Learning Commons News
Resources for you from the Learning Commons
November 17th, 2014
<Issue #3>
These publications are designed to minimize the number of emails in your inbox. Most of the information in this newsletter is important and gainful for you to read, while other articles are helpful but not necessary. None of this is fluff! Please read each article to determine whether it applies to you.
Save the Date!
Club LC
Friday, Jan 16, 2015, 07:30 AM
Nagel Middle School, Nagel Road, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Resources from your DLS
Connected Educator Month is Over.
Tool in Focus - Google Labs
To access labs and enable certain tools and functions...
- click on the gear near the top right hand corner of your screen when in Gmail or Google Calendar.
- choose settings from the list of options
- click on Labs from the set of tabs that run horizontally across your screen located just below the Settings page title.
Each lab has a description and can be activated by clicking on the enable radio button to the right. You must save changes by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and selecting the appropriate button before your changes take effect. Consider trying at least one lab this month. I have found that these labs help make life more efficient or add a beneficial feature that I have wished existed at least once or twice in the past.
Price: Free
Support Page: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/29418?hl=en
PARCC Assessment Tip #1
- The tool must allow you to build your own questions in a simple and user-friendly way.
- The tool should be free or low cost and can be used online (preferably in a Schoology if at all possible).
- The tool should require students to execute tasks exactly-like or nearly the same as TestNav (PARCC's testing program) without a lot of fluff which eats up valuable time from you and your students.
Tech News
Finding a School Related Calendar
Reserving the Learning Commons
All Call for Extra Student Computers
Finding a School Related Calendar
Many of you have been asking about locating specific calendars. Searching for a colleague's or as student's computer requires different steps than searching for a room's calendar. Below are instructions for each, accompanied with a video tutorial.
Find/view Another Person's Calendar:
Video: Click Here
Steps:
- Access your Google Calendar.
- Find the Other Calendars Tool on the left hand side of the page.
- Expand the menu (if not already expanded) by clicking the right facing arrow so that it is facing downward.
- Type the name (if someone from FHSD) or the email address of the person you are looking for.
- Click on the user you are looking for or press enter.
Video: Click Here
Steps:
- Access your Google Calendar.
- Find the Other Calendars Tool on the left hand side of the page.
- To the right of the text you will see a down arrow inside of a box. Click on that down arrow
- Choose Browse Interesting Calendars from the list of options
- You will see three tabs running horizontally across the screen located just below the page title text. Choose the More tab.
- Choose Resources for foresthills.edu from the list of options
- Look for the room you desire to view.
Reserving the Learning Commons
To book the Learning Commons:
- Go to your Google Calendar.
- View the Nagel Learning Commons calendar to view the availability of the date(s) and time(s).
- Determine a date and time for your event that will work within the existing calendar.
- Create an Event- (red button) name your event, fill in the time and dates.
- Click on Rooms, etc. to view all possible rooms
- Add the Nagel Learning Commons to the Room/Guest list- * This will generate an e-mail to the LC to acknowledge your request.
- The LC Calendar Admin (Melissa Huxtable) will reply to your e-mail request with a Google Form. You will fill out the form to give specific information (ie. room set up, audio/visual needs etc.).
- The LC will review the request. You will receive an email with confirmation/denial information. If your request is confirmed it will show up as a solid icon on the Google Calendar.
All Call for Extra Student Computers
The number of available school provided computers is starting to get very low. Please employ the following strategies to make sure we do not run out of devices. Please read #1 and #2 aloud to your students during advisory some time next week.
- We have noticed that a lot of students who have borrowed a school computer while their personal computer is getting repaired have not returned the school provided computer back to the Learning Commons after their personal computer is back up and running. Students should not have a personal device and a school provided device at the same time. Many students are stashing their “extra computer” in their locker. Please ask students to return any school provided computers if they have their own.
- Remind students that if they continue to have a computer checked out over an extended period of time that they will receive a $100 technology fee in their student fees. If they do not need the device they should return it before they incur this fee.
- When you are using a program in class that is not compatible with a certain type of computer, consider emailing us in advance so that we can supply you with a set of lab devices for a week or 2. This help us service more students with fewer devices E.g. if 5 students in each of your classes need a device, it is better to lend you 5 lab devices than lend each student a device (5 devices rather than 4 x 5 devices)