Boomerang - Email Now or Later

Sometimes in my busy week, I get bogged down by the amount of emails I have to send.  With one specific aspect of my job, I have to send out daily reminders by email to students.  This usually consists of a message reminding students of organizational meetings, or messages stating that they missed a meeting.  As a result, it is a daily occurrence, and usually takes up some of my time each morning to send them out.  

Now don't get me wrong, I already do several things to pare down this task, such as sending mass emails using Google Groups, or Canned Responses (A lab in Gmail that allows you to create pre-formatted responses or messages).  I also use Remind to send out mass Text Messages.  But sometimes, it is still necessary to send out a daily email.  

My solution, and one of the best extensions I have found recently, is Boomerang for Gmail.  This service allows users to send any message later, or remind you of any message in your inbox by returning it to the top of your inbox at a later date.

Send Later

Once you install Boomerang,  you get an extra button on your Compose screen.  This Send Later button allows you to choose a date and time for which you can send  your email message.  This means I can compose all my reminders for the week, and send them out at different times of the week all at once.  This frees me up to do other tasks Tuesday through Friday, because all my reminder work has been done up front!

Return to Inbox

Got a message that you just don't have time to read or respond to, but its still important?  You can use Boomerang to return it to the top of your inbox later!  Just open the message and click the Boomerang Icon at the top of the message window.

You can then choose when you want your message to return.  Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months - the choice is yours.  This option has proven handy when a message comes through on a Friday afternoon, or when I'm in the middle of a big project and need to redirect my attention to the message later.  Its been a big lifesaver.

Give it a try in the Chrome Webstore and see if it helps you!

The Techy Coach Chrome Extension

Techy Coach Video Tutorials are now available to users as a Chrome Extension.  Now you can access tutorials through a popup window, allowing you to work while you learn.  

Topics available through the extension include:

• Google Drive
• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Google Forms
• Google Slides
• Google Drawings
• Google Classroom
• Gmail
• Google Calendar

Just go to the Chrome Web Store and search for Techy Coach.  You can also use this direct link.

Change the Subject in a Gmail Reply

If you are a recent convert to Gmail, you may have noticed that when you reply to an email from someone, the Subject Line does not readily appear allowing you to change it.

If you reply to someone and you need to change the Subject line, there are a few easy steps to accomplish this.

1.  Open an email
2.  Click Reply
3.  To the left of the Address of the recipient, click the Reply drop-down Menu.
4.  Choose Edit Subject
5.  The email will appear in a Pop Out window allowing you to edit the subject line.

Its that easy!  Watch the animation below if you need further help.

Getting Comfortable with Gmail - Preview Pane

If you are a new user to Gmail and you miss certain features of your old email client, it can be difficult.  But for the most part, Gmail has a feature for most everything, so you don't have to worry.  

One features many of our teachers miss is the Preview Pane.  If you miss this feature, you are in luck.  You will need to click on the Gear icon at the top right and choose Settings.  Once there, go to the LABS menu.  From here, you can choose the Preview Pane lab by clicking Enable.  Make sure to Save Changes.

Once you have enabled this lab, you will see that at the top right of Gmail you will now have a "Toggle Split Pane Mode" button, allowing you to have a Vertical or Horizontal Preview Pane for your Inbox.  

You can also configure your inbox to "Pre-Sort" incoming mail into Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, or Forums so that you can keep a handle on the flood of mail coming in.  This allows you to keep everything in its place.  

Beyond this, if you still need tips on keeping your email  under check, you can also use Labels.  Rather than assigning email into folders, Gmail allows you to apply labels to your incoming mail so it can easily be found later.  But not just one label.  Whereas with other email clients, a message can only be filed away in one folder, you can apply up to 5000 labels to one email message.  So you no longer have to worry if you have an email that applies to multiple topics.  Watch this video to learn more.

Gmail Series Part V: Setting Up a Signature Line

If you've seen email coming through your inbox with a fancy signature line, and you were just a bit jealous, this video is for you.  Learn how to set up your signature line complete with formatting, links, and Social Media icons.  Happy New Year and Enjoy!

Gmail Series Part IV: Using Labs and Canned Responses

If you're like me, you get several messages in your inbox throughout the year that illicit the same response, but you are never quite sure that you've always responded to each question with the same consistent message.  That's where Canned Responses come in.  Watch this video to learn how to turn on the Canned Responses Lab in Gmail, and then use Gmail Filters to cut down on your response time and ensure that you are getting the same quality message out to everyone.  

Gmail Series Part III: Scheduling a Calendar Event from a Gmail Message

This short tutorial explains how to turn a simple meeting request in an email into a Calendar Event in Google Calendar.

Gmail Series Part II: Organizing your Inbox

In this video segment on Gmail, we will discuss ways that you can organize and de-clutter your inbox.  Topics for this video include:

• Configuring your Inbox
• Labels
• Starred Items
• Conversation View

Gmail Series Part I: Composing an Email

As our district moves deeper into the use of Google Tools as a Google Apps for Education (GAFE) District, I will be creating a few tutorials on Gmail.  This post is the first in a series of video tutorials on Gmail.  Check back later for more on this topic....