Tag Archives: Google

Using Google Sites for ePortolios

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google-sites-logoThere’s a lot that you can do with Google Apps for Education. We all use it for email and our calendars, and many people use it for writing papers, creating spreadsheets and presentations, and making websites for projects and student organizations.

A less obvious feature that might be very helpful is using Google Sites to create an ePortfolio. Whether you’re a business major or a fine artist, creating a portfolio that reflects your skills and achievements is important for grad school applications and job hunting. Not only do ePortfolios showcase all that you’ve done during your time at Simmons, but they also encourage you to improve your writing and web design skills.

Google Sites makes it easy to collect and present your personal, professional, and academic experiences with customizable templates and an easy-to-use interface. You can upload images, embed documents, presentations, and YouTube videos, and link to other sites.

To get started, visit Google Sites at Simmons and click createto begin building your ePortfolio. There are many online guides to using Google Sites, but this PDF and this presentationprovide great introductions to the elements you’ll use to create an ePortfolio.

Of course, you’ll also need to collect everything you want to include in your portfolio. For more information about constructing a portfolio that reflects your goals, contact theCareer Education Center.

Coming Soon: Unlimited Storage in Google Drive

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google_drive_logoIn the near future, Google will be rolling out Drive for Education, which will include unlimited storage and support for individual files up to 5 terabytes in size. If you work with large video or audio files or massive data sets, this will be a significant change. The switch to unlimited storage will roll out automatically across campus and you won’t need to make any changes to Google Drive or your account.

In addition, there’s a new Google Drive interface available. The new version will eventually become standard, but you can opt to switch to it now if you’d like to try out the new features. To switch, click the gear icon in the upper right corner of your Google Drive screen, then click Experience the New Drive.

After switching, you’ll immediately notice some changes: improved speed and performance, the option to use a grid or list view, one-click file previews, and drag-and-drop capability.

The toolbar at the top of the screen has also undergone an upgrade. Once you’ve single-clicked on a file, the toolbar allows you to preview, share, delete, or copy a direct link to the file without opening it.

Along with upgrades to the desktop version, there are new Drive apps for both Android and iPhone/iPad.

Using Advanced Search in Gmail

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Remember that email with the attached Word document that had an article listed in the works cited section that you could really use right now? It was sent by your classmate from two semesters ago whose name you can’t quite remember at the moment, and it had something to do with statistical anomalies in urban demography or maybe statistical models of emerging democracies? You know, that one?

First, take a deep breath. Then, use advanced search in your Simmons Gmail to find it. To access the advanced search options, click on the small triangle on the right side of the search bar.

Gmail search box

From there, you can use the fields in the dropdown menu to search your email by who sent it, when it was sent, if it contained an attachment, or even how large the attachment is.

Gmail advanced search options

Use these advanced options to quickly narrow down your search and find that one email you’re looking for. To learn more about how to use advanced search, click here.

Doing More with Google Docs and Sheets

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Within the Technology team, we’ve been using Google Drive for much of our project planning and collaborative work. While Docs is a great alternative to using Microsoft Office and helps us to work together more effectively, it also lacks some of the small but integral tools necessary for certain kinds of work.

In an effort to close those gaps, Google has introduced Add-ons for Docs and Sheets, a set of tools created by outside developers and verified by Google. The Add-ons cover a wide range of features, from creating tables of contents and bibliographies, to track changes and advanced diagramming and flowchart creation.

To begin using Add-ons, click the Add-ons menu while working in any Doc or Spreadsheet.

Google Docs menu

Next, click Get Add-ons.

Google Docs Add-ons menu

From there, you can choose from a wide variety of tools. To help you get started, here are two Add-ons we think the Simmons community will find useful.

Track Changes
While Google Docs helpfully keeps track of changes to a document, it doesn’t allow you make changes that must be accepted by a collaborator. The Track Changes Add-on fixes that and adds a feature that many Microsoft Word users desperately wanted to see in Google Drive.

Track Changes Add-on

Hassle-free Bibliographies
If you’re working on a research paper in Google Docs and you need a citation, the EasyBib Add-on allows you to search for books, articles, and websites, and then creates a bibliographic entry in MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Once you have added your sources, EasyBib will even create an alphabetized list of citations at the end of the document.

EasyBib Add-on

These are just two of the many Add-ons available. To find more, click the Add-ons menu or browse all of the available Add-ons.

In Other Google News…

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Over the last year, we’ve devoted a lot of time to introducing and discussing Google Apps. Today, we’d like to mention a few developments outside of Google Apps that might be of interest to everyone at Simmons.

The first is a significant upgrade to Google Maps. This update will incorporate information from Google Earth directly into Maps, bringing users 3D visualizations of locations. In addition, Google has improved mapping for different modes of transportation, including public transit, which will certainly help us find our way around Boston.

Google has also doubled down on map personalization. If you’re logged in to your Google account, Maps will learn your likes and dislikes, and incorporate place ratings from your friends. You can get the full rundown of new features straight from Google.

In their endless quest to integrate media across platforms, Google has also introduced Google Play Music All Access, a streaming music competitor to Spotify and Pandora. While the product name might leave something to be desired, the service looks to be easy to use and priced similarly to other streaming services. Find out more here.

Beyond these changes, Google is constantly developing and integrating products, many of which are available in Google Apps for Education. We’ll do our best to keep you informed of changes and new features as they come online.

Faculty and Staff Moving to Google Apps for Education

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Earlier this month, we sent an email from Debra Orr, Simmons College Chief Information Officer, to the entire Simmons community about faculty and staff email. We’re sharing her note again here just in case you missed the previous announcement:

In May, the Technology department worked with students to transition them to Google Apps for Education. This change involved not only using a new email platform, but also adding a powerful calendaring tool and a host of collaborative and productivity tools. We have gotten very positive feedback from our students. At that time, I let you know that Technology would be working to determine the needs of Simmons faculty and staff to help us choose an email and calendaring platform that would provide capabilities far beyond our current email platform and Meeting Maker.

I am pleased to share that we have reached a decision and that we have begun planning a transition of all faculty and staff email to Google Apps for Education. We believe that choosing Google Apps for Education will provide cutting edge tools for managing day-to-day work, and collaborating with colleagues and students. In addition to basic email and calendaring, Google Apps for Education offers tools for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations; interactive utilities for text and video conferencing; opportunities for real-time collaboration on projects; and so much more.

I want you to know that this decision was made after a careful assessment of the community’s needs and a review of how students have been served by Google Apps for Education over the last several months. The Technology team has also reviewed our agreement with Google and I can assure you that, beyond the cost and efficiency advantages of having the entire college on one email system, we will also benefit from improved data security. Simmons College will continue to own our data and Google will store it securely and will not use it for advertising or marketing purposes. In addition, moving to Google Apps for Education will create opportunities that greatly exceed those that could be developed in-house or by selecting a la carte products from multiple vendors.

Since May, I have been asked by many faculty and staff when they might be able to use Gmail and Google Calendar and how it will help with daily interactions with students. In the next thirty days, I will share a timeline for this project, as well as some additional details about how the transition will work and the hands-on training and support we’ll be offering. In the meantime, please let me know if you have questions or concerns about this change. I am confident that you will see immediate advantages over our current systems and I know that the entire Technology team is excited to begin working with you on this important project.

Debra Orr
Executive Director of Technology/CIO
Simmons College