Making Gmail More Efficient

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your Gmail account, I assure you, you’re not alone.  We all receive a bazillion emails all day long, from colleagues, students, administrators, advertisers, organizations… so. many. emails.  But we need email to communicate.

So today’s blog post is how to make Gmail less overwhelming and more efficient.

Turn Off Sharing Notifications

Our students share Google files with us daily.  But it’s frustrating to receive an email for each file every time a student shares something.  It can clog up our inboxes real quick.  To combat that, ask your students to turn off sharing notifications when they send you a file.  The file will still land in your Shared folder, but you will not receive an email notification.

Archive vs. Delete

I love getting rid of things.  Love it!  But I also like to save things just in case I need them later.  This is when you should archive emails, instead of deleting them.  Archiving allows you to clear your inbox (woo hoo!) without the anxiety of “what if.”  As Google says, “archiving removes messages from your inbox, but keeps them in your account so that you can always find them later.”  Bingo!  So the next time you’re waffling over an email, click the archive button instead the trash button.  Benefits to this include:

• You’ll still have the email under the All Mail label, so you can search for it easily.
• If someone replies to that email, it will come back to your inbox.
• Your inbox is clear!

Inbox Setup

There are several ways to set up your inbox.  To change to one or the other, click “Settings,” under Settings .  Then choose “Inbox.”

1. By default, Gmail gives your inbox tabs, like Primary, Social, Forums, etc.  Your emails will be auto-sorted into these categories, or you can sort them yourself.  Some people really like this, as Google sorts through things for you; it keeps your “real” emails under the Primary tab, then sorts coupons under Promotions and Facebook under Social.  To change/add/delete any tabs, click “Configure Inbox,” under Settings .

2. Choosing “Unread first” will separate your emails into two categories: “unread” at the top, and “everything else” at the bottom.  I like to use my inbox as a “to do list,” so this works best for me.

 

3. Three more layout options include “important first,” “starred first,” and “priority inbox.”  They are variations on the “unread/everything else” layout, but allow for more customization.

Conclusion

Email is a necessity but can be overwhelming and/or frustrating.  But Gmail can be made more efficient through a few simple tweaks, like asking your students to turn off sharing notifications, archiving emails, or choosing a different inbox layout.  Don’t let a clogged inbox keep you down!

Even More Helpful Stuff

• How to Keep Your Inbox Clean, including archive vs. delete, automatic filtering, priority inbox, and unroll.me.
• How to Organize Your Gmail Inbox to be More Effective, including the difference between a label/folder/tab, how to use and manage labels, inbox settings, and archiving.
• How to Filter and Block Unwanted Emails (Spam) in Gmail

Flipgrid for giving every student a voice

While graphic organizers, exit tickets, and worksheets are a standard in every classroom, it is not the only way to get input from kids.  Google Classroom, Kahoot, Quizizz, and other tech tools can collect discussion answers, documents, or quick answers from students.  A tool I recently learned about, Flipgrid, is set up to accept picture, text or video responses to a prompt.  Students can see and comment on the posts of others as well.  Here’s how it might work:

1. Teacher creates a “grid” related to a specific subject or grade level such as social studies, 3rd grade, or HS art.
2. Teacher creates a topic related to their grid subject, such as volcanoes, narratives, or solving two step equations.  This should ask a question or require input from students.  For example, it could be, “Tell me a story using time order words,” or “How do you solve this equation?”
3. Teacher shares the topic to the students and students give their input as a picture, text, and/or video.  That way they can talk through their learning, speaking out loud about how to complete a task, or they can show and talk about their results.
4. Students can view and comment on their classmates’ submissions using emojis similar to Facebook.

There is an iPad app, but you can also record from the chromebook.  When you click the + to add a response, it will prompt you to use your camera and microphone.

Once they allow these, then students will click the camera to record.

It will prompt the students to give their names and emails.  I would recommend you just have them put their first name and last initial.  Or just initials.  Once they post, they can view the posts from others.

You can contribute to my example here.

This could be a great first step to making great digital citizens who know how to use the tech resources for their learning.  If you have questions or need help, let me know and I’d be happy to stop by!

Focus

As a parent of two who recently put passcodes on her children’s iPads, I am aware of the pull that technology offers to children.  As a person who has tried to put most of the content I need on a day-to-day basis on my phone so it’s always accessible, I understand how for some of us the device has become a constant distraction.

With that in mind, I offer some ways to gain, keep, or re-focus, whether you are trying to do this with your students or for yourself. This means using a device AND staying on task!

For students, secondary teachers can make use of Hapara to focus a student’s browsing by only allowing them to visit certain sites for a determined period of time.  Teachers using iPads can turn on guided access to limit the areas on the screen with which students can interact.  Having your students use their computers with their backs to you (and their screens facing you) can also help to make sure they are on task.  Ultimately, though, it’s acceptable and healthy to put away the devices and have a face-to-face conversation.

For teachers, there are several apps that will remind you to take a brain break: StandApp, Stand Up!, and Move It.  If you and your students are spending all period sitting at your desk, working on research, a presentation, or otherwise focusing on a task, it will be beneficial to you to get up and move, even if only for a stretch.  A Stanford study finds that walking is good for creativity, so it may be a good idea to work this into the lesson.  

Another aspect related to this are desk styles.  We have traditional table and chair, but now there are standing desks, fidget bands, yoga balls, node chairs, and the list goes on.  As someone who works with Greg, I can definitely see how these might be helpful!  :)