Tech Tip of the Week - January 12

Tech Tip of the Week!

Here at Agora, we work with several students and families that speak English as a second language.  In many cases, students do not speak any English in their homes because their parents/learning coaches aren’t bilingual.  So, how effective are we in communicating with our learning coaches and students? 

To help us be more effective communicators with our non-English speaking families, consider using the Translate tool that is built into Google Docs.  We can translate permission slips, homework, newsletters, onboarding papers, and all general communications.  

To translate any document, simply type your material into a new Google Doc, then, go to ‘Tools’ and click ‘Translate document…’.  A new box will pop up and will give you several language options to choose from.  When you pick your language, click on the blue translate button, and a new translated document will appear in a new tab.   

To translate an email, you can type your message in Google Docs, translate it to the language that you need, then copy-n-paste into your email response; OR if you are in Gmail and receive an email in a foreign language, you can use the “Translate message” to see the sender’s message in English, then repeat the above process to reply.  

While the translated text may not be 100% accurate, it should translate it enough to communicate your overall message.    

Don’t forget to bookmark the Ed Tech Site for additional Tips and Resources! 

All Google Training recordings through January 8 have been posted on the bottom left of the site!