I sure wish I knew this Tech Tip before the Code Quest Arcade last month when our students were frantically searching for images with no background that they could use for their characters in their games. I used to tell people to add “transparent background” in the Google search when they wanted this but I just learned a super easy fast way to search for images with a transparent background.
Here’s how:
1. Open Google and click on Images, then type what you are looking for in the Search.
2. Click on Tools on the top right of the search:
3. Click on Colour and select Transparent:
Now the pictures that they find should have a transparent background.
4. This is a super great opportunity to teach your students about Usage Rights as well. Have them click on Usage Rights and select Creative Common Licenses:
Pictures that students find under the Creative Commons License are free for public use. While we should always give the artist credit for the pictures, it is not always necessary if you are using these pictures.
Speaking of which, thanks to Richard Byrne for teaching me this tip:
https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2023/05/the-effects-of-talking-to-yourself.html
For an explanation of what Creative Commons means, watch this video:
Do you have a lot of files in your Teams in Microsoft Teams that you would like an easy way to access all in one place? Today is your lucky day! You can have access to all the Files sections from your Teams in File Explorer on your computer. If you make add, delete or change something in a file, you will see the changes in both places. Here are some instructions to help you out:
1. Open the Team with the files you would like easy access to.
2. Open the Files Tab.
3. Click on Open in SharePoint (you may need to click on the ellipsis to find it).
4. This will open a webpage that has SharePoint in the top left. When this opens, click on Sync:
5. Click on Open in OneDrive
6. Now you will have access the files from that Team by going to File Explorer and clicking on Comox Valley Schools on the left (that is what mine showed up as I’m not 100% your will be the same name but the symbol will be the same).
Most teachers now have some kind of projector (Brightlink/Smartboard) in their classroom and they all seem to come with the same remote. I just discovered some cool things that you can do with it and of course, I wanted to share!
Freeze – Press the Freeze button to freeze the image on the screen. Then you can use your computer to do your own work while leaving the screen frozen on what your class needs to see.
AV Mute – Temporarily turn off the display video and audio. I’ve noticed that lots of teachers use this feature to save the light bulb without having to turn the machine off and then on again in a few minutes when you need it again.
Display Pointer – Pressing this puts an arrow on the screen that you can control using the arrow buttons on the remote.
Page Up and Down buttons – These can be used to move through slides in your PowerPoint or other slide presentation. This only works if you are not using a pen: Click here for more information.
Here is a picture that explains what all the buttons do:
