I.T.S. a Tech Update
May 2022
Welcome to May 2022
Hello teachers,
We are down to the final lap. One more month of testing and end-of-year lessons and activities to close this year out with a BANG! We are with you all the way and we want to assist you in closing out this school year with less stress and much success.
In this newsletter you will find:
- 🌞 2022 Technology Learning and Integration Summer PD
- 💳 TCEA Free Membership Drive - May 2 and 3
- 🎓 Attention Seniors and Teachers - Save Your Stuff!
- ⌨️ Getting Your Tech Ready For Testing
- 🍏 Apple Teacher Academy 2022-2023
- 🚨 Middle School Robotics Competition-May14 @ YWA
- 📚 FREE QR Code Read Aloud Cards
- 😎 Activities for the End of the School Year
- 📝 Blog Spot - TCEA -Templates for End of Year Student Awards
- 👩🏻💻 May Virtual Learning Programs
As always, if you have any questions please contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
Summer 2022 Technology Learning and Integration PD
Most sessions will be held in the PDC building at 6500K Boeing Drive. Here are a few things we will be showcasing this summer:
- Collaborating in the Cloud Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced
- Making Learning Fun and Easy with Discovery Education
- Today at Apple with Apple Creative Pros
- The Knowledge the Camera can Capture
- Best Kept YouTube Secrets
- I Didn't Know My Mac/iPad Could Do That
- PowerPoint as an Assessment Tool
- Getting Creative in Keynote
- Office 365 Literacy Tools For Creating and Equitable Classroom
- Tech Playground
- and much more!
Registration in EPISD University will open on May 16th.
- June 7,8,9 - Gear Up with Innovative Educators' Mindset! - Course# 204255
- June 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 - Teach, Tech, and Learn! Boot Camp - Course# 20437
If you have any questions feel free to contact Nohemi Armas via email or Microsoft Teams at narmas@episd.org.
TCEA Free Membership Drive - May 2 and 3
TCEA members now get automatic, free renewal for their membership every year. But this Teacher Appreciation Week, you can pay it forward to your non-member colleagues and friends by letting them know: TCEA will be offering free membership this Monday and Tuesday, May 2-3!
Click here for more information.
Attention Seniors and Teachers - Backup Your Stuff!
It's that time of year again when seniors are getting ready for graduation and some of our great teachers and staff are getting ready for retirement or other life journey. If the end of the school year will mark the end of your time with EPISD, you want to make sure you backup all of your important files.
Seniors will lose access to their EPISD OneDrive, EPISD iCloud, and EPISD Google Drive on the last day of school and will no longer be able to log in to their accounts. It's important that that you inform seniors, whether there your students or your own children, to back up all important files to a flash drive, portable hard drive, or personal cloud server such as Apple iCloud, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, to name the top three. Seniors need to understand that the district will NOT be doing this for them and once their account is closed they will no longer have access to their files. Most free online cloud accounts will give you up to anywhere from 5GB to 25GB of free space, but students will need to register for these services using a personal email, NOT their EPISD email. All three of these cloud providers will also provide an email account if they students don't already have a personal account.
Teachers and staff who will be retiring at the end of the school year, or just moving on, will need to do the same. Teachers and staff lose access to all their accounts a lot earlier than graduating seniors. Sometimes even a week in advance of their final day, so we recommend that you take care of this at least a month before your last week of work.
Below are snapshots of cloud services provided by the big three companies, Microsoft, Apple and Google. You may also gain access to other things like email and some of their free productivity software when creating a free account.
The most important thing to remember is to back up your files at all times, even if you're not leaving EPISD, but especially if you are.
If you have any questions on this, please contact the Zendesk, or your Instructional Technology Specialist.
Get Your Tech Ready For Testing
Click on the Microsoft Stream link below to view various tutorials on how you can guide students in making sure their devices are ready for STAAR testing. You will need to log in to your Microsoft account to view the tutorials.
https://web.microsoftstream.com/channel/068bbc64-1e73-43dd-af1e-1b0795c2d987
Preparing Calculator for STAAR Algebra 1 Testing
High school Algebra teachers were sent an email from Veronica Sanchez, the Facilitator for Secondary Mathematics with instructions on preparing the TI Nspire CX & CX II for Testing.
In the email she states:
"In order for the TI Nspire CX & CX II handhelds are in compliance for STAAR in Texas, the handhelds must be placed in “Press-to-Test” mode and three features must be disabled (calculator policy). The features that must be disabled are the following:
- Geometry Functions
- Inequality Graphing
- Implicit Graphing
A helpful PDF Guide on how to place the TI Nspire CX & CX II in Press-to-Test mode can be found HERE.
Or if you’d prefer to watch a short video on how to do this, please click on the appropriate link below.
- Press-to-Test Mode - TI Nspire CX
- Press-to-Test Mode – TI Nspire CX II – There is a new way to put in Press-to-Test, may want to check this out!
Updating the Operating System
See attached documents on how to update the handhelds to the latest operating system. It is best that the handhelds are updated to the latest operating system that’s available. The latest operating system for the TI-Nspire CX is version 4.5.4.48. The latest operating system for the TI-Nspire CX II is version 5.3.0.564."
If you have specific questions on testing you should contact your campus testing coordinator. If there are any major issues with a student's device that will impede him/her to test successfully, your PowerUp team member(s) will need to place a support ticket via the Power Up Zendesk.
At the secondary level, the Power Up team member is usually your bookroom clerk, but it could also be a Principal or AP. At the elementary level, it is usually the assistant principal, but some schools have given access to CTCs as well.
2022-2023 Apple Teacher Academy Information
In this issue, we want to share some of the academy specifics with you since the academy will be going through some very important changes for this coming school year that will benefit all educators who join.
First, your Instructional Technology Specialist will be voluntarily recruiting teachers from the schools they support who will be able to dedicate their time to the academy. Please note that you will not be working on your own. We will be pulling you out for half-day support sessions once a month to give you dedicated time to complete your projects with an Instructional Technology Specialist there to assist you. Below is a tentative schedule for next year's academy. This schedule is subject to change so keep an eye on your email for the final schedule before the end of the school year.
- Apple Academy Kick-Off - Week of July 26-28. You will need to commit to the academy before the end of the 2021-2022 school year
- 1/2 Day support sessions - Instead of working on your own, there will be four to five scheduled half-day pullouts for you to work and receive support from your Instructional Technology Specialist on your assignments. Our department will pay for substitutes teachers as needed.
- Tentative Pull out dates: July-August Kick-Off, August 22-26, September 26-30, October 24-28, November 7-10.
- Co-planning and co-teaching: November 14th through January 31st during the teacher's schedule.
If you have any questions about the 2022-2023 Apple Teacher Academy or would like to join, please contact Chris Sherman at ccsherma@episd.org, or reach out to your Instructional Technology Specialist if you have any questions and wish to be apart of the next academy.
EPISD Middle Robotics Competition - Young Women's Academy, Saturday, May 14th 7:30 AM -2:00 PM
ATTENTION MIDDLE SCHOOL ROBOTICS SPONSORS:
We are down to the final two weeks before the competition! Teams and sponsors are asked to arrive by 7:30 AM with competition and awards concluding by 2:00 PM.
Middle School sponsors who still have not shared their robotic teams' information, please use the form link below to list the teams and students who will be participating in the Middle School Robotics Competition on May 14th at the Young Women's Academy (YWA). Organizers will use this information during competition check-in, as well as, certificates and awards.
Also, please continue to add any pictures or videos of your robotics clubs. We will be creating a slideshow to run during the beginning of our competition that will showcase the different campuses and students to the community. We are very excited to see your students demonstrate what they have learned this year and apply their problem-solving skills!
Be sure to contact John Roach at jdroach@episd.org if you have any questions.
FREE QR Code Read Aloud Cards
You can check out their post at - https://blog.tcea.org/free-qr-code-read-aloud-cards/?utm_source=TCEA+Emails&utm_campaign=6595c09232-tn-apr26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f3a5bb651e-6595c09232-41003539
You can download the read-aloud cards by opening the following link - https://episdorg-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/jmmorale_episd_org/EkgO3O77YVJGldgY6leykz4BjGaFMjg3CPEd0390lxtBBA?e=sgLmMN.
These can be printed in color or black and white. The color will not affect the QR code.
Activities for the End of the School Year
Here are a few ideas and digital resources we loved!
Write Thank You Letters or Cards
Ask students, “Who has helped you get through the year? Who has encouraged you and supported you in meeting your goals? Who has been a good friend?” Encourage them to make a list of people to whom they would like to write notes of thanks. But expressing gratitude is not easy, and it is a skill to be taught. Before beginning the writing, model examples of how we can give specific, meaningful, and honest thanks to others. Write a note of thanks as a class. Leave it up on the board as a reference for students as they write their own messages.
You can download various types of templates to print for your students at https://www.canva.com/thank-you-cards/templates/. Make sure to create your educator account if you haven't done so already to get access to their premium content.
Visit the Grade Above and Welcome the Grade Below
Certain students may feel a high level of anxiety and the end of the school year. Some take everything in stride, but others may fear the unknown and all the changes that come with a new school year. Coordinate with a class in the grade level above and arrange a visit. The class could present their visual timeline or create a class presentation, and host a question and answer session for your students. This will help them know what to expect in their new grade level. It’s a great way to pass the torch!
End-of-Year Self-Reflection Survey Video
Have students answer a self-reflection survey. This can be done on paper, through video, or using a tool like Google Forms. Ask students questions that will instigate self-reflection, and the answers don’t necessarily have to be academic. This is a great gift for students to take with them at the end of the year, but it’s also valuable information to hand up to teachers in the next grade level.
We have added a special touch where students will create a video reflection. They can do this in a topic post that you created inside of Flipgrid, or they can use the camera app on the iPad, or the PhotoBooth app on the Mac to do this. We have included a Word document that you can download and edit as you wish for this assignment.
Make a Class Book
Using a tool such as the Pages app on the iPad or MacBook, you and your students can make a class book full of information and reflections about the year. Students can write, draw pictures, record videos, and select photos for their class book. You can include pages about special lessons, projects, activities, and field trips and include examples of students’ work. This is a lovely keepsake for students and teachers alike!
To make collaboration easier, create the Pages book template at iCloud.com. Sign in with your personal Apple ID instead of your EPISD Apple ID and share a link with your students for your template using Schoology or Seesaw as an assignment. You can add all the pages ahead of time and in any order you wish and assign them to specific students or groups of students.
Contact your Instructional Technology Specialist if you have any questions or would like him/her to stop by for a co-teach.
TCEA -Templates for End of Year Student Awards
You can click here for their entire blog post. Check out some of the ideas we loved from this post below.
50 Free Printable Awards for Students
These 50 awards from We Are Teachers recognize academic and social-emotional skills. You will need to provide your name, title, and school email address to receive the download.
Grade Levels: Elementary and Middle School
Cost: Free
Print in color or black/white
Website - https://www.weareteachers.com/free-printable-awards-for-students/
Printable Award Certificates for Kids
Grade Level: Elementary
Cost: Free
Website - https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/awards.html
Free Candy Awards
Reagan Tunstall has provided over 30 different candy awards to give out. The certificates are available to print in color or black and white. Check out her blog for more “last week of school” survival resources.
Grade Level: PreK – 12th, Higher Education, Adult Education, and Staff
Cost: Free
May Virtual Learning Programs
There are many virtual learning opportunities for the month of April. Click on the links below for more information and registration.
Flipgrid Live Events - https://blog.flipgrid.com/upcomingflipgridliveevents
- School is More than Just A Building with This Is a School creators John Schu and Veronica Miller Jamison - (Recommend for Ages 3-10) Tuesday, May 03, 2022, 11:00 AM MST/El Paso.
- Asian Americans who Shaped the U.S. - (Recommended for All Ages) Friday, May 06, 2022, 11:00 AM MST/El Paso.
- The Power of Collaboration with Mo Willems and the Pumphrey Brothers - (Recommended for All Ages) Tuesday, May 10, 2022, 11:00 AM MST/El Paso.
- How Ancient Egyptians Prepared for the Afterlife- (Recommended for All Ages) Wednesday, May 18, 2022, 11:00 AM MST/El Paso.
- Redwoods Resilience, Climate Change, and You! (Recommended Ages: 10-14)
- Tuesday, April 19, 2022, 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM MST/El Paso.
- Ancient Greece in Tennessee? It’s the Parthenon in Nashville! - (Recommended Ages: All Ages) Friday, May 20, 2022, 11:00 AM MST/El Paso.
- Celebrate Yellowstone's Wonders in its 150th Year - (Recommended Ages: All Ages) Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 11:00 AM MST/El Paso.
- Community-led Wildlife Conservation and How You Can Help - (Recommended for Ages 14-18) Friday, May 27, 2022 5:00 AM MST/El Paso
- Space Exploration from the ‘Space Race’ to Today’s Technology - (Recommended Ages - 5-13) Friday, May 27, 2022 11:00 AM MST/El Paso
Connect2Texas - https://www.connect2texas.net/pages/home/events/
Connect2Texas Weekly Update Newsletter - https://www.smore.com/689qk
Note: You will need to register an account before you can register for an event. Not all events are free, but you can filter to only see free events, as well as, events that are still open for registration. Free events fill up fast so be sure to register early!
- Animal Encounters: Awesome Opossums (Non-interactive) - (Grades: K-8th) Cost: FREE Date: May 03, 2022, 9:15-10:00 AM MST/El Paso
- "Spat"-tacular Oysters (Interactive) Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - (Grades: 4th-6th) Cost: FREE Date: May 04, 2022, 9:00-9:45 AM MST/El Paso
- Astronomy Day: Solar Views and Moon Systems McDonald Observatory, University of Texas - (Grades: 5th-8th) Cost: FREE Date: May 04, 2022, 9:00-9:45 AM MST/El Paso
- Little Learners Storytime: Larry Gets Lost in Texas (INTERACTIVE) Amon Carter Museum of American Art - (Grades: PreK-2nd) Cost: FREE Date: May 09, 2022, 12:00-12:40 PM MST/El Paso
- ExciteSpace! Observe the Sun (Grades 3-12) McDonald Observatory, University of Texas - (Grades: 3-12) Cost: FREE Date May 10, 2022, 10:00-10:45 AM MST/El Paso
- Monthly Special: H2-woah! Don Harrington Discovery Center - (Grades: K-6th) Cost: FREE Date: May 10, 2022, 9:00-9:45 AM MST/El Paso
- Little Learners Storytime: Jayden's Impossible Garden Amon Carter Museum of American Art - (Grades: PreK-2nd) Cost: FREE Date: May 16, 2022, 10:30-11:15 AM MST/El Paso
- Art, Music, and Movement (INTERACTIVE) Amon Carter Museum of American Art - (Grades: 1st-4th) Cost: FREE Date: May 17, 2022, 8:30-9:20 AM MST/El Paso
- Animal Encounters: Peregrine Falcons (Interactive) Texas Wildlife Association - (Grades: 1st-6th) Cost: FREE Date: May 18, 2022, 9:15-10:00 AM MST/El Paso
- Beasts, Birds, and Bugs: The Art of Scientific Observation (INTERACTIVE) Amon Carter Museum of American Art - (Grades: 2nd-5th) Cost: FREE Date: May 18, 2022, 9:35-10:20 AM MST/El Paso
- Spotlight Session: Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Amon Carter Museum of American Art - (Grades: PreK-2nd) Cost: FREE Date: May 20, 2022, 9:30-10:15 AM MST/El Paso.
Discovery Education - https://www.discoveryeducation.com/community/virtual-field-trips/
No permission slips are required! These On-Demand virtual events let educators take students to amazing places and give them remarkable experiences, without ever leaving the classroom.
- Be Vape Free: Heroes Virtual Field Trip - (Grades 9-12) Premieres Tuesday, May 03, 2022, 11:00 AM MST/El Paso
- Operation SkillQuest Virtual Field Trip (DIY Projects for students) - (Grades 6-12) Premieres Tuesday, May 17, 2022, 11:00 AM MST/El Paso
How To Create a Strong Password
MacBook Student Tricks That Teachers Don't Know About
1. Multiple Desktops (a.k.a. Mission Control) - Most people create desktops to easily switch between content that they are creating. Some teachers create a desktop to open the TEKS Resource System website and another desktop to have their lesson plan template open making it easier to copy and paste information such as TEKS and descriptions. Students also like to create multiple desktops. Some do it because they want to add their own pictures to each one, others create them so they can change between their classroom activity or assignment to something else like Minecraft or YouTube.
- How to Check, switch between, and Add Desktops - To do any of these three actions all you have to do is press the F3 key, or slide up on the trackpad using three fingers. By doing this you are opening Mission Control, which you can also open by clicking on the Spotlight search icon and typing Mission Control. Students will definitely use the three-finger shortcut. It is much faster. Once there, you can see how many desktops are open and what each desktop has open by clicking on it. You can also click on the X on the top left and close all desktops except for Desktop 1. Click here to view a short video on how Mission Control works.
- How to Check for Multiple Desktops in Fullscreen - When you click on the green dot to go fullscreen you create another desktop and you can still use the three-finger up motion on the Trackpad to view, but most people will use a three-finger sweep from left to right, or right to left to switch between fullscreen windows. You can still press the F3 Key, or do a three-finger swipe up to see the number of Desktops a student has open since a fullscreen app is essentially a new Desktop. Click here to view a short video on how to switch between fullscreen windows.
As always, if you have any questions please contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
MacBook Chrome Browser for Students
For instance, when opening EPISD Plaza/Classlink, Safari doesn't ask to save their account information, where Chrome does. This makes it easier for our new laptop users, like 3rd grade, to quickly access EPISD Plaza. Also, when students select iStation in EPISD Plaza a new window opens and they will always need to select, "Allow" to open iStation. In Chrome, a new tab opens, instead of a window, which asks you the same question, but you can check of a box where you give Chrome permission to always open iStation without having to click, "Allow". This is an extra step that can be avoided by using Chrome.
Another student website that seems to have an issue with Safari is ST Math. When students click on ST Math, a new Safari window opens and states that there is an error. Students will see a blue button that says, "Continue Anyways" and that will take them to ST Math. In Chrome, it opens a new tab and not a new window and there are no issues. It just opens the website and students can start working.
Most student laptops should already have Chrome installed with the exception of new laptops in 3rd-grade. Chrome is an app that is found in Self-Service ready to be installed. One thing you may want students to do even if they have Chrome installed on their laptops, is to go into Self-Service and click on Reinstall to get the newest updates. They can also do the same for other apps like iStation, Pages, Word, Excel, Numbers, and many other apps they may be using in your class.
After you install/Reinstall Chrome, have the students open System Preferences and click on General. In General, they will change the default web browser to Chrome. After that, any time they click on the EPISD Plaza link on the desktop it will open in Chrome and they can save their Classlink account information and check off the box to allow iStation to open without the need to allow it access every time.
This is a one-time setup, but you will need to assist your students in doing this. Make sure you protect your laptop and guide them step by step for the procedures are the same for you and the students.
As always, if you have any questions please contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
EPISD Dates and Events
- May 3-20 - State Testing Window
- May 02-06 - Teacher Appreciation Week
- May 11 - National School Nurses Day
- May 14 - EPISD Middle Robotics Competition at Young Women's Academy (YWA)
- May 30 - Memorial Day (Holiday)
- June 02 - End of 4th Nine Week Grading Period/Early Release for Students Only
- June 03 - Teacher Work 1/2 Day/Last Day for Teachers
- May 01 - School Principals' Day and National Mother Goose Day
- May 02 - National Brothers and Sisters Day and International Harry Potter Day
- May 03 - National Teacher Day
- May 04 - National Weather Observers Day and Star Wars Day
- May 05 - Cinco de Mayo and National Astronaut Day
- May 06 - National Nurses Day
- May 07 - Comic Book Day and International Astronomy Day
- May 08 - Mother's Day (U.S.)
- May 10 - Día de las Madres (Mexico)
- May 11 - National School Nurses Day
- May 12 - National Limerick Day
- May 14 - World Migratory Bird Day
- May 15 - International Family Day and Peace Officers Memorial Day
- May 16 - Drawing Day
- May 20 - National Endangered Species Day
- May 21 - National Armed Forces Day and National Learn to Swim Day
- May 22 - International Day for Biological Diversity
- May 23 - World Turtle Day
- May 24 - National Scavenger Hunt Day
- May 25 - National Missing Children’s Day
- May 26 - National Paper Airplane Day
- May 27 - National heat Awareness Day
- May 28 - National Brisket Day and National Hamburger Day!!!
- May 29 - Learn About Composting Day and National Paper Clip Day
- May 30 - Memorial Day
- May 31 - National Save Your Hearing Day and National Smile Day
If you'd like to see the events for the entire year, visit https://nationaltoday.com/
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.