Create Filters in Gmail

With all the emails we get there are days we can all get overwhelmed. Fear not...there is an easy way to help organize, sort, and prioritize your incoming email! By setting Gmail filters you can have those “not so important” emails never hit your inbox, send incoming emails to pre-set labels, or even mark emails as read when they hit your inbox without opening them. There are other options as well. Check out what you can do with filters in Gmail to keep your inbox under control!

Create Filters:

1. In your Gmail inbox, click on the gear and click “Settings”.

2. At the top, click on “Filters and Blocked Addresses”. Then click on “Create a new filter”.

3. Type in the email address you wish to create a filter in the top line. There are other options to include, but I always stick with just the email section. You can use any of the others to set filters as well.

4. You are given options for what you want to happen when the email hits your inbox. For example, if you want it to be marked as read and added to a specific label you have created you would check those two boxes. Then click “Create filter”.

5. You will end up back at your inbox. Something to keep in mind, you can set colors for your labels. Click the 3 dots to the right of your label name, then the little arrow to the right, and choose the color you want the label to be set. 

Head to your inbox and start setting those filters to get your inbox under control!

If you want these directions in a document click HERE!

Online Math Manipulatives

Manipulatives make learning easier and more relevant to students. They allow exploration and play in learning. Online activities can never replace true “hands-on” learning, but they can be a great addition to your math resources. Virtual manipulatives are a great way to have students share what they learn, explore different ways to do activities, and understand simple or complex concepts. There are many sites out there, but I really like the Mathigon Polypad site. It is free and has a lot to offer both lower and upper elementary students. Check it out!

Explore Polypad:

1. Head over to mathigon.org/polypad.

2. Change the canvas to match your needs. Just click the Canvas icon on the bottom left then choose the design you want.

3. Choose what manipulatives to explore. You just click on the shape/tool you want or drag it to the canvas. You can rotate it as well.
• Polygons

• Number Block (Base 10)

• Number Bars (Parts of a Whole Tiles)

• Fraction Bars

• Algebra Tiles

• Pentominoes

• Tangram

4. Share your creation! 
• Click the “Share” icon to share what you made. This is not a live link (any changes you make after sharing are not visible to others) nor is it collaborative. It just gives others a link to your creation at the moment of sharing.

• Download your creation! Click the “download” icon and save your canvas.

5. Explore “Activities”
• There are 12 different activities (most for upper elementary and higher) to explore. 

6. Explore “Courses”.
• These are designed for middle school and up.

Let your students explore, learn, and play!

If you want these directions in a document click HERE!

Add Labels to Gmail

We all do it. We try to save every email we receive “just in case” we need it someday. Some of us just do it better than others. The best way to organize (and be able to easily find things later) is to create labels. Think of labels as “folders” in Gmail (they are really the same thing). Creating labels is easy. There are 2 ways they can be created. Just follow these simple steps.

Create a Label From Settings:

1. Go to your “Inbox”.
2. Click on the gear in the top right and click “Settings”.

3. This can also be done by clicking “More” and “Manage Labels” under your left column in Mail.

 

4. Click the “Labels” tab.

5. Scroll down to the “Create new label” button and click it.

6. Type in the new label name. 

7. If you want it nested in another label click the button and select the label to nest it under.

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Move Email into a Label While Reading:

1. Open an email (or click the checkbox next to an email in your Inbox.
2. Click the “Move to” icon at the top. Choose either an existing Label or click on “Create new”.

3. Follow the same steps above to create a new label when prompted. 

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Add an Email to More than One Label:

1. If you want an email in more than one label, click the ”Label” icon at the top of an email and click all checkboxes that you want to apply.

You are all set! Label On!

If you want these directions in a document click HERE!

Setup and Use Templates in Gmail

There are many times we all find ourselves typing the same email over and over again. In the past, I had the email message (always the same) saved in a Google Document that I would copy and paste into an email and then send it out. That involved me finding the document, opening it up, copying the text, closing the document, and finally pasting the text into the body of the email. There is a much easier way to do this. Google calls it “Templates”, and it is AWESOME! Follow the steps below and make repeated emails easy!

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Enabled Templates  in Gmail:

This step may already be enabled, depending on your domain or personal Gmail settings.

1. Open Gmail and click on the Gear, then click “Settings”.

2. Click on “Advanced” and then click on “Enable” in the  “Templates” section.

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Save a Message as a Template in Gmail:

1. Compose the message in an email that you want to be a “Template”. Important: delete your signature if you have one set up in Gmail so you won’t have 2 signature.

2. Click the “Snowman” icon in the toolbar at the message's bottom and select “Template”.

3.  Then select “Save draft as template”. And choose “Save as new template”.

4. Name this email template.

5. You can delete this email.

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Use Template as Email Message:

1. Click Compose to create a new email.

2. Click the “Snowman” icon in the toolbar at the message's bottom and select “Template”. The popup to the left will show all the templates you created. Choose the one you want to use.

3. This will populate in your email. Add recipients and send it away!

If you ever need to edit your temple, just insert it into an email, then save that email as the existing template. It will overwrite the previous one!

If you want these steps in a document click HERE!

Google Drive Priority Page

Google released an update to Google Drive. They call it Google Drive’s Priority Page. When I first saw this I was not sold on its usefulness. I have since drastically changed my mind. What I thought was a “what we think is useful to you” page has turned into my perfect “important bundles of work for today” page. I use if for times that I need to set up groups of files for Conference Presentations or tasks that require multiple files that I want to access quickly (not having to dig through Drive to find the created folders). Priority Drive is only available to G Suite accounts (not personal accounts) and has two parts. Check out the details below to learn how to use this page to its fullest to keep you organized and working fast!

The Parts of the Priority Page:

• Priority: 
• Here are the documents Google Drive thinks are most relevant to you right now. These are generally the most recent or timely files you have opened. On each document, you can click the “Snowman” to interact with the file like normally within Drive. You can also remove the file from view by selecting “Not a helpful suggestion”. 
• Workspaces: 
• Here you will be able to create a personalized group of files as a bundle (almost like its own folder) for easier access. You can create as many Workspaces as you wish, add up to 25 files to each Workspace, and when you are finished with the bundle you can “Hide” or “Remove” it. 

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How to Work with the Priority Page:

• Create a Workspace:

1. Click on “Create” next to the word Workspace on the Priority Page.

2. Name the space and click “Create”.

3. A new pop-up will ask you to choose files to add some suggestions that might come up and you can click “Choose other files” to get more. Select from your Drive what you want to be added to this Workspace, click “Add Files”, and click “Done”.

4. Your new Workspace is now set! You can add and remove files any time you wish. The “Add” allows you to add new files to this Workspace and if you click the Snowman you will see “Remove from Workspace” on individual files.

5. When you are done with this Workspace and want to no longer see it, you can Hide or Remove. Hide just tucks it away for later use while Remove deletes it. No worries, your files are not removed from Drive, just from this visible “Bundle”.

6. If you Hide the Workspace, you can find it later in the “Hidden workspaces” section at the bottom. These can be brought back for later use!

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Head into your Drive and create a time-saving Workspace to organize your related content!

If you want these directions in a Document click HERE!