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Wednesday, April 29, 2015
GAFE and Chromebooks Admin Console Best Practices and Tips
Updated March 2017
Google Apps for Education and Chromebooks are very popular with education for many reasons, one of which is the ease of management and deployment. The Admin Console allows staff to manage apps, user settings, devices settings and much more. Here are some tips and best practices for settings in the Admin Console.
The Admin Console is relatively easy to use, although some settings can be hard to find. Remember to use the help features by clicking on the question marks throughout the console.
The icons on the console can be moved and arranged via drag-and-drop so you can put the ones you use most up front. Typically, Users, Device Management, and Apps are the most used.
Below are some of the main tips and settings to consider. Most of them are under Device Management. This is not a complete list, but one to help you get started.
Admin Accounts: ("Admin Roles")
You can designate users at different levels of admin access. There are preset roles and you can create your own. You should have at least two Super-Admins in case one is out. Help Desk admin can only reset passwords for non-administrators and are good to have in each school.
User Settings:
Organizational Units (set under Users) - you will want to have at least the following OUs setup: Admin, IT, Faculty, K-8 Students, High School students. This allows you to customize the settings for each one. K-8 students cannot use Google+, so you will want Google+ turned off for them. You can also turn off outside email for them.
Under Apps, Click on Additional Google Services, click on the three vertical dots next to Google+ and click Turn Off or On for some Organizations and make sure it is off for K-8.
Device Management > Chrome Management > User Settings
These settings apply to the Chrome Browser also (when a user logs into it)
Force-Installed Apps and Extensions: you can push out apps and extensions to all users. There are a few I recommend, including Office Editing. Here is a list.
Allow or Block All Apps and Extensions: you can either allow users to install any apps except the ones that you block, or block all apps except the ones that you allow. It is a local decision on how to manage this. Blocking all means your IT staff have to handle requests from staff. Allowing all means that some students might find some unsavory apps to install, but you can block them as you find them.
If you want to allow all except the ones you block, here is a list of some that you should block.
Allowed Apps and Extensions: create a list here if you are blocking users from installing them. Here are some lists of app recommendations.
- Google Apps and Chromebooks Web App Recommendations - a whole lot!
- Chrome (Browser and Chromebook) Extensions - my favorites and recommendations
Make sure you are saving Browser History if you want to track what users are doing.
I recommend turning on Safe Browsing, but that is a local decision.
You can also set up web pages to auto-load when a user logs in. Most schools set it up so that the district or school home page loads.
Another nice feature is the ability to block websites by user OU. You can enter as many URLs as you like. This means that those users cannot get to the site, even if it is allowed through your filter. This can be useful for more granular control.
You can also push out managed bookmarks, which is a great feature. You can push the district homepage, Google Apps page, student SIS system, etc for quick access by your users.
Turning off Outside Email for K-8:
Device Management > Chrome Management > Device Settings:
Definitely turn on Forced Re-Enrollment. This will prevent users from factory resetting the Chromebooks and then taking them out of your domain. Even if they do factory reset the device, it will force them to re-enroll it in your domain and not allow them to use it.
Guest Mode - allows a user to access the Chromebook without an account. I recommend against this if you have GAFE accounts for all of your users.
Incognito Mode - turn this off for students also.
Sign-In Restriction: this allows you to restrict which accounts can be used to login to a Chromebook. Most schools do set this to restrict logins to their GAFE accounts only. It is one more feature that makes Chromebooks less attractive to thieves.
Kiosk Apps - this is where you would install testing apps for PARCC and SBAC. Kiosk apps run without a user needing to login to the Chromebook itself.
Auto-Updates - allow this unless you have concerns about a new version of Chrome OS causing an issue with an app. For example, SBAC is only setup for Chrome OS 41, so while auto updates are turned on, you can limit the version to 41 and it won't update to the latest version which is 42.
Device Reporting - enable this and user tracking so that you can see the device info when you select a device. You can also see who the last user was, which can be helpful in tracking a missing device.
Do Not Erase Local User Data - this will keep the user account on the Chromebook which speeds up logins. Shared Chromebooks can support a lot of users (I've seen up to 20 different users on a single Chromebook).
Disabled Device Return Instructions - if you disable a device, it will show a message on the screen asking for it to be returned. You put in the address and contact info.
Device Management>Network:
Network Settings - you can, and should, put in your network settings here so that the Chromebooks automatically connect to your WiFi. You can even put in a hidden SSID and all of the security and passwords here.
Hopefully you find these tips useful.
Related:
Google for Education Resources (Google Apps, Chromebooks and more)
Chromebook Deployment Help Resources
Tips for Troubleshooting Chromebooks and some typical issues
Note: I oversaw the successful deployment of over 11,000 Chromebooks and 26,000 GAFE user accounts in my home district and have assisted over 300 school districts successfully deploy GAFE and Chromebooks. I am also a Google Certified Administrator and Deployment Specialist. I use lessons learned from my own deployment experience, research and conversations with other administrators. Contact me if you would like help with deployment, setup or training in Google Apps and/or Chromebooks.
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Monday, April 27, 2015
SmallPDF - free, online PDF Tools - compress, convert, split and more
SmallPDF is a free, online service that gives you the ability to compress, convert, split, merge, modify, (and more) PDF files.
It's very easy to use. Select the function you want to perform from the home page and then just drag and drop your files. It's that easy. It supports converting images to PDF and PDF to Office and Office to PDF, along with much more.
You can even send them a PDF and they will print it and mail it to an address for you.
Here is a list of all of the functions.
Compress PDF
JPG to PDF
PDF to JPG
PDF to Word
PDF to Excel
PDF to PPT
Word to PDF
Excel to PDF
PPT to PDF
Merge PDF
Split PDF
Unlock PDF
Send letter
Here are some More Resources for working with PDF Files (lots here, plus more listed below)
PDF Converter - free online PDF conversion
Lots of PDF resources - print, markup, convert and more
PDFBinder - simple tool to merge PDF documents into one
BabyPDF - Edit PDF documents for free
Crocodoc - markup PDF files for free
Fill Any PDF form - fill out, sign and send forms
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Internet Safety and Information - what data do the big companies collect?
Technology is a wonderful thing. It lets us connect, explore, learn and create. However, there are some drawbacks and everyone is concerned about their data and what the big tech companies collect about them.
I'm a huge user and proponent of Google Apps, but I'm also careful with what I put online anywhere.
This infographic shows some of the data and information that Google, Facebook and Apple have and collect about their users. It is a good resource to use when teaching digital literacy and internet safety.
The Loss of Privacy from Google Apple and Facebook
Compliments of BackgroundChecks.org
More resources:
10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have
How to Evaluate Web Resources
Internet Safety Resources:
Internet Safety Resources - help students stay safe online
Discovery Education Web 20.11 - great internet safety resources.
Google Good to Know - online safety and data info
Google Family Safety Center - help promote safety online.
Web safety resource
Google Plus now open to Teens, with safety features
PBS Teachers - Excellent Resources for Educators - has resources on internet safety
Top 10 Resources from Discovery Education - all free - internet safety lessons too
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Friday, April 24, 2015
Guest Post - How to Create Stunning Visual Aids for your Lessons
It is a challenge to seize children’s attention and not to let it go. Some teachers experience great difficulties in keeping students engaged and involved in the educational process due to objective reasons. Luckily, there exist some tricks to help resourceful teachers, one of them being visual aids. Looking at bright and colorful images, students are more likely to digest the material without boredom and remember it afterwards. But why are visual aids so effective and how to create them?
First of all, visual aids are helpful, because they show the data visually. Some facts, connections and outcomes are much easier to understand when they are represented as a picture. For example, some statistics, shown as a diagram will be much more winning than its detailed descriptions in words. Then, as visual images have the sense of modernity, they easily grab children’s attention for some time. Thus, they are useful for highlighting some essential points and setting true accents. And finally, visual aids and pictures boost children’s creativity. By looking at something beautiful and challenging, by perceiving the right way of data organization, students can get inspired and come up with new and outstanding ideas.
There are three most popular types of visual aids:
- Sheets to hand out. They are pieces of paper with different tasks for students: from simple word games to sophisticated and quizzes and puzzles. Usually you are welcome to print them at school, if the head teacher supports the idea of modern teaching.
Such sheets look very winning if they contain bright images, doodles, cartoons, drawings and any other innovative ideas. They serve different purposes like encouraging students to think over some details or discuss them, check students’ knowledge or let them rest with the benefit for their brains. A lot of websites offers resourceful teachers the opportunities to download and print the material. Here are just some of them:
busyteacher.org
britishcouncil.org
busyteacher.org
britishcouncil.org
- Posters and pictures. If you want to explain new material with the help of some visual images, illustrate your words with bright and colorful pictures.
Usually you use Photoshop to create a legible and eye-pleasing poster, but you can try its free and less sophisticated alternative Photoscape.
Remember that in creating posters bright shapes and arrows look especially great. As well as text elements, which must be precise, short and only about the core point.
- Video sequences. But sometimes even picture images are not enough to convey the idea. In this case you can turn to videos
If you have some photos to illustrate your words, just make a slideshow of them and play in the background to illustrate your words. For this purpose, you can use a tool like Freemake Video Converter as it allows not only to make a slideshow in one click, but also convert it to any – even the most rare – format.
Or make a cartoon with the help of online tools like GoAnimate. This approach requires much more mental efforts and time. But if you want to create a cartoon for preschool children, this visual tool will be very useful.
Overall, the use of certain visual tools depends on your purpose, creative inner-sources and opportunities. Anyway you should call all your creativity and resourcefulness to make your lessons outstanding and interesting for students, even with the help of visual aids, because even in this case the educator’s personality is what is reflected in all the aids.
Author’s Bio
Terry Smith is a former IT teacher from Geneva. Now he is a freelance developer and blogger. Terry loves sharing his expertise on popular teaching software, IT trends, and digital technology. Follow Terry on Twitter.
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Thursday, April 23, 2015
Tips for Troubleshooting Chromebooks and some typical issues
Here is some info about the Chromebooks and steps to take for issues/errors encountered.
NOTE: Java does not work on Chromebooks. Java is a major security hazard and Chromebooks are very secure. Most of the Java based sites are moving to HTML5 which works on Chromebooks.
1. Remember, if this is the first time you are using that Chromebook, you have to click "add user" and add your user account info.
2. In some cases, someone has changed the keyboard settings. Click SHIFT-ALT to set it back to US keyboard. Check to make sure the language wasn't changed:
https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1059490?hl=en
3. If the image on the home screen is rotated:
Ctrl-shift-reload/refresh will rotate the entire screen by 90 degrees each time it is pressed.
4. If you need to remove a user from a Chromebook, do not login. At the login screen, click on the upper right corner of that user's login icon and remove the user.
https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1059260?hl=en
5. If a Chromebook is having issues, turn it off and then on again. You can also perform a reset by pressing REFRESH + POWER - this fixes a lot of issues, including screen not turning on, sluggish, locked up and more.
Refresh key
6. No sound on headphones
1. Make sure headphones are plugged in properly and there is no dirt in the plug
2. Make sure the mute button isn't pushed
3. Clear the cache and then reboot
https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/183083?hl=en
7. Updating Chrome OS
Chrome OS gets updates quite often and an updated only takes a minute to do.
If you see this up arrow in the lower right corner of the screen, near the time, click on it and click Upgrade.
To manually check for updates:
Click the status area in the lower-right corner, where your account picture appears.
Select Settings.
Click on Help on the left.
More info on updates:
https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/177889?hl=en
8. Delete all browsing history (clears cache and cookies - great for fixing errors with website)
Click the Chrome menu
Select Tools.
Select Clear browsing data.
In the dialog that appears, select the checkboxes for the types of information that you want to remove. (do all)
Use the menu at the top to select the amount of data that you want to delete. Select beginning of time to delete everything.
Click Clear browsing data.
Related:
More Resources and Tips for Google Apps and Chromebooks
The Chromebook Help App - built in support on your Chromebook
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Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Google Classroom gets some new features that we've been asking for
Google Classroom is Google's learning management system, allowing teachers and students to share assignments and communicate online.
It is easy to use and works great, but there were some features teachers were asking for. Well, Google listened!
Google has just announced some new features:
1. Invite another teacher to your class- teachers who co-teach, or want special ed teachers to have access to course work, etc can be invited to join the class as a teacher. Multiple teachers can now work together in the same class. The additional teacher(s) can create assignments and announcements, view and grade student submissions, participate in comments on the class stream, invite students to the class, and receive email notifications related to the class
 2. Drafts of assignments and announcements - teachers can now create announcements and assignments as drafts and then post them when ready. This is very useful for future planning and for giving other teaches a chance to review the posting first. When you start entering an announcement or assignment, you can click the arrow next to the "Post" button and select "Save Draft".   3. Grades now autosave as they are entered. Now you don't have to worry about losing a grade. 4. Notifications - teachers and students will now receive email notifications when private messages are left on assignments (great feature!) One thing I've always liked about Google is how they are always improving their products, usually from user requests. Related: - |
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Reflector2 - Wireless mirroring and streaming for iOS, Android and Chromebooks
Reflector2 is a wireless streaming product that works with iOS, Android and even Chromebooks that allows teachers and students to share their iPads, Android tablets and Chromebooks to the big screen wirelessly, from anywhere in the room. Recording with voice-over lets teachers record their lessons for future use, while multiple security features keep the classroom safe. With even more innovative features, Reflector 2 is an extremely cost-effective alternative to an Apple TV, utilizing the devices already found in most classrooms. It also works with Mac and PC. You can share your mobile device screens to a computer connected to a projector for a powerful presentation tool.
It's a great tool for teachers to use in their classroom. It's not free, but the pricing is very competitive.
Wonder - new search tool with expert guidance for searching the web
Wonder is a new search tool that goes beyond just searching the internet. Wonder has built a research network of librarians and experienced researchers to help students search the web for high-quality sources, and to encourage curiosity in online learning.
You can sign in with Facebook, Twitter, or email and it's free to use.
When you search in Wonder, the results are contributed by librarians and other experts, filtering out a lot of the garbage that is online.
When you do a search, you get some results, a box to enter more information about what you are searching for, and a list of experts that you can choose to get results from.
This is a great resource for students and teachers, filtering out some of the chaff for search results and giving better results.
Below is an example search I did for "aircraft design":
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Importance of having a Data Backup Solutions
Data backup is even more important than ever these days. Everything is digital now and you need to safeguard and backup your data.
I have my personal data backed up in multiple ways, and even backup my Evernote files with a free service. Our district has a Barracuda backup server as well as off site back up at Barracuda's data centers and we use Backupify to backup our Google Apps data.
Below are some more resources on data backup and an infographic from SingleHop with more information and resources on how virtual servers can help keep your data recoverable and secure.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Evernote Tips and Tricks Series - #13 - Clearly - clean up what you are viewing
I'm a huge fan and user of Evernote, and lots of people ask me for tips on using it, so I'm starting a series of blog posts on Evernote Tips and Tricks to share some great tips and ideas for using Evernote.
Tip #13 - Clearly
Evernote's Web Clipper allows you to clip a "simplified article" when clipping from a website. This feature gets rid of the side bars, ads, etc and just copies the article (occasionally it doesn't work depending on how the site was built, but it works most of the time.) It's a great way to just clip the article and not the distractions, making it easier to read, as well as taking less time to clip and using less storage space.
Evernote also has a stand alone browser extension that does basically the same thing, called Clearly.
Evernote Clearly is a browser extension that allows you to read online with less distractions. You simply click the extension and it hides all the distractions from blogs and articles, allowing you to read with less distractions and more easily. It use it a lot, especially on sites that have a ton of ads or side bar items.
This is great for students who have issues with distractions and makes things easier to read.
Simply install the extension and click on it when in an article. From there, you can clip it to Evernote, highlight, annotate or even print.
