The Google Apps Time Machine

I love to see teachers using Google Apps for Education with their students. The question I hear the most is: What do I do when my students delete content and the undo button doesn't bring it back?

My answer: Use the Time Machine!

Google Apps have a fantastic feature that I call The Time Machine. It's really called Revision History, and the more I use Google Apps with students, the more I appreciate it. If you select File and then See revision history, or simply click the phrase All changes saved in Drive at the top, you are taken to the Revision History. It allows you to see all changes and revisit a document, slideshow, or spreadsheet at a time in the past when it had different content. If you click Restore this revision you will literally take it back in time to the content it used to have.

That is super useful, but what about the student that accidentally deletes something without realizing it, then continues to work? If you restore a past draft, you will lose all the work they have done since. I've seen this a lot with elementary students working on slideshows because it's really easy to inadvertently delete an entire slide. Luckily with Revision History they can get that slide back! Instead of clicking Restore this revision, follow these steps:

1. Click on past drafts until you find one that has the missing content.
2. Copy the missing content or slide.
3. Click the back arrow to get back to the present version, then paste it in. You’ve just brought the past back to the present!

So the next time you or one of your students realizes you've lost content in your Google doc, slides or sheet, just go back in time and get it back. Thank you, Google Time Machine!

The image Time machine is from thethreesisters via Creative Commons License: Attribution 2.0 Generic

Use different Chrome profiles for work and play

If you ever use a work computer for personal browsing, it's a good idea to use different browsers for work and personal use. In my district we need to use Chrome browser because the majority of our programs work best in Chrome. I could use Chrome for work and Explorer or Firefox for personal use, but I really like Chrome! This post will explain how to easily setup separate Chrome profiles so you can use Chrome for work and play.

My district issues teachers a computer that can be taken home, and we can use it for personal browsing on our own time. However, personal browsing on a work computer can lead to some avoidable problems... 

Has this happened to you? You are logged in to your work email and you click to open a link to a shared Google App- maybe a document, slideshow, or Google Classroom- but it says you don't have permission!  Frustrating!! This happens because at some point you (or someone else) logged in to a personal Gmail account. Though you are currently logged in to your work Gmail, a link in an email may not automatically open with the work account. In fact, it is likely to use the personal account that doesn't have permission to view the Google App. 

And has this has happened to you? You start typing the name of a website in the URL bar, and a recently visited website autopopulates while you are projecting in front of your students, parents or staff. You may start typing an educational website like math.com but as soon as you type m-a-t, Match.com automatically populates. Whoops! Embarrassing.

This is because when you (or another user) visit websites they save in the browsing history. And the settings default to "use a prediction service to help complete searches and urls typed in the address bar." You can turn this off in settings, but it can be useful. If you use a different browser or profile for personal browsing, you won't need to turn this off. 

I have seen these actual scenarios in classrooms. Luckily, they can be prevented by setting up separate Chrome browser profiles. It's easy to keep your personal and professional life separate on a work computer.

First, you need to be logged in to the Chrome browser. You may be signed in already. To check, look at the top right corner of the screen. Left click on the name, email address or icon to check. 

If you left click and see your email address, you are signed in already. If you see the blue Sign in to Chrome button, click it and then enter your work email address and password. 

It's a good idea to log in to Chrome Browser even if you don't want more than one profile. Logging in will create a profile connected to your email address that saves all your bookmarks and settings so when your computer is reimaged or replaced, all you have to do is log back into Chrome and all of your bookmarks and settings are restored. 

Also, the bookmarks will sync to another computer/phone/tablet/device when you log into the Chrome browser using the same email address. Signing in to Chrome is useful! 

The following directions show one way to set up multiple browser profiles. Like everything on a computer, there is more than one way! I chose to show this way because it is quick: 

1. Left click on your name at the top right corner. 

2. Select Switch person.

3. Select Add person. 

4. Next you will be prompted to sign in to Chrome. This is where you sign in with a different email address. If you don't have a non-work Gmail account to sign-in to, click the Create account link on the sign-in page to create a free personal account.

That's it! The one-time set-up is complete. You can create even more profiles if you desire. If you have other people using your computer, they can each have their own profile. When you want to use a different profile, right click on the name of the profile at the top right of the screen, then select the profile you want to use. 

You can have multiple profiles open at the same time! They will each save their own bookmarks and history. When you are teaching or presenting, use your work browser. When you are checking personal email or websites, use your personal browser. When someone else uses your computer, they should use their own browser or browse as a guest (left click your name at the top right and choose Switch person to get the option to Browse as Guest). 

When you have separate profiles set up in Chrome, you won't have to deal with Google App links that can't open or worry about personal browsing history showing up while you're teaching. Keep your work and personal online life separate!