Gemini Mobile

This week's tech tip highlights the Google Gemini mobile app. It is a powerful tool that offers all the functionality of the desktop version along with several unique mobile features.

A key highlight is the camera integration and voice. I used this feature a ton on my last few vacations.  You can take a photo of an object—such as a landmark, plant, or piece of architecture—and engage in a back-and-forth conversation to learn more about it. Way better than just a Google search.  It is also useful for generating interior design ideas, styling outfits, planning landscaping, or creating recipes based on a photo of your pantry. Gemini has some great ideas!  Additionally, the voice feature allows for quick, hands-free inquiries while you are on the move.

To get started, sign in with your school account to access all paid features and save your history.

Download the App:

- Android: Google Play Store 

- iOS: Apple App Store

I have attached a few documents below with how-to guides and additional ideas for using the app.

iOS Doc

Android Doc

Schedule Emails to Send

How to schedule an email in Gmail:

- Click the down arrow next to the "Send" button.
- Select "Schedule send" and choose your desired time.
- To view, edit, or delete a scheduled message, look for the Scheduled tab in the left-hand pane.



A quick tip: If you send an email to all-staff, you will not automatically receive a copy in your inbox. To confirm it was sent, you can include yourself in the "To," "Cc," or "Bcc" line.

Scheduling emails is a great way to manage your time and ensure messages are delivered exactly when needed. Here is a doc with several ideas on how to utilize this feature, courtesy of Gemini.

Create New Google Files Fast with Shortcuts

If you typically open a new tab, navigate to Google Drive, and wait for it to load just to create a new file, there is a much faster way.

Google offers shortcuts that allow you to create new items directly from your browser's address bar. I have been using these for a few weeks, and they significantly speed up the process.

To try it yourself, simply type these into your browser:

- New Google Doc: doc.new
- New Google Slides: slides.new
- New Google Sheets: sheets.new
- New Calendar Event: cal.new

Google Chrome Built-In QR Code Generator

For this week’s tech tip, I am highlighting how to create a QR code, as this is a frequently requested topic.

Creating a QR code is a simple process that does not require external websites or accounts. You can generate one by right-clicking on the webpage you wish to link. For example, if you right-click on a Google Form, the option to create a QR code will appear.

QR codes are images that users can scan with their mobile devices to quickly access a website or form. Please refer to this Doc for more detailed instructions.

Google Classroom Recording

Happy last Tuesday of February!

Before we get into today's tip, a couple of housekeeping items...

1. The WeGo Tech Tips blog is now up and running. Going forward, everything will be posted there as well as emailed.
2. We've had requests for editable docs instead of PDFs in case you want to make a copy and customize it for your needs. We will do that going forward, but to catch up, here are slides for the Google Slides Recording Student Instructions, I believe this is the only pdf we've shared so far.

On to the final Google recording tech tip... Google has added the ability for students and teachers to record audio, video, or screen DIRECTLY FROM GOOGLE CLASSROOM! Teachers can record directly in an Assignment OR an Announcement. Watch the attached instructional videos (I promise they're short!) to see how it works. We're also attaching docs with screenshots you can provide students. And, a quick GIF inline here to give you a peek at how easy it is to add a recording to an assignment.

Instructional Videos:
Google Classroom Recording - Students (screenshot doc for students)
Google Classroom Recording - Teachers

Google Vids Advanced Features

This week, we're continuing with Google Vids but moving beyond the basic recording functionality to some of the advanced features. In Part 3, we'll add stock video and text to vids. In Part 4, we'll import slides you've already created and add animations. In part 5, we'll add background music and adjust sound. In part 6, you can see how to get started quickly with a template and how to assign templates to your students so they can easily create a polished looking video.

Google Vids Part 3 - Stock Video and Text
Google Vids Part 4 - Slides and Animations
Google Vids Part 5 - Music and Sound Options
Google Vids Part 6 - Templates and Classroom

This concludes our Google Vids series... stay tuned for 1 more week of Google Recording tools next Tuesday, it's going to be a good one!!!

Google Vids Getting Started

Continuing on our February topic of Google recording tools, this week we're launching a series on Google Vids.

Google Vids is a video, audio, and screen recording and editing tool, very similar to WeVideo. However, the features and functionality are much more basic. For simple, short videos (less than 30 minutes*) it can be a good solution. This week, you'll get a basic intro to Google Vids, learn how to create a video and screen recordings, and do some basic video editing.

*February 2026 Update: the maximum length was increased from 10 minutes to 30 minutes

Google Vids Part 1 - Intro and Recording
Google Vids Part 2 - Basic Video Editing