IHMS Tech Tips

Another update to Big Sur is how volume is controlled on your Macbook. If you are finding that you can't hear volume on a video or a meeting, you may have to do more than just turn up the volume on your keyboard. Using the same menu as we discussed with AirPlay, you will again click the two bars at the top of your menu screen.  You will then see sound as an option.  Sometimes, your volume can be all the way up on your keyboard, but still not on from this menu.  Weird, right?  Something to remember if you encounter trouble with sound.

This is my 3rd blog post on this app, so if you STILL haven't jumped on board, now is the time: Webex (Teams), formerly known as Spark (and still is to me), is a great tool for quick communication between teachers.  I have previously done a post on Spark, but I wanted to revisit this app again for our new teachers or teachers that have yet to jump on board.  What are you waiting for?!  Webex Teams is a messaging tool that easily allows for sharing of files and communication (and most importantly, GIFs).  I find it to be much faster than email or phone and is definitely my preferred way of being contacted. ⟸Note to self To use the app, you can install it from Manager.  Go to "Self Service" then "My Apps" and "(Re)install/Update" Webex. After you open it, you will be asking to sign in.  Webex sent emails out to all staff for you to set up your account.  If you trashed it, no worries.    Open the app and type in your fullname@smsd.org.  If you know your p

You may have noticed that the way to project to your students via Airplay has changed!  I know most of you have figured this out by now, but if not, here you go!   To access Airplay: 1. Choose the two lines in the menu bar to the left of the date. 2.  Choose "Screen Mirroring" 3.  Choose your room number and enter code If you have trouble finding your room, you can restart your computer or toggle Bluetooth off and on in the same menu bar. 

 Your Macbook can do so many cool things that you probably don't know about.  Who has time for that? One of those cool features is the Spotlight tool that comes on every Apple device. You can get to the Spotlight tool in a couple of different ways: Access it from the top menu bar (or add it there from System Preferences) Type command+spacebar Both ways will get you to the Spotlight search toolbar. The Spotlight search tool can be used for a variety of different tasks: Quickly find an app or program on your Macbook.  Start typing the name of the program you want to open and it will appear in your search results.  Double click it to open the program. Start typing a keyword.  Any files, documents, emails, etc. with that keyword will be displayed in your search results.  The results are organized by file type, so you can see if the results are a PDF, email message, etc. Define a word.  Type the word in the Spotlight search and you will see the definition either pop right up or a result

  Many of you are using Screencastify to record flipped lessons for your students.  What was an already cool tool got even better with some recent updates.  This extension now has: More cursor options Stickers Blur tools And more! Before we dive into those, make sure you have the most recent Screencastify update.  To do this, click on the three dots in the upper right of Chrome.  Choose More Tools, then Extensions.  In the upper right corner, make sure that Developer mode is toggled on.  Then, click "update" in the upper left. Now that your extension is up to date, check out these cool new tools. I put them in video form because...screencasting.  Here is a  link to the updates in text form.  

 Chrome is the preferred browser for most of our school sites, so let's jazz it up a bit. I already blogged about  OneTab  for making your browser tabs more organized, but there are some other options as well. Tab Groups Much like OneTab, you can create groupings of tabs you use often.  To do this, have all of the tabs open in a Chrome window that you'd like to group together.  Right click on a tab and choose "add tab to new group". Give the tab group a name and a color.  You can then add tabs to this group by right clicking on each tab and choosing "add tab to group" and selecting your choice.   You can always edit these choices later by right clicking on the tab group name. Clicking on the tab group name will expand all of those tabs or then consolidate them to take up less space.  You can also click, hold, and drag the tab group to another location in your browser window. Customize Landing Page      You can customize Chrome further by personalizing your l

All staff members have the option to use Google Backup & Sync and if you're not, you should be! Read on for what exactly this is and how it can benefit you.  To get Back Up & Sync, go to Manager --> Self Service --> My Apps and either install or reinstall it. Once installed, follow the prompts to sign into your school Google account.  You will then see the icon for Back Up & Sync in your menu bar at the top of your screen.   Now, open it up to set your preferences.  Click the 3 dots in the upper right corner of that screen and choose "preferences". You can choose to back up your entire desktop, document folder, photos, or, you can choose specific folders from within your desktop or documents that you back up.  I recommend picking and choosing so you don't use storage for things you don't need.  If you don't use folders and have a hot mess of a desktop, you might just back up the entire desktop. To choose specific folders to back up, click &qu

 Those of you that like to have 78 tabs open in a browser at a time, this one's for you!  I have long been singing the praises of this Chrome extension, so if you've ignored me before, hear me now. OneTab is a super simple way to organize all of your tabs...into...One. Tab.  If you are like me and access a variety of different websites on a daily basis, or if you need to gather a bunch of sites for a lesson on a certain day, OneTab would be a great addition to your toolbar.  This Chrome extension also saves up to 95% of your memory since it decreases the amount of open tabs.  Your computer will run more efficiently!  To add it, go to the  Chrome Web Store  and search "OneTab" then "Add to Chrome".  If you see the green flag in the upper left corner, it's already added.  Use it!   Once added, you will see the small icon in your Chrome toolbar.  OneTab will open every time you open Chrome.  If you accidentally close OneTab, the sites you had listed will be

 Those of you that access WebEx Meetings on your iPad know how nice it is that  all  of the previous rooms you've visited are listed right there for you.  While using Meetings on your Mac is slightly different, there is still a simple way to quickly access whichever meeting room you need without the link. To join someone's personal meeting room, all you need is their username.  This is their first and last name with no space, but it does get tricky for those that don't go by their given name (ex. Bill Goodson is "williamgoodson" and Theresa Jones is "theresamjones").  From our IHMS directory, you'll just need the last portion of the teacher's link: Type that teacher's name/meeting info into the "Join a meeting" portion of the Meetings app and click Join.   As you become more familiar with the meeting information that you need for our staff, you will not need to find a link to said room.  You just need to type in the name.  This work

  If you are tired of seeing three WebEx Meetings apps open on your dock, or done with accidentally opening FaceTime and seeing your face...then you'll want to change your dock preferences! This is a super easy trick to clean up your desktop and make life easier.   First, get rid of the applications you don't use. Removing apps makes the icons you do keep bigger and vice versa. Right click on the app in the dock and choose "Options" then either "Keep in Dock" or "Remove from Dock".  This will also....dock...applications you use every day.   Next, you can set other preferences for your dock. To do this, right click on the skinny black line towards the right of your dock.  You can also choose whether or not to show recently used apps. I recommend unchecking this box, especially if you have already chosen "Keep in Dock" for those apps you will need.    Play around with the different options and make it most user-friendly for you!   Last dock