I.T.S. a Tech Update
December 2020
With the coming of Thanksgiving, the holiday season has officially started. We have an extravaganza of celebrations from all over the world. We have Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and of course, the bringing in the New Year. Whatever you and your loved ones celebrate, we must all never forget these celebrations no matter what the situation may be.
The Instructional Technology Specialists have created a 12 Days of Techmas Schoology course full of activities for your students and families to enjoy. You and your students can join this course by using the course access code - ZZGC-F4SF-T89WP.
- We have activities like:
- Take your favorite holiday snapshot and share it on our community Media Album. Could be your's or even your neighbors. Go scavenger hunting for your favorite holiday scene with your loved ones and remember to be safe.
- Create a digital holiday card by going to Canva.com. There are tons of free tools and images to make this possible. Share your holiday creating with all of us using the Media Album.
- Help Rudolph find his way by solving the Reindeer Breakout Game puzzle. Use the clues to solve this digital breakout and earn a holiday Schoology badge!
- Santa is just around the corner and you might want to keep track of the time until Christmas. With the Santa Tracker from Google, you can keep an eye on Santa's arrival and practice some coding with his funny reindeer. Take a screenshot once you finished and earn a Santa Tracker badge!
- How good are you at Jeopardy? How well do you know Christmas? Come and find out as you, your classmates, friends, and family play Jeopardy Christmas by https://jeopardylabs.com/
...And many more. Join the course and have some fun! All ages and families are invited. If you have any questions please contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
Connect To Texas Virtual Holiday Learning Programs
Checkout Connect to Texas Virtual Holiday Learning Programs. ther are free programs and paid as well. They fill up fast, so be sure to check it out and book it. - https://www.smore.com/j0nvc-connect2texas?ref=email-content#w-8881246910
EPISD Virtual Hour of Code hosted by the Active Learning Department
Place - Live Via YouTube - https://tinyurl.com/hourofcode2020
Date: TBD
Time: 4:15-5:30pm
Special Guests: Nelson Taylor and Gordon Worley, Apple Learning Specialists
Join our Schoology course - Z7R2-86XB-BHBM7
Updating Apps on MacBook and iPads
To update apps on district-issued devices, open the Self-Service app, and click Install/Reinstall on the app to push the latest update. If you get a message asking you to log in to the administrative account, or to purchase an app, contact Zendesk so that they can add more licenses to Self-Service.
If you have any questions, please be sure to contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
What's new in Zoom!
Here are some videos for some of the new features we feel are important for teachers:
Portion of Screen - https://youtu.be/aAMhO4pYhMM
Slides as Virtual Background - https://youtu.be/T7sG3VSUwjg
Zoom Whiteboard - https://youtu.be/uNMhj1BATIE
Displaying your an iPad/iPhone via a Cable - https://youtu.be/j4XFQzELqLk
Displaying Content from a Second Camera - https://youtu.be/7WnQVQnPDfg
Zoom Polling Feature - https://youtu.be/3Rz4fOA1E4g
As always, if you have any questions, please contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
Organizing ClassLink Apps in Folders
Organizing ClassLink/EPISD Plaza Apps in Folders - https://youtu.be/J2D-RCB4U0g
Digital Citizenship
Common Sense has many resources that we can share with parents to inform them about what their students could be experiencing online and help guide family discussions. This time around we will focus on Relationships and Communication.
Please share the following resources with your parents to initiate conversations at home about how they want their children interacting with others in a digital environment.
- Help Kids Make Friends and Interact Safely Online (K-5)
- Ayudemos a los niños a hacer amigos e interactuar con otras personas por Internet en forma segura (kinder a 5to grado)
- Help Kids Make Friends and Interact Safely Online (6-12)
- Ayudemos a los niños a hacer amigos e interactuar de manera segura en linea (6° a 12° grado)
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
EPISD Online Courses
EPISD Schoology 101: Professional Development
Course Code - ZMB94-7NCS4
Macsimizing Your Mac - EPISD Teachers and Staff
3.0-Hours of CPE Credit
Course #: 202747
Course Title: AL201: Macsimizing Your Mac Online Course for Teachers and Staff
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 915-230-2601. Once you have received your appointment you will pick up your device at 2300 Murchison St.
Macsimizing You Mac - Student Edition
Please share the course code with students in grades 3-12th only - 3P9R-88K7-7CQB4
- Apple Vanguard Academy - Pages ePUB or Clips Project due November 07
- Veteran's Day Holiday - November 11
- Fall Break - November 23-27
- Bronze Cohort 3rd Coaching Session - November 30 - December 04
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.