I.T.S. a Tech Update
October 15, 2020
EPISD 2020 Mock Presidential Elections
Elections season is upon us and once again, the Instructional Technology Specialists in the Active Learning Department have dusted off the EPISD Election Central website, polished the digital ballots, and have even created the first EPISD Election Central Schoology group with more resources and information for your school.
Since the majority of our students have access to a district-issued device, all students will be voting on Tuesday, November 3rd with their teachers using their own devices. All teachers and staff will find the information they need by joining the Elections Schoology group by using the access code - QB72-NFW4-FMG6P (Do not share this code with students).
Inside of the group's resources, you will find folders per grade-level with teacher resources to include assignments, registration cards, assignments, the "I Voted" badge to add to your badges, the link to the EPISD Central website, and a presidential ballot folder where you will place the digital ballot link.
The EPISD Election Central website (https://itsepisd.wixsite.com/electioncentral) will be the district's hub that will house all of our student's voting results. You can view the overall electoral vote on the homepage, or select your school from the tabs above to view your school or other schools in your area and the entire district. You can also click on the Cadidates tab to view information on all 4 candidates running for the presidency. There will also be links to their direct campaign websites, as well. The District Results tab will show both the overall district popular vote as well as the electoral vote.
If you hover on the More tab, you will see more teacher resources as well as our live Twitter feed. We would like you to share images of student election activities and anything else you do in your class so that our students learn the importance us our civic duty.
Your ALL's and librarians will be working with all of you as you report to them when your class has finished voting and they in turn will make sure to inform the EPISD Election Central team when your entire campus will be voting.
We will also have live EPISD 2020 Mock Presidential Election Special Reports from YouTube with special guests from some of our schools in EPISD. Make sure you register to our channel so that you can get the notifications of the live stream.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO3hpuWF5VNGJcwg6dLkwjg
We will broadcast at 8:30, 10:30, 12:30, and 2:30 with different schools reporting live. Check out our EPISD 2020 Mock Presidential Election PSA video by clicking on the image in the corner and don't forget to subscribe to our channel.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please be sure to contact your friendly neighborhood, Instructional Technology Specialists 😉
Zoom Update with Share Computer Sound Feature Enabled
You will need to install/reinstall Zoom from Self-Service and once completed, you will need to restart your computer to see the changes. If it doesn't catch the first time, Technology Services says to, "install/reinstall again and restart your computer".
As always, if things don't work out just like planned, make sure to create a Zendesk ticket, or call them at 915-230-2601. This was tested successfully with some teachers during the Active Learning Teaches the Future Academy last week.
Teacher MacBook iBoss Rollout
MESSAGE FROM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Over the last several months, Information Technology has been testing iBoss filtering. We are now ready to deploy this to teacher laptops.
A few things to keep in mind.
If you are still on Mac OS Sierra, you will need to have your laptop physically updated to the latest version tested for the district (Mojave). First, back up all your data to OneDrive. While we do not anticipate the loss of any data we still encourage you to back up your files as it is still good practice. Second, please call (915) 230-2601 to set up your appointment or submit a ticket through your Technology Support Portal.
How do I know if my OS is Sierra?
You can check to see which operating system you are running by clicking on the black apple located at the top left of your screen. Select “About this Mac.” If the window that pops up shows macOS Sierra, then you will need to call or submit a ticket for an appointment.
When is iBoss roll out happening?
Below are the dates that iBoss will be rolled out by campus.
- Oct 19 About Face Program, Andress, Aoy, Armendariz, Austin, Barron, Bassett, Bliss, Bond, Bonham, Bowie, Bradley
- Oct 20 Brown, Burges, Canyon Hills, Chapin, Charles, Cielo Vista, Clardy, Clendenin, Coldwell, CCTA, CCTE, Collins
- Oct 21 Cooley, Coronado, Crockett, Crosby, Delta, Academy, Douglass, Dowell, El Paso, Fannin, Franklin, 9Franklin
- Oct 22 Green, Guerrero, Guillen, Hart, Hawkins, Henderson, Herrera, Hillside, Hornedo, Hughey, Irvin, Jefferson
- Oct 23 Johnson, Kohlberg, Lamar, Lee, Lincoln, Logan, Lundy, MacArthur, Magoffin, Mesita, ECDC, Mesita, Milam
- Oct 26 Morehead, Moreno, Moye, Newman, Nixon, Park, Polk, Powell, Putnam, Richardson, Rivera, Roberts, Ross
- Oct 27 Rusk, San Jacinto, Silva, HMS, Stanton, Raymond Telles, Terrace Hills, Tippin, Tom Lea, TMECHS, Travis, Western Hills, Whitaker, Wiggs, YWA, Zach White, Zavala, Any Teachers that have not upgraded or not listed above
Find more details at https://bit.ly/2H48Lbw
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
- Bronze Cohort Active 2nd Coaching Week - October 26-30
- EPISD 2020 Mock Presidential Election - Tuesday, November 3rd
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.