Friday, December 4, 2015

What's New in Office 2016? 12/04/15

Upgrading to Office 2016 at work or at home? What are the new features and functionalities about which you should be aware?  

Although PISD is not mandating that users upgrade to Office 2016, nor is it even recommended at this time, some people have this version of Office at home and/or have chosen to test it out in our PISD work environment.  

If you want to learn more about Office 2016, you might want to check out some of these videos and tutorials provided below:


Explore Word 2016 - mini-course


Keyboarding Over the Holidays! 12/04/15

The holidays are a great time for students to practice their keyboarding skills.  Here are some fun sites you may not have seen or used before.

Snow Typer - keep the snowman alive!

Treasure Dive - can be quite challenging!

Star Wars Typing Challenge!


Sponge Bob Type Rider


Key Man - (like Pac Man)


Key Bricks


Bubbles Typing


Word Mountain

And don't forget about these other great keyboarding sites!


Keyboarding Practice in Learning.com 12/04/15

Differentiated Keyboarding Practice to Prepare Students for online assessments!

Did you know that with your subscription to Learning.com (EasyTech), you have access to differentiated, Prescriptive Keyboarding?  

Click these links for more information - 

Keyboarding Overview Video a 3 minute overview video


Prescriptive Keyboarding Lessons Guide - Learn more about how to use Prescriptive Keyboarding Lessons. With the Prescriptive Keyboarding Report, you can document progress of keyboarding skills by measuring WPM, overall accuracy, time and accuracy by key. Download the keyboarding guide for details.

Websites of the Week! Celebrating Winter Holidays! 12/04/15

Winter is almost here!  
The holidays are approaching!

Celebrate the holidays with these interactive websites:

Winter Resources Link 

Spell Up with Google 12/04/15

Spell Up is a Google Chrome "experiment" ......a new voice-powered game that can help improve your English.  Build your "word tower" by listening to words and spelling them aloud or with the keyboard.  You may also be asked to pronounce the words correctly, solve word jumbles and/or guess mystery words by filling in the missing letters.

I'm not sure I completely feel the love for this interactive website, but you might want to take a look at it to determine for yourself.  Learn more about the site by clicking the I (for information) at the bottom left of the page. Click the settings button to enter the words using the Keyboard.

https://spellup.withgoogle.com/

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Websites of the Week! Celebrating Thanksgiving 11/20/15

Here are more Thanksgiving links for teachers and students!

Talk Like a Pilgrim
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/talk-pilgrim
(Warning: Might be a wee bit confusing for ELL kiddos.)


Thanksgiving on Promethean Planet
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en/Search/resources/language/english/?Keywords=thanksgiving&SortField=DownloadCount30Days_desc


Student Portal Update 11/20/15

The Student Portal has some recent updates!

  • Chris Quinn, Network Systems Administrator, received a request to split the textbook links from the rest of the applications to make it easier for students to find the links they need.  This change also affects the staff and teacher portal views.  
  • Now when anyone connects to the portal they will see a new tab at the bottom titled “IM & Libraries” (see below), and in this tab rests the current LRC and textbook based links.  
  • Should anyone not be seeing this tab they should try refreshing the page or restarting the browser.  



BrainPOP's New Look! 11/20/15

BrainPOP is getting a "face lift"!

Learn more here:  video

  • BrainPOP site redesign, set to go live in the next few weeks. Developed with input from multiple educators, the new look will be fresh, appealing, tablet- and smartphone-ready, and even easier to navigate.
  • But while the site may look different, it’ll still be home to all the features you rely on - from Make-a-Map and GameUp to our topic pages and teacher resources. We’re even adding some new ones. 
  • This change is just part of our ongoing efforts to adapt to your evolving needs; we think you’ll be as excited about it as we are. 
  • We’ve put together an overview screencast (use link or hit PLAY below) to give you an idea of what to expect; 
  • You can also visit the BrainPOP Educators blog for additional information. 

FREE Coding Kits! 11/20/15

  • Bitsbox is donating completely free coding kits to teachers for Computer Science Education Week (December 7th-13th). 
  • Each kit is enough for thirty students, and they come with a teacher's guide to help run an Hour of Code.
  • 30 Nov  ·  Teachers  ·  Free coding kits for thirty students


Read more here and on the link provided above.
  • Bitsbox is a startup headquartered in Boulder, Colorado that teaches Javascript/HTML5 to children.  Kids practice writing Javascript into a free virtual tablet online in order to create their own apps, and they receive a subscription box in the mail with new apps to code each month.                                                                                             
  • Computer Science Education Week's signature event is Hour of Code, where students throughout the world practice computer science for one full hour.  While much of the world recognizes the importance of learning how to code, Bitsbox knows that many teachers do not always have the resources to ensure that their students can participate.  Hence, Bitsbox is donating free coding kits to teachers throughout the world so they can have their classes participate in an Hour of Code (educators in the US and Canada get a physical kit, and partners in the rest of the world receive a digital replica.)                             
  • The coding kits serve a dual purpose.  On the one hand, they help teachers guide the children through the activity, and this is particularly important because many teachers themselves are not familiar with code.  On the other hand, the kits introduce a coding language to students in a way that they can become coders in no time.  

Monday, November 16, 2015

Plickers 11/20/15

Plickers allows you to conduct quick, formative assessments with your students using answer cards and your iOS or Android mobile device.  All you need is:

  • A Plickers teacher account 
  • An iPhone, iPad or Android device
  • A set of answer cards for each student


What is Plickers? Students display their answers to multiple choice and true/false questions by holding up answer cards.  The teacher scans the answers using his/her mobile device.  Results are displayed on the website for you and/or your students to view real time results.

Click here to find the following resources:
  • Teacher Instructions
  • Plicker Answer Cards for Students
  • And if you are considering training others on this application, a sample/demo class that you can quickly upload.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Learning.com Update 11/20/15

Activities and Journals Live On!
......for a little while

Announcement from Learning.com on November 10, 2015:

All the functionality that we have right now in Learning.com as it relates specifically to creating Activities and Journals and sharing them within the district will remain in place through the end of this 2015-2016 school year.  As a result, we will have access to these features "as is" for the remainder of this school year.

Previous info from Learning.com stated that this functionality (creating and sharing Activities and Journals) would end on December 31, 2015.

DreamBox Learning FAQ 11/06/15

Question:
According to training notes for DreamBox….
If teachers want to change the curricular grade level for a student, it can be done PRIOR to starting the curriculum…..afterwards, must be done by calling support. CORRECT any change in curricular level after a student logs into DreamBox needs to be handled by Customer Support.

Question:
Is it accurate that the teachers should never place a student UP in their curricular level, because the program will adjust their curriculum/lessons based on how they progress in the program? Correct, let the intelligent adaptive engine select and construct the individual path.  A teachers should see that advanced students will work through current grade level material quickly and start being enriched through standards above their physical grade level.

Question:
On the date of the training in Pasadena ISD, you referenced the Intervention column in the Classroom List of the old dashboard.  You indicated that, if checked, this would move the student back one grade level in the curricular level.  The dashboard has been update in early October, refer to the image below.


Questions: 
Is this still accurate?
And if so, where is the Intervention column?  I thought it was in the Classroom List area under Manage Tab of the old dashboard.  The intervention column, has been replaced with “curricular grade level” to simplify the process.  If a student needs to be assigned a grade level different than their physical level, use the drop down arrow and place the student into the curricular level that lesson will begin appearing in.  The image shows 2 such examples.

Technology Contests 11/06/15

Free technology-related contests for students, teachers, and other school staff. 
Who doesn’t like to win free stuff? Check out the following four no-cost opportunities!

Doodle for Google
K-12 students can submit their own Google Doodle for a chance to win scholarship money, a Google for Education grant for his or her school, a trip to Google, and MORE! This year’s theme is “What makes me . . .me.” Students create a doodle that represents them and what makes them unique! Contest entries are due by December 7, 2015 and must be submitted by a teacher or parent. For more information go to http://www.google.com/doodle4google/.


Get Your Tech On
PBS Education is hosting a series of webinars providing support for digital learning. Fill out the one-time entry form on this site - http://goo.gl/0i0Bh9 for your chance of winning local PD, a trip to Austin to attend TCEA, or Chromebooks and a document camera for a classroom!



C-SPAN’s Student CAM 2016
Students create a short video about the issue they would most want candidates to discuss during the 2016 presidential campaign. This is open to students in grades 6-12 and can be individual or small-group entries. All entries are due by January 20, 16. Cash prizes for students and teacher advisors totaling $100,000! To find out more, go to http://www.studentcam.org/.

Thanksgiving Lessons and Videos 11/06/15

The First Thanksgiving is a fairly comprehensive set of resources for elementary school students and teachers. The site has five primary sections for students.
  1. Daily Life is a comparison of the lifestyles of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag. Students can click through each aspect of daily life to see a comparison of housing, clothing, food, chores, school, and games.
  2. The Feast is a slideshow, with audio support, about the foods eaten and other activities at early Thanksgiving dinners. 
  3. The Mayflower is a virtual tour of the ship. This section also has an interactive map through which students can learn about life aboard the ship as it crossed the Atlantic Ocean. 
  4. Historical Letters is a collection of historical fiction letters written from the perspectives of a Pilgrim girl and a Wampanoag boy living in the New World. In order to access these letters you need to register as a teacher by using your email address.
  5. The videos and photos section of The First Thanksgiving offers short videos (some as long as 20 minutes) about life in Plymouth and the first Thanksgiving. 

Websites of the Week! Celebrating Thanksgiving 11/06/15

Interactive Thanksgiving Sites
http://interactivesites.weebly.com/thanksgiving.html


Interactive Pocohantas Site
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/games/pocahontas/pocahontas_game_container.swf




Reminder of past Thanksgiving WOW's ....Websites Of the Week


Interactive Thanksgiving Websites (from November, 2014):
http://etnpisd.blogspot.com/2014/11/websites-of-week-celebrating.html

Thanksgiving Dinner Sequencing Activity (from November, 2014):
http://etnpisd.blogspot.com/2014/11/thanksgiving-dinner-sequencing-activity.html

What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe? (from November, 2014):
http://etnpisd.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-are-your-favorite-thanksgiving.html

Free Home Internet Access 11/10/15

During the October 29 board meeting, the Pasadena ISD Board of Trustees authorized the Office of Technology to proceed with a project that will ultimately provide complimentary home Internet access to students through a new broadband LTE wireless system.


The project calls for the installation of LTE towers at 15 sites in the district that will accommodate campus feeder patterns in the Pasadena, Houston and South Houston areas. These include Pasadena High School; Beverly Hills, Queens, San Jacinto, and Southmore Intermediate Schools; Roberts Middle School; Bush, Burnett, Freeman, Melillo, South Houston, Sparks, Turner and Young Elementary Schools; and the Transportation department.

Read more about it...Free Home Internet Access

Pasadena ISD will be the first school district in the state to provide complimentary home Internet service to students in need using a district built wireless system...

Shared Documents in Office 365 - Where Are They? 11/10/15

More and more often these days, teachers, administrators and curriculum specialists are sharing documents from OneDrive.  You may have received an email indicating that someone shared a document or folder with you.  But that email is probably long gone in the great email abyss!

Where are these documents located?  And more importantly, how can you find the document or folder now?

There are a variety of answers to these questions, but here is a simple way to find documents that have been shared with you.

NOTE:  It will require that you log into Office 365 and access your OneDrive library.
Instructions are located here:  Opening Shared Documents Part 1 - Shared With Me Folder


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Istation Update - Campus Managers...Did You Know? 11/10/15

Did you know that Istation Campus Managers can.......


  1. Remove students that are no longer enrolled in a teacher's class?  
    When students unenroll from a class and move to another class at the same campus or even a different campus, they are not removed from the previous class.  This is not only annoying for the teacher, but it can also skew the results of reports.  Campus managers can remove these students from the classes so they no longer appear on the "old" class roster.

    Here's how: Removing Students from a Class
  2. Add co-teachers to a class so that more than one teacher can see the results of the students in the class.  
    Adding a co-teacher is great for campuses that have co-teaching situations (departmentalized) or when another campus employee (Intervention Teacher, Campus Manager, etc.) wants to be added to a class to view their results.

    Here's how: Adding a Co-Teacher to a Class
  3. Be designated as Peer Managers which allows them to manage other Campus Managers.
    In the past, Campus Managers could ONLY be created by a District-Level Manager or Istation Support.  That wasn't very convenient, so now Campus Managers can be designated as Peer Managers.  This provides a higher level of rights....one of which includes adding or deleting Campus Managers.

    Here's how: Adding and Editing Campus Managers
  4. Be designated as teachers and assigned classrooms. By doing this, it allows Campus Managers and Peer Managers to create a class, add students, view reports, and/or be added as a co-teacher to view other class results. This would be particularly good for Intervention Teachers, Dyslexia Teachers, or other campus personnel that may be responsible for monitoring and/or tutoring small groups of students.....even though that person might not have an official reading class assigned to him or her.

    NOTE:  Peer Campus Managers or District-Level Managers are the only persons who can do this.

    Here's how:  Adding and Editing Campus Managers (See Adding Teacher Rights to a Campus Manager)
These and other instructions for Teachers, Campus Managers and Administrators are located here: Istation Handouts

Friday, October 30, 2015

Kahoot Ghost Mode 10/30/15

Kahoot Ghost Mode

Kahoot has a relatively new feature that allows students to play in "Ghost Mode".
  • Students can play against previous games to review and try to beat their previous score.
  • Also, students can play from home as part of a review.  
  • Send the link to parents so students can practice at home.

Watch this video to learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p8TRQPGf50

Learn more from these sites:



Likes and Mentions in WebMail 10/30/15

Coming in early 2016....

Over the last several years, social networks have changed the way we communicate. In our personal lives, we show our approval by “Liking” a friend’s status update on Facebook and we “@Mention” others in a Twitter post to call attention to it. In our workplace, these same social concepts became popular through enterprise social tools such as Yammer. Today we’re taking the next step and introducing Like and @Mention to workplace email in Outlook on the web.

Likes — bubbles up the best ideas

Mentions—highlights the individual


Read more about it:
https://blogs.office.com/2015/09/30/likes-and-mentions-coming-to-outlook-on-the-web/

Veteran's Day Resources 10/30/15

Veteran's Day - November 11, 2015

Teacher/Student Resources:

https://www.teachervision.com/veterans-day/teacher-resources/6674.html

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/veterans-day


Veteran's Day Quiz
http://quizzes.familyeducation.com/other-holidays/veterans-day/veterans-day-quiz.html


Military Conflicts in US History
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0931831.html

Friday, October 23, 2015

DreamBox Learning Handouts and Resources 10/23/15

DreamBox Learning (K-2nd Grade)

Math intervention program to help build skills in younger students.  Available in English and Spanish.

Website - https://play.dreambox.com/

Handouts and Resources -
https://pasadenaisdorg.sharepoint.com/sites/InstructionalTechnology/handouts/Shared%20Documents/Dream%20Box%20Learning

Think Through Math - Moving Students 10/23/15

Teachers and Think Through Math Campus Administrators can no longer move students between campuses or districts within TTM.  They can only move the students to different classes within a campus.

So, how are students moved from campus to campus?
And what do you do when a student arrives from another district?

When one of your students has a schedule change within the campus:
Follow normal protocol for moving these students. (instructions attached)

When you have a student move in from another school within our district:
Email support@thinkthroughmath.com with the following information
  • ·         the student’s name
  • ·         student ID number
  • ·         student TSDS number
  • ·         campus, class and teacher name in TTM that the student should be moved to


When you have a student move in from another school from outside our district:
The campus will need to create a new account for the student.

Student records in TTM will no longer travel between districts.

DreamBox - Can I Insert My Student's Picture? 10/23/15

DreamBox Learning Avatars Replaced with Student Pictures - Can this be done?

Question - Is it possible to have the students' and teachers' faces added to the picture username and picture password pages in DreamBox Learning?

Answer - Not at this time.  This may change in the future, but this option is not available in DreamBox right now.

Websites of the Week! Celebrating Arthur! 10/23/15


This week's websites all come from the PBS Kids Arthur website.


Mouse Skills Practice

Crank It Up - 
http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/crankitup/crankitup_halloween.html

Go George Go -
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/gogeorgego/go_george_go.swf
A little more challenging!  Following directions and problem solving.

Global Gizmo (Musical Instruments) -
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/globalgizmo/gg_07.swf

Lung Defender -
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/lungdefender/asthma_loader.swf



Miscellaneous

Facts and Opinion - 
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/factsopinions/factsopinions.swf

Arthur's Comic Creator - 
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/comiccreator/comicloader.swf

Buster's Movie Maker - 
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/moviemaker/mm_b7.swf

Bullying and It's Consequences - 
http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/comic_sofunny/index.html

Going Green in the Groovy Garden - 
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/groovygarden/gloader.swf

Help Buster Make His Movie - 
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/moviemaker/mm_b7.swf

Where's Buster? - 
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/games/wheresbuster/wheresbuster.swf


Friday, October 9, 2015

Pearson Envision Student Passwords 10/09/15

Pearson Envision Math - Student Passwords
K-4th Grade Math

Students have been assigned usernames and passwords for Pearson Envision Math.  Problem - the student password is the same as their PISD-assigned password (which isn't very easy to type for most students).  It is the following pattern:

  • First Initial (uppercase) + Last Initial (lowercase) + birthdate (mmddyyyy)


So, the common question is....

Question:
Can the teacher change the student's password for Pearson Envision Math?
And, if the teacher changes the students PISD-assigned network password to something easier to type, will this change the Pearson student password?  And will it "stick"?  Or, because this information is auto-updated each night, will the password revert back to the previous one?

Answer:  
Yes the teacher can change the password.  And yes, it will "stick".  The Pearson password will remain the network password (whether the teacher changes it or not).  Since the nightly auto-upload feeds off the actual real-time network password, if the teacher changes it to something easier to type, Pearson will require that easier password, as well.

What does this mean for the teacher and student?

  • Pearson is the only Electronic Online Resource that assigns the password as the student's PISD network password.  
  • Changing the network password in the Account Request Management System (ARMS) in the portal would change the student password in Pearson.  
  • IMPORTANT NOTE - This would also change the student password for logging into the computer and into Office 365. 
  • Although most of K-4th grade students are not logging into the computer or Office 365, this is important to note and to discuss with teachers so it doesn't affect how students are logging into other things.  
  • To promote consistency, the teacher might consider changing the password to "pw" + Student ID (which is the password used for things like Istation, Think Central, Accelerated Reader, Learning.com, Think Through Math, etc.


Websites of the Week! 10/09/15

Halloween Interactive Websites!

Miscellaneous Sites:
http://interactivesites.weebly.com/halloween.html

Math-Related Sites:

Ghost Blasters - Operation Even
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Ghostblasterseven/ghosteven.html

Ghost Blasters - Operation Odd
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/GhostblastersOdd/ghostodd.html

Ghost Blasters - Finding Multiples of 10
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Ghostblasters1/gbcd.html

Ghost Blasters - Practicing Sums
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/ghostblasters2/gb2nores.html

Spooky Sequences - Counting by 1
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookyseq1.html

Spooky Sequences - Counting by 2
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookycf2.html

Spooky Sequences - Counting by 3
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookyseq3.html

Spooky Sequences - Counting by 5
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookycf5.html

Spooky Sequences - Counting by 10
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookycf10.html

Spooky Sequences - Numbers Squared
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookysqno.html


Friday, September 25, 2015

Website of the Week! 09/25/15

Interactive Websites for the Beginning of Autumn!

Paint and Make - Raking Leaves:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/scienceforkids/seasons/paintandmake/paintandmakeautumnraking.swf

Paint and Make - In The Classroom:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/scienceforkids/seasons/paintandmake/paintandmakeautumnclass.swf

Paint and Make - Back To School:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/scienceforkids/seasons/paintandmake/paintandmakeautumnschool.swf

Nut Hunt:
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/sites/kids/files/fun-with-english-nut-hunt.swf
Mouse Skills, Words and Pictures, and somewhat addictive

Dress the Scarecrow:
http://www.akidsheart.com/flash3/autumn/pumpkman.swf

Leaf Sweep:
http://www.akidsheart.com/flash3/autumn/leafsweep.swf
Mouse Skills and some obnoxious music

Scarecrow Puzzle:
http://www.akidsheart.com/flash3/jigsaw/scrowpz03.swf

Pumpkin Game:
http://www.akidsheart.com/math/flashes/mgames/edgepumpkins.swf
very addictive!

Find the Difference:
http://www.akidsheart.com/flash3/diffgame/difffall.swf

Photos For Class 09/25/15

Need a place to access safe images that are available to be used in the classroom and for educational purposes?

Photos For Class provides this, along with accurate image citations. http://photosforclass.com/
  • Age Appropriate Images - All images are appropriate for school setting thanks to Flicker safe Search and our proprietary filters - Read More
  • Automatic Citation - Downloaded images automatically cite the author and the image license terms - Read More
  • Creative Commons - All photos shown are to the best of our (and Flickr's) knowledge Creative Commons licensed for school use


Internet Safety Resources 09/25/15

Internet Safety Resources 

This website provides some resources for teachers and students on Internet Safety, Digital Citizenship, etc.

http://pasadena.pasadenaisd.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=80772&pageId=1264133


Also, Forethought has resources available in the Scope and Sequence tab.
We will be populating resources and lesson plans here for your use.

  1. Log into Eduphoria
  2. Click Forethought
  3. Click Scope and Sequence (on the left) 
  4. Click Elementary
  5. Click Elementary Technology Applications
  6. Click Digital Citizenship
  7. Click Internet Safety



Outlook "Clutter" - How Do I Turn It Off? 09/25/15

Microsoft Outlook Clutter is a new feature in Office 2013 that helps sort your incoming email. When Clutter sees an item you're likely to ignore, it will move the item into the Clutter folder. Just keep using email as usual and Clutter will learn which messages aren't important to you.

From time to time, Clutter might get it wrong. You can quickly scan the folder and move any messages that shouldn't be there back to the inbox. Clutter will learn from this and do better next time.

Even though this is great, you might want to turn it off if you don't like it.  
Here's how:

From Webmail in Office 365, do the following:
On the top right corner of the page, go to Settings Settings: update your profile, install software and connect it to the cloud > Options > Mail > Automatic processing > Clutter.  Choose Don't separate items identified as Clutter, then Save Save


Learn more about Clutter here:

Deleting a OneNote Notebook 09/25/15

Deleting a OneNote Notebook

Scenario: As you are learning to use OneDrive and OneNote, you may create some notebooks that you want to eventually delete (as they were only used for practice purposes).  How do you delete the Notebook (since the only choice in OneNote Desktop Application is "Close This Notebook"?

This involves two steps:
  1. Deleting the Notebook from OneDrive
  2. Closing the Notebook in the OneNote Desktop Application

Step 1:
  1. Log into Office 365 – login.microsoftonline.com
  2. Click the Menu button at the top left (domino button)
  3. Click OneDrive
  4. Navigate (click) to the OneNote notebook in your OneDrive
  5. Right click the OneNote Notebook
  6. Click Delete
  7. Click OK
NOTE: This will not remove the Notebook from your (or anyone that you have shared with) OneNote Desktop Application on your computer. 

Step 2:
Deleting the OneNote Notebook from the Desktop Application Notebook “Shelf”:
  1. Open OneNote Desktop Application (the purple N)
  2. Right click the Notebook that is on the list at the left
  3. Click Close This Notebook

Istation Testing Deadlines 09/25/15

Reminder about Istation Testing Deadlines:

Kinder, Grade 1, and Grade 2

All students in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 must complete the Istation assessment by next Wednesday, September 30th.  The assessment is required by the state, and we will be sending the data to TEA.

Please see the attached report for a summary of the completion rates for you campus as of today, September 21st.

I would recommend you ask teachers to make sure all students are assessed by this Friday, September 25th.  This would give us a few days to track down any missing students.  If that’s not possible based on your schedule, please ensure ALL students are assessed by September 30th.


Pre-Kindergarten

Some of you have found it challenging to complete the Istation literacy assessment due to the time needed to get PreK students familiar/semi-proficient in using a mouse.

For this reason, we have extended the PreK assessment window to Friday, October 16th.  Since the PreK data is not reported to TEA, we aren’t under the same time crunch as we are in Kinder through Grade 2.

This extension applies to PK ONLY.

OneDrive for Business "Blue Cloud" - 09/25/15

Syncing Your OneDrive for Business - 
Adding the Blue Cloud onto the Taskbar

Question:
How can I sync my OneDrive for Business (aka - the "Blue Cloud") with my computer so I can easily access my files in OneDrive?

Answer:
If you do not see the Blue Cloud in your task bar, go to All Programs > Microsoft Office 2013 and click on OneDrive for Business. That will start the sync. Then you have a OneDrive – Pasadena ISD location in Favorites in which you can save.

Need help or have more questions concerning this?

Call Shane Tout at x-78105

Friday, September 4, 2015

Mouse Skills Practice 09/04/15

Mouse Skills Practice

OwlieBoo!

http://www.owlieboo.com/educational-games.php

Practice pressing keys, moving the mouse, clicking and dragging.

Using LanSchool 09/04/15

What is LanSchool?
A program that runs from the teacher's computer and allows the teacher to do the following:
  • View all computers on the same "channel" for purpose of monitoring.
  • Control individual or all computers, such as blanking the student screens, controlling their actions, displaying the teacher screen, etc.
  • Send and receive files from the student computers.
  • Advanced actions such as sending quizzes and other tasks.

How do I install it?
Installing LanSchool is not hard, but it can be a little challenging to get everything set up just right.  If you have never installed LanSchool, call your Instructional Technology Specialist to get assistance if you want to install and use this program.
  • LanSchool teacher program is installed on the teacher machine.
  • LanSchool student program is installed on all student machines.
  • Teacher and student machines are set up with a "channel" which allows the teacher to view ONLY the machines that are on the same channel.

How can I get help learning how to use LanSchool?




No Sound from Promethean Board 09/04/15

No Sound From Promethean Board

If you have a newer (dark gray) Promethean Board with speakers on the side, but no sound is coming from it, here are some tips for troubleshooting this problem:


Some things to check:

  1. Make sure sound plays on computer by playing something on it or clicking the speaker icon on the bottom right of the task tray and adjusting the volume and making sure it isn’t on mute.
  2. Make sure that the Promethean Board ActivManager icon at the bottom right doesn’t have a red X on it.  It should look like a white square with the orange "Promethean Man" on it.
  3. On the board, you can check or do the following: 

    • There is a small white button that will appear red or green.  It should be green.  If it is red, it definitely needs to be pressed.  If it is green, you might consider pressing it twice anyway (once to turn it off and second time to turn it back on).
    • Check the volume level control knob near the top of that panel on the side to make sure it is turned up to a specific volume.
    • You might consider unplugging the USB connection to the computer (from the board) and plugging it into a different USB connection.  This has been known to correct the problem, as well.

Logitech Webcam Software Update 09/04/15

Many of the liaisons got a Logitech Webcam years ago. Sara Simmons did some searching and found a download for it, as the provided CD would not download on her new computer.

It said it was not compatible with Windows 7, but Sara found one that is at this link: http://support.logitech.com/en_us/product/quickcam-sphere-af#download

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Installing Office at Home 08/28/15

Installing Office 2013 On Your Home Computer


IMPORTANT - Before installing this, please read the following:


  • Office 2013 is not compatible with Windows Vista or Windows XP
  • The download of Office 2013 can take as much as two (2) hours depending on your Internet connection at home
  • Office 2013 can ONLY be installed on five (5) computers or less using your login
  • Other computer system requirements:
    • Windows Version must be 7 or higher
    • Computer and processor must be 1 GHZ or faster x86 or 64-bit processor with SSE2 instruction set
    • Memory – 1 GB RAM (32-bit)
    • Disk Space – 3 gigabytes (GB)
    • Monitor Resolution – 1024 x 768

Installing Office 2013 on a PC


  1. Open Internet Explorer (this may work on Chrome or Firefox, but Internet Explorer is the browser of choice for this download and install)
  2. Go to login.microsoftonline.com
    • You can also get to this link by going to the PISD Portal and clicking Office 365 tile
    • Or go to the PISD Home Page, hover over Staff and click District Email/Office 365
  3. Enter your PISD email address
  4. Click Sign In
  5. Enter your PISD network password
  6. Click Sign In
  7. At the top right, click the Settings button (looks like a gear)
  8. Click Office 365 settings
  9. Click Install and manage software
  10.  Click Install
  11. Continue to answer the prompts to complete the install
For support with this install, go to - http://tinyurl.com/ntqrrfu

Installing Office 2016 on a Mac

Follow the instructions on this website:

The instructions for a Mac are similar to the ones listed above, but this link contains more specific detail related to a Macintosh computer.


Changing Your Phone's Voice Mail Greeting 08/28/15

New or Transfer Staff need to set up their voice message greeting on their phone?

Setting Up or Changing Your Voice Message/Greeting

Press the Messages button
Enter your password**
Press #
Press 4 for setup options

**NOTE RE: PASSWORD: Once the phone change request work order has been submitted by the campus and completed by the networking department, the phone is reset to the newly assigned person and the default password is the 121212.

1.       Greeting - your current greeting is your standard 
1) to re-record this message 
2) to turn on alternate greeting 
3) to edit other greetings 
4) to play all your greetings 
0) for help  
*) to exit

2.       Message Settings to change 
1) message notification 
3) menu style 
4) edit private lists 
0) help 
*) exit

3.       Personal settings  to change 
1) password 
2) recorded name 
3) directory listings 
6) message monitor settings


4.       Transfer settings to change 
1) standard transfer rule 
2) alternate transfer rule 
3) close transfer rule 
0) help 
*) exit


Retrieving Your Voice Mail Messages

Press 1 to retrieve messages.  
Then, press:
1) Listen 
2) save 
3) delete 
4) reply 
5) forward 
6) mark new 
7) skip back 
9) properties 
0 )help 
*) exit


Outlook 2013 Help Guides and Tip Sheets 08/28/15

Outlook 2013 Desktop Application Help Guides and Tip Sheets

Currently, we do not have an eCourse or any specific handouts for Outlook 2013 ready.  But, I have used these links for trainings, as a resource sent in an email, and/or to take "snippings" from the handout to create short tip sheets.

Feel free to use these if needed.

Custom Guide Cheat Sheet

pages 1-2 only

Introduction


Intermediate


Using Rules

Outlook 2013 Training Courses, Videos and Tutorials

Promethean Board Troubleshooting 08/28/15

This is an update to a blog post from about a year ago on troubleshooting the connection to your Promethean Board when the pen doesn't work.

  • Try these steps when the following situation occurs:
  • The pen won’t work on the board. 
  • You can get the calibration window to appear.
  • No lights appear on the top left “flame”.
  • You look at the ActivManager icon on the Task Tray across the bottom of the screen.
    • If it is an orange icon on a white square, then it is connected.
    • If it is a red X on a white square, then it is not properly connecting.

Goal: make sure the orange icon appears (not the red X).
After each step listed below, check to see if the Red X changes to a white square with the orange Promethean man (aka John Travolta) on the ActivManager icon on the Task Tray across the bottom of the screen.

1.  "Rebooting" the Board:
    • If you can get to the electrical cord for the board, try unplugging it and then replugging it into the electrical outlet again.  You can also find the connection between the Power Pack and the gray/beige cable that comes out of the back of the board. This looks like a black cable with a round plug on the end that is connected to a gray/beige cable connection.
    • Doing this is like “rebooting” the board.  If it is “connected”, you should hear the familiar 3 chimes and the flame at the top left of the board should display a light.  Hopefully, it is a light blue/gray light.  This process of “rebooting” can also correct the problem of seeing a RED light on the flame at the top left of the board.
2.  Update ActivDriver:


3.  If updating the driver doesn’t work, reseat/replug (into a different USB plug) the Promethean Board USB plug in the back of the computer (this serves as a chance for the promethean board to “reacquaint” itself with this newly updated driver that you installed in Step 2 above).


4.  If that doesn’t work, unplug and replug the Promethean Board into the electrical outlet (this might be necessary if there was a power outage or power surge recently at the campus).


5.  If that doesn’t work, you might see if the board is connected to the computer via a network cable and make sure it is securely connected.  And not a bad idea to check all other cables to make sure they are securely connected.


6.  If the board connects (red X on task tray turns to an orange promethean symbol) and the lights are on from the promethean board BUT the pen still doesn’t work, you might consider getting a pen from a neighboring teacher that works and testing to see if it works on the board.  This will narrow down whether the pen is good or not.


7.  And one final thing is to check the “nib” on the end of the pen and make sure it is still in reasonably good shape.  If not, you might see about changing it out to see if that helps.
And finally, if all these steps don’t work……turn in a work order.  It could be that the board has gone bad because of a power surge or just get’n old.  In addition, it might need a “power USB” cable.  This Power USB cable is used when the cabling between the board and the computer is at our around 25’ or more.  Once the distance of the cabling gets that long, the connection is compromised and can result in a bad connection.