The project: Create a sample player introduction video for athletics broadcasting as an example for coaches, administration, and AV students.

The process: Use Adobe After Effects to create templates for AV kids. Include player names, numbers, height, weight, grade, and position. Provide sample players with live motion overlayed on top of the template.

The problem: I don’t have access to any video content that would work in this situation. To be able to use a person in front of a background that doesn’t exist in the original video, you have to record the video in front of a green screen, or you have to use a process called rotoscoping (you literally trace the person in every frame of the video. At 30 frames per second, each player is 10 seconds, which means every player will have to be traced 300 times… way too much work for a demo). You also need video taken from a close vantage point or from a high-quality camera with very good zoom/lenses. This just wasn’t available to me. I COULD schedule time with a couple of students, set up all of the equipment, then do the demo shoot, and, a few years ago, that was the process, but I chose another way…

Enter AI: I pay for the upgraded version of ChatGPT. I use it A LOT for a large variety of projects that involve coding, and Gemini just isn’t as good at that. Anyway, as part of that upgrade, I get access to Sora, which creates video clips based on storyboards, text prompts, or even other media. I went the text route…

Remember… I said that these videos need to be taken in front of a green screen. So, as part of my prompt, I made sure to include that instruction. Here is what I provided Sora to get started:

A baseball player in front of a green screen

Please don’t be overwhelmed by the complexity of the prompt…

For my efforts, I received two, very reasonable videos. The GIF versions are below:

As you can probably tell, there are issues… The bat in that first one jumps from one hand to the other, and the other dude is just boring… I was, however, feeling emboldened by such a decent result with so little effort, so I tried a little harder with my next prompt:

A baseball player wearing a black jersey with old gold accent colors including the letters WF. He is standing in front of a green screen.

Ignore the fact that I said old gold… I forgot it was called Vegas gold until I finished the project…

For this exercise in clarity, Sora rewarded me with these two clips:

Ok… Now we are getting somewhere… Still, we have issues. First, these guys are clearly too old. Second, I can’t see faces, and that matters in a player highlight video. Third, The second guy put a double visor on his hat, which is super smooth, but weird…

We are good though… I’m feeling excited, so I further modify my prompt to this:

A baseball player wearing a black jersey with old gold accent colors including the letters WF. He is standing in front of a green screen. He has a baseball in his right hand, and he has a baseball glove on his left hand. He is a high school student. Focus on the face and his look of intense determination.

I hit the button to generate the video, and just knew… this is it… THIS is the prompt that will give me the PERFECT video. Then Sora gave me this:

I was underwhelmed. It seems to have gotten confused and thought I meant to CUT OFF HIS FACE!

But then I saw the second video:

And, dear reader, I was stoked. True, it wasn’t 100% what I asked for. It looks like he thinks he is holding a ball, but it isn’t there, and the green screen is JUST big enough to cover him, but I figured this was a great starting point to bring in the next tool…

Remix
Sora has a remix button. Basically you tell it to use a previous render as the jumping off point for any corrections. Now, instead of trying to craft a prompt, I just give it a set of tweaks. Here is my new set of instructions:

He should be wearing a baseball hat, and he should have a baseball in his right hand.

Sora responded with these:

Ok… Getting somewhere. I still can’t seem to get a ball in the kid’s hand, and the second dude is either left-handed, or his glove had fused upside down to his flesh… Either way, that isn’t great. I like the first one, and I’m willing to use for the demo, even without the ball.

Next, I need to highlight multiple players, so I need a remix that will result in a totally different person, and ideally a different action. I went with this:

Please keep the overall composition, but remove the ball and glove, and instead give the player a bat. Also give him a darker skin tone.

Critical advice - always say please to the robots.

Sora responded with:

And I was like “Yessss this isss… Whaaaat???” We were doing SO well until that second bat came out of nowhere.

But that’s ok, because Sora also gave me this one:

And while it also has some weird hand issues, it is perfectly serviceable for this task!

The template I had made needed three players, so when I had originally said “darker skin tone,” I wasn’t actually thinking a different race, I thought it did a great job, so I leaned into it for my third option:

Please change the nationality to be Asian.

And again, Sora toyed with me. The first clip is smoother, and I like the movement more, but bruh… what is the deal with the levitating bat? I did think the second option was good, and it was about this time I remembered that I have a limit of credits each month, so I took the second video.

Next Steps: Once I had the videos, I went through the process of isolating the players, and I put them into the highlight template. I’ll skip all of that because it has nothing to do with the AI part of this video, but feel free to ask questions!

Once I was finished, I got this video
https://youtu.be/AMtg4d1GsDY

Is this perfect? Nope. Not even close, but I think it is easy to argue that it is much more elar about what the goal is than me trying to communicate it verbally, or defaulting to one of those “picture unavailable” sort of things. AI allowed me to give a (nearly) finished-looking result, and, honestly, I think it did a pretty great job.

Now, there are obvious negative implications to this technology, but that is true with ALL technology, and pretty much ALL inventions/discoveries. I think we have to be willing to learn and use things for good, and this is just one example of how I’ve tried to do it.

For this one, I’ll keep it much shorter. I wanted to see what the cast of Harry Potter would look like if it were created/casted by AI. The annoying part of this is that you have to collect all of the character descriptions from the book, and because of how AI work, you have to remove names and specific identifiers so that existing content for that character isn’t the inspiration. Luckily, ChatGPT (and Gemini) can do that with a simple prompt:

I need the physical aspects as well as the character traits of Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter books. Please just provide the physical appearance and personality trait specific details, and remove all elements that would indicate that the character is Hermione, as if the intent was to make the reader guess who this character is… Similar to the first time we are introduced to her.

I was provided with this

I did the same thing for Harry, Ron, Dumbledore, and Volde…

Cool! So now that I have that, I can tell Sora what to do. All I did was paste the descriptions in, as they were given (except for Ron. I’ll show you the first one and the remix). I did have to change “individual” to “girl” in Hermionie’s description.

Here is the cast, as set by Sora

Hermione Grainger

Harry Potter (Featuring a SECOND scar)

Scary Ron Weasley (nightmare fuel)

Ron Weasley (remix: “This should be as phot-realistic as possible” Still scary…

)

Albus Dumbledore

Lord Voldemort (not as scary as Ron 1)

• Go to https://aistudio.google.com
• Read and accept the license agreement
  *Click on the “Stream Realtime” option in the menu
  
  

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  *Click on “Share your screen”
  
  

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  *Grant any microphone/webcam access you are prompted for
  *Choose the screen you want to share
  *Click on share and begin speaking

Okay, here is a detailed briefing document summarizing the key themes and ideas from the provided text:

Briefing Document: Google AI Studio Screen Sharing Analysis

Introduction:

This document summarizes the key takeaways from a tech demonstration of Google’s AI Studio, specifically focusing on its screen-sharing capabilities. The demonstration explores how AI Studio, using the Gemini model, can analyze screen content in real-time and provide feedback, assistance, and insights. The user tested this tool across several scenarios, including analyzing student performance data, navigating new software, creating spreadsheets, reviewing lesson content and even debugging code.

Key Themes & Ideas:

• Real-Time Screen Analysis: AI Studio enables real-time analysis of screen content, going beyond just text input. This includes the ability to “see” and understand:
• Documents (e.g., Google Classroom Gradebooks, rubric spreadsheets, audition packets)
• Software interfaces (e.g., website navigation, code editor)
• Potentially any visual data displayed on the screen.
• The presenter highlights that “the ability to use basically any window and get instant feedback on how it works is pretty stellar.”
• Interactive AI Assistance: The tool facilitates two-way conversation between the user and Gemini, allowing for dynamic problem-solving and question answering based on the shared screen content. This interaction can include:
• Vocal commands: The user can speak to Gemini and receive verbal responses
• Screen Sharing: Gemini analyzes the screen’s visual content.
• Webcam integration: Allows the sharing of physical objects or documents.
• The user noted that he has “an audio file of everything that Jim and I said” in addition to the text transcript of each response, which allows for review.
• Versatile Applications in Education: The demonstration highlights a broad range of educational uses:
• **Analyzing student data:**Gemini can quickly identify patterns and areas of weakness in student scores across multiple assignments and a detailed rubric.
• The presenter notes that this method was “much much faster” than manually analyzing the scores, even though it “isn’t perfect.”
• Quote: “This is easier than going through and individually looking at each one of the scores.”
• Generating targeted feedback: Gemini can suggest areas where students need additional support based on their performance data and identify patterns across students.
• Finding resources: Gemini can recommend search terms and types of resources related to specific learning needs (e.g. video and written resources on internal pulse and technique for drumline students).
• Reviewing curriculum: Gemini can assess the appropriateness of learning materials (e.g., an audition packet) based on specific student needs.
• Beyond Educational Context: The tool’s application extends to general productivity and learning:
• Navigating unfamiliar software: Gemini can guide users through the steps of using a new website or application, even if it is a complicated application.
• Quote: “the capability to basically remove the limitation of knowing how to use anything that you can have on your screen within reason obviously…is pretty powerful.”
• Creating new documents/projects: Gemini can provide step-by-step instructions for creating documents, such as setting up a spreadsheet or an email draft.
• Code assistance: Gemini can provide analysis and debugging support for code.
• Quote: “I can help you understand the logic of the code, explain specific functions or algorithms and suggest potential causes of issues.”
• Limitations and Imperfections: The user acknowledges that AI Studio is not flawless:
• OCR limitations: AI sometimes misreads text from screen images, especially with fast scrolling (e.g., mispronouncing or misinterpreting a musical piece’s title).
• Initial errors: The user experienced an initial error when the AI misidentified a student.
• Information recall: The user was able to see that Gemini has difficulty maintaining a context of information shared from different documents.
• This resulted in the user having to “re-adjust” the questions that were being asked.
• Dependence on Context: The user discovered that some questions can be confusing and can cause the chatbot to have difficulty responding to prompts. This required him to clear the chat and start a new session.
• Iterative Process: The user emphasized the importance of adjusting the way information is presented to the tool and the way questions are phrased.
• The presenter noted that “the retry and kind of readjusting how I went about asking the questions or presenting the information seemed to make quite a bit of difference.”

Specific Examples of AI Functionality:

• Student Data Analysis: Gemini correctly identified that students were struggling with the “formal audition” and that students had weaknesses in internal pulse and technique.
• Software Navigation: Gemini was able to assist the user in finding the correct fields in a work order request, and identified a discrepancy that was not immediately obvious to the user (that a field was cut off).
• Spreadsheet Creation: Gemini walked the user through building the framework for a spreadsheet.
• Curriculum Assessment: Gemini analyzed an audition packet and gave a good assessment about the level of difficulty it contained for the students the user was working with.
• Code Assistance: Gemini suggested improvements to the structure and accessibility of HTML code.

Conclusion:

Google AI Studio’s screen sharing feature shows significant potential as a real-time assistant with a variety of applications. It is particularly useful for educators for analyzing student data and improving teaching, but it’s also valuable in general learning, software navigation, and code assistance. While not perfect, it offers a faster and more interactive way to process information and get help with digital tasks. The user concluded that it “has the capability to basically remove the limitation of knowing how to use anything that you can have on your screen within reason obviously…is pretty powerful.”

AI Studio’s screen sharing feature allows you to share the contents of your computer screen with the AI model, Gemini. Gemini can then “read” the content of the screen and provide feedback, answer questions, or assist you in various tasks related to what you’re showing it. You can use it for a variety of tasks, like getting feedback on a document, understanding how to navigate a website, or even getting help with coding. When you initiate screen sharing, you’ll be prompted to select the specific screen or window you wish to share, granting the AI access to visually perceive the content being displayed. This effectively creates a real-time, visual interaction with the AI.

The screen sharing feature has numerous applications for educators. It can be used to get feedback on student work, such as rubrics or assignment scores, allowing the AI to identify areas where students are struggling and suggest improvements. It can also help teachers learn how to navigate complex websites or software platforms, create new resources, and even assist with lesson planning. By sharing your screen, you can essentially have an AI tutor or assistant to guide you and provide support in a variety of tasks related to teaching and curriculum development.

Yes, AI Studio can analyze data displayed on your screen. For instance, it can process a spreadsheet of student grades and identify patterns in student performance, such as common areas of weakness. In the example in the text, it quickly reviewed student scores in a Google sheet and determined that internal pulse and technique were the main areas of deficiency. The AI can summarize trends, compare student data, and provide helpful insights you can use to adjust your teaching methods or provide targeted support.

AI Studio can process complex documents and long web pages by reading the content as you scroll through it. In the example with the rubric, the user scrolled through the lengthy Google Sheet and the AI was able to read and analyze the data. This allows it to understand context, which is important when analyzing information across multiple fields. This enables you to have the AI evaluate various pieces of information in real-time without having to manually copy and paste anything or share direct files.

Absolutely. AI Studio’s screen sharing isn’t just for analyzing data. It can also assist with navigating websites, software applications, and other programs. You can use it to get step-by-step guidance on how to use a platform, troubleshoot problems, or complete tasks, such as filling out forms, opening support tickets, or working through specific processes in a given program. This makes the tool not only useful for content-related tasks, but also for more general assistance with software.

AI Studio can help users, especially those who are new to a certain tool, to create new digital resources. By screen sharing a blank sheet, the AI can walk you through the steps required for the project. It can provide guidance on column headings, formulas, and other necessary functions. This can be extremely helpful in making sure you know how to properly set up a sheet or other resource that might be essential to your productivity.

Yes, AI Studio can analyze curriculum and teaching materials by visually processing them on your screen, including analyzing an audition packet and suggest elements that might be beneficial for students based on their weaknesses. The AI can identify complex or problematic areas in the curriculum and help to decide what is or is not working for a specific group of students. This functionality will help teachers refine lessons and make sure the learning material is targeted to areas of improvement.

Yes, AI Studio can help with coding, including debugging code and providing suggestions for improvements. It can understand the logic of your code, explain its functions, and point out areas for enhancement by identifying best practices. While it can’t directly modify your code, it can help you analyze it and give suggestions on what to do next, so it can be used as a programming resource. This can be especially useful for learning new languages or improving the quality of your code.

There are several really powerful features in this tool, but the biggest advantage is the concept of “source-grounding.” This just means that, instead of trying to use the entirety of the internet as a source, NotebookLM limits its content knowledge to only the sources you have active in the open notebook. This is huge because the internet is FULL of incorrect information. The ability to specifically point NotebookLM to a set of sources and have it become an “instant expert” on all of that content is a huge deal.

Don’t misunderstand… this is not just a tool that will regurgitate the information you feed it. Instead, it “reads,” “watches,” and “listens” to the content you provide, makes connections, and interprets it… similar to if you studied and tried to compile a working knowledge of the sources on your own. Once given the resources, you can:

• Ask questions at ANY depth of knowledge that would be contained in the sources (ex: “Explain the concept of crop rotation to me. Assume that I have no knowledge of agriculture” or “Explain the concept of crop rotation to me. Assume that I have doctorate-level knowledge of the chemical makeup of various soils but don’t understand the nutrient requirements of common crop types.”)
• One click study guide to cover all of the source information
• One click briefing documents to provide an overview of the sources
• One click FAQ generation over the sources
• One click timeline generation for chronological aspects of the sources
• One click (or advanced) podcast style generation.
• Add your own notes based on conversations with the AI

Visit notebooklm.google.com

On your first visit, you will get a welcome message. You can choose to check the box if you want emails when new features are added to NotebookLM, or you can just click on the “okay” button to get started.

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We don’t have any notebooks yet, so, again, just for the first time, we will get the “Create your first notebook” page. I’ll click on “Create” to make the notebook.

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Great! When you create a new notebook, you will automatically get this “Add Sources” prompt. We can open this prompt manually to add more sources, but we will talk more about that later. For now, we have 4 primary source types that can be added.

1. Uploaded sources: these can be things like PDF documents, word documents, audio files, text files, and that sort of thing. These are files that are currently on your computer, for example, you may have downloaded a PDF from Lexus Nexus. You can upload that PDF here. NotebookLM will read it and use it for all future interactions within this notebook.
2. Google Drive sources: If you have a Google Doc or a slide, you can select it from your drive.
3. Links: Provide either the link to a website or to a YouTube video. Super handy!
4. Paste text: Sometimes you will be in a situation where the website blocks NotebookLM. No worries! Copy the text you want, and paste it in. Also, sites like Project Gutenberg have full text of novels. You can paste that text in (or upload the text with option one).
   
   

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Start adding sources. You can have up to 50 sources for each notebook. That is quite a bit!

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If you accidentally closed the add source window, or to add more sources, click the Add source button at the top left!

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Your sources will now appear in the source list on the left. Each source has a checkbox to the right. If it is clicked, that means that the source will be active in any of the conversations or actions you have with NotebookLM. If it is unchecked, that source becomes dormant and ignored.

Example Use case: I could add a rubric as a source, then I could add each student’s essay in a separate Google doc or PDF. Then I can check only the rubric and a single student’s essay. Now when I ask NotebookLM to “analyze the student essay to see how well it adheres to the assigned rubric. Offer suggestions for improvement, areas that are particularly well executed, and suggestions for further research based on this student’s demonstrated knowledge.” NotebookLM should give me a pretty thorough response to that, and it should be pretty valuable insight for me to formulate a response to the student.

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Once we have our sources uploaded and selected, we can use the center area to ask questions and guide the research. We can type whatever we would like, but NotebookLM does an initial reading, and it will offer some questions below the text input area. You can click one of these to get the conversation started. This is particularly helpful if the content area is something you know very little about.

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The Studio/Notes panel is on the right. There is an Audio Overview section that allows you to generate a podcast-style conversation between two AI hosts, one male, and one female. I’ve included an example below. It is pretty slick. If you would like, you can click the “Generate” button, and the system will automatically take all of the content and present a podcast that covers the research sources in an overall sense. If you click on the “Customize” button, you can guide the conversation, meaning that you can require the conversation to delve more deeply in specific directions, set a language level, assume a content knowledge level, and many other potential guided parameters.

In addition to the audio overview, you have the main “Notes” features. Clicking on the “Add note” button will let you create a note of your own making. You can type whatever you want, and it will be collected at the bottom of the panel.

Clicking on any of the other buttons in this panel will automatically generate the element that is indicated on the button. Once clicked, NotebookLM will place these items in the Notes panel. You can click on a note at any time to open it in an expanded view. I’ve included the FAQ option below.

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1. The Subject of the email can be changed. Click to access the onscreen keyboard.
2. The File name can also be changed in the same manner.
3. Click the Setting button for 2-sided scanning and many other options.
4. Place the document in the document feeder or on the scanner bed and click Start.

The document will be delivered to your email in pdf format. Note the sender is Tech.

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1. The Filename can be changed. Click to access the onscreen keyboard.
2. Click the Setting button for 2-sided scanning and many other options.
3. Place the document in the document feeder or on the scanner bed and click Start.

The document will be saved to your Google Drive in a folder called Scans for PaperCut MF. Note: you will also receive an email from Scans for PaperCut with a link to the scanned document.

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Click the Organize PDF button.

Select the PDF file you want to work with by: drag and drop, Clicking the Select PDF file button, or loading from Google Drive.

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Select the file and click Open.

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Once the file is open a thumbnail of each page will be displayed.
Drag and drop the pages to change the order.
Hover over the thumbnail to Add, Delete, or Rotate a page.

When done, click the Organize button.

The file can now be renamed and downloaded.

Click the Merge PDF button.

Select the PDF files you want to work with by: drag and drop, Clicking the Select PDF file button, or loading from Google Drive.

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In this example, PDF#1 and PDF#2 are selected and opened.

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A thumbnail of each file will be shown. You can drag and drop to reorder.

Click the Merge PDF button.

The merged file can now be renamed and downloaded.

Full Article: Keyboard shortcuts for Gmail - Computer - Gmail Help

To see a complete list, open Gmail and press Shift + ?

• Compose new email: C
• Send email: Ctrl + Enter
• Reply to email: R
• Forward email: F
• Archive email: E
• Mark as read/unread: Shift + I

Full Article: Keyboard shortcuts for Google Drive on the web - Computer - Google Drive Help

To see a complete list, open Drive and press Shift + ?

• Create new document: Shift + T
• Create new spreadsheet: Shift + S
• Create new presentation: Shift + P
• Open selected file: Enter
• Rename selected file: N

Full Article: Use keyboard shortcuts in Google Calendar - Google Calendar Help

To see a complete list, open Calendar and press Shift + ?

• Create new event: C
• Edit event: E
• Move to next/previous period: J / K
• Jump to today: T
• Go to date: G

Full Article: Use Google Workspace keyboard shortcuts - Google Workspace Learning Center

To see a complete list, in a meeting press Shift + ?

• Mute/unmute microphone: Ctrl + D
• Enable/disable camera: Ctrl + E
• Raise/lower hand: Ctrl + Alt + H
• Show/hide people: Ctrl + P
• Increase/decrease maximum tiles: Ctrl + Alt + K / J

1. Navigation:

   • Open a new tab: Ctrl + T
   • Close the current tab: Ctrl + W
   • Reopen the last closed tab: Ctrl + Shift + T
   • Switch to the next/previous tab: Ctrl + Tab / Ctrl + Shift + Tab
   • Jump to a specific tab: Ctrl + [1-8]
   • Go back / forward a page: Alt + Arrow keys ← →

2. Bookmarks and History:

   • Bookmark the current page: Ctrl + D
   • Open bookmarks manager: Ctrl + Shift + O
   • Open the browsing history: Ctrl + H
   • Clear browsing data: Ctrl + Shift + Delete

3. Other Useful Shortcuts:

   • Open the Chrome menu: Alt + F or Alt + E
   • Toggle full-screen mode: F11
   • Zoom in/out: Ctrl + + / Ctrl + -
   • Reload the current page: Ctrl + R or F5
   • Password Autofill: Ctrl + Shift + L

Full Article: Keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs - Computer - Google Docs Editors Help

To see a complete list, open a Google Doc and press Ctrl + /

1. Basic Text Editing:

   • Bold: Ctrl + B
   • Italicize: Ctrl + I
   • Underline: Ctrl + U
   • Undo: Ctrl + Z
   • Redo: Ctrl + Y
   • Select all: Ctrl + A
   • Copy: Ctrl + C
   • Cut: Ctrl + X
   • Paste: Ctrl + V
   • Paste without formatting: Ctrl + Shift + V

2. Formatting:

   • Increase/decrease font size: Ctrl + . / Ctrl + ,
   • Align left/center/right: Ctrl + Shift + L / Ctrl + Shift + E / Ctrl + Shift + R
   • Bulleted list: Ctrl + Shift + 8
   • Numbered list: Ctrl + Shift + 7
   • Insert hyperlink: Ctrl + K

3. Navigation and Selection:

   • Move to beginning/end of line: Home / End
   • Move to beginning/end of document: Ctrl + Home / Ctrl + End
   • Move to previous/next word: Ctrl + Arrow keys ← →
   • Select text: Shift + Arrow keys

Full Article: Keyboard shortcuts for Google Sheets - Computer - Google Docs Editors Help

To see a complete list, open a Google Sheet and press Ctrl + /

1. Navigation and Selection:

   • Move to beginning/end of row/column: Ctrl + Arrow keys
   • Select entire row/column: Shift + Space / Ctrl + Space
   • Extend selection: Shift + Arrow keys
   • Show all formulas: Ctrl + `

2. Editing and Formatting:

   • Insert row/column: Ctrl + Shift + +
   • Delete row/column: Ctrl + -
   • Fill down: Ctrl + D
   • Fill right: Ctrl + R
   • Format as currency: Ctrl + Shift + 4
   • Format as percentage: Ctrl + Shift + 5
   • Clear formatting: Ctrl + \

Full Article: Keyboard shortcuts for Google Slides - Computer - Google Docs Editors Help

To see a complete list, open a Google Slide and press Ctrl + /

1. Basic Slide Navigation:

   • Move to previous/next slide: Arrow keys ← →
   • Jump to slide: Ctrl + Shift + S
   • Start presentation: F5

2. Editing and Formatting:

   • Duplicate slide: Ctrl + D
   • Insert new slide: Ctrl + M
   • Delete slide: Ctrl + D
   • Change text alignment: Ctrl + Shift + L / Ctrl + Shift + E / Ctrl + Shift + R

To begin, we have to find a way to distinguish our target emails from other messages. Think of this like a search term in Google. We want a way to get the emails we need to act on and ONLY those emails.

Sometimes this is super easy, let’s use a mailing list as an example… Let’s say that all of your “How To Be a Master Educator” messages come from list@awesome-educator.com. It is probably a pretty safe bet that you can use that email address sender as your pattern. It isn’t going to accidentally return messages you don’t want to include.

So, that’s cool, but sometimes it is a little more complicated. In this example, we will look at emails coming from DocFlow, the system we use for registration and various other campus forms. If you are someone who receives messages from DocFlow, you may get several, and these emails will usually indicate different tasks and different overall workflow purposes. All of these emails come from the sender docflow@wftigers.org, so if we create a filter using just that email, all of our workflows will be combined into a single label. That means that, depending on who you are, job applications, purchase order notices, facility requests, and other various things would all go to the same filter. That’s probably not what you want. In these sorts of situations, we need to look at the subject or the body of the message to find common patterns. In this example, we will look at the Kindergarten Roundup form. A message from this form will include the following:

Sender: docflow@wftigers.org
Subject: New Round-Up Submission - Student Name

Sometimes we might have to look at the body of the message, but, for our use case, the subject and sender will be enough. We can look for any email coming from that email address with a subject containing “New Round-Up Submission.” I’ll ignore the hyphen to avoid any weirdness with special characters that MIGHT happen. This should be totally sufficient to catch what we want, and nothing more.

Now that we have a grasp on finding patterns, let’s create a filter using that pattern. I’ll keep using the DocFlow example of Round-Up.

1. In Gmail, click on the little advanced search button.
   

   

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2. This will open the advanced search pane, and we will be able to use any combination of these items to create our filter. I’ll use the pattern options we defined above to fill out the form. I’ll ignore the date options for now.
   

   

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3. At this point, I’ll click on “Create filter.”
   

   

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4. This will open the filter pane, and it provides us with several options that we will go over in the next section…
   

   

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We understand finding patterns, and we know how to turn those patterns into a filter. Now, let’s look at the actions available to us in the filter pane to get the most out of our understanding.

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1. This is going to be used very often. What it means, when used by itself, is that you will not see your email within your inbox, ever, it will automatically act as if you hit the archive button within the message. Most of the time, though, you will use this will labels, meaning that the message will ONLY go to the label and will entirely “skip the inbox.”

2. This will automatically mark the message the same as if you had opened it. I don’t ever use this one, but I’m sure someone has a good use of it!

3. The star option is like a favorites function for your email. It is a sort of quick label, and all of the matching messages will go into this same area. Again, I don’t use this, but it might be good as a sort of “I’m currently working on” type of organization method.

4. This is the magic one, or at least, this is the one we will primarily focus on. A label can be thought of as a folder of sorts. They can be nested (one inside of another), and they can be named whatever you want. If you already have a label you want to use, you will be able to choose it by clicking on “Choose label.” If you need to create one, clicking on “Choose label” will allow you to create a new one as well.

5. This is something that I do use, but might not be helpful to everyone. This is good for when pesky vendors won’t send invoices to the accounting email instead of to me.

6. This is a full delete, not an archive. You should really only use this on rare occasions unless it is part of a bigger workflow that would be beyond the scope of this tip.

7. Do you ever get emails from somewhere you know is legit, but it keeps going to your spam? This is the option you would use for that circumstance!

8. Templates are cool, but they are also beyond the scope of this tip.

9. Selecting this action will make your email stand out by activating the little chevron dude next to the email. 

10. This does the opposite of the one above.

11. This is like the automated version of labels, and I never use them. This will let you put an email into either “Social,” “Updates,” “Forums,” or “Promotions,” the default list of categories within Gmail.

12. This is why we ignored the date options in the prior step. Checking this box will apply the filter to all of the past conversations (message threads) in the past, as long as they meet the filter. It gives you a handy count of the conversations that will have the filter applied also!

Now that we understand our action options, let’s go ahead with building the Round-Up filter.

1. Select “Skip the inbox (Archive it).”
   

   

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2. Select “Apply the label”
   

   

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3. We don’t already have a Round-Up label, so we need to make one. click on “Choose label…”
   

   

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4. Click on “New label…”
   

   

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5. I’ll enter “Round-Up Forms” (or whatever) in the label name. If you want to nest the label under another one, you can check the box and choose some already existing labels.
   

6. Click on the “Create” button.

7. We are all set, so now click on “Create filter”
   

   

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At this point, we should now see the label listed on the left.

That label shows as not having any unread messages. When you get a new message, the label will be brighter, and it will also have a number to the right.

We can also go further by color coding our labels. To do that, hover to click on the three dots, choose “Label color,” then choose the color you want.

1. Visit mail.google.com
2. Click on the “Chat” button in the left menu
   
3. Click “New chat.”
   
4. Click on “Create a space”
   
5. Enter a name, and choose to add an emoji if you want to.
   
   

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6. Make sure to choose “Collaboration.” Announcements has a purpose as well, but it isn’t what we are currently looking for.
   
   

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7. The access settings section should USUALLY be left as it is. Again, there are exceptions, but make sure you think about changing these carefully.
8. Click create.
   
   

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1. Visit mail.google.com
2. Click on the “Chat” button in the left menu
   
3. On the left, click the name of the space you are looking to participate in.
   
   

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1. Inside a space, click the name of the space.
   
   

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2. Click on “Manage members”
   
   

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3. Click on the “+Add” button
   
   

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4. Type in the names of the people or groups you want to add to the space.
   
   

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5. When you have everyone added, click on the “Add” button
   
   

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a

1. Inside a space, click the name of the space.
   
   

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2. Click “Apps & Integrations.”
   
   

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3. Click on “Add apps.”
   
   

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4. Select the app of your choice from the list. I’m going to select “Absolute Poll” to allow voting on questions in the Space.
   
   

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5. Click the “Add” button.
   
   

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6. Once added, you will often get a message from the app that provides instructions on how to use it. For example, since I added the poll app, I can type: /poll and then hit enter, I’ll get a form. I can provide the requested information (I don’t have to put 4 options, and scrolling provides more settings), and when I “Submit,” I’ll get a poll for the users.
   
   

   

   
   

When a message is posted in a space, replies become “threads.” This concept is just organizing a conversation. Think about threads as topics of discussion.

To start a thread, it is as easy as sending a message. The magic happens on the replies.

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1. To reply, I’ll hover my mouse over the message I want to reply to.
2. I’ll then click on the little word bubble icon
   
   

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3. You will now see a split screen with the main space on the left, and the thread on the right.
   
   

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4. I’ll then type my reply in the RIGHT side reply box.
   
   

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5. when I’m finished typing, I’ll hit enter, or I’ll click the airplane icon.
   
   

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6. This does two things. First, it adds a reply indicator to the original message. Clicking on that will open up the thread. Second, it adds the response under the original message to the right side of the screen.
   
   

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To view all of the treads that are in a space, click on “Threads” in the top right corner of the space.

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This will open your screen in a split view, and you will be able to see all of the threads for the space on the right side of the split.

Sometimes it is helpful to quote a message.
Please note that this will NOT create a thread.

1. To quote, I’ll hover my mouse over the message I want to interact with.
   
   

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2. You will see the quoted message and a reply box.
   
   

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3. Press enter or hit the airplane button.
   This will result in a message with the quoted text above what you sent.
   

There are two primary indicators to let you know you have a new message in a space.

First, like your email, the chat icon will show the number of unread messages you have waiting for you.

Second, in the bottom left corner of your email inbox, there will be a stack with the icons of the spaces you have unread messages in.

Of course, you can share a file like normal, but it is often helpful to have files in a collective area along with communication.

1. Inside the space, click the circled plus button next to the message box.
   
   

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2. Click the “Google Drive” option.
   
3. If the file already exists in your drive, click on “Attach a Drive file.” If you want to create a new file and automatically share it with the members of the space, choose one of the other options.
   

You will then be prompted to pick the file you want to share or to add a name for the new file you are about to create.

If you created a new document, that will open in a split view, but whether the document is new or attached, you will get an icon, and in the lower right corner of the icon, it will allow you to open it in split view.

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Type the word “timer” in the Google Search bar.
A 5-minute timer will load automatically.

1. Adjust the number of minutes by clicking on the time.

2. Click Stopwatch to switch modes

3. Clicking Full Screen is handy if displaying on a projector.

4. 

Type the word “calculator” in the Google Search bar.
A basic scientific calculator is displayed.
Alternatively, type a math problem directly in the search box. The calculator will load with the answer.

Type a number and then two different units in the Google Search bar.
Examples: 5 km in miles or 2 cups to ml

1. Use the drop-down to change the type of conversion. Length, volume, time, temp, etc.
2. and 3. Use these drop-downs to change the units.

3. 

Type define and a word in the Google Search bar.
Click on the audio icon to hear the word pronounced

This is a simplified version of Google Translate.

1. Select the input language or begin typing and let Google detect.

2. Select the output language.

3. Click the microphone for audio input.

4. Click the speaker to hear the translation.

   

Type “Sunrise” or “Sunset” in the Google Search bar. This will display the sunrise or sunset time for your current location.
For more fun enter an alternate location and add a date.

Type “Time In” followed by a location in the Google Search bar to see the current time.
Type just “Time In” to see the time in your current location.

Type “Coin Flip” in the Google Search bar.
This can be a fun and unbiased way to decide between two options.
Also handy when teaching probability.
Click Flip Again to repeat.

Type “Google Spinner” in the Google Search bar.
This could be a creative way to call on students (or many other uses).

1. Click in the upper left corner to change the wheel size.

2. Click in the upper left to change the wheel to a fidget spinner.

3. Click Spin to spin again.

Type “Roll Dice” in the Google Search bar.
This is handy for playing games or probability lessons.

1. Click on a die to remove it from the board.

2. Click a die type to add it to the board.

3. The total is displayed automatically. Use the plus/minus button to add/subtract from the total.

4. Click Roll to roll again.

Type “Google Metronome” in the Google Search bar.

1. Click + or - to change the Beats Per Minute.

2. Click play to start the metronome.

Type “Google Tuner” in the Google Search bar.
Click the microphone icon to begin.
It will display the musical note and if it is in tune.

1. In Gmail, click on the preview of the docx file. (Note: The W and docx indicate this is a Microsoft Word File.)
   
2. When the preview opens, click on Open with and choose Google Docs
   
3. The file will open in Google Docs and can be edited but is technically still in docx format. It is best to click File and Save as Google Docs.
   
   

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Double-clicking the downloaded file will typically either open the document in Libre Office or try to download the file again. To open the document in Google Docs:

1. Open a blank Google Docs document. (as a shortcut open a new tab in Chrome and type docs.new)
2. From the File Menu select Open
   
3. Click the Upload tab and then click Browse
   
   

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4. Navigate to where the file was saved and double-click the file.
   
   Google Docs will scan the file for viruses and then open it as a Google Doc.

This is a ONE TIME setup. After you have connected your device, you will be good to go in the future.

Connecting School-Owned Macs and Windows Machines

If you have a school-owned Mac or Windows machine that connects with Wi-Fi, please follow the instructions for the BYOD devices. If you run into problems with permissions, please open a ticket.

Connecting School-Owned Chromebooks

School chromebooks should automatically connect ONCE THEY HAVE GAINED A WI-FI CONNECTION for long enough to download the new profile. For now, we recommend temporarily connecting to “Student.”

Connecting School-Owned Linux Devices

To start, make sure you are on some sort of wi-fi on campus. If you CAN NOT connect to any Wi-Fi, there is a backup option listed at the bottom of this page. You will know that you HAVE to use the backup method if you don’t have the ability to complete step 2 below.

Please Note: If you are NOT on campus, this will not work. Please wait until you can be on campus.

1. Press your Windows key.
   
   

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2.Type “wifi” in the search box. Click on “WF Wi-Fi Connect.” If you don’t see this option, then you will need to follow the backup plan at the bottom.

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3. You will receive a popup box. Make sure you read it, then click “OK.”
   

4. In the next box, type in your SCHOOL EMAIL username and password. The program should be smart enough to remove the @wftigers.org part, but it is best if you just type the part of your username that comes before that.
   
   

5. IF YOU ARE A STAFF MEMBER, you will get the next box. Because of how your computers work, you have to also provide your computer password. Click “OK,” then enter your computer password in the next box. STUDENTS WILL NOT SEE THIS BOX!
   
   

6. In the top right corner of your screen, you will see three little dots under the Wi-Fi symbol. This means that the connection is attempting to happen.
   

7. If everything was typed correctly, you will then get a box letting you know that the connection was successful, and asks for you to click on “OK.” You should be able to verify with a solid Wi-Fi symbol, and by seeing “West Fork Schools” as the connected network.
   
   

8. If something went wrong, you will get a message prompting you to try again. Make sure you are providing your SCHOOL email and password when prompted and your COMPUTER password when prompted. If you STILL can’t get a successful result, try the backup option below.

Backup Option

The method presented below is just a fancy wrapper for doing it the manual way, but you have to have been on Wi-Fi to download it. Luckily, it isn’t terrible to do it manually.

1. Scan this QR Code These codes will also be posted on your office doors, the tech office door, and at various locations around the building. You HAVE to use this code (or the direct link) for iOS and Mac devices because of the type of security being used on the network.
   

   

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2. When you scan the code, you will see the page below. Press “Allow.”
   

   

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3. Press on “Close,” then return to your homescreen.
   

   

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4. Open the Settings app.
   

   

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5. Very near the top of the Settings app, you will see “Profile Downloaded.” Press that.
   

   

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6. Press on “Install.” This certificate is what the phone uses to verify he connection. We are using an unsigned certificate because they don’t have to be renewed, meaning that you don’t have to do this setup process all the time.
   

   

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7. You will be prompted for your phone’s passcode. FaceID will not work here.
   

   

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8. Press on “Install.”
   

   

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9. You will be asked for your username. Enter the part of your email that comes BEFORE @wftigers.org.
   

   

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10. Enter your school email password.
    

    

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11. Press “Done.”
    

    

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12. Press “General” at the top left to move back to your General Settings page.
    

    

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13. Press “Settings” at the top left to move back to your settings page.
    

    

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14. Press “Wi-Fi.”
    

    

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15. Press “West Fork Schools.”
    

    

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16. The spinning connection icon should show up beside “West Fork Schools.”
    

    

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17. You should get the check letting you know your connection is successful.
    

    

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There are a LOT of different versions of Android. If you are an Android user, you are going to have to use the steps a little more loosely than an iPhone user would, but these steps should get you there.

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1. We need to start by installing the school certificate within Android. Open your internet browser. Optionally, you can skip this step and the next one if you scan the QR code for the Android certificates.

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2. Visit https://tech.wftigers.org/wfschools.crt
   

   

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3. Close the prompt to only install trusted certificates (if you get one)
   

   

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4. Open your settings app.
   

   

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5. Go to your Security settings.
   

   

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6. Go to the Encryption & credentials section.
   

   

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7. Tap either WLAN or Wi-Fi certificate.
   

   

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8. Tap the wfschools.crt file
   

   

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9. When asked to enter a name, enter WF Schools, then press ok.
   

   

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10. Go to your network settings
    

    

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11. Press “West Fork Schools”
    

    

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12. For the Wi-Fi Settings, you need to set the following things…
    

    

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• EAP method or Authentication Type, or Phase 1 Authentication needs to be “TTLS or Tunneled TLS”

• CA Certificate needs to be WF Schools (this is the certificate you just installed)

• If you are asked for a phase 2 authentication type, use PAP.

*Online Certificate Status needs to be either Do not verify or request status. Require will not work.

• For Domain, type in the following line, exactly as it appears:

WF Schools

• Enter the first part of your email for the identity or username (the part before @wftigers.org),

• Enger your school email password in the password field.

13. At this point, you should be able to connect. If you need help, stop by the tech office so that we can see your device.

This is very similar to the Windows 10 instructions. There is just one extra piece of information you must provide.

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard, or click on the Start button.
   

2. Type in “wifi,” then click the “Wi-Fi Settings” option that pops up.
   

   

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3. Click on “Manage known networks.”
   

   

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4. Click on “Add network.”
   

   

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5. Start by typing “WestFork Schools” as the network name, and checking the "Connect automatically box.
   

   

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6. Click on the “Open” security type, and change it to “WPA2-Enterprise AES,” then make your settings match the screenshot below. Make sure to use your own google username (without the @wftigers.org portion). Then click on “Save.”
   

   

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7. You should get a notice at the bottom of your screen stating that action is required to continue connecting.
   

8. Click on the notifications area to get to your options.
   

9. Click the arrow to the right of the wi-fi symbol.
   

10. Click on “West Fork Schools” with the “Action needed” label.
    

11. Make sure the “Connect automatically” and click on “Connect.”
    

12. On the “Sign in” prompt, type in your username (the part BEFORE @wftigers.org) and you school google password. Then click on “OK.”
    

13. Click on the “Connect” button to confirm.
    

14. That’s it. You should get a message stating that you are connected and secured.
    

While it pains me to admit it, this one is the easiest of them all. Windows 11 simply does not care about the type of security you have, so it is as simple as clicking on the network to join it.

When you are asked to authenticate, use the first part of your email (the part before @wftigers.org) for the username, and your email password for the password.

That’s it!

1. Press the Windows key, and type in “wifi.”
   

   

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2. Click on the link that says “Manage known networks.”
   

   

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3. Click on the “+ Add a new network” button.
   

   

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4. This is the important part! Make your screen look EXACTLY like the image below.
   

   

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5. In the username box, type in the first part of your email (the part before @wftigers.org), and type in your email password in the password box. Press “OK.”
   

6. You should now be prompted to “Continue connecting.” Click on “Connect.”
   

For MacOS, you have to install a profile, similar to how you do on an iPhone. I’m going to use Safari, because it is installed by default.

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1. In Safari, type https://tech.wftigers.org/wf-wifi.mobileconfig (or click this link) and hit enter.
   

   

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2. This should open a page that has a bunch of random-looking text.
   

   

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3. Click on the File menu, and choose “Save As…”
   

   

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4. Leave the name alone, but choose where you want to save the file. I chose Downloads.
   

5. Go to where you saved the file.
   

   

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6. Rename the file. You need to remove the “.xml” at the end, so it ends in “.mobileconfig”.
   

   

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7. Click the “Use .mobileconfig” button
   

8. Double click the file.
   

   

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9. You will get a notice in the top right letting you know that the profile is ready to install.
   

10. Open the system preferences (Click the Apple, then click on “System Preferences”). Then type “profiles” in the search box, then click on “Profiles” when it shows up. Note if you are using an older version of MacOS, there isn’t a search box, bot there is a button on the screen that says “Profiles.”
    

    

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11. Click on the “West Fork Schools Wi-Fi” option.
    

12. Click on the “Install” button.
    

13. When asked if you are sure you want to install, click on the “Continue” button.
    

14. Enter your username (the first part of your email, before the @wftigers.org)
    

15. You will be asked to enter the password for your administrator user (this will probably be the same password you use to log in to your Mac).
    

16. You should now see that the profile is showing as “2 settings.”
    

17. Open your Wi-Fi connection menu.
    

18. Click on the “West Fork Schools” option to connect.
    

Sorry about the photos in this part. I can’t take screenshots before I log in. 

1. From your login screen (you CAN do it while logged in, but it is MUCH better to do it on the login screen, so that you have access to the internet outside of your account) click on the time in the lower right corner.
   

   

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2. Click on the network name of the account you are currently connected to. If you are disconnected, just click on the Wi-Fi symbol.
   

   

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3. Choose “West Fork Schools.”
   

   

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4. Make you settings match the 3 photos below, with the obvious replacement of my username and password with your own. Be sure that you don’t type the @wftigers portion of your email address, or it will not work. Then click on the “Connect” button.
   

   

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5. “West Fork Schools” should now say “Connecting…”
   

   

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6. You should now be connected, but you may verify that this is true by clicking on the clock. You should see the West Fork Schools Network as connected.
   

   

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