Tech Thursday: Keyboard Shortcuts

Simple but effective time-saving tool - with options for "adventurous" users.

Sometimes the best technology tools are simple ones that you can use frequently. I find keyboard shortcuts to be one of those easily implementable but impactful tools. Not having to interrupt the flow of typing by switching over to using the mouse is helpful, as is the fact that typically keyboarding causes less physical fatigue.

Here’s a helpful chart of some common - and less common - shortcuts…

If you’re a more adventurous user…

• In many programs (like Word, etc) you can set up macros to work with keyboard shortcuts as well as just customizing the existing shortcuts

• I use Phrase Express to set up long chunks of text to insert into documents, emails, etc.

• If you use Chrome, there’s a custom shortcut browser add-on

Past Tech Thursdays

• Student engagement: Digital exit tickets / Interactive quizzing / Online question management for classes & presentations / Wheel of Names (random name generator) / Providing audio feedback

• Health: Two programs to reduce eyestrain

• Zoom: Screen share in Zoom / How to Zoom in in Zoom

• Research: Managing references / Find free versions of articles / Text Capture Apps

• Using images: Remove distracting backgrounds from photos / Using screenshots

• Google Docs: “Make a copy” function in Google Drive / Working in shared Google docs / Collaborating in Google Slides / Turn Google Forms into a formatted document

• Canvas:Canvas “What-if” grades

• Productivity: Text Expanders / Mailbird email program / Voice-to-text options / Custom URLs & QR codes / DropBox Paper for collaboration