"Snooze" your emails (even if you are not using Gmail!)

In an earlier blog post, I talked about using the "snooze" feature in Gmail to set a date for your email to be re-sent to your inbox.  But what if you are not using Gmail?  

One option is to use FollowUpThen. 

What is it?

Although not a tool for use with learners, this is one of my favorite "productivity" tools--I use it almost every day. (it's the only way I can ever get close to "inbox zero.")

FollowUpThen is a tool to help you manage your email inbox.  It lets you resend an email to your inbox at a later date (for example when you need to be reminded of something, or when you are ready to take action on the email). To accomplish this, you use SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com as an email address in your distribution.

Example

Let's say I sent an email to Susan and Enrique asking when they were available to meet. Ordinarily, I might be tempted to CC or BCC myself on the email and leave it in my inbox to remind me that Susan and Enrique should be getting back to me about this.  This is not a good reminder system because 

1. it clutters my inbox
2. with all the email in my inbox--and with this email potentially scrolling off the bottom of the screen and not being visible--it may not be a good reminder for me. 

Instead of BCC-ing myself on the email, I can BCC SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com.  Let's say I wanted to be reminded on Friday that Susan and Enrique should have gotten back to me. I would include in the distribution of the email:

TO: Susan, Enrique

BCC: Friday@FollowUpThen.com.  

The email will go to Susan, it will go to Enrique, and on Friday it will show up in my inbox.

How to Use it

When you go to the FollowUpThen website you'll see you can sign up for an account. The free version allows for 50 follow-ups in a month.

FollowUpThen allows you to use natural language in place of the SOMETIME in the email address.  You can say, "Friday," "EveryWednesday," "200pm," "April15," "tomorrow," "2days," and a whole host of other descriptions. There is more information on how to set the SOMETIME on the followupthen.com webpage. 

With FollowUpThen you can also control who sees the follow-up.  If you put the SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com email address in the:

BCC: only you will see the follow up

CC: all of the original recipients of the email will see the follow up

Because FollowUpThen is just an email address vs a separate email tool, you can use it with any email program.

A Big Caution

The way FollowUpThen works is that it stores your email, encrypted, on the FollowUpThen servers until it is time to re-send the email. After the email is sent, it is deleted from the FollowUpThen servers.  

However, the fact that the email is stored on third-party servers may be against your company's data management/privacy policies. 

Because of this, many of you will not be able to use FollowUpThen at work. Check with your company to see if it is OK to use FollowUpThen before you use it at work. Here is FollowUpThen's privacy policy. 

(although it should still be handy with your non-work email).

Resources:

• How to use Followupthen from the Followupthen website
  
  
• I talked about FollowUpThen on episode #39 of the Higher Learning Now podcast.

Want to make Gmail even more useful? Snooze it!

What is the Gmail snooze feature?

One of my favorite features of Gmail--and one I use almost every day-- is the "snooze" feature. The Gmail snooze feature lets you resend an email to your inbox at a later date (for example when you need to be reminded of something, or when you are ready to take action on the email). 

How to Use it

• Select the email you want to snooze.  You can open the email to select it, or you can select one or more emails by checking the box next to the email in the inbox.

• Click the snooze icon from the list of icons on the top of the window.

• Select a pre-set date and time or click on "Pick date & time" to select a custom date & time. The email will disappear from your inbox and reappear at the date and time selected!

• You can always find your snoozed emails by clicking on the snoozed folder on the left sidebar of your Gmail.

When to Use it: Example #1

Let's say I sent an email to Susan and Bob asking them for information I need for a meeting next Tuesday. Ordinarily, I might be tempted to CC or BCC myself on the email and leave it in my inbox until Friday when I want to send a follow-up email if I have not heard from Susan and Bob about this. This is not a good reminder system because (1) it clutters my inbox, and (2) it might scroll off the bottom of the screen or get "lost" in my inbox and that is not a good reminder system!  Instead of leaving it in my inbox, I can CC or BCC myself on the email and then snooze the email until Friday when it will pop back in my inbox and remind me I need to send an email if I have not heard from Susan or Bob.

When to Use it: Example #2

Let's say Luis sends me an email with an agenda for our meeting on April 15.  I want to review the agenda before the meeting and bring it with me to the meeting on April 15, but do not need it cluttering my inbox for the next several weeks.  I can snooze the email until April14 and then delete/file the email because I know that the email will be delivered again to my inbox on the 14th, giving me time to review the agenda before the meeting. (and keeping all the clutter out of my inbox!)

How can you use the Gmail snooze feature to improve your productivity?

Color me interested! More tools for finding the right color

Finding just the right color for text or images can be a challenge. Maybe you want to match a color you saw on the web, or maybe you are looking for the perfect color blue.  Here are a few tools to help you find just the right color.

But first a little background...



Color "Names"

One of the challenges in finding the right color is figuring out what to call it!  If you have ever been to a paint store, you know there is no such thing as white.  There is off-white, arctic snow, cloud white, ecru, tan, and more!  The computer solves this problem by giving each color a numerical name.  There are two main color naming conventions: RGB and hexadecimal.  Sometimes you will work with a program that wants the color in RGB and sometimes a program will want the color in hexadecimal.

RGB is a color model that gives a numeric value to the amount of Red, Green, and Blue in the color.  This is useful as a naming convention and gives you the option to make small adjustments to the color by increasing or decreasing the red, green, or blue number. (it is like adding a little more "tint" to the paint color!)

Hexadecimal (or "hex") gives a numeric value to the color but instead of using a base 10 numbering system (decimal), it uses a base 16 numbering system (hexadecimal). A hex color name is six digits in length and begins with a #.  For example, #FF0000 is the hex name for a particular red.
(Decimal uses the characters 0-9 which is 10 characters.  Deci means 10 which is why our numbering system is called the decimal system.  Because hexadecimal uses sixteen characters, it uses 0-9 and A-F.)

OK, but how do I find the color I want to use?

If you want to locate a color "by eye" you can use a web-based tool

• this tool by w3schools.com is similar to the standard and custom color picker used by Word and PowerPoint.  You pick your color and then use the lighter/darker scale to find the exact color you want to use.  The selected color is displayed in the middle of the screen with the hex, RGB, and hsl colors. (hsl stands for hue, saturation, and lightness and is the third naming convention for colors, but you likely will not see it very often.)
• you can mix your own RGB colors by altering the amount of each color in this tool by w3schools.com.  Adjust the amount of Red, Green, and Blue by typing a number or clicking on the Red, Green, and Blue color lines.  Your newly mixed color will be displayed in a color block above the Red, Green, and Blue color lines, and the RGB, Hex, and HSL color codes for your new color will be displayed to the right of the color block.
• There are also many tools on the web to convert hex to RGB, or RGB to hex, 

If you want to match a color on the web
In a previous blog post, I told you how you can use the eyedropper tool in PowerPoint (or Word) to sample a color from within PowerPoint. But what if you want to sample a color outside of PowerPoint and from a webpage?

There are several tools to sample a color on the web, and the one I use is called Colorzilla. Colorzilla is an extension you can add to your Chrome or Firefox toolbar. You can then use the eyedropper/color picker to find the exact color of anything in your browser, and use the color numbers to color your text, lines, or fills!

Here is a demonstration of how to install and use Colorzilla.

How might you use custom coloring?

It's a Colorful World...or it can be with MORE COLORS!

Color. I want more color!

We all know the benefits of using color in our documents, presentations, handouts, and blogs.  Did you know you can customize the color of your text, lines, and fills to ANY color?  This same idea will work in almost any program that let's you set color (Powerpoint, Word, etc.). Here is how you do it in Powerpoint:

1.  Select the text, line or fill on which you want to set the color.

2.  Use the menu you normally use to select the color, but this time select More Colors.

3. You are presented with the standard color menu.  Select the color you would like by clicking on it.

4.  If you are satisfied with your color, click OK.  If you would like to further customize your color, click on the Custom menu tab.

5.  On the custom tab you can:

• Use the slider to find a lighter or darker share of the color you selected on the previous screen
• Use the rainbow box to select the color you would like
• Enter the RGB codes for a specific color. (Trivia: RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue)

6. Click OK and enjoy your customized color!

This can all sound a bit confusing in a blog post. Try it out and you will see it's not hard at all!


A few more tips:

➤ You can match any color on the screen by using the eyedropper.

• Select the text, line or fill you want to adjust.
• Use the menu to select color and then select the eyedropper.
• Move the eyedropper to the color you want to match (the square will fill with the current color) and click.  Your item will be that color!

➤ Depending on the item you are coloring (text, line, fill), when you go to your color menu you may have the option to use a gradient, a picture, or a texture in addition to a color.


How can you use custom colors in your professional or personal work?

Voice typing in Google Docs and Word

 

Have you ever wished you could just talk and get your brainstorm-y ideas down on paper? 

You can...with voice typing!

Voice Typing in Google Docs

Watch the video below to see how easy it is to use voice typing in Google Docs!

NOTE: This now works in all browsers, in addition to Chrome.

Voice typing in Word (Microsoft 365 only)

Word has two options for converting audio to text: Dictate and Transcribe

Dictate

This is the "classic" voice to text.  

From the home menu in Word, click Dictate.

You will see a microphone waiting for you to record.  Start talking and you will see your words appear on the page.  Click the microphone icon to toggle between recording and pausing.

One tip: you will want to say the punctuation you want included.  

Once you are done recording, you can edit the text as you would with any document.

Transcribe

There are two ways to use transcribe: (1) you can record an audio file with one or more people in Word and transcribe that file or have a link to the audio file pasted into the document. (2) What I think is more common, you can upload an audio file and get a transcript. Here is how that works:

From the home menu in Word, find the Dictate/Voice block, click the down pointing arrow, and select Transcribe.

A transcribe sidebar opens. Select your language if it is not US English. You can Start Recording or Upload Audio.  We are going to Upload Audio.

Navigate to your audio file and open it. Word gives you a message that it is transcribing. 

When it it ready, it will display the transcription in the sidebar. You can use this as a reference when you are typing, or add some/all of the transcription to the document.

How can you, (or others) use voice typing to improve your learning and productivity?

Word Clouds!

Word Clouds allow you use words and create a visual display. Words used more often are displayed larger in a word cloud, and words used less often are displayed smaller in a word cloud. Word clouds can be used to display your own list of words, or to display the information you gather from other sources, such as through a survey or other types of comments.

There are many websites to help you create word clouds. Some word cloud websites require you to install free plug-ins (like java, silverlight). Once you find a word cloud generator, they generally work the same: type or upload your text or word list, and generate your word cloud. You can regenerate your word cloud until you find one you like, and can often change the color, font, shape and more for your word cloud. Once you have your word cloud you can sometimes save or download it, but you can always capture it with a screen capture tool such as the Microsoft Snipping Tool (shortcut is: windows_key+shift+S)

Here are a few free word cloud generators for you to try out! (just ignore any options to put your word cloud on merchandise or sign up for a paid subscription.)

WordItOut.com Click the green "create your own" button to get started. 
WordClouds.com  I like this one because it lets you pick a shape to force your word cloud into, such as a heart, arrow, checkmark, lightning bolt, etc.
WordArt.com also gives you a lot of control over the shape of your word cloud (it is "art" not a cloud!)
Jason Davis' word cloud generator
WordSift.org uses a list of words, or you can paste in text, and it will take the common words from text, an article, or a speech and creates a word cloud.

And you can search to find even more word cloud generators!

How might you be able to use word clouds?

Robin's Pet Peeve with Embedded Links

 

One of my (many) pet peeves with technology has to do with embedded links. I get frustrated when I click an embedded link and instead of taking me to a new window (good), it replaces my existing window (bad). But we can avoid this! With most programs, when you add an embedded link, you have the option of opening it in a new window.  

Here is how to do it in Blogger:

What are your technology pet peeves? Maybe we can find a solution for them too!

Are You Sending People to the Right Place?

 

We often copy links and send them to colleagues or post them online and on our social media.  But are you using the right URL? 

Take a look at this short video to learn how to use the correct URL to get people where you want them to go!

To Link or Not to Link...That is the Question

There are advantages and disadvantages to creating embedded links in your blogs, online documents, and training materials. On the one hand, embedded links are easy for the user to use and keeps the text clean and easy to read.  If the item will only be used online (blog post, webpage, etc.), an embedded link is a great option.

If this is a document (like a handout or reference guide or ebook) that may be used online an embedded link is useful for the reasons listed above. On the other hand, if this is a document the user might print, an embedded link is not useful (paper is not clickable!). Because of that, it is useful to include the link in parenthesis after the clickable link. Unfortunately, many links are LONG and may add a lot of additional text and visual clutter to the document that takes away from the usefulness of the document.

              The solution: use an embedded link and provide a short URL in parenthesis in the document.

To create an embedded link:
Most programs include the option to create an embedded link and the process is similar for all of them. The example below is for MS Word.

1. Highlight the text you want to be "clickable" for your embedded link.
2. Go to the insert menu and click on Hyperlink.
3. Paste the URL into the address bar. If your program has the option to "open in a new window" select that and then click OK.

Add a (Short) URL
To make sure the URL is available if the user prints your document, you can include the actual URL in parenthesis after the embedded link, and the user can read it and type it into a browser to get to the website.  If the URL is not TOO long, it is not a problem. However, many URLs are long and difficult to type without errors.  For example, the link to the Fast Company article in the above example is:

http://www.fastcompany.com/3047113/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/how-to-keep-work-housekeeping-from-taking-over-your-life

Not only is this a lot for the user to type accurately, but this long URL will add a lot of unnecessary text to our document that will make it difficult to read.  The solution?  Use a URL shortener.

A URL shortener is a program that literally shortens your URL into an abbreviated URL that will be easier for the user to type and that will add less visual clutter to your document. (it's kind of like giving your URL a nickname.) There are several URL shorteners available on the web (examples: bit.ly, tinyurl) and several programs such as X/Twitter, include URL shorteners as part of the program.

To use a URL shortener:

1. Go to the URL shortener website (such as bit.ly).
2. Paste your long URL into the provided box and click the Shorten link.
3. Bit.ly makes you sign up for a free account, but it's free and you can use it for other links in the future.
4. Copy the shortened link and paste it into your document.

Our paper from the previous example now looks like this:

Again, if your document will only be viewed on the web, an embedded link is a great solution.  But if your document is likely to be printed, including an embedded link and a short URL is a great way to ensure your users will have access to all the links and resources you provided in your document!

What other uses do you see for embedded links and URL shorteners in your professional life?

Let Google tell YOU when there is something you want to read with Google Alerts!

We all know that Google has a pretty darn good search engine. But what if you want to look for the same search each day or week to see if there is new information--did you know you can set an alert and have google email you new results from a specified search whenever there are new results?  You can!

To set a Google Alert:

• Go to the Google alert page and type in your search term
• Click show options to customize the alert. (for example, a few of my alerts are set for daily, but some I find I am getting once a week.)

• Click Create Alert

Google will email you the new results for that search at the frequency you selected. 

Tip: try your search in Google before you set your Alert so you can be sure you are getting exactly the information you want to find. The more specific your search, the more useful it will be to you so you get the information you want, without looking through information that is not relevant. To improve your search, you may want to use Google Advanced Search. Also, here are some Google Search tips to help you search more effectively from Hubspot and Lifehack. 

For example, you might want to find all new mentions of your company or your product.  Set an alert with the name of your company or product and each day there is a new result, Google will email you the search results.

Amazed?  It is pretty amazing; and a real time saver.

But wait...there's more!

You may be familiar with Google Scholar.  Google Scholar is a subset of the regular Google search that only searches for scholarly works such as research, publications, theses, etc. It is a wonderful resource that you can supercharge by using alerts!  

Let's say you are someone who is interested in research in a particular area: the competencies of academic advising. Set a Google Scholar Alert, and when new scholarly work (research, publications, etc.) on academic advising competencies is available, your Google Scholar Alert will send you an email with the new scholarly search results!

To set a Google Scholar Alert:

• Go to Google Scholar. At the top left of the screen is three horizontal lines (trivia: this is called a hamburger menu. (It is called a hamburger menu because it sort of looks like a hamburger in a bun. Bun-Burger-Bun. Sort of.)
• Click the hamburger menu and select Alerts.
• Enter your search, add/modify the email the alerts will be sent to, and the number of results that will be included, and then click Create Alert.

You can also create a Google Scholar alert by doing a Google Scholar search. When the search results are displayed, there is a "Create Alert" item on the left sidebar. Click it and complete your alert information.

Amazed?  This is a great resource! Google Scholar may not include all the scholarly sources you want to check, but it is pretty darn helpful as a way to easily keep up on new scholarly literature.

For more information, here is Google Scholar: The Ultimate Guide (according to them!) from Paperpile and 18 Google Scholar Tips All Students Should Know from Google.

How might Google Alerts help you at work, at home, or as part of your PLN?

In case you want to know: How computers work (in 6 short videos)

You use them every day, but have you ever wondered how computers work?





Code.org, a non-profit that works to expand access to computer science in schools including increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities, created a series of short videos on How Computers Work.  Watch the introduction video by Bill Gates (1:20m)

The six-video series on how computers work is available on YouTube. Each video is less than 6 minutes long. It's a great opportunity to see how this tool that most of us use daily works!

Take a look and let us know what you learned!

Hi, my name is Robin, and I am the instructor for OLP 4407-5507: Instructional Technologies in HRD at Idaho State University.  My blog will be a bit different than the rest of your blogs. I will be using this blog as a way to share even more technologies and information with everyone. Be sure to check in with my blog at least once a week to see what I have to share with you!