Note: As of 1 Oct 2026, this is a FULL STATIC COPY of all 6,390 posts shared on this blog since 2003. Updated content and ideas from Wes Fryer are still available!

Moving at the Speed of Creativity by Wes Fryer

Category: google

  • Use Appointment Slots on a Google Calendar

    Google Calendar (free) offers a wonderful feature for teachers: The ability to set up “appointment slots” which other people can click on to schedule a meeting at an available time. This is ideal for scheduling parent-teacher conferences or other meetings in which individuals in a group need to specify a time that works with their…

  • Recoverable and Resumable YouTube Uploads with Chrome and FireFox

    Here’s an excellent reason to consider using a recent version of Chrome or FireFox as your web browser when uploading videos to YouTube: Uploads are recoverable and resumable file transfers when using these browsers. This evening I uploaded two large, high definition videos to YouTube from this past weekend’s Trapper’s Rendezvous campout in southcentral Kansas.…

  • Create a Custom Google Gadget for Blogger or Google Sites

    A large number of “Google Gadgets” are available to insert into sites you create with Blogger and Google Sites. It is possible to create a custom Google Gadget also, which can be embedded in multiple pages. In this seven minute screencast, I describe how to create a simple Google Gadget which can serve as another…

  • Claim Your Online Content With Google+ Authorship Settings

    To take charge of your “digital footprint” online, you need to publish content which you “claim” virtually as your own. One effective way to do this is to add website links for sites where you regularly (or periodically) post using the Google+ Authorship program. (It’s free.) Some reasons to do this include: Customizing posts from…

  • An Iterative Google Search (with advanced options) solves a MS Word File Saving Problem

    Here’s a simple fix to an irritating problem I found today which might help others. In Microsoft Word 2011 on a Mac laptop running OS 10.6 Snow Leopard, every time a teacher tried to save a file she got the following error: The disk is full trying to write to Macintosh HD. Free some space…

  • Help Needed from Urban Educators: Are Evernote, GDocs & Edmodo Blocked for Your Students?

    If you work in a large school district (defined by student population, say 40,000 students or more) I need your help with a quick survey. I met with the superintendent and CIO of our school district in Oklahoma today, and will have an opportunity this evening to address our school board for three minutes as…

  • Google Reader Post Sharing Still working with Mobile RSS

    The decision by Google’s design team for Google Reader to integrate Google Plus “1+” sharing into Reader is understandable from one vantage point, but its current implementation is very poor and represents a functional downgrade for millions of Google Reader users. Brian Shih, the original (and former) program manager for Google Reader, was on the…

  • Explaining Google Searches and Page Rank

    The three minute video, “How Search Works” from Google provides a nice overview of search engine basics, page rank, and online advertising. Consider sharing this with your students and discussing both the function as well as the power / importance / ethics involved in Internet search today. Google’s official YouTube channel has hundreds of other…

  • YouTube Aggregates Videos Shared on a Blog

    Here’s a great new feature of Google and YouTube I discovered today: For some blogs (not sure how they discriminate) Google is automatically aggregating all the YouTube videos shared in posts. Here’s my channel. These channels are “subscribable” using a YouTube account like a “normal” channel. This is a nice feature, and demonstrates how content…

  • Google SketchUp Workshop (Sept 2011)

    These are my notes from the Google SketchUp workshop led by Allyson McDuffie at the September 27, 2011, Google Geo-Teacher Institute in Lewiston, Maine. MY THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. Allyson’s bio on our conference presenter’s page is: Allyson McDuffie manages the SketchUp for Education Program at Google, which has taken her to…