Google Drive Priority Page Now Available for All G Suite Accounts

Earlier this year Google began rolling-out a "priority page" in Google Drive for some G Suite accounts that were on the "rapid release" program. Today, Google announced that all G Suite accounts are now eligible for and will begin to appear in all Google Drive accounts.

Priority Page in Google Drive is a feature that will display what Google's algorithm determines to be your most important files at any given moment. This is largely files that have recently been shared with you for commenting and editing or files you've recently shared for the same purpose. From the Priority Page you will be able to see new comments without having to open the file in a separate tab or window.

Google's announcement said that the Priority Page will appear now or in the next few days in all accounts. So far only one of my three Google accounts shows a Priority Page in Google Drive.

How to Digitally Sign Documents

Whether it's a form for your HR department, permission slips for athletics, or an acceptable use agreement for a school-issued laptop, back-to-school season often involves signing a lot of documents. In the old days those documents would be printed and you'd sign them then stick them in a mailbox and hope they didn't get lost in the shuffle. Today, most of the forms we need to sign can be sent, signed, and returned online. There are many tools available that make this quick and easy to do. HelloSign is the one that I use and recommend for digitally signing documents that have been sent to me.

In the following video I demonstrate how to use HelloSign to fill-out and sign documents online.


As you start to think about permission slips and other forms that parents might need to sign for you at the beginning of the school year, consider sending them the link to this video to show them how easy it is to sign and send documents to you.

How to Use QuickCite to Create MLA 8 Citations

QuickCite is a new tool that helps students create properly formatted MLA 8 citations. As I wrote earlier this week, QuickCite can also be used by students to create informal citations for use in things like blog posts, slideshows, and videos. One of the features of QuickCite that I particularly like is that it provides little help bubbles for students to consult if they aren't sure what to enter into the citation. I highlight that feature and other features of QuickCite in the following video.

Ed Tech Fitness Challenges for Back-to-School Season

As some of you know, at the beginning of 2019 I started another little blog called Ed Tech Fitness. I started it as a means to keep me on track as I tried to get back in shape and to encourage others to do the same. 275 people have joined the community so far.

Now that back-to-school season is here it is easy to fall out of the good diet and exercise habits that we worked on all summer. The stress of the new school year makes it easy to skip a workout or stress-eat a bag of chips (guilty!). That's why this month on Ed Tech Fitness there is a challenge a week designed to encourage and remind us all to stay on track with the little things that can make or break good diet and exercise streaks.

You can find the calendar of challenges right here. And if you would like a weekly reminder, you can join the Ed Tech Fitness newsletter here.