Digital Bytes - September 21, 2015

This week's digital bytes includes articles about a free ebook on capturing digital stories, 11 quotes by famous writers and accompanying writing lessons, and using technology to help students read faster and with better comprehension.

Digital Bytes Sept. 14, 2015

We have a fantastic set of articles in this week's digital bytes. 

The first short yet extremely useful article is about using art to start student's reading. The second article is about new features in Google Drive and the third is about what digital storytelling is and isn't.

Digital Bytes 7 September 2015

This week's Digital Bytes features a Chrome extension to remove distracting advertisements and related articles from online reading, a great Stop Motion activity for your students, and a blog post about the wonderful classroom designs on display at UWCSEA East.

Google Docs updates: three things worth looking at

In addition to the new logo, Google has announced several updates on their blog. It's worth having a look at the whole list, but here are three things that you'll want to try right away.

Talk to your Doc:

Voice typing is integrated Docs in Chrome browser and allow the user to speak to type. This could be a big plus for students who are not yet proficient touch typers since they can now write at the speed in which they think. And, since it accepts upwards of 40 languages, it looks like it has potential for language learners.

Who's changed what?

Have you ever gone into a collaborative Google Doc and just wanted to know what's happened lately? Now you can click "See new changes" and scroll through a list of changes from most to least recent. Additions are highlighted and deletions appear as strikethroughs with the editor's name attached. 

You can always still see a revision history by clicking "See full history" in the top right or through the File menu. 

Data is beautiful:

Working in spreadsheets allows you to organize and analyze your data. But, what do you do when you're at a loss for the best way to represent your data? The new Explore feature in the bottom right corner of sheets suggests charts for you based on the kind of data you've entered. This is a great way to introduce you to new types of charts and up your data visualization game.

Honorable Mention:

Google Docs now has an updated templates in Docs, Sheets, and Slides!