60 WITH SAINT
Weekly Tech Update 4/19 to 4/23
What does Natural Selection have to do with GoGuardian?
Have you heard of MRSA? Antibiotic resistance in bacteria? We have learned in Science that when living things are pressured, they will adapt or become extinct. When humans began pressuring bacteria with the new invention of antibiotics, bacteria began to die in mass quantities. BUT, over time the stronger, smarter fitter bacteria survived and reproduced!
Well, our students who have felt the pressure of GoGuardian have adapted! There is a whole community of YouTube tutorials, created by students for students, on how to circumvent tools that a district may use such as GoGuardian. They are downloading apps or extensions that mask as a browser such as Chrome, or maybe they are learning how to create their own Virtual Private Network(VPN). My favorite tutorial that I watched last week was by a 9-year old. This student learned how to copy and paste source code to unblock any website that her district blocked on her school Chromebook just so she could play Roblox while at home (https://youtu.be/XWi_OtuVFbs). Most of us would be happy if we could get our 20 or so students in our class to watch our lessons, she currently has 64,251 views :). Whatever the method they choose to circumvent a tool such as GoGuardian, it is the equivalent of our IT department playing Whack-a-Mole. Every time an app, extension, or VPN gets shut down, another one pops up.
With that said, here is what we CAN control. When the students are in our classrooms, we CAN control how we structure our lessons. We CAN control what our content is and how we are delivering it. We CAN also control our relationships with our students. I say that because this past week was a rough one with GoGuardian calls. I deployed the age-old ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ mentality. I finally asked a couple of them to come in and they were eager to spill the beans on how they are doing it. They taught me something new! But they only did it because of the relationship, they knew I wasn’t out to get them. I just wanted to protect the district’s network! I am linking an article, How To Plan For Teaching and Learning from Common Sense Education, to help give you some strategies for teaching with a hybrid model as productive as possible. After all, we should always want our students to be adaptive, their resiliency and creativity will lead to great innovations! I just hope I can stay like the smarter and fitter bacteria to keep up with them :)
If you suspect that a student has circumvented GoGuardian or the district’s filters, don’t hesitate to contact the IT department. They will continue to block the sites, apps, and extensions as they become aware of them. A link to the IT webpage can be found in this newsletter as you scroll down.
Assist with the analogy to @Jennife01012005, Thank You!
"Provide an UNCOMMON experience for your students and they will reward you with an UNCOMMON effort and attitude." ~ Dave Burgess
Cleaning Up Your Google Classroom
Here is a link to help you Clean Up your Google Classroom.
Getting in Compliance
In an effort to get in compliance with New York State's Data Privacy and Security Policy (NYS Ed Law 2D), WCSD has to check and make sure that the sites, software apps, and tools that are utilized at school and with our students are compliant. If there are sites, software apps, and tools that you are using with your students, could you please take a second and fill out the form below to let us know what those sites, software apps, and tools are? Fill it out as a team, a department, or on your own.
Here is the link to the form: https://forms.gle/tmbzuGeP7dttjZ6S8 or you can access it by clicking on the form icon located to the right.
Here is a link to more information on Ed Law 2D (provided by MORIC and RIC ONE).
🚨Update🚨Summer PD Catalog
Get Stuff Done Club & InstaStrategies
The Get Stuff Done Club will hold two, one-hour zoom sessions, every Wednesday from 12 to 1 and then 1 to 2. If you can not attend at those times, the sessions will be recorded and uploaded to the Empower site. Every Wednesday will be a quick demonstration of an educational strategy from one of four popular educational books. The format of each session will be a quick demo (15 minutes or less) followed by Q & A and collaboration time.
1st Wednesday of the Month - Feel The Rush (EDrenanline Rush)
2nd Wednesday of the Month - Don't Kill the Wonder (Ditch That Textbook)
3rd Wednesday of the Month - What's the Protocol? (EDUProtocols)
4th Wednesday of the Month - What's the Play Coach? (DL Playbook)
To join the meeting this Wednesday, click HERE for the 12 o'clock session or HERE for the 1 o'clock session, or email me and I will send you the Zoom link directly. If you would like, you can register for each session below, and I will email you the link on Wednesday so that you don't have to search very far for links. See registration buttons below.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you are signed in with your district Zoom account or you will not be admitted from the waiting room. Sorry, I'd rather be safe than sorry!
Join The InstaStragies Google Classrom
🚨 Who Got Caught? 🚨
Has anyone noticed the new “I Caught” option on the Empower website? If you haven’t, head on over and check it out. The “I Caught…” form is courtesy of the Cyclone Learning Zone. I’m not going to spoil it, you’ll have to check it out. Here’s the link.
Tutorial(s)
Google Docs Grammarly, Word Count, Explore
Tech Tool(s) of The WEEK
WordTune
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WCSD Informational Technology Website
Let's Talk Tech Integration
HT Wiley: Wiley IMC
Case Middle School: Room 210
WHS: Student Help Desk 1st Floor
Would you Mind Sharing?
Feedback Welcomed and Encouraged
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Leave Some Feedback
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Jayson St.Croix
Email: jstcroix@watertowncsd.org
Website: https://www.smore.com/dp1fh
Phone: (315)785-3895
Twitter: @Math3203