When You Don't Have a Network Printer...Google Cloud Print!

I was using my desktop and Chromebook (you can never have too many screens) at my "standing desk" (really just a double wide, horizontal filing cabinet) today, and needed to print (I know, I'm anti-printing, but sometimes...). 

"Standing desk"

I have a black and white printer in my office, but it is not on the network, so usually when I print from the standing desk, I will print to the mailroom, or switch to my laptop and print from there.

Sitting desk

Let's not even talk about the Chromebook. Its installed printers are all on the 4th and 5th floor, and my office is on the 1st floor- NOT! Today, I thought, "Hmmm, maybe I can print to my desk with Google Cloud Print...and I did it!
Google Cloud Print connects your printers (home or work) to the web. Because your printer is connected to the web, you can print to it from anywhere, using any Internet-connected device- your PC, Mac, Chromebook, phone, or tablet. #YES

Here's how you set it up:

Open a browser window and go to chrome://devices

Under Classic Printers, Click Add printers

Choose which printers to add

Click Add Printers

Google will say, "Thanks, you're ready to go!"

Share your printer(s)

Open chrome://devices again

Under My Devices, click the Manage button next to the printer you'd like to share

Choose the printer and click the green Share button at the top center of the page

You can allow anyone to print, or invite selected users by entering their email addresses

Click the Add button when done

Printer users will be listed like users that share a Google Doc

Invited user(s) will receive an email from Google Cloud Print Notifications that you shared the printer

Accept the invitation

Printer will be added to your list of Cloud Print Printers

Woohoo! #FTW

Of course, I had to test it from my phone too :) I tried with a single page Google Slide.
With the slide desk open, press the three dots at the top right (traffic light?)

Select Share & Export

Print

Google Cloud Print

There's your printer!

Choose your print settings and tap Print

You will see a message in the top left that says Print Job Added

#TaDa!

My Day Without a List

My weekend was great. I figured out a few things about myself.

I make lists. I love lists. I make lists just to cross items off the list. I start each day with a list. Well yesterday, I did not make a list. I just did what a felt like doing whenever I felt like doing it. I had the most productive and gratifying day in a long time. I might even go so far as to say I felt free, and did not experience a moment's guilt for doing what I wanted to do.

I think and act in a stream of consciousness. 

My thoughts are not necessarily in any kind of order.

I think in lists

I am a "how to" kind of girl, and love the how way more than the why

Having to write something (complete sentences/paragraphs) completely stops me

Wed, April 6 update:

I think I just figured out why my day without a list was so great.

I was free to do whatever I wanted without the guilt of needing to finish something else first. I'm sitting here at my desk, with ideas flying into my head, but I feel like, because I'm at work, I can't act on them. All the ideas are taking up space in my head, and now I'm stuck because I'm struggling with what I want to do and what I feel I should do.

Inspiration and obligation are battling each other.

Want Google Docs To Be More Like Publisher?

I wrote a post about helping my dad print an envelope with Google Docs. My friend, Marc Seigel, shared that post, and his friend responded, "I want Google Docs to be more like Publisher. I want a blank page to put pics on, wherever I want. " I wanted it to be more like Publisher for a brochure project last year. I tried a lot of different things, and in the end, created a template with hyperlinks for the kids to use...I guess that's another blog post!- YIPPEE!! Anyway, a way to make Google Docs more like Publisher is to use Google Slides or Drawing and change the Page Setup.

Start Google Drive
drive.google.com

Click New, Google Slides

or New, More, Drawing

Go to File, Page Setup. I used Drawings in the screen shots, but the process is exactly the same in Slides.

Choose Custom from the drop down under Standard 4:3

Change the width to 8.5, and the height to 11, and click OK

In Slides, go to Slide, Apply Layout, and choose Blank if you want a totally blank page to start

That's it! Now you have a portrait page to place pictures and text wherever you like!
Drawings

Slides

Printing an Envelope in Google Docs

My dad called me for "technical" help today. He wanted to know how to make an envelope in Windows 10. I think he mentioned upgrading to Windows 10 when I saw him last week, but I haven't been able to tell if my parents have Office installed on their computer. Anyway, my dad has a Gmail account, so I thought, what better way to teach him, than to create the documents he needed with Google Docs. I created and shared a Google Docs with him and my sisters. I was pretty psyched to hear that he was able to access and edit it! Today he needed an envelope. Here are the steps I emailed him:

Start Google Drive

drive.google.com

Click New, Docs

​

Go to Add-Ons, Get Add-Ons

​

Search for envelopes

​

Click the Free button to install

​

Click Allow in the pop up window

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Go to Add-ons, Envelopes, then choose envelope size

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Click in the envelope area to edit

BTW- I have no idea what's going on with the "attempting to load image" thing going on near this last image. I can't delete it. Maybe I'll try going into the html.

What I Learned About the Hour of Code

This is not a perfect post. I'm not sure if it will ever be a perfect post, but it something that has been swimming around my head for the past week, because I guess I'm still trying to process it. So, it is just a post. It won't be eloquent, there might not be a conclusion (sorry ELA teacher friends), maybe it's best to qualify it as an observation and insight.

I had the honor of being invited to kick off Computer Science Education Week (#CSEdWeek) at the flagship Microsoft Store in NYC. The event was wonderful, and I was privileged to be part of a panel that included Hadi Partovi, Emily Reid, and my friend, Chris Aviles.

In just 3 years, the Hour of Code and the resulting movement to teach CS in schools, has become mainstream. It was incredible to see all the blog posts, and social media posts depicting kids (A LOT of them) and adults, thrilled about learning coding. I still have some #latergram pictures to share (everything's a #slowchat for me).

After the main HOC event last week, I had the opportunity to lead the Minecraft Hour of Code tutorial to a group of high school kids from Brooklyn. I assumed they had heard of HOC. They had no idea what I was talking about. I assumed they would be proficient working on the Surfaces. They were for the most part able to use the touchpad, and their minds were blown that the Surface had a touchscreen. In my world, EVERYONE has played, or at least heard of Minecraft. I don't think either was the case for these kids.

After the hour, there were a handful of kids that got it, and loved the experience, while many others didn't, and I'm not sure that they even got why they were having the experience. I did some research afterwards, to learn that the school is a low performing school, having been closed and reopened by the city. It made me wonder about all the things I (we) take for granted: access to technology, being connected, how to motivate students.

I'm still processing, but the experience definitely opened my eyes to why so many educators are leading campaigns to spearhead digital equity. I just didn't get it until last week.

'Tis the Season

Without fail, October to December flies by with holidays every four weeks, then every week in December plus birthdays... Needless to say it's crazy. Crazy before, crazier with a December baby, who's not such a baby anymore, and I'll let you imagine what it's like when you add a commute into the city (that would be the city in NY for all the non-East coasters) to the mix.

Getting older has finally put me in tune with how I'm feeling, and maybe going/staying Whole30 has too. I have learned that I am someone who cannot work without a deadline. Can't cross things off the list until I absolutely have to, kind of deadlines. I work best under pressure, and just flail about in the days leading up to it. This week, I needed to prepare for Hour of Code things. I had to think about how to list the kids, what kind of passwords to give them, yadda yadda yadda. Needless to say, it's not done. Lots of distractions, noisy work space. You name it, it's been thrown my way this week.

*This was last week. I am finally feeling comfortable enough to post it.

Being Intentional

I am really good at making excuses. I shouldn't be surprised that one (maybe both) of my kids are too. If I don't want to do something, consciously, or subconsciously, I won't. Don't get me wrong, I'm really good at getting things done, but things get in my way, and it takes a bit to figure it out.

Take for example, this letter to staff that I've been working on. This is a prime example of "progress, not perfection". I can't get the wording right, so I'm holding back. It's been days that I've been working on it, and when I looked at what I had- it was shameful. Waste of time procrastinating. Am I not being intentional? Maybe.