Tech-Tip Tuesday
Snowflake on the Web
The last two tech-tips featured Clear Touch basics and how to use the fancy panels as a giant touch screen. This tech-tip introduces the Clear Touch Snowflake software and shares ways you can use it to support student learning.
What is Snowflake?
Snowflake web app has interactive lessons and activities that are TEKS aligned for K-12. There are two parts to Snowflake - Snow.live and the Snowflake Software on your Clear Touch Panel.
Snow.Live is a website where teachers can find, edit, or create lessons. Teachers can then access their pre-created lesson on in the Snowflake Software on the Clear Touch Panel or send lessons to students to work on independently.
Want to learn more about Snowflake?
- Keep reading this Tech Tip
- Join us on Thursday, October 1st for a live webinar with the Clear Touch trainers. Register Here
- Our Clear Touch trainer will be hosting virtual coaching sessions for each campus! Ask your campus admin when your campus day is for October.
- More Clear Touch PD to come!
How to Access your Snow.Live Account on your Laptop
How to Edit a Lesson
How to create your own lesson
How to share Snowflake Lessons with my students
Whole Group/Small Group Instruction
You can access your Snowflake lessons on your ClearTouch panel for a whole group or small group activity. *Students do not need to log in for this option.
Send your Lesson to Students for Individual Work
Once you send a lesson to students, they can sign in to their Snow.live account (through ClassLink) to complete the lesson. *Your classes were rostered via Skyward, and all students have access to Snow.Live via ClassLink. You do not need to create a class or add students
Before students log in for the first time, you may want to help them learn how to navigate the student dashboard.
As students complete lessons you can review their progress by following these steps.
New Google Meet Updates
Background Blur is great for hiding your background and disguising your surroundings.
- Click on the three dots in the bottom, right corner.
- Click Turn on background blur.
Grid View replaces the Chrome extensions (black and green) and allows you to see up to 49 screens at one time!
- Click on the three dots in the bottom, right corner.
- Click on Change layout.
- Select Tiled.
- Click and drag the slider at the bottom to change the number of people you can see.
Filter Out Background Noise
To help limit distractions in your video call, you can filter out background noise. Meet can remove background noises such as typing, closing a door, or the sounds of a nearby construction site. Meet filters out noises that don’t sound like voices. Voices from TV or people talking at the same time won’t be filtered out. If non-speech is an important part of your call, like playing musical instruments, turn off noise cancellation.
- Before a video call
- Before you join the Meet, on the top right, click More options Settings.
- Click Settings
- Under the Audio section, turn the Noise Cancelation button on.
- Close settings.
- Click Join now.
- In a video call
- On the bottom right corner, click the three dots.
- Click Settings
- Under the Audio section, turn the Noise Cancelation button on.
- Close settings.
Tip: To check how much noise is canceled out, next to your self preview at the top right corner of your screen, look at the Voice indicator. The Voice indicator reflects what others may hear. Sounds that are blocked and cannot be heard by others will not move the indicator line.
Quick Access for Attendees (Nickname/Google Classroom Generated links only)
This is a new setting that allows the host to manage who can join their meetings.
- On the bottom right corner, click the three dots.
- Click Settings
- Click Host controls
- Turn the Quick Access switch on or off
Huddles!
Come share your questions, ideas, successes, and struggles! Everything is #BetterTogether, so we can all learn together!
Instructional Technology Huddles
Anything instructional technology-related for elementary and secondary!
Clear Touch Training Sessions
Clear Touch Basics Refresh Coming to your campus soon!
We will be visiting each campus one day between September 28th - October 8th to offer a Clear Touch training on the basics (how to log in, connect a doc cam, use the collage app to mirror a device, and use the Canvas whiteboard app in lessons). Be on the lookout for more information from your principal.
Come learn about the TEKS aligned, interactive lessons Clear Touch has for EC-12th grade!
Click here to register.
Clear Touch Snowflake Web Virtual Coaching Sessions October 2 - October 28th
Our Clear Touch trainer will be hosting virtual coaching sessions for each campus! More information coming soon from your campus principal.
Just-in-Time Trainings
Designing for Interactivity with Google Forms with friEDTechnology
Read&Write (Digital Tools to Support Learning for ALL)
Clear Touch Help Guide
Clear Touch Basics
Clear Touch Academy has on-demand courses with tutorials and training videos that you can view anytime.
Kelsie Condo, FMS
Caitlin Boyce-Brejcha
Email: caitlin.boyce@huttoisd.net
Kelly Hong
Secondary Instructional Technology Specialist
Email: kelly.hong@huttoisd.net