Google recently announce some new features to Google Sheets. Users can now do more customization with data. The latest updates allow users to add data labels to display the exact values of bars or points.  The shapes of data points on a chart can be changed.  In addition, there are some new tools for analyzing data.  Formula results can instantly be previewed.  Rows and columns can be filtered by various conditions including greater than and text contains.  Calculated fields can be added to pivot tables when you want to apply formulas to pivot tables. There is a GETPIVOTDATA function to more easily retrieve data from pivot tables.  Last, but not least, there is additional security available now to provide warnings to users when they try to edit specific cells.  Check out the Google Blog for examples of these new features. click here 

MindMeister is also free.  Check out the video tutorial below.  MindMeister allows you to turn bullet point lists into mind maps and automatically insert them into your document. It's an excellent way to add visual lists and graphical overviews to your documents. Click here for more information and visuals that explain this add-on.

Lucidchart Diagrams Quickly create and insert flowchart, UML, wireframe, mind map, and more diagrams directly into a Google document. Click here for a more visual explanation. This add-on says it's free but there may be a limit to the number of charts a free user can make.

Over the summer I am going to be sharing resources for my readers to explore that might help you to rejuvenate and gear up for a fantastic and engaging 15-16 school year of technology use for you and your students.  So stay tuned and keep reading.  Plan to come back with some great resources that you can share across the district via the CVSD Tech Tips Blog.  I love teacher/user input and idea sharing.  Make that a goal for 15-16 to share at least one strategy, resource or tip that you have with regard to technology integration.  See you in a few months, enjoy your summer!

With the end of the school year now upon us, I wanted to let you know about a new resource you might enjoy exploring this summer--Pennsylvania Learns on iTunes U. Developed through a collaboration of educators, curriculum specialists, and the Department of Education, Pennsylvania Learns provides a wide range of resources for elementary through high school curriculum, from biology and algebra to English language arts and mathematics. Aligned to Pennsylvania standards, the breadth of content will continue to expand.

Pennsylvania Learns is part of iTunes U, the world's largest online catalog of free education content from top schools and prominent institutions, with over 750,000 media files that are shared in collections and within courses. Download the free iTunes U app to explore Pennsylvania Learns. You'll discover resources that are differentiated to meet the needs of various learning styles—and ready for use in your class today. 

Desmos is a good platform for math teachers and students. Desmos is a graphing calculator that allows you to easily plot functions, create tables, add sliders, animate graphs and many more. Some of the features it provides to users include:

"Graphing:
 Plot polar, cartesian, or parametric graphs. There’s no limit to how many expressions you can graph at one time - and you don’t even need to enter expressions in y= form!

Sliders:
 Adjust values interactively to build intuition, or animate any parameter to visualize its effect on the graph

Tables:
 Input and plot data, or create an input-output table for any function

Statistics:
 Find best-fit lines, parabolas, and more.

Zooming:
 Scale the axes independently or at the same time with the pinch of two fingers, or edit the window size manually to get the perfect window.

Points of Interest:
Touch a curve to show maximums, minimums, and points of intersection. Tap the gray points of interest to see their coordinates. Hold and drag along a curve to see the coordinates change under your finger.

Scientific Calculator:
 Just type in any equation you want to solve and Desmos will show you the answer. It can handle square roots, logs, absolute value, and more.

Inequalities: 
Plot cartesian and polar inequalities"

Watch this video to learn more about Desmos

Discovery Education is proud to be working in partnership with The National Archives. Presented by Dan Snow and Diane Louise Jordan this unique event has been timed to coincide with the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta by King John at Runnymede near the banks of the River Thames.

On Monday 15th June Discovery Education will be broadcasting live from The National Archives in London, exclusively for teachers and students across the globe. Click here to register. Will be streamed in the United States - Live at 9.30AM EST 
#MagnaCartaAssembly

Google has recently announced a few updates to its Docs and Slides apps for Android and iOS. These updates are mainly concerned with the addition and customization of images in Slides and Docs. Users now can easily integrate pictures into  presentations or documents  right from their mobile device or tablet. They can either take a photo using the camera on their devices or use the pictures already saved in their camera roll. Also, “When you’re creating a presentation away from your desk, double tap any image in Slides to enter crop mode. From there, trim the sides of your image, or tap the mask icon to crop it into a specific shape.”

The updates released recently are also available for offline access with no internet connection.  To try out these new tricks, you will need to update your Docs and Slides app. 
In addition, I encourage you to plan to utilize Google Classroom for the 15-16 school year.  It is easy to use and a seamless way to keep the work flow going between the teacher and students.  I have continued to provide snippets of information about Google Classroom regularly on my blog but below I have connected you to all of the Google Classroom getting started resources that are available.  I believe you will find that it is very easy to use.  Attend the district workshop on Google Classroom being offered on Monday, August 4, 8-12.  You will have time to learn about Google Classroom and get some of your information set up before school starts.

 Google Classroom allows teachers to create and collect assignments seamlessly.  It has time-saving features that automatically make a copy for a student.  In addition, it automatically creates drive folders for students to keep things organized.  Students can see what's due on the assignment page and with a click can being their work.  Teachers can see who hasn't finished work as well as provide real-time feedback and grading right in Google Classroom.  Check out this brief but informative video link below to see how easy it is to use.

The document below provides links to step-by-step instructions for Google Classroom.  It provides both the teacher and student site of Google.

This tool comes to us via Linda Swift.  Linda shared, "If you ever have a .pdf document that you want to fill out but can't type into a .pdf?? I have the PERFECT site for you." Smallpdf.com converts pdf to Word. It joins multiple pdf into one document and vice versa. This is a great tool for those who have to create presentations or fill out forms. Thanks for sharing Linda.

I came across this information in a recent Educational Technology and Mobile Learning blog post.  If you are having the debate Apple TV or Google Chromecast, then you will find this blog post helpful. Click here to get to the blog post.