Why “Shared with Me”???

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I think one of the most misunderstood sections of Google Drive is the “Shared with Me” bin. Many people don’t understand why there is a shared with me bin in Google Drive. The shared with me section of the drive is where either public or shared with you files and folders are stored. Its function is to keep the shared files and folders separate from your private area (my drive) of Google Drive. It is up to the individual user if they want to add a “shared with me” file or folder shortcut to my drive section of Google Drive.

It is not unusual to hear Google Drive users say, “How do I organize the folders & files in the Shared with Me bin? The answer is simple the organizational ability is limited. Your choices for organizing the “Shared with Me” section is one of the following:

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Clicking on a Google Drive folder or file embedded on a website or blog is automatically stored in the “Shared with Me” bin of Google Drive. The reason this happens is to allow you to view the public file. Think about what it would be like to request access every time you found an embedded file or folder.

Use Google Meet Attachments

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The attachment feature in Google Meet is there to make life easier. It organizes the presentations and files in one easy to access list. The attachment listing makes the screen sharing experience a breeze. Plus Meet Organizer and guests have access to the same attachment list. The guest view and opening of files are dependent upon the owner’s share setting for each file.

Why Attach Files to Meet?

  • Reduces Open Tabs
    • What does this mean?  
      • You may experience fewer glitches
  • Easy file access
    • Easy to locate screen share presentation file
    • Guests don’t have to search for files in their shared drive
    • Guests may open the file for “Full-Size View”
  • Sharing Collaborative file for Guest Interaction
  • Attach Files such as:
    •  A Jamboard for a quick on-hand whiteboard
    • Google Form for collecting guest attendance
    • Google Slides presentation
    • Videos

How to attach a file to Google Meet?

  • Set up the Google Meet by creating a Google Event
  • Add attachments in the event
  • The lower-left corner of the Google Meet is where you’ll find the attachment listing

Guardian Summaries Makes Life Easier!

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Sample Guardian Summary Copied from
Google Classroom Help Center Resource:
About guardian email summaries

Google Classroom couldn’t make it any easier for strengthening a school to home connection by supplying weekly or daily assignment updates. A Guardian Summary is autogenerated by Google Classroom to provide guardians & parents with an assignment due date along with updates about missing assignments. One beauty of a Guardian Summary is how it automatically adds all the Google Courses for the student into one email. It couldn’t be any easier than that! 

Globally many families are taken on different responsibilities with their child’s learning due to the impact of COVID-19. Everyone in the world is dealing with extra anxieties. Guardian summaries can alleviate some of the assignment communication anxieties added upon teachers, students, and parents due to the COVID-19 Challenge. Learn more about setting up of Guardian summaries by reading the Following Google Classroom Help Center Resources:

  1. About Guardian Email Summaries
  2. Setup Guardian Email Summaries
  3. Guardian Email Summaries FAQ’s

Tips for Success: Attaching Files to Google Classroom…

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One tip before attaching an image or file to a Google Classroom assignment is to name or rename it. Give the image or file a name in which the teacher or a colleague will be able to identify your project. Don’t forget to use your first name, last name first initial, and the assignment’s or project’s name in the image title. Note personalizing a file’s title prevents it from being lost in a teacher’s or colleagues Google Classroom Google Drive folder. 

How to Name a File

Attaching an Image file to a 
Google Classroom Assignment.

Laptop or Chromebook Directions

Tablet, iPad, Smartphone Directions

Tips for Success

 Tablet, iPad, Smartphone

  • Close all open APPS
  • Try using a home wireless network connection
  • Ask family member not to:
    • Stream movies or music
    • Play online games
    • Upload or download files

 Laptop or Chromebook

  • Use one Internet Browser
    • Close all extra Internet Browsers
  • Close all extra open browser tabs
  • Try using a home wireless network connection
  • Ask family member not to:
    • Stream movies or music
    • Play online games
    • Upload or download files

Covid-19 Internet Challenges

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Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Last week due to COVID-19 along with the influx of schools & businesses onto the internet connectivity problems starting popping up. Challenges such as video processing, uploaded images disappearing, and intermittent internet connections occurred. Over the last two days, video chat meetings started freezing for me.  

Today I ran an experiment to understand the issue and to provide helpful workarounds. The following list is of tips that seemed to help my connectivity issues. 

  • Use one Internet browser at a time
  • Close all extra Internet browser tabs
  • Use one device at a time on your home wifi network
    • Examples of devices
      • Smartphones
      • Extra laptops
      • Extra tablet & iPads
      • Smart TV
      • Smart Assistants
        • Alexa
        • Google Home
        • Google Home Mini
  • Try a different hour of the day to do your work

Sure hope these tips work for you! They worked like a charm for me.