Category Archives: Students

Anything relating to student devices

Organize your Drive Life

Why?

Because it makes your life easier, your stuff easier to find, saves you time, saves you stress and headaches…. do I really need to go on?

How?

Create new folders by clicking on the big PLUS icon, and select NEW FOLDER.

Name it something that will HELP you know what’s inside – naming the folder “English Papers” is going to save you time because it’s easy to know what is in it. On the other hand, naming it “Verbage I couldn’t stand creating” will cost you time.

After you create your folders, click-n-drag your files into the correct folders. YES – this can be done using the Drive app on the iPad.

5 more tips

Taken from https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-organize-and-name-folders-and-files-in-google-drive/

1.

Balance the number of files and folders – you can get TOO organized. For example, ONE folder called “English Papers” might be enough – you may NOT need “English Paper 1”, “English paper 2”, “English Paper 3” etc.

Think about what will make it EASY to find your stuff.

2.

Name your files! DON’T leave them at the default “Untitled Document“. Name it something so that anyone with half-a-brain can tell what that document is about.

3.

Making major changes? Make a copy, then add something at the end of the filename [“v2“, “v3“, etc.]

When you are working on a document, select File–> Save As Copy….. When working in Drive, you can right-click on the file icon and select “Duplicate this file”. Then right-click the copy and “Rename”.

Seriously, it’s worth the time.

4.

Got a deadline? Put the date in the filename, so you’ll always know when it’s due.

MDS Tech suggests using this format: “2019-10-22 English – Projectname”….. but remember to use TWO digits for the months and days [09 for September, 06 for June, etc]. That will make it easier to find because of how the computer sorts things.

5.

THINK AHEAD!

How does your brain work? What scheme will make it easy for YOU to find your stuff?

The key point is NOT to use a method that everyone else is using – although that might be a good start. The key is to make it easy for YOU to find your stuff.

…and a bonus tip:

START EARLY, AND START NOW

It is FAR easier and takes MUCH less time to organize a few files than to organize a gazillion – which you might have in your Drive space by the time you are a Senior. Get started now organizing your sock drawer….er……. your Drivespace.

Notability: You won’t believe what you can do

Since it is our primary go-to app for getting stuff done on your iPad, it is REALLY worth your time to learn it well.

First, some pointers from MDS Tech:

  1. Setup your autobackup correctly. THIS TECH ARTICLE has the details.
  2. Get your Notes Organized. CLICK HERE for more info.

Want to know what else Notability can do? Click the links below!

Notability 8.0 new features – several that you don’t know about

Notability 9 New Features

Notability for IOS – Drag-n-Drop? Side-by-side notes? Indexed Handwritten notes so you can search them? Handwritten notes to text conversion? Zooming in? Typing Math Symbols?

Did you know Notability can do all this?I

VIDEOS

Using the Recording Feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyWjRq85D0Q

Using the Recording Feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyWjRq85D0Q

Notability PDF Features: https://youtu.be/2SmAbRInMUk

How to Use Notability [Good overview of all the features]: https://youtu.be/6S66NPvCNSU ParagraphStart with the building block of all narrative.Font SizeDrop Cap

Toggle to show a large initial letter.Search for a block

Notability PDF Features: https://youtu.be/2SmAbRInMUk

How to Use Notability [Good overview of all the features]: https://youtu.be/6S66NPvCNSU


How to Check Your Grades

Although there are a couple of ways to check your grades, here is the foolproof method.

NOTE: Grades are not available during the school day [there are certain specific days when grade access is left open – there are rare.]. If you try to check your grades when access is disabled, you will receive an error message.

LOG IN using your school ID (lunch code) starting with mds – example: mds12345
Enter your password as given by the school (used with LMS and Apple ID).
Students DO NOT create an account.
There are other ways to access grades, but this is recommended.

Again, grades are not available during school hours.
You may get a “disabled” or “unable to see grades” error during school hours.

CLICK HERE to get this information as a PDF.