Google Version History

Google's Version History (previously known as "revision history") is a very useful feature in Google Docs, Slides, Sheets and Draw.

What is "Version History" and how do I use it?

• By clicking File-->Version History, owners and editors of a Google doc can see all previous versions and revisions or choose to add a name to the current version.

• Click on a revision to see who edited which portions of the document. Revisions are color-coded to the name of the revisor.

• If you hover your mouse over a highlighted revision, the name of the revisor appears.

• Click the three dots by a revision to name it for quick, future reference. This is a new feature recently added by Google.

• Click on "Only show named versions" to filter to just those you've named manually.

• Click on a draft and then click "restore this version" to move document back to that draft's point in time, or click "Presentation Draft" to go back to current version and exit version history.

Why would I want to use Version History?

• If students make inappropriate changes to a shared document, you can quickly restore the original or past drafts. By telling students you can see all edits to a document, you can also discourage inappropriate behavior before it happens.
• If you accidentally delete work and close the document, you can still recover it.
• If you want to track your revisions and compare different drafts of a document, you can toggle between them (ex. rough draft, revised draft, final version).

For more information about version history, check out the Control Alt Achieve blog post on this topic.

Interactive Diagrams on Quizlet

Quizlet has released an update to its popular flashcard and review website--diagrams. This is a great addition for subject areas that have visual content. This could include locations on a map, parts of a cell, steps in a math problem, parts of a sentence, elements of art, parts on a piece of equipment and much more!

It's easy to use. (detailed directions)

1. Create quiz cards as usual.
2. Upload a picture.
3. Add location points to the picture.
4.  Align locations to the terms on your cards. 
5. Share with your students (link or embed). Here is a sample to try.

Students can still use all the traditional flashcard reviews, but now, in "learn" mode, students can quiz themselves based on the picture locations.

Don't have time to create your own? No problem. Browse, select and use some of the many diagrams already posted for use on Quizlet.

Note: With the free version, you are limited to 8 diagram cards in each set. However, if you need more than that, you can made additional sets. 

Next level: You can take Quizlet diagrams a step further and have students create their own study sets. This is even better because students will be engaged at a higher cognitive level. After they are created, you can have students share their study sets with each other to increase review options. This would be quick and easy with a Schoology discussion or on a shared Google doc.

Give it a try. These are easy to create and a fun way for students to review!

Updates to Google Slides

Google has announced some exciting upgrades to Google Slides.  More information can be found on this GSuites blog site.

1. Quickly add items from Google Keep by dragging and dropping items into Slides.

• Google Keep allows you to keep notes and links in a handy collection of lists. You can even share these lists with others to make a collaborative checklist. 
• Now Keep is integrated into Google slides! (Click Tools-->Keep Notepad)
• Drag an item from Keep to Slides, and a slide is quickly created and formated for you.

2. Link slides from different slideshows (and update all at once).

• By linking slides from multiple slideshows together, you can save time updating.
• Update the slide in one presentation, and that same slide is automatically updated in any linked presentation.

3. Add-ons now available in Slides.

• Add-ons have been part of Docs, Sheets and Forms in the past. They are now available in Slides as well!
• Add-ons give you additional functionality like quickly searching for royalty-free images as well as connecting to third party products like Lucid Charts and Pear Deck.

4. Additional new features:

• Insert diagrams

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• Select grid view to see thumbnails of all your slides at once (like PowerPoint).

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• Skip slide feature (Hide a slide without deleting it! Great for your embedded slideshows or customizing presentations.) Just right click on a thumbnail and choose "Skip Slide."

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