Enabling Google Docs for Offline Use

One major frustration of working in the cloud is when it is a sunny day and there is no cloud available for you to work in.  Google has provided you with an opportunity to work with Google Docs, Slides (Presentations) and now the new Sheets while not connected to the internet.  To do this, you need to enable Offline Mode in Google Drive on each computer that you would like to use Offline.  To do this you need to first have the Drive Web App installed.  If you haven't, you will be prompted to do so when you attempt to enable this access.  First, click on More from your Google Drive left-hand menu, then click Offline.  If you haven't installed the Drive Chrome Web App, you will be prompted to do so at this time.  Once you have installed this, you will then be able to Enable Offline Access.  Check out the animated Gif below.

When you are working on a document while in offline mode, you will see a circle with a lightning bolt to the right of the name of the document indicating that You are Offline.  Once you are again connected, your changes will be synced to your drive

There are a few important caveats to using Google Drive offline

1. You will need to enable Offline Mode on every computer that you wish to use.  
2. Anyone using your computer will have access to your offline docs so only enable offline mode on a computer that only you use if you are worried about security of your documents
3. Only one Google account per Chrome profile can set up offline access to Drive. If you are unable to set up offline access because another user has already done so, you can create a new Chrome profile and then follow the above steps to add offline access for your account. Learn how to create a new Google Chrome profile.

Get Organized with 2 Great Chrome Extensions

Staying on top of your to do list is vital to staying organized and being effective.  There are some very comprehensive project management software with some helpful apps, plugins and chrome extensions, but for most people they are simply too complicated for our needs.  For some of you with only a few things on your to-do list and only one Gmail account, simply using Google Tasks will fill your needs.  But for those of us with multiple mail accounts and multiple devices, it is helpful to find something in between.   In our search for the best tools to get organized we have found two that work seamlessly with Gmail, are simple and easy to use, have both chrome extensions and mobile apps, and are robust enough for most any user.  The two that we found are Todoist and Any.do. There are others such as Toodledo, GQues, and Wanderlist, but today we am only focusing on the ones that have a chrome extension with the free version (GQues has one with their paid level).  Below I review each one with a comparison view between the two.

Any.Do is a simple tool with lots of free features.  The things I like most about Any.do is the ability to add any tasks from a webpage in Chrome.  With the chrome extension installed, simply right click on any text or hyperlink in a webpage and choose "Add To Any.Do" and select Today, Tomorrow or Someday.

The other great features of Any.Do is the integration with Gmail.  Embedded within the email is a Gmail Followup toolbar that allows you to add a task easily related to that email such as "follow up with Serena about...".  They also have a Gmail Button added to the email toolbar that allows you to quickly add a task with the subject of the email as the title of the task.  Either way you add it, there is a link to the email attached to the task in the chrome extension.

Any.do allows for adding notes and sharing tasks with others (only in the mobile app) and has a fairly straightforward way of adding folders and notes/sub-tasks.  You can also move tasks around both within a folder and between folders.  There is also reminders for your tasks that pop up on your desktop and on your mobile device.   It is easy with Any.Do to see all of your tasks across all folders or see what is due today, tomorrow, upcoming or someday.

Todoist is a slightly more robust program built on Projects rather than folders.  The interface on both the Chrome extension and the mobile app are simple and intuitive.  The one feature that we really like about Todoist is that in the Gmail integration, there is a popup that is similar to the Google Tasks window.  This makes it easily accessible and uses the same type of interaction that you are used to in Gmail while using tasks and chat windows.

While features such as adding documents and images, reminders, and adding labels is part of a paid premium account, there is a lot to like about using Todoist.  Tasks and projects are easily dragged and dropped and sub projects can be nested under main projects.  In the image above, Soccer and Groceries are projects that fall under the main project Home.  For adding a due date and time, or a recurring task, it is as easy as speech.  Just type when you want your task due - Every Monday at 10am; Friday at noon; or today.  Go to Todoist Help Center for more suggestions.  

The Gmail integration uses a button that adds the email to your popup task list where you can then add a time to follow up.  This task is also hyper-linked to take you to that email to follow up.  This link even works in the mobile version though it takes you to the browser gmail and not to the app...  

Another cool feature that helps with motivation is the Karma trend rating in Todoist.  This rating goes up (and down) based on how many of your tasks you complete.  If you like badges and rewards, this may be the app to boost your productivity.

Whatever you choose, both apps have great features for helping you get things done in your life. Check out the comparison chart I have put together to help you decide.  

Chromebook Keyboard Shortcuts

The Google Chromebook has a keyboard shortcut overlay that can be very helpful if you're feeling like you are missing the capabilities to use Accessories you may previously have used on a desktop.  This was particularly helpful recently when we found something similar to the "Snipping Tool" that we used so often to create tutorials with screen images, but goes far beyond CTRL-V and CTRL-C for copy and paste.


Click CTL-ALT-? to open the keyboard overlay.

Hold down the CTRL key to view the first level of shortcuts.

Using the image below as an example, CTRL-d is "Bookmark current page".

Hold down CTRL-ALT for a view of more keyboard shortcuts.

Using the image below as another example, CTRL-ALT-t is "New Terminal"

Hold down CTRL- SHIFT to view the last of the keyboard shortcuts.

Using the image below as a final example, CTRL- SHIFT-w is "Close Window"

Tech Tip - Adding Languages to Your Chrome(book) Keyboard

Choose keyboard input methods for Chrome

If there’s more than one standard way to type in your language, you’ll want to make sure you choose the keyboard input method that works best for you. By adjusting your keyboard input method, you can also add accent marks, insert currency symbols, and use other special characters. You'll also be able to specify multiple language preferences in order to type in multiple languages. Once you’ve set your preferences, you can easily switch between languages for your keyboard via the status area.
Set your keyboard input methods
1. If you haven’t already, sign in to your Chromebook or into chrome (on another computer).
2. On your chromebook, click the status area in the lower-right corner, where your account picture appears.  On your computer, click on the Chrome menu icon 
   
3. Select Settings.
4. Click the Show advanced settings... link.
5. In the “Languages” section, click Language and input settings.
6. If the language you want to use isn't already listed, click Add and select the language you want to use.
   
7. Select the checkboxes next to the input methods you want to use.
8. Click OK.
To quickly see the list of input methods you’ve enabled, click the status area in the lower-right corner and select the keyboard language from the menu that appears.
Switch between input methods
1. Click the status area in the lower-right corner of the screen.
2. Select the keyboard language from the menu that appears.
3. Choose the input method you want to use from the list that appears.
If you have more than one input method enabled, then the keyboard language you’re using will appear in the status area. That way, you can always tell which language you’re using.
Tip: Use the following keyboard shortcuts to quickly switch between different input methods:

• Press Alt+Shift to switch between different input methods.
• Press Ctrl and space to switch to your previous input method.

You Can Now Listen to iTunes Podcasts on Your Chromebook

Till now, the only way to download an iTunes podcast was through iTunes itself, which you cannot get on a Chromebook. Whether you are already using podcasts from iTunes in your classroom or would like to start and your students are using Chromebooks, here is a great workaround that we learned about from Bryan Weinert on Leyden Techies.  

Normally what you would see when you go to a listing for podcasts that are in iTunes would be this:

Just have your students install the iTunes Audio Prevgiew/Podcast Downloader extension from the Chrome web store

Now, when you go to your chosen podcast page, the extension will add a Download link next to each audio file that the students can click on and listen to or download to their chromebook or Google Drive.  This will also work on your laptop when using the Chrome Browser.

Once on the new tab, you can get the url for that specific podcast to share with your students...  Check out the iTunes podcast listing page, for thousands of free podcasts organized into dozens of searchable categories.  Once you find a podcast you'd like your students to listen to, you can share the URL with them by posting it on your website, in your LMS (Moodle, Edmodo, Schoology), or just email it to them. Unfortunately this extension only works for audio podcasts and not video podcasts.

Update - 10-10-14

Aside from iTunes, there are many Chrome apps for listening to Podcasts.  There are too many to mention them all, but just based on ratings in the Chrome web store, here are 3 you may want to consider

Cloud Caster is a podcast player for Chrome that keeps track of all your podcasts in the cloud.Cloud Caster can be used on your Chromebook, PC and Mac as well as on almost all mobile devices running iOS, Android, Windows Phone or Blackberry. This means you will always have access to your podcasts and have a playlist in sync. Cloud Caster remembers where you left off on one device and lets you resume from that position if you continue to listen on another device. You can start listening to a podcast at home on your desktop computer, keep listening on the bus with your mobile device and finish the podcast on your computer at work/school when you get there.

Airing Pods as a Chrome web App is a shortcut to launch airingpods.com.

Airing Pods give you various ways of finding Podcasts (Shows). Comes with an easy to use Podcast Player, which plays your podcasts all in the browser. No plugin/software to install, and it make this a well suited podcast manager for your Chromebook as well.

ShortOrange is a cloud-based cross-platform podcast player with which you can listen to your favorite podcasts via the ShortOrange Chrome app, online via our web application, or with our iOS app (android coming soon!). In addition, ShortOrange syncs your podcast data between all platforms via the cloud to enable a seamless transition between devices. ShortOrange is the ultimate app to listen, subscribe, and manage all your favorite podcasts in the cloud. 

Tech Tip - A Fondness For Folder Functionality

Now that you have been using Google Drive for a while you may have realized a need for organizing all those files so that you can actually find what you are looking for.  The beauty of folders in Google Drive goes beyond just organization.  It allows you to organize your sharing of those files.

Creating and Organizing Folders

Creating a folder is as simple as creating a document.  You can either click on the Red Create Button and select Folder or click on the Folder Icon above the list of documents.  Once you have done that, then give your folder a name and click on the Blue Create Button

If you don't see your folder in the menu on the left, be sure to click on the little arrow next to My Drive to see all of the folders you have created.  Viewing your folders in the left menu also allows you to easily nest folders for organizational purposes and allows you to drag and drop files into your folders.  

Once you have created your folder you can add things to it two different ways - either drag and drop, or select the item and use the Move To button at the top of the page.

Organizing your folders works in the same way - either drag and drop them into the folder you want to nest that folder into, or select that folder and click on the Move To button at the top of the Page.

Sharing Folders

You can share your folders in the same way that you documents.  The benefit of sharing a folder is that anything that is either created in or moved to that folder takes on the sharing settings of that folder.  In that way, you don't have to share each individual document with your colleagues or your students.  Whether it is editing, just comments or only view rights you give to someone for a folder, those rights apply to everything in that folder.  To share a folder you need to select the drop-down arrow to the right of the folder as it appears in the lefthand menu when you mouseover that folder and add that person to the folder the same way you would for a document.  

Tech Tip - Chrome Tabs

Tech Tip...

Chrome Tabs

Are you tired of typing the same urls for pages you want to visit each time you open Chrome?  The following shows 3 ways you can streamline your use of tabs in Chrome:

1. Setting your startup tabs:

You can set what page or set of pages open up when you start up Chrome.  That way you can have immediate access to your email, your district webpage, your calendar or whatever you prefer.  To get started click on the  Chrome Menu icon in the upper right hand of the browser 

Then select the "Set Pages" under the On Startup section

You will then see a dialogue box that allows you to type in any number of urls that you want to have open each time you start up Chrome.  (Please note - If you haven't yet logged in to Chrome and you open it, your pages won't open automatically once you log in.  This only works where you are already logged in to chrome and open it up)  

2. Setting your home page

Your homepage in Chrome is a page that you often refer to that you don't want to enter the whole url every time you want to go there.  Whether it is your Gmail, Google Search, or your district's webpage, this is a handy tool to use.  The Home button is hidden by default so you need to go to the Chrome Menu to both view it and to set it.

Look at the second section entitled Appearance and check the box to Show Home Button (if not already appearing to the left of your address bar) and then select Change to set the page you would like to use.  (Please note - If you are a Google Apps school, they may have disabled the ability to change this)

3. Pinning Tabs

Another tool for managing your browsing experience is to Pin a tab to your browser.  This only stays as long as you have that browser session is open, but it will allow you to put an oft referred to tab all the way over to the left and shrinks the size so that it isn't crowding out your other tabs.  To Pin a tab, simply right click the desired tab and select Pin Tab.  You will now see it move all the way over to the left and shrink down to just the size of the Favicon.  

I hope that you have found this Tech Tip useful.  Come back each week for more.