TAG - Beauty In All Things
TC Tech Team Newsletter - December 2021
What's up this month?
Nov. 29 - Dec. 3 - Google Certification - Unit 10
Dec. 2 - Blocksi Training at RES @ 2:50 PM
Dec. 1-10 - iReady Diagnostic #2 Window (Virtual Jan. 5-11)
Dec. 6-10 - Google Certification - Unit 10 continued
Tattnall Tech Tools
We believe it is important to ensure all of our staff are aware of what technology tools are available to them. You can only use it if you know about it. Feel free to contact us anytime for an overview session. We do not mind working one-to-one, grade level, or school wide. We are here to support your use of technology.
We have featured some of the newer tools in past newsletters. Below is a list of applications available to all schools:
- Blocksi - screen sharing, monitor students' computers to ensure they are on task, freeze sites for assessment purposes, and so much more
- BrainPOP - instructional videos and quizzes for all grade levels and subjects
- Flocabulary - encourages content specific vocabulary in a lyrical manner
- iXL - practice in various subjects and grades (this varies from grade level)
- Swank - videos of entertainment
- USATestprep - great for benchmarking or checking for mastery of the standards (differs between schools and grade levels)
Time To Take Out the Trash
As we are getting closer to Christmas break, we would like to encourage you to take out the trash. Technology can get real trashy. The real problem is that it is not visible to the user...until they start looking for something and cannot find it among all the trash. We need your help because it does accumulate in the tech world and takes up storage space. Just like a garbage can, the digital storage gets really full at times and needs to be purged. Consider this your winter clean out.
This is how you can keep your digital world clean.
1. Delete unnecessary emails from Groupwise and Google Mail. If you only need the attachment, download and save it. Then you can delete the e-mail.
2. Empty your e-mail trash.
3. Clean up the files on your p: drive.
4. Clean up your google drive files.
Help us out and take out your trash!
Best Practices - When In Doubt, Don't Do It
There are a few things to be mindful about when using school e-mail:
1. Never use school e-mail for personal matters.
2. Do not include student or parent names in an email, unless it is going to the student or parent. I would warn against using initials as well.
3. Never include specifics about a student with any special information in an email.
4. If you would not want it to become public record, do not include it in your work e-mail or digital files.
If you have ever been involved in an open records request, you would understand the importance of these items. When in doubt, don't do it. BE SMART!
There Is Beauty In All Things
I know many of you have read about the 2020 Rockefeller Christmas tree. If not, watch the video below. Well...basically when the tree arrived and was put in place, it was less than attractive. To be honest...it looked like a disaster. It had large gaps and even an owl living in it. It became the story on many news stations for a short time because with time and great care, it became a beauty!
This made me think about our students. Some of them come to us with gaps and broken branches. They are damaged from their environment! There are times that it seems hopeless!
Just like the tree, our students can become beautiful. It just takes time and care. There are many times we need to help the limbs fall into place. Sometimes we have to repair branches and fill in the gaps. It is our job to add the ornaments and lights! Yes, all of this takes lots of time and patience but in the end it is great to see the beautiful person our student becomes.
There is nothing more rewarding for me than to have one of my students come back and visit. I love for them to share what they are doing and to tell me all about their family. There have been some that I thought their branches would never fall and the gaps would never be closed, but I watched teachers, coaches, counselors, and paras take the time to put an ornament here, lights there, and finally a star on the top! Then it is rewarding to say....isn’t she/he beautiful! ❤️
