Tuesday Tips November 23, 2021

 TECH TIP:  Turn a picture of writing into text (or translate it!) using Live Text

As part of the iOS 15 update on iPhones, you can now take a picture of writing, copy it, and turn it into text!  First, go into your camera's settings and turn on Detected Text.

Then take a picture of some writing (can be typed or handwritten), and then click on the indicator icon in the lower right corner (it will show up in your camera screen).

You can then select the text you want and copy it into a document.  With handwriting, it's not perfect, you will need to make some edits.  

BONUS:  When you select text, you can also translate it into several different languages!

BOOK TIP:  Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

  A student took this book out as part of a book talk for their English class, and read it one night.  One of the authors, Yusef Salaam, is one of the Central Park Five and has now devoted his life to prison reform and fighting against wrongful imprisonment.  This is a fictionalized account of his story told powerfully through verse.

Tuesday Tips, November 9, 2021

 TECH TIP:  New Citations Feature in Google Docs

I worked with Tara Birkett's 9th grade classes this week on creating their Works Cited pages.  We used the new Google Citations feature that is built into Google Docs.  You can find it under Tools -> Citations.  It makes the process so smooth, even students said, "That's it?  That was so easy!".  I'd love to show your classes how to do this, too. 

BOOK TIP:  All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

A powerful memoir of a young queer Black man told through a series of essays about his childhood, his family, and the triumph and trauma of his coming of age.  It is a story for those looking to be allies and understanding, and a support to those also dealing with these issues at a personal level.