I am a "newbie" at much of Google because I don't use it with my student population much.  So when I needed to know basics like how to write a new blog post or embed a screen shot (or even take one !) I was somewhat reassured to find the colleagues I asked this week weren't always sure either. Made me feel less "behind" !

I really liked the idea of color coding my Google drive folders.  I've decided that "red" folders will be "the folders where work exists you have not yet completed" - so it's for student IEPs, reports and so on.   The "orange" folders will be for uncompleted work that's at least "on it's way", so our ongoing PLC work and my PGE.  The green will be for things that don't need a panic button right now.

So: Before -

and after:

That's not rocket science - or even a proper exploration of the huge range we covered last week - but it's a start and I'm really pleased that in the process I have also learned how to create new blog posts (I know - baby steps) and embed a screenshot !  I can see myself mining these google slides for ideas for at least the next 12 months, so I guess I don't need to master it all, *right* now.

Search skills - not just for students !

I already felt that search skills were important for students, and if anything, even moreso for teachers and staff because without the ability to limit and specify what you search for, how can you critically evaluate the quality of the information you find ?  I learned how to limit searches, find resources helpfully created by others and how to save myself $600 on airfares (thanks !!).  But what I mostly learned is that I need time.  If "you just need to play around with it" is the key, I need to try and find that time in my day.  Because it's not there now and not having the time to explore beyond the nuts and bolts of I.T that are essential for my job means I am not developing flexibility in I.T use....and that's the real reason I joined this after school class.....