CPP Technology Today
A Communication of the CPP Technology Committee - Vol 3.2
In This Issue
News and Information
- Grade 5 Students at Gregg Visit Ellis Island - by Colin Sinko
- Professional Development Updates
Google Apps for Education
- Google Sites as Your Digital Journal by Bryan Kelley
- Google Drive - My "Shared With Me" Folder is Making Me Crazy!
Digital Citizenship
- Digital Citizenship Lessons for K-12 (Or, What Now? MORE Lessons?)
- Digital Citizenship Lesson for Grades 2-3: File Management
Library Media Update
- Use Technology to Support Reading - by June Keuhn
Resources Spotlight
- Troubleshooting "The Google"
District Technology: People, Places and Things:
- Technology Committee Members
- BITS Team Instructional Technology Support
- Tech Website Moves to Google Sites
Updates from Tech Services
- CPP Tech Support News
- Google Won't Remember Me!
Tuesday, Oct 10, 2017, 10:00 AM
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Grade 5 Gregg Students Visit Ellis Island
by Colin Sinko
The 5th grade students at Gregg Elementary visited Ellis Island this week. They did not need buses or fundraising money to make the trip. Thanks to Nearpod and National Park Service’s website for Ellis Island, the students were able to experience this trip using their Chromebooks.
The first ELA module for 5th grade focuses on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Immigration. The virtual field trip started with a close reading of an authentic text about a young boy’s search for information about his great grandfather’s journey to America. Gregg students submitted questions through the Nearpod program so that as a grade level the answers could be discussed and presented on the TouchIt board. The text and answers are projected on each student’s individual Chromebook screen as well as the TouchIt board.
Following the reading, it was time to go to Ellis Island. Students had a look inside the immigration station museum where they could see photographs of immigrants with attached biographies telling their story. Students also visited the great hall where they could imagine the millions of immigrants passing through the building. Lastly, the students explored the exterior where they had beautiful views of lower Manhattan. Students could spot landmarks such as One World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty.
Professional Development: Opportunities
- Basic Chromebooks with June Keuhn - October 25, 3:15-4:15, Carder Library
Online PD:
- The pilot online PD class on Google Sites is available. Check out the Staff Development page of the Technology Website (linked below)
Update: The BITS team will be receiving PD on the TouchIt TVs at the end of this month, so be looking soon for more professional development opportunities regarding these devices!
Google Apps for Education
Using Google Sites as Your Digital Journal
In today’s tech-centered world the ability to create digital media is a necessary skill. Applying for a job and need a resume? Most employers will ask your students to share your personal website, etc. So...why not work with your students to get a little experience in creating a website?
Their site, through New Google Sites, can be a private exchange between teacher and student. Hopefully over time, a student would be confident in sharing it with others. Google’s security features within our CPPASD domain allow students to restrict access to people logged into our domain, plus their address can be confidential between them and their teacher. As loyal Google users, you can direct students to the “New” Google Sites for this task.
Your Students’ Website could include a Home “Cover” Page that should be a reflection of them. It’s also great to revisit to update as their year progresses. It is a great early-year or during-the-year activity for them to share a little bit about themselves. It’s best, as the teacher, to create a sample site with a structure for them to copy. The possibilities are limitless and depend on your curricular needs. For me, I have used their personal websites as the canvas for them to post their work for the course.
A website creates a common space for everything to go (For my classes, arranged by Unit) and for students to be able to return there for revisions or study. Isolated assignments get lost physically at times, or mentally as it pertains to the larger scope of a course. With their own website, they’re creating a place to share their body of work over the entire course.
“Wait! I’ve never made a website.”----It’s not as hard as it seems, in fact it is very user friend to the most novice users. Give it a try! Read the Google Sites Cheat Sheet below for help.
Here are some steps to get your students started. You may click on the links to see a video clip of that step in action.
Make sure you’re logged into your CPPASD Google Account
Your username is typically the same as your district network log in, but with the CPPASD domain….
Your password, but default, is your student ID #
Click on the Red Plus Sign in the Bottom Right Corner.
You’ll now see your new Page...it’s a blank canvas ready for you to create.
The Google Sites Editor provides several options for you to add to your site. You can play around with the style and be as creative as you’d like.
My "Shared With Me" Folder is Making Me Crazy!
Q: What IS the "Shared with me" folder?
A: "Shared with me" is more like a filter area than an actual folder. It shows everything that you have access to that was originally created by someone else, who then gave access to you.
Q: But I don't want all this stuff!
A: No problem! If someone has shared something with you that you don't need or want, just right click on the file you don't want, scroll down to the bottom in the box that opens, and click "Remove." That does NOT destroy the folder in the other person's drive. It's just the way you give back access to it. You no longer have the opportunity to see or edit the document, but the person who made it and anyone else they shared it with still do.
Q: How am I supposed to keep finding things I need in the "Shared with Me" Folder if people keep sharing things?
A: If there is something there that you need to keep and use, you want to move it to your main My Drive area. Just right click on the file, and choose "Add to My Drive." It will then appear in your main drive.
Q: Ok, it's in my main My Drive, but it's STILL in my "Shared with me!"
A: Yeah. That's because it still started with someone else, so it still shows up in there. Remember that "Shared with me" is a filter area that shows you everything that started off with someone else.
Q: That is messy and I don't like it AT ALL >:-(
A: It's ok. You never have to look at it except when you're popping in there to get someone that someone shared with you.
Q: How do I even know if someone shared something with me?!
A: If it's a brand new folder, or a random document not in a folder, you will get an email notification. The sender will be Google, and it will say something like "Johnny Castle gave you access to the document 'No one puts Baby in a corner'." You'll know then to go into your "Shared with me" and either give back the access or move it into your My Drive if you'll need it. If someone adds something to a folder they already share with you, you don't get a notification about that.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship Lessons for K-12 (Or, What Now? MORE Lessons?)
- Make sure that our students - ALL of whom now have regular access to their own or classroom devices - have the skills they need to use digital resources safely, efficiently and respectfully
- Provide teachers with help and resources to teach these skills, so that they aren't just left trying to figure it out without any support
Basically, kids need to be taught computer skills, and we don't want teachers to have to figure out how to do that on their own without help.
The Digitial Citizenship curriculum looks different at each level, and different resources are provided. The resources will be added to each year, based on feedback from teachers about what skills and concepts students have trouble with and which teachers would like support teaching.
Since students of different ages have different needs, the curriculum is arranged to support those needs and to fit into the curriculum and activities that are already in place at those levels:
- Elementary - lessons are coordinated with DASA character traits, and focus on basic skills that young learners are working on mastering
- Middle - lessons are aligned with MYP Learner Profile Attributes and Approaches to Learning skills. Currently, they are designed to fit into Advisory classes, and support large-scale school intitiatives
- High - Some presentations are designed to fit into Freshmen Academy, and are aligned with the MYP Learner Profile Attributes and Approaches to Learning skills. We are also working on developing a "bank" of content-neutral resources that teachers can use when particular skills need to be taught in class.
What kinds of Digital Citizenship skills might need to be taught? Any of the digital literacy skills that fall under the "Respect, Connect, Protect" components (see below) are Digital Citizenship skills. Examples include:
- Care of Your Device (Logging in, respecting it, troubleshooting)
- Making, Saving and Finding Files and Folders
- Research Skills
- Copyright and Citation Skills
- Research Skills (from simple Google searches to Database searching)
- Protecting Your Identity
- Internet Safety
- Internet Etiquette (being nice, not bullying, responding to suspicious or harrassing behavior online)
- Buying and Selling things online (lots of fundraisers are moving online!)
- Digital Test-taking skills
- Contributing You Creations to the Online Community (YouTube Famous, here we come!)
If there are particular skills or skill areas you'd like help teaching, please contact a BITS member, Lori Pruyne, or pass it on through your building principal!
Digital Citizenship Lesson for Grades 2-3: File Management
As students are learning to use their Chromebooks, one of the first skill sets they can master is
- How to make things, and
- How to find them
File Management is one of the most frequently expressed tech-related frustrations experienced by adults. Largely, none of us were ever taught a specific process for File Management. Therefore, we never developed a process of going through and getting rid of things or a process for naming files in a way that will help us when we want to file them again (how many of us have a file - or 50 - called "Test" in our drives? Or, "Newsletter?" "Permission Slip?"). We spend lots of time trying to find things we already made and know we have, because we don't have a system to make sure we keep track of our digital resources.
This lesson is presented via a Google Slides presentation that teachers can share with students when and how it works best in the classroom. It can be broken up into sections, can be used in connection with the first time students are making their own documents or files for a class activity, or done in centers with groups of students as they're ready for it.
The slides work through different concepts of file management, from:
- Explaining what files are
- Introducing the idea of folders, and how they can be used to keep track of files
- Introducing naming conventions
- Points out problems that occur from poorly organized files
- Giving examples of how to think through naming files and folders
The presentations also come with lesson plans and supplementary activities. These are intended as support and a help in determining why different information is included in the lesson. If the suggestions in the lesson plan don't work with your students, do what will help them! The same applies to the practice activities - you can use the ones included (there are suggestions in the lesson plan as to different ways to distribute them to students) or you can allow students to practice in whatever way works for them (setting up actual folders for class, going on a scavenger hunt for tangible "files" and "folders" that would go together, or any other activitity that fits with your curriculum.
If you would like further clarification on the lessons, where to find them or how to utilize them, please contact your BITS person or Lori Pruyne.
Library Media Update
Use Technology to Support Reading
by June Keuhn
Reading is the basis of all that we do. If you are reading with students or sending resources home to parents, here are some good websites to check out:
Tumblebooks (http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com) The username is your home school and the password is books. You can use this site with any grade level. It gives you the option of having a book read to you or reading it yourself. It also has a section called ebooks where students can read the book on their computers.
Storyline Online (http://www.storylineonline.net/) This site has stories that are read by celebrities. They discuss the book with the audience and add a little of their own “flare” to each book. They are in a video format.
Bookshare (https://www.bookshare.org/cms/) Great site for parents. If you can’t read because of visual impairment, physical disability, or a severe learning disability this site provides accessibility. Anyone can use it.
All of these sites are free. If you want to see a difference in your student or child’s education, research has shown that reading 20 minutes a day is an easy and inexpensive way to help them.
Resources Spotlight
Troubleshooting "The Google"
A: By default, any Google Site created within our district's domain (@cppasd.com - "our" corner of Google that can only be accessed by students and employees of CPP) is viewable only by someone logged in with an @cppasd.com Google account. Anyone else, even if they go to the direct URL, will see the 404 message below. This helps to keep our information safe. To see a site, first go to http://drive.google.com to log into your Google account, then go to the site. You should be able to see it now!
A: This is the second layer of protection on the Google Sites! Since Sites is part of the Google suite (group) of Apps (programs), resources created in other Google Apps, like Docs and Drive, can be easily added to a Google Site. Once added, these resources keep their original sharing permissions. So, folders and documents that relate to the teachers in one building can be set to be shared with ONLY teachers in that building. If you're seeing the picture below, someone forgot to share the resource with you (oops). Ask whomever runs the page to add you to to the list!
A: Don't throw things. Most likely, you are just logged in with your personal Google or Gmail account. Even though both accounts are "Google," only the one that marks you as a CPP employee - your @cppasd.com account - has permission to access @cppasd.com resources.
District Technology Updates: People, Places and Things
Technology Committee Membership
Lindsay Ayers
George Bacalles
Bill Cameron
Michelle Caulfield
Michael Clarke
Karen Cleary
Ann Collins
Jerry Dieg
Michael Gill
Jennifer Haischer
Kerry Elsasser
Carrie Howe
Staci Johnson
Bryan Kelley
Sharon Kendrick
Rachel Ketchum
June Keuhn
Kelley Louthan
Jeffrey Marchionda
Martie Marks
Peggy Marsiglio
Stacie Martinec
Joseph Melanson
Jill Mertus
Vivian Munoz
Lori Pruyne
Kathleen Rapisarda
Heather Schupp
Colin Sinko
Shari Smith
Meghan Stewart
Jennifer Taylor
Nicole Walsh
Heather Wolfe
BITS Team - Instructional Technology Support
The 2016-2017 school year saw the start of a pilot program, through which identified teachers at all district buildings provided other teachers with advice and assistance with instructional technology, held professional development sessions, and helped share resources and support for instructional technologies. These Building Instructional Technology Support (BITS) team members are back this year, with more offerings and opportunities.
BITS concentrations will be on providing PD, assisting with implementing technology in the classroom, and implementing technology literacy skills into the content curriculum. Any hardware-related issues should still be referred to IT, with requests sent in by emailing helpdesk@gstboces.org.
BITS representatives in each building include:
Carder – June Keuhn and Stacie Johnson
Gregg – Colin Sinko and Rachel Ketchum
Erwin Valley – Jen Haischer and Peggy Marsiglio
Severn – Jen Taylor and Karen Cleary
Smith – Mike Clarke, Jill Mertus and Lindsay Ayers
Winfield – Kathy Rapisarda and Shari Smith
CPP HS – Bryan Kelley and Joe Melanson
CPPMS - Two positions, to be announced!
District - Lori Pruyne
Updates From Tech Services
CPP Tech Support News
Google Won't Remember Me!
by Jerry Dieg
Over the past week we have had a number of inquiries about Google Chrome forgetting passwords and logon information that was supposed to be saved.
I believe we have found the issue and corrected it. Google should now remember site data.
If you are still experiencing the issue, please do the following:
- Click the menu in the upper right (3 dots)
- Choose “settings”
- Scroll all the way to the bottom and click “Advanced”
- Under “Privacy and Security” click “Content Settings”
- Then “Cookies”
- Then make sure the slider next to “Keep local data only until you quit your browser” is pushed to the left (off)
Newletter Information
Email: lpruyne@cppmail.com
Website: sites.google.com/cppasd.com/cpptechnology
Location: CPPHS B215