Tech Tip: Canvas Mobile App

I can't believe that the semester is over and I am just now downloading the Canvas mobile app! It is so cool and I wish I would have heard about it before now. I really like how the courses page is the homepage because it is so easy to navigate, especially with the bright colors to differentiate each class. The "To Do" tab is my favorite because it helps you stay organized and aware of what's coming up in the following week! I also like the push notifications option because sometimes I don't think to check and I miss important details. This way I can be reminded without having to think of checking myself. Hopefully, this will help me stay motivated for the last few weeks of school so that I don't get behind in any of my classes... Very cool app that I recommend to everyone!

Tech Tip: Canvas Notifications

For this week's Tech Tip, I learned how to adjust the notification settings in Canvas! For the entire semester, I have been receiving far too many emails from Canvas and I figured it was time to change that. After watching the video on Notification Preferences, I went to my profile and adjusted what alerts I would receive and when. Most of them I actually ended up unselecting so that I would not receive summaries, but grades and conversations I changed to immediately and weekly summaries. I also found a cool option to include the newly recorded grades in the emails because let's be honest, that moment of panic trying to get the internet to load a score after seeing the notification is the living worst. Now I can see it instantly! I am excited about this Tech Tip and think it is very helpful!

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

In this week's tech tip, I learned how to add a weather gadget to the sidebar of the homepage of my blog! It took me a few minutes to get the hang of it, especially because I accidentally added it to the header first instead of the sidebar, but I quickly figured out it wasn't so hard. All I had to do was paste the HTML link and add it as a gadget- simple enough! I even experimented with color schemes that I like best! I decided on a neutral tan gadget to complement the bright colors of my blog, but I'm not sure if I like it or how long I'll keep it. Regardless, I am excited I learned how to do it because I've seen the weather gadget on other people's blogs and thought it was cool! I recommend trying this out!

Google Timer Tech Tip

I saw this Tech Tip when I was doing extra comments and thought it was such a fantastic idea to try! I am often guilty of either extreme when I study: I either study for 12 hours straight with no break or my short break turns into several hours of Netflix...oops! I tried this timer and found it to be not only helpful for staying on track with breaks but also motivating to focus and get assignments and studying done within a time constraint as well. It works for both! I did not know Google had this option prior to this Tech Tip so I am very glad I found out about it and I know that I will be using it in the future!

(Pocket Watch Timer)

Tech Tip: Including Images in a Google Sites Page

This week's tech tip of including an image in a Google Sites page was fairly difficult for me! It took several tries for me to add the image in its own box, rather than trying to add it to the header, which threw everything off. I finally added the image by uploading it from a picture saved on my computer and added the image information below the introduction so that it wouldn't alter the aesthetic too much. I liked that I could size the image and it would show me where it was evenly spaced, but I did not like that I couldn't tell what size it would turn out to be until I published it and viewed the page later. Overall, it was not too bad figuring it out!

Tech Tip: Creating a Google Site

For this week's tech tip, I was very proud of myself for creating a new Google Site! At first, I was intimidated and confused because I didn't know which item I was naming what and was unsure of what I would be able to change later. I didn't want to name anything permanently for one topic if I decided to write about another (especially since I'm torn between two right now) so I decided to keep the page address simple with my name. I then simply picked one of the themes, even if it isn't the final one, and created a title and placed an image behind it on the home page. I chose the keyboard picture because it fit the theme of the news special and journalism idea of the idea I picked, so it was nice to already have that as a pre-loaded image on the site. This was a little difficult for me, but I had fun creating this website and I am excited to get started on my Storybook!

Tech Tip: Canvas Profile

For this week's Tech Tip, I decided to explore personalizing my Canvas profile page. Surprisingly, all of my classes are on Canvas this semester so I figured it would be helpful to add a little bit of information about myself. I included my major (Health and Exercise Science/Pre-Physical Therapy) and added a picture. The photo I chose is one of my favorite headshots that my friend Emma, who is a professional photographer, took and I picked it because I felt that it was the most professional picture of me to display. I'm glad to know how to personalize my profile!

Tech Tip: Blog Profile

For this week's tech tip, I chose to remove the "About Me" portion from my blog because I couldn't think of a clever way to summarize myself into a few sentences and I didn't want to distract any viewers from the blog post options in the labels section. I think it looks cleaner on my blog page without me rambling about myself. :) Though, I love seeing what other people write on theirs (I'm just not quite as creative) and getting to know people a little bit better through their blogs!

Tech Tip Cheezburger Meme

(Image Source: Cheezburger)