I.T.S. a Tech Update
August 2021 - Back to School Edition
August 2021 - Back To School Edition
Greetings Teachers and Staff,
Wow, you probably thought this day would never come. The day that we get to have all of our students, new and old, back inside our school hallways and classrooms. I bet many of you dreamt of this as you enjoyed your summer break. Although the break was short, the reward at the end of the rainbow has finally come. As always, there will be challenges, but we know you will do everything in your power to assist your students to overcome them (and we hope we can assist you 😁 )
In this newsletter, we want to share all the great things that technology has to offer to assist you in helping your students be successful. Here's what you can look forward to in this first 2021 edition...
- EPISD Digital Citizenship
- Meet your Active Learning and Instructional Technology Team
- Will my students still need their iPads and MacBooks?
- How will you continue to use Schoology in your classroom?
- How can Zoom or Microsoft Teams be helpful to me this school year?
- Hoot, hoot! What about my Owl?
- Surviving to Thriving - How Blended Learning will help you and your students succeed this school year.
And so much more! let's get started 👍
EPISD Digital Citizenship Certification
The 2021-2022 school year is our certification year and you will start hearing information from your librarian about this. All teachers on campus, both core, fine arts, P.E., and Special Education, will need to complete 2-hours of professional development before we go on break in December. Teachers in Kinder-5th, the librarian, and the counselor, will need to each teach assigned lessons to their students by the end of August. Your librarian will adjust this accordingly to campus needs.
Now that our students from Prek-12th all have devices that they can use at school and at home, it is extremely important that they learn to be good, if not great, digital citizens. Take the time each day to talk about the importance of being safe on those devices and to avoid cyber-bullying and content that is not appropriate. This generation of students truly needs to be informed and taught the correct way to use these devices every year.
Your librarians have an enormous task ahead of them and they need your help and support. Please contact them if you have any questions about your lessons and please do attend their sessions with an open mind and an open heart. Everything they will be talking about is for our student's safety.
Thank You ❤️
Meet Our Newest Team Member - Jessica Renteria!
We are so happy to welcome our newest Secondary Instructional Technology Specialist team member, Jessica Renteria. Jessica comes to us from Irvin High School, where she served as an Active Learning Leader. She will be replacing our beloved Arcy Aguina and we are sure she will be a great fit serving the Burges High School feeder pattern.
You can see her and the rest of the team's contact information and assignments by clicking here. You can also download our Instructional Technology Specialists campus assignment list below.
How will my students use their iPads and MacBooks this year? 🤷♀️ 🤷🏾♂️
If you need any assistance with the continued integration of technology in your classroom and lessons, please don't hesitate to contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
How will I continue to use Schoology with my students? 👨🏻🏫 👩🏻🏫
Now that all students are returning to class, is there really a need for teachers to continue using Schoology?
You bet there is! Schoology can help you create a blended learning environment to personalize student learning and design a variety of lessons and activities to keep your students focused and on track in making this school year the most successful ever.
Schoology will always be helpful for students who are absent so that they can stay on top of their lessons and classwork. Plus, parents can take a peek using their parent access and know what their children are learning every day and assist you with their child's continued progress.
Download the FAQ below for more information and if you have any questions on how to set up your Schoology courses, please be sure to contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
We are also currently collaborating with Technology Services and Mr. Tim Holt in helping teachers and staff with Schoology issues. You can email your issues and questions to schoologyhelp@episd.org and someone on the team will answer your question or help you with any Schoology-related issue.
Schoology's Elementary Experience
Attention all Early Childhood and Special Education Teachers
Schoology has just released their Elementary Experience for all Schoology Enterprise courses and this has now been activated by the powers-that-be at EPISD, to be enabled in your Schoology course. This simplified view will make it easier for students in PreK-2nd and any students with special needs to navigate your course and complete assignments, discussions, and assessments with little to no difficulty.
You can learn more by viewing our EPISD Connect presentation here.
Inside the presentation, you will find links from Schoology that will introduce you to the Elementary Experience, as well as show you how to create course materials and assignments that will fit well in this unique view.
Be on the lookout for a Schoology course where we will house all training videos and information having to do with the new elementary experience.
How will Zoom or Microsoft Teams be helpful to me this school year?
First off, let's think about our parents. Many of them work and they work at times when it is just not possible to come to school and meet with their teachers or staff. We need to be able to offer virtual conferences, whether to just speak to them about their child's progress, or for important meetings like LPAC, or Special Education.
We can use either of these programs to collaborate with other schools throughout the district. Think of all the great activities and learning games you can play with your colleague and their students at another school.
Do we really need to go to the PLC room anymore? There may be times when you must, but campus and district meetings can be conducted over Zoom and Microsoft Teams without the need for travel.
Download the FAQ below to learn more! If you have any questions or issues with Zoom or Microsoft Teams, please be sure to contact your Instructional Technology Specialist, and please don't forget to update your video-conferencing apps via Self-Service.
Zoom current version - 5.7.4 (898)
Microsoft Teams current version - Microsoft Teams Version 1.4.00.16567
Hoot, Hoot 🦉 What about my OWL and Jabra Panacast Devices?
A few years back, Library Learning Resources and the EPISD TV Studios, purchased video-conferencing carts for every school in the district. These devices opened many opportunities for our students to visit places without leaving the comfort and safety of their classroom and without costing them a penny!
These video-conferencing carts were a two-way device where the students could connect, view and participate with the host on the other side of the camera and the host could do the same. There were virtual conferences all around the country, from the hallowed grounds of the Civil War, to the Arctic Tundra and their polar bears.
Although we no longer have the licenses to use those carts, we now have our Meeting Owl Pro and Jabra Panacast devices to create those experiences. These devices work with both Zoom and Microsoft Teams which will allow you to invite guest speakers or conduct class-to-class visits with other schools in-country as well as the world.
You can find distance learning opportunities from many of our education partners!
Microsoft Virtual Workshops - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/workshops-training-and-events/students
Flipgrid Live Events - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/workshops-training-and-events/students#topic=413870001
Connect2Texas - https://www.connect2texas.net/pages/home/events/
Download the FAQ below for more information!
Surving to Thriving - Blended Learning to the Rescue! 🦸🏽♀️ 🦸🏿♂️
So what is Blended Learning? Blended Learning has been around for many years and you might have first heard of it as Flipped Learning.
In 2014, the Christensen Institute defined Blended Learning as:
a formal education program in which a student learns -
- at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace;
- at least in part in a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home;
- and the modalities along each student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience.
In essence, your classroom is that brick-and-mortar location, but to that we add a learning management system (LMS), like Schoology, Microsoft Teams, or Seesaw, to allow for personalized learning using a rotation model where students can work on their own personal learning needs, or within a small group conference with the teacher allowing some choice and control of their learning.
The teacher will continue to have control with a fixed schedule (station rotation) and also within the online learning component using your classroom learning management system and programs such as Edgenuity, I-Station, ST Math, online textbooks/workbooks, and more.
This does not happen overnight and you must prepare your students to work and be successful in this type of learning environment. You need to pay special attention to the way you set up your learning management system and make sure that there is a similar and constant flow for each and every unit that you teach. Purposeful planning will remove any guesswork on the part of the student so that they can easily and successfully navigate through your lessons and choice of activities. You can even set up pre-lessons where students can review material or videos as homework assignments to be ready to engage in classroom discussions and projects. You too can be the next Sal Khan by creating engaging videos to help your students learn from the pro - YOU!
You can learn more about Blended Learning implementation by visiting our EPISD-Connect presentation at https://tinyurl.com/episdblend21 and you can also view some Blended Learning Units by joining our Sample Blended Learning Schoology courses.
Elementary - F8K9-8G2F-GT7D3
Secondary - GVP7-FKHN-FMCPZ
If you need assistance setting-up your Schoology course, please be sure to contact your Instructional Technology Specialist and he/she can help you get on the right track.
Watch the video below and see some great reasons why Blended Learning is the right fit for you and your students.
New Password Change Procedures
There is a new way that you and your students can change your EPISD password in case you are having any issues login in, or you suspect that someone might be using your account without your permission.
Information Technology/Zendesk has set up a One-Login page that you can use to change your password. You'll need to first log in and set up your One-Login account with your EPISD email and password and then you will be able to change your password as needed. We have included two documents below explaining the One-Login initial setup and a "how to change your password" document.
*Note: All students in 6th-12th grade who were still using their birthdate as their password, had a password change this summer. This information has been shared with principals and PEIMS clerks by Technology Services. Please do not post this new information and password formula on any website, or social media. This information is only to be shared with the students/parents directly via email or face-to-face.*
If you do not remember your current password, or if it does not work on the One-Login page, be sure to contact Zendesk at 915-230-2601.
New Elmo Document Camera Setup
Some campuses are purchasing the new, ELMO L-12W / TT-12W document cameras. It seems that they arrive with the USB to computer feature disabled.
Miracast which is used by most Android and Microsoft devices is enabled by default. This has caused a lot of teachers to become frustrated if they are trying to use the document camera with their Macs and with Zoom.
For those of you that have or are going to be receiving these new document cameras, watch the video below to learn how to set up your document camera to your computer and your digital projector. Also, click on the link below for documentation on how to use it with Zoom, MS Teams, and to view the owner's manual.
Feel free to contact your Instructional Technology Specialist if you have any questions.
Promethean Support Tutorials
As always, you can contact your Instructional Technology Specialist if you have any questions.
- August 2nd - 1st day of school for all EPISD students
- August 9th - National Book Lovers Day
- August 19th - National Aviation Day
- August 26th - Women's Equality Day
- August 31st - World Distance Learning Day
Active Learning Monthly Newsletter
Apple Professional Learning Virtual Conferences - Online
Explore helpful resources, practice new skills, and reflect on ways Apple technology can support great learning and teaching. Hosted by Apple Professional Learning Specialists, these hands-on sessions run for approximately 60 minutes and are offered twice daily, Monday through Thursday. Click on the image to register.
*iPad is used for all sessions unless indicated otherwise.
*Please note the time zone when registering.
EPISD@Home iPad Tips
EPISD@Home MacBook Tips
Three-Minute Quaranteaching Tips
***NEW*** Macsimizing Your Mac - EPISD Teachers and Staff
Course Title: AL201: Macsimizing Your Mac Online Course - Fall 2021
Course #: 202747
Course Section #: 21112
3.0-Hours of CPE Credit
This course will guide teachers in using features and settings that will assist them every day in completing tasks on their new MacBook Air laptops. Most importantly though, it will assist them in creating great resources to use in their lessons and delivery to differentiate the learning which will allow students to achieve mastery in many different ways.
If you are in need of a district-issued MacBook Air laptop, upon completion of the course, you will download your certificate at EPISD University, and schedule an appointment via the Zendesk, or by calling Technology Services at 915-230-2601to schedule an appointment to receive your device.
Click here to register for the course.
EPISD Digital Learning Resources and Updates Courses Hub
EPISD Schoology 101: Professional Development
Course Code - ZMB94-7NCS4
Macsimizing You Mac - Student Edition
Please share the course code with students in grades 3-12th only - 3P9R-88K7-7CQB4
Contact Us
We are Instructional Technology Specialists that serve all campuses in EPISD. We spend most of our time sharing ideas and teaching best practices for integrating technology as a seamless part of learning in the classroom. Please contact us if you are looking for a technology integrated session that would best meet the needs of the students in your classroom.