URGENT: Security Risk and Policy Reminder – AI Browsers (ChatGPT Atlas, Perplexity Comet)

Construction cones and cautions signs related to AI browser security risks

We need to make you aware of a new category of software that poses a significant security and data privacy risk to our students and our district: AI-powered web browsers.

You may see news about browsers like ChatGPT Atlas (from OpenAI) and Perplexity Comet. These are not standard browsers like Chrome. They are built with powerful AI “agents” that can take actions on a user’s behalf, such as summarizing pages, booking appointments, or even completing tasks for them.

While the features may sound helpful, they introduce severe dangers that violate our student data privacy obligations and acceptable use policies. Teachers and students should not be using these browsers for school-related business.

The Core Dangers: Why These Browsers Are Not Permitted

  1. Extreme Data Privacy & FERPA Risks:
    • Unlike Chrome, these browsers are designed to read, understand, and “remember” the entire content of every webpage a student visits.
    • OpenAI’s “Browser Memories” feature in Atlas, for example, creates a persistent profile of the user’s activity.
    • Using these tools with any student information (grades, IEPs, or even just student names) could be a direct violation of FERPA, as unvetted third-party companies would be collecting and storing protected educational data.
  2. Critical Security Vulnerabilities (Prompt Injection):
    • Security researchers have demonstrated a new attack called “indirect prompt injection.”
    • This is where a malicious website hides invisible instructions (in code, comments, or even white text on a white background) on its page.
    • When a student simply asks the AI to “summarize this page,” the AI can be tricked into executing those hidden, malicious commands without the student’s knowledge.
    • In documented tests, attackers used this method to steal a user’s email, access their private Gmail account, and extract passwords.
  3. “Agent Mode” Can Be Hijacked:
    • The “agent mode” in these browsers is designed to take autonomous actions for the user.
    • OpenAI itself warns that these agents are “susceptible to hidden malicious instructions” and that their “safeguards will not stop every attack.”
    • This could lead to an AI agent being tricked into downloading malware, making unauthorized purchases, or sending sensitive data from a student’s account to an attacker.

Our Policy: Google Chrome is Required

Our district’s acceptable use policy, which requires that all students (including BYOD) log in to and use Google Chrome, is in place specifically to prevent these kinds of risks.

  • Google Chrome is Vetted: We manage the Chrome environment. We control the extensions, enforce safe browsing, and have a data privacy agreement (DPA) with Google that ensures FERPA compliance.
  • AI Browsers Are Unvetted: We have no DPA with these new companies. They are not enterprise-ready for schools and, as one security firm noted, can be up to 85% more vulnerable to phishing attacks than Chrome.

What to Do:

  • Do Not Install: Please ensure these browsers (ChatGPT Atlas, Perplexity Comet, etc.) are not installed on any school device. If you as a teacher bring your own device to work, do not use these browsers for school-related business.
  • Talk to Your Students: Remind students that using unapproved software on their BYOD devices while connected to the school network is a policy violation. Explain that while the new features seem “smart,” they can easily be tricked into stealing their personal information.
  • Reinforce Chrome Use: Please ensure students on BYOD devices are logged into their school-provided Google Chrome profile. This is our first and best line of defense.

If you have any questions, please submit a tech ticket.

Thank you for your help in keeping our students and their data safe.

Goodbye, Canvas Studio! Here’s Your New Toolkit for Creating, Hosting, and Assigning Videos

Introduction: A New Chapter for Video in Our Classrooms

Please note this was first announced in Spring 2025.

This is an important update for all Canvas users: effective for the 25-26 school year, Canvas Studio will be discontinued. The critical deadline to remember is November 30, 2025. You must download any videos you have created and wish to keep from Canvas Studio by this date. On December 1, 2025, our access will be removed, and all stored videos will be permanently lost.

While this news marks the end of one tool, it also opens the door to a more powerful and integrated video toolkit already available within our district’s Google ecosystem. This change represents a positive evolution, providing you with more versatile tools that offer enhanced functionality for creating and sharing video content in your classroom.

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1. First Things First: Where Do I Save My Videos?

The new central hub for all your personal video files will be Google Drive.

To preserve your work, you will need to download any videos that you personally created from Canvas Studio and upload them to your Google Drive account. Please note that videos you may have imported from other sources, like YouTube, cannot be downloaded.

This move to Google Drive is a significant benefit. It provides ample storage for your video files and, most importantly, integrates seamlessly with the other Google tools you already use daily, creating a more streamlined workflow.

You might also choose to upload existing videos to Edpuzzle if you envision yourself using the features listed (more details below).

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2. The Teacher’s Toolkit: How Do I Create New Instructional Videos?

Videos are a powerful tool to activate background knowledge, spark engagement, and take students beyond classroom walls.

Meet Google Vids

Google Vids is the district’s video creation app, included as part of Google Workspace for Education (located in the Google Waffle or at vids.google.com). Its core function is to allow educators to create professional-quality videos up to 10 minutes long, without needing any prior video editing experience. Vids saves you time by providing a rich set of creative tools, including a library of stock images, videos, and music. This allows you to create dynamic content without needing to find your own media or record your own narration.

You can create dynamic content in Google Vids in several ways:

  • Start from a library of pre-built, professional templates.
  • Record your screen, webcam, or document camera directly within the app.
  • Turn an existing Google Slides presentation into an engaging video.

Google Vids is the perfect tool for creating engaging lesson hooks, dynamic presentations for parents, or compelling introductions for student projects.

For Quick Screencasts & Interactive Lessons: Edpuzzle & Google Slides

For more direct screencasting and lesson recording, you have two excellent options that are already at your fingertips.

First, the Edpuzzle Screen Recording Chrome Extension is a versatile tool for quick recordings. Its key features allow you to: record a single browser tab, your entire desktop, or just your webcam; easily trim the beginning, end, or even the middle of your video to remove irrelevant sections; and use a voiceover feature to replace sections of audio if you misspeak.

Second, you can now record screencasts directly in Google Slides. By clicking the record icon on the right-side menu you can easily create a screencast of your presentation, position your facecam in any corner, and save the final video directly to your Google Drive.

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3. The Power-Up: How Do I Make Videos Interactive and Track Student Viewing?

Edpuzzle is our premier tool for transforming passive video watching into an active learning experience. Login information can be found here. It empowers you to take almost any video—whether from YouTube, your own screen recording, or the Edpuzzle Originals library—and embed interactive elements to check for understanding and provide deeper context.

With Edpuzzle, you can add a variety of interactive elements to your video lessons:

  • Embed multiple-choice and open-ended questions to check for understanding as students watch.
  • Allow students to submit audio responses to open-ended questions.
  • Add your own voiceovers to explain concepts or provide instructions in your own words.
  • Cut or trim videos to show only the most relevant sections for your lesson.
  • Add notes containing text, external links, or images to provide additional information.

One of the most powerful features is Edpuzzle’s integration with Canvas. You can create Edpuzzle assignments directly in Canvas, and student grades are automatically synced to the Canvas gradebook.

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Putting It All Together

Imagine this: You create a polished lesson hook in Google Vids, which automatically saves to your Google Drive. You then import that video into Edpuzzle to embed comprehension questions. Finally, you assign the interactive lesson directly in Canvas, with grades syncing automatically to your gradebook. This seamless workflow is the true power of your new video toolkit.

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Conclusion: More Than a Replacement—An Upgrade

While we are saying goodbye to Canvas Studio, the new toolkit at your disposal represents a significant upgrade. The combination of Google Drive for hosting, Google Vids for polished creation, and Edpuzzle for interactive instruction provides a more powerful, flexible, and integrated video ecosystem for you and your students.

With these new creative tools at your fingertips, what’s the first new video project you’re excited to try with your students?

We will follow up with more details and guides on these video tools in coming blog posts. In the meantime, if you need help logging in or accessing, please submit a tech ticket.

Meet “Gemini in Chrome”

teacher sitting at desk imagining all the things they can get done using Gemini in Chrome

You may have noticed the Gemini symbol (a little, black diamond) appear near your Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons in the upper right corner of Chrome. This is an AI browsing assistant built directly into the Chrome browser. Its key capability is its ability to use the context of the current web page you are on, plus up to 10 other open browser tabs, to answer questions, synthesize information, and conduct in-depth analysis. This makes it an incredibly powerful tool for complex tasks like content research and summarizing multiple sources. Please note that it is only available for teachers using their P-CCS account.

Key Features of Gemini in Chrome:
Intelligent Summarization: Gemini can quickly summarize the content of lengthy articles and web pages, providing you with the key takeaways in a concise format. This allows for rapid comprehension of complex topics and saves valuable time.

Cross-Tab Information Synthesis: One of the most powerful aspects of this integration is Gemini’s ability to understand the context across multiple open tabs. You can ask questions that require information from different sources, and Gemini will synthesize the relevant details to provide a comprehensive answer.

Seamless Integration with Google Workspace: For users of Google’s productivity suite, Gemini in Chrome offers a significant workflow advantage. It can interact with Google Docs, Sheets, and other Workspace applications, allowing you to perform tasks like creating documents, summarizing notes, or drafting emails directly from the browser’s AI interface.

Here are concrete, time-saving ways Gemini in Chrome can help a teacher during a busy school day.

Please note: While AI tools like Gemini in Chrome can feel incredibly helpful, remember they are powerful tools, not magic wands. They assist and generate based on data, but human judgment, creativity, and critical thinking remain essential for effective teaching.

  • Differentiate on the Fly: Have an article that’s too difficult for some students? With the page open, tell Gemini: Rewrite this text for a 4th-grade reading level.
  • Generate Materials Instantly: Need a quick activity? Ask Gemini: Create a 5-question exit ticket about the water cycle. or Make a simple grading rubric for a student presentation on a historical figure.
  • Brainstorm Quick Ideas: Stuck in a planning rut? Ask: Give me 3 creative ways to start a lesson on fractions.
  • Summarize Long Resources: Found a long district document or a dense article? Have Gemini Summarize the key takeaways from this page so you can decide if it’s worth a full read.
  • Create Simple Explanations: Struggling to explain a concept? Ask: Explain photosynthesis using an analogy a 6th grader would understand.

 

Navigating Canvas Quiz Accommodations

Navigating Canvas Quiz Accommodations blog post

Ensuring fair and accessible assessments often requires providing accommodations for individual student needs. Within Canvas’s New Quizzes, teachers have access to two distinct, yet complementary, tools for managing these adjustments in the Moderate tab: Course Accommodations and Current Quiz Accommodation. This post serves as a guide and reminder of how to effectively use these features. We will cover the specific function of each—from setting course-wide adjustments to handling single-quiz exceptions—and explain how they can work together.

Teachers can manage individual student needs for assessments by going to New Quizzes > Build > Moderate tab to access Course Accommodations (1) and Current Quiz Accommodation (2).

Edit pencil icon to set quiz moderation

Course Accommodations: Course-Wide Adjustments

Course Accommodations are used to apply specific time modifications to a student for all quizzes in the course. This is a set-it-and-forget-it feature, ideal for students with documented extended-time needs.

  • Applies to: All New Quizzes in the course.
  • Settings include: Adding/removing a specific amount of time, or applying a time limit multiplier (e.g., time), or reducing answer choices.
  • Rule: Only one course-level accommodation can be set per student.
  • How to access/View:  Click the Student’s Name in the Moderate tab within the New Quiz Build screen and your settings will be visible under the Accommodations column.

How do I add accommodations for a student in New Quizzes for all my course assessments?

    • course accommodations click name
student accommodations settings for time adjustments and reduced answer choices

Current Quiz Accommodation: Single-Quiz Control

Current Quiz Accommodation is used to make adjustments for an individual student on one specific quiz. This is your tool for handling one-off issues or exceptions.

  • Applies to: Only the quiz you are currently moderating.
  • Settings include:
    • Reopening a student’s most recent attempt (their previous responses are saved, and the timer resumes from where it left off).
    • Managing timer settings (adding a specific amount of time to all attempts, or removing the time limit entirely).
    • Granting extra attempts.
    • Reducing answer choices
  • Rule: Moderation timer settings apply to all attempts for the quiz in which they are set.
  • How to access/View: Click the Edit pencil icon in the Moderate tab within the New Quiz Build screen and your settings will be visible under the Accommodations column.

How do I moderate a student’s quiz attempt in New Quizzes for a single quiz?

quiz accommodations click pencil icon

current quiz accommodation menu

How Course and Current Quiz Accommodations Work Together

When a student has both a course accommodation and a current quiz accommodation applied, the settings stack:

  1. Course Accommodations are applied first.
  2. Current Quiz Accommodation settings are applied on top of the accommodation.
  3. Important: Moderation timer settings can never reduce the time granted by a course accommodation.

Critical Timing Note

Keep in mind that Quiz availability dates are the final authority. Even if you grant a student extended time, the quiz will auto-submit and close if the “Until” date passes while they are still working. Always ensure the “Until” date is wide enough to cover the maximum time any student (including those with accommodations) might need.

Currently, New Quizzes does not support bulk moderation, and student names will not be visible if anonymous grading is enabled.

Related Blog Post: 

There are a lot of moderation options in Canvas. Below you will find a resources on how students can resume a Quiz, moderating New and Classic Quizzes, and how to reopen an attempt for students.

Please submit a ticket if you have additional questions about this.


You may also view this collection of resources here: https://wke.lt/w/s/5aK43b

Google Drive Link Tips

Google quick links shortcut blog post

Sharing Google Drive files is easy, but the standard link doesn’t always work the way we want. With a simple trick, you can change a link to do exactly what you need, saving you and your audience time.

Four Handy Link Modifications

By slightly altering the end of a Google link, you can change its function:

  • Preview Link: Gives a clean, clutter-free view of a Doc or Slide.
  • Make a Copy Link: Forces the user to make their own copy of the file.
  • Template Link: Shows a professional preview with a “Use Template” button.
  • PDF Link: Instantly opens your file as a PDF in the browser.

The Best Tool for Student Assignments

A quick reminder: For student assignments, our #1 recommendation is to use the Google Assignments integration in Canvas. When you attach Google Docs or Slides to an assignment this way, Canvas automatically gives each student their own copy to work on and attaches it to the assignment so the student doesn’t accidentally duplicate their work in multiple places.

These link-altering tricks are fantastic for other situations, especially when sharing resources with colleagues and families.

The Easy Way: Linking in Hand

Instead of memorizing these tricks, use the free Linking in Hand tool. Just paste your regular Google share link, and it will instantly generate these special links for you.

Bookmark it for the next time you need to share a template with your PLC or send a read-only PDF to families!

Register for MiStar-Q Academy

MiStar training
Registration is now open for
MISTAR-Q ACADEMY: TEACHER EDITION
Sep 22 – Dec 15, 2025  
 
Teachers are invited to participate in MISTAR-Q Academy Teacher Edition online training.
Working online at your own pace, you will complete activities designed to increase your skill and knowledge of teacher apps including Class Attendance, Grade Book, Seating Chart, reports, and more. This course is especially beneficial for teachers new to MISTAR-Q.
You may earn between 1.0 and 17.5 SCECHs depending on which topics you complete by the end of this 12-week course. At least two topics must be completed to qualify for SCECHs.
QAcad-SCECHs.jpg
Should I register for MISTAR-Q Academy if I previously participated in Monarch?
If you completed Monarch, you completed all content in MISTAR-Q Academy. If you participated in Monarch but did not complete the course, you are welcome to register, but your progress will not transfer from the old Monarch course.
Register here – after registering, watch for emails on Sep 22 with details on how to get started. Registration fee: $0.
This course will be offered again on Jan 19-Apr 13, 2026.

Edpuzzle Updates

edpuzzle logo
edpuzzle logo

Great news for our district! Our Edpuzzle subscription has now expanded to cover K-12!  Edpuzzle offers a powerful alternative for creating engaging video content, including capabilities that can complement or even replace some functions of Canvas Studio. You can easily upload your own video files from your computer, Google Drive, or Canvas Studio directly to Edpuzzle, supporting various formats like AVI, MOV, and MP4, as long as they are under 1 GB in size. Beyond just uploading, Edpuzzle allows you to create screencasts using its Chrome extension’s screen recording function. What’s more, you can transform any video into an interactive lesson by embedding questions. This includes videos you’ve uploaded yourself, or content from YouTube – simply paste a YouTube URL into the Edpuzzle search bar to start editing.

For those already familiar with Edpuzzle, we’re excited to highlight some fantastic new features designed to enhance student engagement. You can now create gamified quizzes (like Kahoot and Blooket) by adding points and a Leaderboard, allowing students to complete them individually or in Live Mode. Additionally, Edpuzzle supports interactive Slides (like Nearpod and Peardeck), enabling you to assign engaging presentations where you can even add questions along the way. These new tools offer dynamic ways to enrich the learning experience. For more detailed information on setting up and utilizing Edpuzzle, be sure to check out the first draft of our P-CCS Guide and the NotebookLM.

Prepping Your Canvas Course for the New School Year

We’re excited to let you know that your Canvas courses will soon be visible and ready for action. Canvas is designed to simplify your teaching journey and provide you with a user-friendly platform to engage with your students, organize course materials, and foster a dynamic learning environment.

Course Template

To assist you in creating an engaging and effective online learning space, we’ve prepared comprehensive resources for the course template. These resources include step-by-step guides, video tutorials, and best practices for setting up your Canvas courses. Whether you’re a seasoned Canvas user or a first-timer, these tools will ensure that you’re making the most of Canvas’s features. Using the Canvas template ensure students and families have a more consistent experience in Canvas.

locate all courses

Locating Courses from Past Years

Looking for courses from previous years? Rest assured, they may not be on your dashboard, but they are still there. If you navigate to https://pccsk12.instructure.com/courses and scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll see such courses under “Past Enrollments.” Past enrollments (such courses) are in read-only format. If you would like to make some edits and updates to your course(s) for current or future usage do the following. Click on the course under Past Enrollments, go to Settings on the Course Navigation Menu and click the “Copy this Course” button.

copy course option

Import Previous Content

You can easily copy previous Canvas courses into your 25-26 course shell. However, if you have been keeping the same content from year to year, some unused content might be slowing you down. Below, you will find steps to import Canvas content into your new course shell (once generated automatically through the MiStar integration).

Getting Started with Canvas

Just getting started with Canvas or wanting to start anew? Check out this Canvas Quick Start Guide.  It has links to crosslisting directions, template homepage information, button templates, and more!

Crosslisting Guide

When you have taken time to update the homepage and import previous content, you might not want to repeat those steps for multiple sections on the same course. If that is the case, take a look at the crosslisting guide. This will allow you to only update one course and the changes will be reflected in all sections.

Publish Your Course(s)

You must publish your course in order for it to be visible for students and families. Rest assured, students cannot view course content until the term starts (check this under the course settings). Avoid unnecessary emails from students and families and set yourself a reminder to publish!

Canvas Studio Discontinued

As a reminder, Canvas Studio has been discontinued for the district. You have until November 30 to download videos and update videos linked via Studio in your course. Please note that the download option will not appear for videos that are connected to outside media resources, such as Youtube or Vimeo. Also, video quizzes will only download the video content and not quiz questions. Do NOT create new Canvas Studio content as it will not be available after November 30.

If you need assistance with any of these steps, please submit a tech ticket.

Summer Learning Opportunities

Summer vacation is around the corner. If you feel the like taking part in some free learning opportunities, here’s a list of offerings to check out:

  • Tri-County AI Collaborative Professional Learning Network is taking place next school year but applications are due June 6. It will require administrator support for substitute costs. Information Flyer and Application
  • Shake Up Learning Summer Series: This asynchronous video course hosted by Kasey Bell is available from June 3-July 24. Find out more.
  • REMC continues to offer free courses all summer long. Professional Learning – REMC Home
  • Get Started with Google AI in K12 Education Learn more about how to use Gemini to support your work and productivity.
  • Lumio Palooza: As mentioned last week, all teachers have been provisioned with Lumio accounts. While this program is designed to enhance Smartboards, it can still be used on existing technology in your classroom. Learn more about it Jul 15-16. If you can’t attend, recordings will be available. Lumio Palooza July 2025
  • Classwize Training for Teachers: Classwize, our digital classroom management tool is offering several sessions this summer to help you maximize your use and learn more about the newest features. All sessions are the same so you only need to register for one. Linewize Learning Resources – Classwize
  • Check out Wayne RESA’s Summer Learning Blitz for August for free learning opps.

 

Important Update: Canvas Studio Discontinued for 25-26 School Year

Canvas Studio discontinued

For Canvas users, please note this important change regarding Canvas Studio. Effective for the next school year, Canvas Studio will be discontinued.

This decision comes as we’ve recognized the abundance of powerful and versatile video creation and storage tools already available within our Google ecosystem. These tools offer similar, and in many cases, enhanced functionality compared to Canvas Studio. See, for example, our past blog posts about Google Vids and Screencast in Google Slides.

What This Means for You

If you have videos (made by you) currently stored in Canvas Studio that you wish to retain, you will need to download them. Otherwise they will be lost when our access ends at the end of August. We recommend saving these videos to your Google Drive, where they can be easily organized, accessed, and shared. Videos imported from YouTube or other sources cannot be downloaded.

Key Steps:

  1. Download Your Videos: Please download any videos you want to save from Canvas Studio by August 31, 2025. Our allocated storage of studio files will be cleared on September 1, 2025 and consequently none of our stored videos will be retrievable on, or after, that date. 
  2. Save to Google Drive: Store your downloaded videos in your Google Drive. Google Drive provides ample storage and integrates seamlessly with the tools you already use.

Link to detailed tutorial.

Important Note for Assignments:

Even though access to Canvas Studio is being discontinued, students will still be able to submit video assignments directly in Canvas. The standard Media Upload option within Canvas assignments will remain available, allowing students to record and submit videos as needed.

We understand this change may require some adjustments, and we are here to support you – if support is needed, please submit a help desk ticket.