Creating a Signature Line in GMail

Go to your Gmail account


Click on the gear icon
 in top right corner


Choose 'Settings'

Scroll down until you find the 'Signature' section

Click on the box to enable the signature

Type in the signature box as you would like your signature to appear, adding a link to your Google site (copy and paste the url from your Google site)

When you are finished, scroll to the very bottom of this page and 'Save Changes'

That's it!  Now every email you send from your Gmail will automatically have your signature line.

(In this section of Gmail, you can find other interesting options that you may find useful for yourself.  Have a quick look and see what options are available.)

Google basics

Now that our school is officially using Google Apps for Education, with the first step being a change over to Gmail, some people have a few questions about things that are happening.  Here are a few quick tips for this stage.

1.  When someone sends me a link to a google doc, what do I do?  You simply click on the link and it will take you to the google doc.  If for some reason you are denied access, you need to do two things:  1. Check that you are indeed logged in with the school email address and not a personal gmail address. 2. If you're logged in correctly, then send a request for access.  This sends an email to the owner of the document who then needs to change the permissions so you can view and/or edit it.

2.  When I make changes on a google doc do I have to save it?  No, you don't have to do anything.  It automatically saves and anyone with access to the doc can view what you've added.

3.  What if I delete or mess up the doc?  No worries - you can go back to any stage of the document's life to retrieve it.

4.  I've closed the doc and closed my internet browser and have deleted the link from my email, but I want to get back to that document.  How do I find it?  In your internet address bar type in docs.google.com  This will link you directly to your google drive providing you're still logged in. (if not, just log in)   Down the left side you will see this. >>>>  If you click on 'My Drive' it will take you to anything that you have created and saved.  If you click on 'Shared with Me' it will take you to the files that people have shared with you, which is where you should find that document you are looking for.  'Starred' is for favourites, and 'Recent' is for things you've recently been working on.  The big red button with 'Create' is for you to create your own documents to share or to use for yourself.  You can make word documents, spread sheets, powerpoint presentations, forms.... but don't worry about all of those... if you want to have a play, try a document and then try to 'share' it with a friend and see what happens.

If you have any other questions email me or leave a comment below and I'll see if I can help you out!

.....and just so you know, there will be more PD on this early in 2014 at school.....

Sorting out Google

This week our school is moving over to Google Apps for Education.  Many teachers have already signed up, signed in and are well on their way.  For those who haven't, please shout out if you need help.

Here are a few tips for those who are navigating their way through this phase.

1.  If you have a current gmail account that you use for personal things (youtube, blogging, email) keep it and identify it somehow as personal (a family or hobby photo)

2.  If you have a current gmail account that you never, ever use, delete it!  Trust me, it will be easier in the long run and less confusing!

3.  When setting up your school google account make sure to do the Google Plus portion and set up your profile.  By doing this we will be able to use all of the features of Google in the future.

4.  Once you've got your profile built, you can view your profile anytime by clicking on your photo in the top right hand corner from any google page, and choosing 'view profile'.  This takes you to your home newsfeed page.

4.  Now you can begin adding to your circles.  If this is your only google account you may want to add friends to a 'Friends' circle, family to a 'Family' circle, etc.  You can 'create a new circle' by clicking on the blue link 'Create new circle' at the bottom of the circle's lists and type in 'Cockle Bay' and then another one for your team or whatever other groups you need.  One person can be in multiple groups.  By sorting your contacts into groups it will help you with sending emails, links, notices, sharing information, etc.

5.  If a staff member has more than one account, for example their personal and now their school account, I would suggest you add their school account to a 'CBS' list and their personal account to your 'Friends' list (or just remove their personal account).  This will help in each of us not getting too many emails, posts, notifications, etc and will help to keep our school and personal lives somewhat separate.

I think that's a good start for now..... the possibilities are endless and there is a lot to learn... don't despair, we will get there!