Technology Times
Volume 4, Issue 1
Welcome Back to the 23-24 School Year
- Technology Forms, Policies, and Agreements
- Parent Portal
- Updating Demographic Information
- Technology at Home
- IEC Shift to Google Classroom
- Google Classroom and Guardian Summaries
- Requesting a Mobile Hotspot
Getting Started with Parent Portal
If you are trying to reset your username or password, there is a link on the sign-in page. Follow the prompts and check your email. Sometimes it may find its way into your spam box. Once you get the email you should be able to reset your account.
If you are new to Parent Portal, you should have received a letter that would give you access codes to get connected. If you did not get that letter, or if you experience difficulty getting signed up, you may call your child's school for assistance.
Click this link to visit the Parent Portal Resource Page on our website. Here you will find everything you need. I have also included some resources for you here:
1. Links to the apps:
PowerSchool App (Google Play Store)
PowerSchool App (Apple Store)
2. Video on how to get set up with PowerSchool (see below).
3. Written instructions are also available here.
*Parents will need a working email address, and a PowerSchool Access Code. This is provided by the school at the start of the year. If you need that information, please contact the main office of your child's school. For the app, you will also need the district code CSXQ.
Updating Contact Information in Parent Portal
Technology at Home
From the start of the school year, students in grades 4-12 bring their Chromebooks home on a nightly basis. Students in these grade levels benefit from having the device for study, review, homework, projects, and communication with teachers. After a couple of weeks of getting used to the Chromebooks, our 3rd grades will also start bringing their devices home on a regular basis.
Students in grades K-2 keep their devices in school for about the first 6 weeks. The requirement for work at home is significantly less and we don't want to burden the students or parents with the responsibility of caring for an expensive device if it is not completely necessary. During the month of October we will provide more information about sending devices home in an effort to prepare for possible emergency weather/closing days.
Over the past few years we have provided parents of students in grades K-2 the option to accept or decline devices for this purpose. Some parents felt that if we were closed for a day or two they could use the technology they have at home for remote instruction (computer, laptop, tablets, phones). Others accepted the device so they could ensure their child had something to work with in case school closed. Please keep an eye out for this information and choose the option that works best for you. Along with that, we will be sharing emergency closing schedules and procedures.
The IEC is Shifting to Google
What does this mean for parents?
- Parents in the IEC will transition away from using SeeSaw for assignments and communication.
- Communication will now come through email instead of the SeeSaw app.
- Parents do not sign into Google Classroom; however they may receive Guardian Summaries.
- Parents may have their child sign into their Google Classroom account on a personal device at home so they can assist with school work.
Why the change?
Google has become one of the largest educational entities in the world. The use of Google Classroom and its integrated applications will provide students with more learning resources and provide a solid foundation for Middle School and High School.
SeeSaw was the chosen platform to use with iPads; however, over the past three to four years, the IEC has transitioned from using iPads to Chromebooks. During that time we have seen a significant decrease in SeeSaw usage and an increase in Google usage This was a natural shift for most teachers and students due to the ease of use and the versatility of Google Suite on Chromebooks. The complete transition will create consistency for parents, students and teachers and avoid the need to check or manage both SeeSaw and Google Classroom.
Communication:
Teachers can send bulk messages to their classes (students and parents) using Google Classroom. Messages to parents will go straight to your email inbox. Please make sure we have an updated email for you. This will be important for classroom communication as well as school-wide and district-wide communication.
Google Classroom also offers automated messages called Guardian Summaries. See the article below for more information.
We know that parents really enjoy receiving updates with pictures and videos from SeeSaw. We've been working on creative ways of using Google Slides, Canva and Book Creator to create a similar experience for parents through Google Classroom.
Google Guardian Summaries
Teachers will communicate with parents directly through email or over the phone when they have important information to share with you or updates about the class; however, there is also a really nice feature that exists in Google Classroom that allows for automated messages to be sent to parents regarding student work. These are called Guardian Summaries.
Hopefully many of you are aware of this excellent resource and you've been using it for the last few years. If you and/or your child are new to Google classroom, this is definitely something you should consider if your child is enrolled in Google Classroom (grades 3-12).
In email summaries, you can review:
- Missing work—Work not turned in when the summary was sent.
- Upcoming work—Work that’s due today and tomorrow (for daily emails) or that’s due in the upcoming week (for weekly emails).
- Class activities—Announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by teachers.
Note: Email summaries do not include official grades. For grades, please contact your teacher or refer to the Parent Portal.
*You will not get a summary update from every class every week. If there’s no activity to report or if a teacher turns off email notifications, you might not get an email summary.
See an example guardian summary below.
Guardian Summary FAQs
How do I get started?
Lewiston-Porter has an automated process that sends out invitations to all guardians that have valid email addresses loaded into PowerSchool for each child. You should have received your invite between 9/1 and 9/3. Another invite will go out this Friday 9/15 to anyone who has not accepted or declined the invitation. If you did not see the invitation, please keep a lookout for a new invite this week.
To get email summaries of your student’s work, you must accept an email invitation. You can unsubscribe from summaries or remove yourself as a guardian at any time.
- In your email program, open your email invitation.
- Click Accept.
If you’re not the guardian, click I’m Not The Guardian. - Click Accept to confirm.
When you accept an invitation, you and your student get an email confirmation.
Do I need a Gmail account?
You can get email summaries sent to any email address. However, to view or update email summary settings, you need a Google Account. With a Google Account, you can change the frequency of your emails, update your time zone, see the students connected to your account, and unsubscribe from email summaries. For details, go to Create a Google Account.
If you unsubscribe from email summaries, you’re still connected to a student as long as you have a Google Account. Otherwise, unsubscribing removes you as a guardian.
What if I'm not getting the invitation?
If you have not seen an invitation hit your inbox, please try the following:
1. Check your spam
2. Make sure your email is correct for each child in PowerSchool. You can do this by updating information in Parent Portal or by calling the main office of each school.
3. Fill out this form and we'll continue troubleshooting for you. Fill out a form for each child and each guardian as needed.
How do I manage summaries (only with Gmail accounts)?
- In your email program, at the bottom of any email summary, click Settings.
- If you haven't already, sign in to your Google Account.
- Under Frequency, click the Down arrow and choose when to get summaries:
- Weekly
- Daily (Monday–Friday)
- No summaries
- Under Time Zone, click the Down arrow select your time zone.
Have you lost your Chromebook Charger?
Mobile Hotspot
At Lewiston-Porter we have made a strong effort to ensure that all students have equitable access to digital materials while they're at school and while they're at home. To that end, we have partnered with T-Mobile to offer free mobile hotspots to families that are in need.
If you would like to request a hotspot please complete the form below.
Nicholas Hill
Lewiston-Porter Central Schools
Email: nhill@lew-port.com
Website: www.lew-port.com/technology_services
Phone: (716) 286-7295
Facebook: Facebook.com/LewistonPorterCentralSchools/
Twitter: @lewportcsd