EL - My BrainPOP 12/02/16

My BrainPOP

Did you know that you can create classes in BrainPOP and assign quizzes, videos, concept maps, individual activity pages, games, and the FYI? There are a few steps to get this started.

• Create a teacher account
• Create a class
• Students create their accounts
• Create assignments
• Track student progress

You can find videos and handouts here: 

https://educators.brainpop.com/tools-on-brainpop/getting-started-with-my-brainpop/ 

Contact your Liaison 

MS/INT - Brainpop and Schoology Integration 12/02/16

Brainpop and Schoology Integration

If you use both Schoology and BrainPop, you can configure BrainPop to open in Schoology. (Elementaries - sorry, you have to be on paid Schoology for this to work.)

 

MS/INT/HS - OneNote Classroom Notebook New Features 12/02/16

OneNote Classroom Notebook - New Features

Hopefully you have found the OneNote Classroom Notebook Add-in and are using it this year as well as the Learning Tools Add-in. If not, here is link: https://www.onenote.com/classnotebook  and https://www.onenote.com/learningtools

Something that was new in May that I just found this week, is the ability to turn off the Collaboration Space and the option to create a section group that only the teacher can see. 

To use these two features:

• Log in to Office 365 
• Go to the ClassNotebook tile from the app launcher (waffle in the top left) 
• Select the Notebook that you want to use for this 
• Click on the Manage Notebook Tile 

ALL: Where Have My Eduphoria Notification Emails Gone? 12/02/16

After our Eduphoria "migration" to the cloud, some users have noticed that their Eduphoria notification emails are not arriving in their Outlook Inbox.  This is because they are getting caught in "Clutter".  Here are two methods of correcting this problem:

Moving Eduphoria Notification Emails from Clutter to Your Outlook Inbox

And, while following these instructions, you might notice quite a few other emails that are getting caught in Clutter.  You can turn Clutter off by doing the following:

Turning Clutter Off

ALL: Disabling Pinch And Zoom 12/02/16

If you have a laptop with a glide pad on it, the Pinch and Zoom feature can be a problem---especially with younger students.  Here's how to disable the Pinch and Zoom feature of your glide pad on a Windows 7 laptop:

1. Go to Start --> Control Panel --> Mouse
2. Click Device Settings tab at the top
3. Click the glide pad that is listed under Devices
4. Click Settings on the right
5. Click in the box next to Pinch and Zoom to remove the check
6. Click OK twice

EL: DreamBox Student Overview Report 12/02/16

DreamBox Math has a new report! 
The Student Overview Report.

The Student Overview Report provides thorough and illustrated information on an individual student's usage and progress. It is a great report to share with parents to give them a comprehensive snapshot of their child's success with DreamBox.

In a single view, teachers can access in-depth information about a student’s proficiency and growth against the standards, what is currently being worked on, and time spent on learning in DreamBox. In addition, visual alerts inform teachers when a student may need additional help on a topic. Finally, teachers can print and share the report with learning guardians to give them a comprehensive snapshot of their student’s success with DreamBox.   

Learn more about this report by clicking here.

EL/MS/INT: New Istation Resources 12/02/16

Istation recently posted some new printable resources for students and teachers.  Here are some of the links:

Certificate of Recognition - This full-color printable certificate is for students whom you would like to recognize for their hard work in Istation Reading.

Certificate of Appreciation - This full-color printable certificate shows students how much their hard work on Istation is appreciated!

Istation Scope and Sequence K-8 - Complete Scope and Sequence of Skills for Istation Reading for grades K-8.

Istation's Books and Passages - This guide lists all of Istation's available books and passages with their Lexile measure, Cycle where the text appears, type of text, and which skills are taught with the text.

Istation Stages of Reading - This guide to Istation's Stages of Reading gives teachers characteristics of readers and text at each stage as well as an approximate Lexile® measure to effectively differentiate instruction.

EL: DreamBox - Tracking Tier 2 Student Progress in RTI 11/18/16

Tracking Progress for Tier 2 Students in Response to Intervention (RTI)

Recorded Webinar Information

Wednesday, November 9, 2016 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EST

Presented by Thera Pearce, Director of Professional Development and Implementation, DreamBox Learning
Sponsored by DreamBox Learning

WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING

Successful schools and districts are increasing student achievement by implementing dynamic Response to Intervention (RTI) plans. But, what makes successful RTI programs stand out from less successful ones? How do educators know whether intervention is actually working for their struggling students?

In this webinar, Thera Pearce, Director of Professional Development and Implementation at DreamBox Learning, shared a framework and tools for how schools and districts can implement a more effective RTI program, including:

• A process for using data to identify targeted areas of improvement and support for Tier 2 RTI Students
• How to use data to differentiate instruction in the classroom
• Effective ways to monitor and measure ongoing progress of your RTI students

All K-12 educators and administrators will benefit from this recorded webinar.

About the Presenter

Thera Pearce has 7 years of classroom experience as a special education teacher and has spent 5 years in curriculum and teacher support as a coordinating teacher in Wake County, North Carolina. Her experience includes supporting administrators and teachers with training and implementing curriculum. Currently, she is the founder and director of the PD and Implementation Department at DreamBox Learning.

ALL: Easy, Free Screen Recorder 11/18/16

Apowersoft has a free online screen recorder that is getting great reviews.  Here is some information that might help you get started if this interests you. Thanks to Sara Simmons for this info!

Website - https://www.apowersoft.com/free-online-screen-recorder

Free Version - Click Start Recording
It will prompt you to download the on-screen (online) tool.
Click Download Launcher to install (first time use only).
No recording time limits.
Modify the settings by clicking Options.

User Guide - https://www.apowersoft.com/free-online-screen-recorder

Video User Guide - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzD8YKJDAs0

Paid Version - Download Desktop Version

EL/MS: New Features in Think Central 11/11/17

Read our Feature Release Guide for more details Feature Release Guide ► New Features Include: §  Deactivate Student Classroom Materials §  Adjust Scores for Auto-Scored Items §  Student Password Security Upgrade (Coming December 2016) Read Our Feature Release Guide   ► New Features to Improve Your ThinkCentral Experience We're pleased to announce that new features were recently implemented for ThinkCentral, designed to increase productivity and enhance your overall experience within the platform. Continue reading for a summary of these new features, or for detailed information, please refer to our Feature Release Guide. Our Technical Support Group will be happy to assist you with any questions you may have. Please do not hesitate to contact them at techsupport@hmhco.com, 800.323.9239, (+1) 973.368.0392, or through our online service request system. Thank you for choosing Houghton Mifflin Harcourt® as your partner in education.   Deactivate Student Classroom Materials ThinkCentral now simplifies the process for removing student classroom materials from multiple classes across a school or district by providing administrators with an easy-to-use tool. Please read our Feature Release Guide for a simple step-by-step walkthrough on deactivating student classroom materials. Adjust Scores for Auto-Scored Items Teachers are now able to manually adjust the item scores for test questions that were previously auto-scored by ThinkCentral . Please read our Feature Release Guide for a simple step-by-step walkthrough on adjusting scores for auto-scored items. Coming December 2016: Student Password Security Upgrade Furthering our commitment to identity protection, during the month of December 2016 there will be an update to ThinkCentral that enhances student password authentication. This update will provide additional password security coverage for student users of the platform and align ThinkCentral with industry standards for security best practices. For detailed information about the coming changes, please read our Feature Release Guide. Virtual Sampling ► Virtual Catalogs ► Request a Quote ► hmhco.com Follow us: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt® and HMH® are registered trademarks of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. 11/16 MS186820

EL/MS: Computer Science Education Week! 11/11/16

Go Bananas for EasyCode During Computer Science Education Week To show our ongoing support of President Obama’s call-to-action for more computer science opportunities for all K-12 schools, Learning.com is excited to offer free access to EasyCode for all elementary and middle school students during Computer Science Education Week, December 5th – 9th, 2016. EasyCode is a turnkey coding solution that uses challenges to help students learn to code in a real programming language, CoffeeScript. Why spend just one hour coding when you can engage your students with a fun game-based coding curriculum for an entire week! Coding Opens Doors Today’s economy is in desperate need of people who know how to code. Coding and computer programming skills can open many doors for your students no matter what their career ambitions are.  Students Love EasyCode “EasyCode is awesome! It is challenging and trains your brain how to think through problems. It’s very exciting when you win!” - Miranda P. Becker, Age 8

MS/INT/HS: Schoology App 11/11/16

Schoology App

When using the Schoology App on phones, students and teachers should log in with their username to avoid getting a password error.

 Here is a link to a Schoology App Powerpoint.

ALL: Lanschool and ISC 11/11/15

Lanschool and ISC

If you have dedicated computers in ISC, put them on the opposite server from the one the rest of your school is on. By doing this if a teacher pulls his class, his student in ISC won't get pulled in because that student is not on the same server. This allows the ISC teacher to monitor their students without them getting pulled in by their regular teacher. For example, High Schools and Elementaries are 10.240.8.140 so, they would need to put ISC 10.240.5.71. You can still use the same channel number as we don't have duplicate numbers on both servers. If you don't have Lanschool already installed, you can use the Student Manual set-up in the Software Center. If you do have Lanschool already installed and you are interested in doing this, contact Sherrie Grounds sgrounds@pasadenaisd.org  so we can discuss the best way to do this.

EL/MS/INT: Istation Screen Resolution Issue 11/07/16

Some students have experienced the following issue with Istation:

Once Istation is opened, the screen resolution automatically changes to an optimal ratio for viewing Istation.  When Istation is closed, the resolution returns to the previous optional setting for viewing the desktop and other applications.

Problem: Sometimes once Istation closes, the screen resolution doesn't revert back to the previous setting.  Instead, it keeps the Istation screen resolution which can be quite inconvenient for viewing most other applications.

Possible Solution:
From Istation Support, they suggest the following steps -
Open Istation Desktop Application
Enter username - config
Enter password - config
Delete the school domain name and retype it
Click the school domain again from the list
Click OK

More detailed instructions are located at this link:
Configuring the Istation Domain

EL/MS/INT: Istation - Students Can Now View All Lessons from Home! 11/07/16

Students are now able to see the Ipractice icon from home! You can give students this access by Enabling the Parent Portal feature and allowing home use outside school hours. When students explore Ipractice, they have more freedom to choose which games or lessons they want to interact with. In order for student users to see the Ipractice button at their school setting, they will have to complete all of the lessons in the available instructional cycles, also known as “the end of the world.”

Ipractice allows for students to play a game or review a lesson outside of the run time for as long as they choose.

EL/MS/INT: Istation Teacher Station via the Website 11/07/16

You can get to Teacher Station from the Web site.

A second way to get to Teacher Station is from the Istation Web site. Click on your name in the top right corner, and this drop-down menu will appear. Clicking the Launch Teacher Station option will redirect you to the program app without having to log in again.

Teacher Station allows teachers to navigate through organized themes, topics, and lessons to deliver to the whole class, as an introduction to a lesson, or during small groups as needed. To find this icon, log in to the Istation app with your login information as if you were a student. Program icons pop up for your school or district based on your Istation subscription. If you have access to math and reading programs, you will see icon buttons for both programs.

ALL: History of Voting in the United States 11/07/16

Learn more about the history of voting in the United States:

Voting in the United States


Voting and Election History

Electoral College - Schoolhouse Rock
The Electoral College Explained
(youtube)

History of Voting - Rock The Vote
(youtube)

ALL: Aware lead4ward Teacher Reports 11/07/16

NEW!!!  lead4ward Reports for Teachers

Teachers using Eduphoria! Aware are now able to run all lead4ward reports! For lead4ward schools, those with teacher-level access can now do much more than just run Quintile Reports for their students. This enhancement is intended for PLC teacher leaders to generate and use lead4ward reports without having to request reports from an administrator. See below for a summary of what’s now available for teachers:

Reports with data for individual students or teachers:

• Class Quintile Report

Reports with campus-level data only:

• Leadership Report Card
• Student Learning Reports
• TEKS Scaffold
• Campus Quintile Report (does not include student names, only Avg. % Correct data for each Quintile)
• IQ Data Report

For more information, download the help document or
contact Wade Labay, Ed.D., wade@lead4ward.com

ALL - Lanschool New Pop-up Window 11-07-16

Lanschool - Show Screen and Remote Control Settings

 Show Screen Settings/Remote Control Settings

Active Display - Show screen setting dialog provides the ability to select from multiple monitors. Select a single monitor, or multiple monitors to be displayed during the show session.

Image Quality - Show screen setting dialog provides the ability to select from a performance slider bar for speed vs. image quality. Turtle mode will provide the highest quality image at a lower performance, rabbit mode will provide a medium quality image at medium performance, and cheetah mode will provide the lowest quality image but best performance.

Turbo Mode - Engaging turbo mode during a session will see up to 800% performance increase with 6-10 frames per second depending on available bandwidth. In this mode LanSchool uses as much bandwidth as possible to provide the best experience during high image presentation events (i.e. showing videos). Turbo mode will be disabled if some of the systems selected are not capable of running at this level of performance based on computational speed.

Draw on Screen (Show Settings)- Allows the Teacher to draw with a red pen on the screen. This option was was previously available but had a less than ideal placement in the teacher console interface.

Disable keyboard and mouse (Remote control settings) - Allows the Teacher to disable or enable the keyboard and mouse when remoting to a computer. This option was was previously available but had a less than ideal placement in the teacher console interface.

ALL: Hour of Code 11/07/16

Bring computer science to your school. Start with an Hour of Code

With technology changing every industry on the planet, computing knowledge has become part of a well-rounded skillset. But fewer than half of all schools teach computer science! Good news is, we’re on our way to change this. If you heard about the Hour of Code last year, you might know it made history. 100 million students have now discovered how accessible and fun computer science can be by doing just one Hour of Code.

The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. Learn more at http://HourofCode.com, try an hour yourself, or host an Hour of Code event to introduce others to the world of computing!