Learning in Hand Newsletter Issue 3

Issue 3 • July 9, 2024

The best thing about posting on social media is the interactions. I learn, grow, and change from others’ perspectives on the ideas and resources I post. Newsletters aren’t as interactive, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of replies I’ve received to the first two issues of this newsletter.

I enjoy hearing from readers, and I’m happy to answer your questions. Feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, or questions.

Photo of Tony Vincent sitting in a chair looking at the camera with a computer on his lap

Trendy Text 🤩

Add depth and dimension to your text in Canva. Click Apps in the side menu and search for TypeExtrude.

Input some text and then you can customize the border, adjust the angle, and change length of the shadow.

Screenshot of Canva with TypeExtrude app showing

Submit for Students ⏺️

Screencastify's video assignment tool, Submit, is free for education users through May 2025 (was $49/yr per teacher). The company will be adding features to make it more like Flipgrid, including student-to-student interactions and student video editing. Read more about Submit.

Screencastify Submit Screenshot of Dashboard

Teacher Timer ⏲️

Aftel.net is an online timer made for teachers. I really appreciate these features:

📺 Full screen
💬 Show description
⏯️ Pause/start with spacebar
🔗 Share a link to a specific timer duration
🚫 Prevent screen sleep
🚦 Show progression with colors
🎁 Free, no login, no ads

Unfortunately, Aftel does not play music. When I use this timer, I play music in a separate app.

Aftel.net: Online Timer Made for Teachers

Presentation Pointer ⌨️

When presenting in Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Keynote, press B on your keyboard to pause and show a black screen. Press W to pause and show a white screen. Pressing any key resumes your presentation.

I use the B shortcut often as I stray from what’s in my slideshow. If my slide doesn’t illustrate what I’m currently talking about, it’s nice to blank the screen to refocus attention on what’s I’m currently saying.

The keys B and W. Image generated with Ideogram.ai.

Featured Fonts 👇

Here are some fonts that look handwritten. You can see various levels of neatness of the printing.

You can use these fonts in Google Docs, Slides, Forms, Sites, Sheets, & Drawings by clicking the Fonts menu, choosing More Fonts, and searching for a font’s name. You can also download these fonts for free by searching for them at fonts.google.com.

Handwriting Fonts:
Architects Daughter
Patrick Hand
Short Stack
Klee One
Coming Soon
Just Another Hand
Playpen Sans
Shadows Into Light
Courgette
Delicious Handrawn
Sue Ellen Francisco
Sedgwick Ave
Schoolbell

Most of these fonts can also be found in Canva. If you have Canva Pro or Canva for Education, you can download a font from fonts.google.com, upload to Canva, and use it in your design.

Tasty Teaching 😋

I’m leading my Tasty Teaching workshop for teachers in Oregon, Wisconsin August 7. It’s part of a two-day in-person workshop where Day 2 is all about applying and extending what I present on Day 1.

Registration includes lunch and snacks. Graduate credits are available. Find out more in the flyer. It would be great to see you August 7th!

Cartoon of Tony in a chef had and apron giving a thumbs up

Password Pandemonium 🔏

The Password Game is a challenging puzzle game that requires you to create a password that meets a long list of increasingly difficult and ridiculous requirements. It feels a little too real. 😬

Screenshot showing the password input at 5umm3Rul3z!95 and a message that the password must contain a month of the year

Thanks for reading Issue 3 of the Learning in Hand Newsletter. Please forward this email to anyone you think would enjoy it.

Smiles from Iowa,
Tony

View Issue 2 • July 1, 2024

View Issue 1 • June 25, 2024

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