Valley Christian Middle School
Using Technology To Equip & Inspire
March 2016 Vol. 1 No. 2
Welcome to our 2nd VCMS Technology bulletin. Thank you all for your feedback on our first Newsletter! We hope to continue expanding this as a way of communicating what is going on for us at Valley in technology. This month, we will focus on testing that has begun with Apple's new iOS 9.3 and what we are really excited about, hint, you might want to get excited as well!
If you have any topics you would like covered, please just shoot me an email and we will work through them. Also, if you have any questions, you think might help the entire staff, I'd love to cover those as well!
Matthew Schuring
Congratulations to our winners of the $5 iTunes Gift Cards!
Changes coming to iOS
All of us at the middle school are currently using iOS 9.2.1. With this upgrade, Apple now allows us to automatically install apps on iPads without the need of using Apple ID's We also have found several performance, speed and security improvements with this version. However, the biggest changes to iPad and education are just about ready to be released and we are very excited. Some of the publicly announced new features include a new Classroom App for teachers. Within this app, teachers will also be able to take students through a keynote presentation on their iPads, similarly to NearPod (I am excited about the potential for this, but need to see it in action). Teachers will be able to see what app all of their students are using at any given time, send all of their students to a particular app or website, Lock all of their iPads or help them with a forgotten passcode. These changes are also allowing for a whole new way of managing Apple ID's. We are very excited that in the near future, students will not need to even have an Apple ID outside of their student ID's. Just think, when you request an app for your class, we will be able to just put it on the iPads, no assigning it or waiting for students to install it on their own. It just appears! We are working with Apple to help ensure that we roll this out well and with as few problems as possible. If you would like more information about this or how to become a part of our preview, just let me know. For more information on the new program, check out Apple's website on it: iOS 9.3 in Education
Featured Student Work
Have a student who did something exceptional using technology in your class? Submit their project to us and both you and the student will win $5 iTunes gift cards. Submissions must be received by March 21st and will be featured in our April Newsletter!
email the project to ipadsupport@vcschools.org for consideration!
Apps of the Week!
Interactive Science Glossary: Life Science
This can help serve as a great review and study tool for learning nearly 100 life science terms and concepts, presented through simulations, video, science content, and flash cards. Categories include: Human Body, Ecosystems, Organisms and Change, Heredity, and Cells. The glossary presentation appeals to a wide range of learning styles.
Kaymbu
Are you looking for ways to easily communicate with parents and showcase what their kids are doing in your class? Kaymbu is the iPad-based teacher documentation system to capture the essence of student development and strengthen relationships between home and school. Simplify classroom documentation and eliminate tedious, time- consuming administrative work. Teachers can also share observations with parents with just a few taps, and easily generate student portfolios for parent- teacher conferences or other reporting needs.
About
Email: mschuring@vcschools.org
Website: www.vcschools.org
Location: 18100 Dumont Avenue, Cerritos, CA, United States
Facebook: facebook.com/schuring
Twitter: @schuring