We Are WDMCS
District Staff E-Newsletter
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
10 Ways to Secure Zoom
As we prepare to leverage Zoom for virtual classroom connections, please follow these safety tips. Click the link below to view full graphic.
- Use a unique ID for large or public Zoom calls.
- Require a meeting password.
- Create a waiting room.
- Only the hosts should share their screen.
- Create an invite-only meeting.
- Lock a meeting once it starts.
- Kick someone out or put them on hold.
- Disable someone's camera.
- Prevent animated gifs and other files in the chat.
- Disable private chat.
Credit: https://pcmag.com
K-2 Chromebooks to Students
We have ordered district Chromebooks for our students in grades K-2, who have not been provided devices in the past. Building principals will contact K-2 families with more information on how they can access Chromebooks for use at home.
Q. When does WDMCS anticipate the Chromebooks being available to hand out to students?
A. We hope Chromebooks will be prepared by Friday, April 10, but will communicate with building principals when they will be available for pick-up. They will then reach out to you.
Q. Where will families go to get their student’s Chromebook?
A. We believe Chromebooks will be available in your school’s front atrium.
Q. Is it the same type of Chromebook that other elementary students have?
A. No. These Chromebooks are different from what WDMCS students in grades 3-12 have been given. They use a different charger and are more like a touch screen tablet.
More FAQs will be available online later this week.
Technology Needs Districtwide Survey
We understand that access to technology may be a challenge or concern for some of our families. WDMCS sent out a technology needs survey to all of our families.
Only ONE survey needs to be completed per household (not per student). Please do not send out separate surveys on this subject. However, if you know of families who may have a need, you can do one of the following:
- Forward this survey to them to complete with a smartphone if they do not have a computer and/or internet access at home.
- Fill the form out for them while on a telephone call with them.
- Work with an interpreter to get the form completed if the family does not speak English as their primary language. Email Belen Warnemunde for Spanish interpretation support and Biak Thang for Hakha Chin support.
Technology Needs Survey Links
Continued Support For Our WDMCS Staff During Time Off
On Monday, April 13, WDMCS administrators will present follow-up recommendations to the plan approved at the March 9 Board meeting. The new recommendation requests hourly employees be paid from April 13-April 30.
We are also recommending that certified and salaried staff continue to receive their regular pay without needing to use any paid leave. In addition, teachers will NOT need to make up any of the days missed between now and April 30. We will update staff with details when possible.
We wish to thank all of our WDMCS staff for their dedication. We consider each an important part of our family and are doing our best to support staff, provide timely information, and help ease anxiety. #weareWDMCS
SAI Educator and Student Videoconferencing Best Practices
Canvas Resources for Staff - Continuous Learning Webinars
Beginning this Friday, April 10, and continuing through next week, we will be offering one-hour webinars through Google Meet to support the shift to teaching through an online platform. A webinar is an engaging online event where a speaker, or small group of speakers, deliver a presentation to a large audience who participate by submitting questions, responding to polls, and using other available interactive tools.
Each webinar will be an hour-long with a half-hour of instruction and a half-hour for questions and practicing the skills. We will be offering the webinars multiple times to try to meet with as many people as possible. We will also record and publish each session for those not able to make it to the scheduled time. You do not need to sign up for the meetings ahead of time, just click on the provided links below during the scheduled time. See the topics and descriptions below.
Teacher Leader Crash Course: Learn about how to best help your teachers with online resources. We will cover best practices in an online environment, as well as video recording, connecting with students, and building relationships online, and will have time to answer any questions.
Video Recording: Do you need help with the video recording resources? In this webinar, we will provide overviews of Screencast-o-Matic, WeVideo, and Canvas in the Rich Content Editor. We will focus on best practices for maximizing your instruction with online videos, as well as how to store your videos and share them with your students.
Connecting with Your Students: Are you looking for ways to connect with your students in an online platform? Join this webinar to learn about best practices for connecting with your students on an online platform. We will provide overviews of Zoom, Canvas Conferences, Google Meet, and non-video resources for making connections with your students.
Building Relationships Online: Would you like to find more ways to build relationships online with your students? Join this webinar to learn about all the ways you can continue building those relationships but in an online environment. We will talk about setting up office hours, what to do during those office hours, and types of feedback to give your students, as well as other topics.
Friday, April 10
9-10 a.m. - Building Relationships Online
10:30-11:30 a.m. - Video Recording
noon-1 p.m. - Teacher Credit Crash Course
Monday, April 13
9-10 a.m. - Teacher Leader Crash Course
10:30-11:30 a.m. - Building Relationships Online
noon-1 p.m. - Connecting with your Students
Wednesday, April 15
9-10 a.m. - Building Relationships Online
10:30-11:30 a.m. - Connecting with your Students
noon-1 p.m. - Video Recording
Friday, April 17
9-10 a.m. - Connecting with your Students
10:30-11:30 a.m. - Video Recording
noon-1 p.m. - Building Relationships Online
Click on the following link to join the scheduled meeting:
Teacher Leader Crash Course Meeting Room (or use code tlcrashcourse)
Building Relationships Meeting Room (or use code buildingrelastionships)
Video Recording Meeting Room (or use code videorecording)
Connecting with Your Students Meeting Room (or use code connectingwithstudents)
CARES Act Update
According to the law, this change is effective for items purchased on or after Jan. 1, 2020. Merchants will need to update the list of eligible products and implement that list. This process will likely take place over the next 4-6 weeks, and we have no control over the timeline for each individual merchant.
As an Infinisource Benefit Services customer offering participants a health savings or flexible spending account, we wanted to make you aware of this change and let you know that no new configuration or change to your account setup is needed. The changes may result in some inconsistencies for participants while shopping due to the merchant updates required. For example, they may be able to purchase OTC products with one merchant but not another, as the merchants are responsible for marking all products as eligible.
We expect these issues to be temporary and resolved quickly. If your Benefit Card does not work with the Merchant, you can still be reimbursed by submitting a claim with the receipt via the Mobile App or Consumer Portal.
We are pleased about this change that allows participants to use tax-free funds to purchase needed items that can help you through challenging times. We will continue to keep you updated about any other changes that come as a result of COVID-19-related legislature.
If you have any questions/concerns, please contact Infinisource at 515-224-9400 or via email at flexteamkb@infinisource.com.
School/Community Relations
buckl@wdmcs.org
515-633-5023
Alexandra Wade
515-633-5022
Aaron Young
younga@wdmcs.org
515-633-5016
Email: scroffice@wdmcs.org
Website: www.wdmcs.org
Location: 3550 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, IA, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wdmcs/
Twitter: @WDMCS