS course library, available for a limited time with […] READ MORE
Google Workspace for Education Tiers
Google has gone through a few different names for their educational package and has now rebranded G Suite for Education into Google Workspace for Education. In addition, they have developed different tiers of Google Workspace for Education, some available now and others will be available in the near future. Here are the Google apps you […] READ MORE
How to Use the Tab Resize Chrome Extension
When doing work on their computers, teachers often need to read documents, prepare lessons, and keep an eye on their email and video conference alerts all at the same time. When multiple monitors are not a possibility, what can we do to streamline our computer usage and prevent all the endless clicking and scrolling? Answer: […] READ MORE
