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Weekly Tech Tips 1 November 2020

 Dear Friends,


Thanks again to those who have filled out the Google for Education Training form. I got a few more interested. I have not forgotten about anyone and I am planning on offering the training sessions right after Christmas Break. That may seem a bit far away, but I need time to prepare and I have a mandatory month-long IB online cert starting soon. Here is the form yet again.

https://forms.gle/9Earqqf8nj3EUvkp8

This week is about Google Calendar as I have finally gotten the block calendars made. I am sorry that took so long, but I was warned that there might be changes to the schedule and then a lot of stuff happened and well… I don’t know if the schedule will change or not, but I will show you what I did and share the files with you.


Weekly Tech Tips

Do you want your Google Calendar to look like this:


With this How to Doc and these csv calendar files you can. The How to Doc was originally created by Brian Montgomery. I have updated it over the years. It is a pretty clear explanation on what to do with the calendar files, but if you need help let me know. If enough folks need it I can make a quick video.

MAJOR CAVEAT: Fridays are not correct. I did not make special chapel schedules. I am not sure if I will have time to get around to that. Fridays are a mess. I wish I could say that at least this schedule shows you the proper blocks in the proper order, but not even that is true this year for some reason. The only thing I can say about these Fridays is that they have the right blocks, but the times and order are wrong. I have started making Friday schedules by identifying all the Fridays this year, but it will take longer to make Fridays than it did to make everything else. If there is a kind and generous soul out there that would like to help work on this please contact me. In the meantime, if you use these schedules Fridays will have regular, not chapel schedules. If correct Friday chapel schedules get made you will have to delete these and do this setup again. I will leave that decision to you. I did want to go ahead and get something out because several people have been asking and it is now already 2nd Quarter. I have done a quick test and they look OK, but any early adopters out there that spot any mistakes please let me know as soon as you can.


By now you will have seen the changes Google is making to G Suite as it slowly becomes Google Workspace. If you are interested in learning more about what is coming for Gmail I liked this article from Computer World


I’d like to leave you with this quote from an article on the new changes by JR Raphael, a watcher and influencer of the Googleverse. 


“It's best summed up as knocking down walls — the idea that Google is increasingly breaking down the barriers we're used to and bringing different worlds together. It struck me first when I finished my in-depth look at the new Gmail interface, which brings elements of Docs, Sheets, and Slides into the inbox alongside Chat, Meet, and other once-walled-off services. But it wasn't until I had the chance to try out the wild new system for running Windows apps on a Chromebook that the broader thread really struck me. Chrome OS has actually been knocking down walls for a while now, with its native support of both Android apps and Linux apps and its highly unusual method of bringing so many pieces together into a single experience. I've said before that if Google plays its cards right, we'll reach a point where you don't even think about what kind of app you're running; they'll all just feel like Chromebook apps, for all intents and purposes. And now, Windows apps are part of that ever-expanding mix. Combined with the expanded Gmail interface, it paints a picture of Google growing its vision for a platform-defying, boundary-ignoring future where all that matters is efficiency and having the tools you need in front of you — with Google, of course, being the connective tissue that ties it all together.

Make no mistake about it: Walls are crumbling, and worlds are colliding. And what we're seeing right now is still only just the beginning.

Have a great week!

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