Tip: Change your Gmail address WITHOUT losing your existing Google application data!

 

Here is another Gmail/Google tip from Jeff Su's email newsletter. This tip is not about technology and learning, but if you have a Gmail address you no longer like, and you want to change it without losing all of your Google application data, now you can!

NOTE: Jeff mentions Gmail "aliases." These can also be useful. Read more about Gmail aliases here.

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Tip #2: Change your Gmail address

This is the one I'm most excited about. If you created your Gmail address in 2006 and it's something like EarthShakerxx@gmail.com (uh…for example obviously, I didn’t pick an alias based on a Dota character…) you no longer have to live with that decision.

Google now lets you change your actual Gmail address while keeping everything intact: your Drive files, YouTube subscriptions, Calendar, all of it.

So, here's a better way:

1. Go to myaccount.google.com​
2. Click Personal info > Email > Google Account email
3. Click your email address
4. Select Change your Google Account email
5. Pick your new address

Your old address automatically becomes an alias, so emails sent to your old address still arrive in your inbox. No one even needs to know you changed it.

 A couple things to know: it’s still being rolled out, you can only do this once every 12 months, with a lifetime max of 3 changes. So choose wisely.

Make a book of your blog with BlogBooker

BlogBooker (blogbooker.com) is a tool that lets you turn your blog into a PDF or MS Word document!





Like a lot of software, there are free and paid versions of BlogBooker.  For the free version:

• You can only create 3 documents every 6 months
• The picture and image quality is low
• The date range is 1 year for a PDF file & 6 months for a Word file (.doc)

Creating a BlogBook is an easy 2-step process:

• Step 1: Make a backup file of your blog
• Step 2: Follow these simple steps to create your own BlogBook:

Step 1: Make a Backup File of Your Blog (we will use Blogger as an example)

1. Go to Blogger.com and sign in to your blog.
2. From the left menu in Blogger, select Settings.
3. From the Settings sub-menu, select Manage Blog.
4. Select Backup Content.
5. Click Download
6. From the dialog box, select where you want to save your file and click Save. (the name will probably be: blog-month-date-year.xml )

Step 2: Make Your BlogBooker

1. Go to BlogBooker (blogbooker.com) and click the Make your BlogBook button.
2. Click on the type of blog platform you use (we use Blogger).
3. Select the type of BlogBooker file you want to create; either PDF (1 year of blog posts limit) or Word (6 months of blog posts limit).
4. Click the Select your XML export file button and navigate to where you saved the backup file you just created of your blog. (the name will probably be: blog-month-date-year.xml )
5. Type in your blog URL
6. BEFORE YOU CLICK THE GREEN Create your BlogBook BUTTON you have a few more options you can select:  Scroll down to change the Options. Click to select/deselect the options:
   --Set reverse chronological order
   --One column or two (you probably want one column)
   --Do you want a limited date range of blog posts included?
   --Do you want comments to be part of your BlogBook?
   --Do you want it to generate a table of contents?
   --Author of post (you don't need this since you are the only author)
   --new page for each entry (I like this)
7. Scroll back up to the top of the page and click the green Create your BlogBook button to create your BlogBook.  (Reminder: with the free version, you are limited to creating 3 documents every 6 months).
8. You will see a screen that says it is processing your BlogBooker.  When it is done, you will see your file with a name selected by the computer.  
9. You can either:
   --view your BlogBooker by clicking on the name of the file, or
   --save your BlogBooker by clicking the icon of the cloud with the down arrow and saving the file on your computer. Select where you want to save your BlogBook, give it a better name, and click to save.
10. Now you can view or print your BlogBook!

A BlogBooker book is a great way to save a copy of your blog posts and to easily read through and reflect on all your blog posts and comments. Reading your Blogbook will also allow you to more easily see themes and patterns and learn from your own blog!

What other uses do you see for Blogbooker?

Tip: Use Gmail to easily manage your Gmail email subscriptions

 

Last week, I included an optional video from Jeff Su on NotebookLM. He was a Google employee, and has a website with articles on (mostly) Google products, including AI and productivity (add it to your Feedly!), and he also has an email newsletter with tips. I subscribe to his email, and here is a Gmail tip I thought sounded useful from his April 23 email.

NOTE: This was not available yet on my desktop or my Gmail app on my phone. But I will be keeping an eye out for it in the future!

Tip #3: Manage subscriptions

I mean let’s be honest, this is the only newsletter you really need so this tip teaches you how to unsubscribe from all those inferior other newsletters. 

Gmail added a Manage subscriptions section to the sidebar. It shows every active subscription sorted by who's emailing you the most (prepare to be horrified), along with how many emails they've sent in the past few weeks.

Here's where to find it:

1. Open the Gmail app on your phone
2. Tap the menu icon (top left)
3. Tap Manage subscriptions
4. Hit Unsubscribe next to any sender you're done with

Gmail handles the unsubscribe request for you, so no more scrolling to the bottom of emails and squinting at grey-on-grey text.

 Fair warning: this one's most reliably found on mobile right now. If you don't see it on desktop yet, that's normal (classic Google rollout ). Check your phone first.

Citing AI in APA

In our class, we are advocating for AI to be a collaborator rather than a replacement for our work.  But, how--and when--do you cite your interactions with AI in papers? Many of us use Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) as an online source for APA formatting. And while Perdue OWL does have a section on how to format electronic sources in a reference list, for the most up-to-date information, it's best to check out the APA website. APA has a page with example references for AI tools and AI chat. 

I also found these three APA blog posts from 2025 useful for thinking about what, why, when, and how to reference AI in papers.

• Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 1--Reference formats
  
  
• Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 2--AI as a search engine and AI integrated into common software
  
  
• Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 3--Is AI "allowed" in APA Style?

As AI continues to quickly evolve, so too the rules for incorporating AI into papers must evolve. My advice: keep checking in with the APA website, do your best, and consider checking with your professor or publisher!

AI Prompting Resources

There are many models you can use to structure your AI prompting to provide enough information to get you as close as possible to the answer you are looking for from an AI chatbot including Task-Role-Audience-Approach-Tone/Style (Educraft video),  Request-Reference-Format-Framing, Task-Act as if-Output-Audience, Specific-Context-Iterate, and more! (just search for it!)

But you do not need to go it alone.  There are many prompting resources available for you:

A prompt library is a list of prompts you can use "as is" or use as inspiration and customize.
For example, 

• AI for Education has many great teaching and AI resources for K-12 teachers (and some use for non-k-12 teacher) including a Prompt Library for Educators with  dozens of prompts in the areas of assessment, communication, lesson planning, and more.
  
  
• This blog post from Control Alt Achieve includes several prompt libraries primarily for K-12 educators.
  
  
• AI Prompt Library for Educators helps you generate prompts for assessments, lesson plans, slide outlines, rubrics, and more (AIPromptLibrary.org)
  
  
• Prompt library for Training & Development (AI Innovation Lounge)
  
  
• 25+ Best ChatGPT Prompts for Instructional Designers (thinkific.com)
  
  
• A few Prompts for Leadership (Content at Scale. There are many categories of prompts in addition to leadership in the left side menu.)
  
  
• Here are a few function-specific prompts from Simplifying AI:
  
  

• How to prompt
  
  

• Prompts for education
  
  
• Prompts for entrepreneurs
  
  
• Prompts for marketing
  
  
• Prompts for HR

A Few More Prompts for Fun!

• AI Prompts for Career Development (Griffith University) 
  
  
• 20+ ChatGPT Prompts To Discover Your Leadership Style in 2024 (Forbes)
  
  
• 5 ChatGPT Prompts to Change Your State of Mind (and Get More Done) (Forbes)

(Forbes has a lot of prompt articles)

You can also prompt your Chatbot to create (or improve) your prompts!

Example 1: Creating prompts

I want you to become my Prompt Creator. Your goal is to help me craft the best possible prompt for my needs. The prompt will be used by you, [name of chatbot such as ChatGPT]. You will follow the following process: 1. Your first response will be to ask me what the prompt should be about. I will provide my answer, but we will need to improve it through continual iterations by going through the next steps. 2. Based on my input, you will generate 3 sections a) Revised prompt where you provide your rewritten prompt. It should be clear, concise, and easily understood by you, b) Suggestions where you provide suggestions on what details to include in the prompt to improve it, and c) Questions where you ask any relevant questions pertaining to what additional information is needed from me to improve the prompt. 3. We will continue this iterative process with me providing additional information to you and you updating the prompt in the Revised prompt section until it is complete.

Example 2 (from @evolving.ai): Rewriting prompts

You are Prompt Professional, the most advanced [name of chatbot such as ChatGPT] prompt writer in the world. I will provide you a prompt. Today, your job is to rewrite the prompt again in 10 different and creative ways. Now ask me what prompt to rewrite.

Example 3: Teaching support

I am a trainer who needs to teach [content] in [business/setting]. My students are [describe students]. The level of this training should be [beginner, advanced, suitable for new leaders, etc.] The training will be [duration] and be [face to face, online, self-paced, etc.]. Possible challenges of teaching these students are [challenge 1] [challenge 2]. I enjoy teaching because [reason 1] [reason 2]. Generate 20 ChatGPT use cases that could help me enhance my effectiveness as a trainer and improve my student's engagement and learning.

Alternative for red text above:

Generate 10 objectives for this training with two activity ideas for each objective.

Substitute whatever instructions will be useful for you in place of the red text.

Have fun creating and editing prompts!

(All images created with Microsoft Copilot.)

This might be my new favorite QR code generator

One of the challenges with many of the free QR Code generators is that they have restricted the free QR code features to only linking to websites. I recently came across the free QR Code generator, Me-QR that generates a QR code and lets you link to many types of media with the free version.

Once you get to the Me-QR website, you will need to sign up for a free account.  After that, it's just three simple steps to generate your QR Code.

Step 1: Select what your QR Code will link to

You can link your QR Code to a website, but you can also link to all of the following (and more):

 

I particularly like being able to link to a PDF document (an article, work document, or PDF of a PowerPoint presentation, etc.) and to link to text or an image with contact information, etc.

Step 2: Select your content and create your QR Code

Add the link or upload the content from your computer and click: Customize & Download QR.

Step 3: Customize and download your QR Code

Your QR Code is generated and you have the option to customize the look of your QR Code with frames based on pre-made templates, themes, holidays, and events. Once you have a design and color customization that you like, you can download your QR Code and use it in documents, slide decks, presentations, posters, and more!

What are some ways you can integrate QR codes linking to all these options into your profession?

Pack your information into a QR Code

What is a QR Code?

QR code stands for Quick Response code.  QR codes can contain a variety of information from text, to video, to documents, and scanning the QR code unlocks the information for you and captures it on your phone.  QR codes make the real world clickable!

Here is a brief explanation of QR Codes by Common Craft.

QR Code Readers

In order to unlock the information in a QR code, you need a QR reader.  There are many QR reader apps available for mobile devices.  You can check the web and the app store for your mobile device for recommendations. I have been using the QR Reader for iPhone app for years. There may be newer and better apps available, but QR Reader seems to do what I need to do, so I am still using it. 

QR Code Generators

QR generators let you create your own QR codes. QR Code generators are available on the web on your computer and as mobile apps.  I tend to generate my QR codes on the computer because I am often using them in handouts or presentations that I am creating on the computer. There are QR code generators that are free and many that have paid versions. Here are two generators that offer slightly different features that are free.

• QR Code Generator is a simple QR Code generator that lets you include text, URL, structured contact information, or send a SMS/text.

• QR Code Monkey lets you change the color of your QR code and add an image to the middle of the QR code.  For example, this QR code takes you to the Leadership Book Club podcast website.

How can you use QR codes?

There are hundreds of ways to use QR codes. One of my favorite uses of QR codes is with my PowerPoint slides when I give a presentation. On the last slide of the presentation, I will include a QR code with my contact information and a QR code with an electronic copy of the presentation. It saves me from emailing my contact information and the presentation to dozens of people after I get home!

QR codes can also be used to support learning and the QR codes can be added to print media like posters, books, and handouts. I have even seen QR codes printed, cut out, and attached to "real life" objects. One of my favorite examples of QR codes in education is the Periodic Table of Videos created by Brady Haran (Periodic Videos). Each element on the periodic chart has been replaced with a QR code that leads to a video on the element!

Here are a few other ideas:

• Use QR codes for the answers in study materials.  It is like having the answers in the back of the book, but makes it easier for students to try the problems before they look at the answers.
• With a display of student projects or products, post QR codes on each exhibit with the link to a video of the creator explaining their work.  
• At the end of a chapter or document have a QR code with the link to the next document.
• Supplement handouts with QR codes to videos demonstrating the concept in the handout.
• Create a scavenger hunt for new students or employees to become familiar with their new work environment/campus and to team build with other new students/employees. Student/employees can scan a QR code that sends a text to the instructor so she knows each step they have accomplished in the scavenger hunt.
• Use a QR code on a poster to link to a document with more information (such as a program for a concert, a biography for a speaker, etc.)
• Use QR codes on an organizational chart with pictures or biographies of each person.

Here are resources with even more ideas on how to integrate QR codes into the classroom.  Although these examples are primarily from K-12 education, there are ideas and inspiration for those of us who teach post-secondary and in a corporate setting.

QR Codes for Quick Student Engagement (Faculty Focus)

8 Ways to use QR Codes in Higher Education Classrooms (Educause)

Four Ways to Use QR Codes to Enliven Your Learning Event (ATD)

One word of warning: Just as links take you websites, so can QR codes, which means there is the opportunity for malicious behavior. Apply the same caution and common sense to using unknown QR codes as you would to clicking on unknown links.

What are some ways you can integrate QR codes into your profession?