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Necessity pushed me to find a solution.


There was a time in my life where I was required to get my haircut every single week. During that time I was forced out of bed at 5:30, which I used to think was early, to run. I made a silent promise every single day that I would never cut my hair or run ever again. I kept that promise for two solid years.

I now cut my hair every few weeks. I also started running again in the wee hours of the morning when it is wicked dark. There are times when I need to text the family how much longer I would be out so they wouldn't worry. I know you really shouldn't text and drive, but texting and running leads to crashing into cars, trash cans and bushes.

Check out what I started doing using the Google Assistant app on my phone. The great thing is the app will even work on those lesser-known Apple devices!

This is one of those apps that is underutilized and could play a huge part in your classroom tomorrow. This post describes how I use it personally and I'm sure once you start playing with it you can find a million ways to use it with your students.

I hit the app and voiced who I wanted to text and the message.
I can also open the app by saying Ok Google.

It transcribed my message, and all I do is say send and the message is sent.
I know there are a bunch of apps that do this but just keep reading to uncover the power of GA.


The part I really like is all I need to do is hit one app on the phone and Google does the rest.

What else can it do?
Parking
Just hit the app and tell it where you parked.

Later in the day all you need to do is ask and GA will tell you exactly where you parked your car.

Stores
I was at work but needed to buy something before I got home. I didn't know which location was closest to me. I asked and got this result. I hit the call button to make sure what I needed was in stock. I know I could have used the old school search but using my voice was much more efficient. This is wicked helpful if you are on vacation need to find a movie theater for a rainy day activity.

Writing

GA is a great buddy when writing.

Photos


Is there anything better than ice cream and sunsets? All I did was ask and GA found these in my Google Photos. It sometimes makes mistakes, the leftmost bottom image is a cup full of keys.

What else can GA do? Just ask and see what you can find.

Resources
Check out Google's GA page for more helpful ideas.

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