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.

 

Get Ready to Transform Your Lessons with Lumio!

introducing lumio

We are thrilled to announce that all secondary (elementary teachers already have access) teachers will soon receive access to Lumio by SMART, a powerful web-based learning platform designed to elevate engagement and streamline your workflow. Lumio effortlessly transforms your existing content into dynamic, engaging learning experiences on any device.

Lumio allows you to import, combine, and edit pages from your PDFs, Google Slides, PowerPoint, and  SMART Notebook files into a single lesson, adding only the pages you want to make your lessons flow from start to finish. You can also save time by browsing through thousands of FREE customizable, ready-made resources created by teachers for teachers in the Lumio library.

The platform is packed with features designed to engage students, including game-based activities like Match ‘Em Up, Super Sort, and Monster Quiz, which can be customized in minutes to get students excited about content and gauge understanding. You can also create individual or collaborative Workspaces from any lesson page, allowing students to contribute in pairs, small groups, or as a whole class to build understanding together. Tools like Shout It Out! enable instant brainstorming and discussions, capturing student ideas in one space.

Lumio is a perfect complement to the new SMART Board MXv5 or v4 displays that some of you may have. You can open your Lumio lesson files directly from the display, eliminating the need to connect your computer. You can deliver Lumio lessons live in the iQ whiteboard on the SMART Board. When you sign in to your SMART display with your school account, your Lumio lesson files can sync directly to the display.

However, you absolutely do not need a SMART Board to use Lumio! Lumio works seamlessly with any existing technology. Teachers can launch their Lumio lesson from any device (laptop, tablet, interactive display). Students can join with any device that has a browser, such as Chromebooks, iPads, or even a phone. Instead of students solely looking at one large display, they can access everything they need directly on their own devices. Lessons can also be set to be self-paced and can be assigned through Canvas.

Starting next week, you will receive a welcome email from Lumio, followed by 4 additional follow-up emails over the coming weeks. These emails will guide you through getting started and exploring the possibilities with Lumio.

Lumio is accessible from the Google “Waffle.”

Get ready to save time, enhance your lessons, and increase student engagement with this versatile tool! Lumio is designed to maximize every student device and create rich, collaborative learning experiences.

We are excited for you to explore Lumio and see how it can support your teaching practices and student learning!

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.

Clever Messaging Retiring December 2025

We need to make you aware of an important upcoming change regarding Clever: Clever’s messaging feature will be retired in December of 2025. This means that after December of this year you will no longer be able to use Clever to communicate with families.

While Clever will continue to be a valuable tool for other functions like access to district/teacher resources/links,please plan to transition your family messaging to an alternative tool for the 25-26 school year. To ensure a smooth transition and continued strong communication with our students’ families, our district has already made the following messaging systems available for you:

If you have any questions or need any support please put in a tech ticket for Instructional Technology Coaching.

 

New: Building Blocks in Google Slides

If you are like me, you may find yourself jumping for joy when you check out this new feature of Google Slides: building blocks. With little effort, you can upgrade the visual appeal, organization and interactivity of your slides.

where to find building blocks in Slides

Look at the variety of collections available, add them to your slide with one click.

categories of building blocks

Not only can it improve your slide decks, there are also lot of possibilities for student creativity and creation. Find more ideas for student projects on Matt Miller’s Ditch That Textbook site. https://ditchthattextbook.com/google-slides-building-blocks/

K-12 Digital Privacy: A Teacher’s Guide to Minimizing Student Risk

how to protect student data privacy

The Digital Tightrope: Balancing Tech and Student Privacy

We live in an age where technology is integral to education. From online learning platforms to digital tools that enhance classroom engagement, the benefits seem endless. However, educators must navigate a critical challenge: balancing the use of these technologies with the imperative to protect student digital privacy.

The Rising Tide of Digital Surveillance

It’s no secret that online activity is increasingly monitored. Government agencies and tech companies employ sophisticated methods to track and analyze online behavior, and students are not exempt. In fact, they may be particularly vulnerable. As educators, we must understand that the digital tools we use in the classroom can contribute to this landscape. Each platform students are required to sign up for:

  • Increases the amount of their data collected.
  • Presents complex terms of service that are hard to understand.
  • Creates more opportunities for data breaches.

Why Privacy Matters: More Than Just “Being Safe Online”

The implications of a student’s online presence go far beyond what they might realize. A single social media post, taken out of context, can have long-term consequences for their academic and professional future. We also need to consider the immediate impact on their well-being. Requiring students to juggle multiple online accounts can lead to:

  • Digital fatigue and overwhelm.
  • Wasted time spent on account management rather than learning.
  • Inequitable access for students lacking resources.
  • Eroded trust in the technologies we use.

Protecting Our Students: A Call to Action for Teachers

As teachers, we have a significant role in safeguarding our students’ digital well-being. This goes beyond basic internet safety; it requires a critical examination of our own practices. Here’s how we can make a difference:

  • Less is More: Before introducing a new platform, ask yourself: Is this absolutely essential? Are there alternative ways to achieve the same learning outcome? Does the district already pay for a tool that meets the same goal?
  • Prioritize Integrated Tools: Opt for learning management systems (Canvas LMS) or platforms that offer a variety of features in one place, rather than requiring multiple sign-ups. Ask your TIS, can Canvas do…?
  • Consider the Big Picture: Coordinate with colleagues and the tech department to minimize the total number of platforms students must use across all their classes.
  • Be Transparent: Explain to students (and parents) why a particular platform is necessary and what measures are in place to protect their data.
  • Empower Students: Teach students how to manage their online accounts responsibly, including creating strong passwords and understanding privacy settings.

Partnering with Your Technology Department

It’s important to recognize that school technology departments are also grappling with these issues. They are often tasked with both promoting innovative technology use and ensuring student data privacy. To navigate this balance effectively, reach out to your district’s tech integration specialist. They can provide valuable guidance on:

  • What platforms the district has already purchased or recommends.
  • Which tools align with district privacy policies.
  • Best practices for integrating technology in a safe and responsible manner.

By adopting a mindful approach to technology integration and collaborating with your technology department, we can harness its power without compromising our students’ privacy. Let’s work together to create a digital learning environment that is both effective and safe.

Did You Know? — Canvas Outcomes

decorative title image

Tired of grades that feel more like a punishment than a reflection of learning? You’re not alone. Traditional grading practices often focus on points and compliance rather than mastery. But what if we could shift our focus to student growth and create a more equitable learning environment?

Enter Canvas Outcomes. This powerful feature within Canvas LMS allows teachers to define clear learning objectives, track student progress, and ensure that every child has the opportunity to demonstrate what they know.

Why Use Canvas Outcomes?

Canvas Outcomes provides a framework for aligning your instruction and assessment with specific learning goals. Here’s how it works:

  1. Define Learning Outcomes: Instead of just assigning points to assignments, identify the specific skills or knowledge you want students to acquire. These outcomes should be clear, measurable, and aligned with your standards.
    • Example: “Students will be able to analyze the main idea of a text and support it with evidence.”
  2. Align Assessments: Link your assignments, quizzes, and rubrics to these outcomes. This ensures that your assessments are directly measuring what students should be learning.
    • When creating a rubric, you can align specific criteria with an outcome, clearly showing students what they need to demonstrate.
  3. Track Student Progress: Canvas provides tools to monitor student progress toward mastery of each outcome. This data can inform your instruction and help you identify students who need additional support.
    • The Learning Mastery Gradebook provides a visual representation of student achievement for each outcome.
  4. Focus on Learning, Not Just Points: By aligning your grading with outcomes, you shift the focus from point accumulation to demonstrating mastery. This helps students see the purpose of their work and encourages them to take ownership of their learning.

Getting Started

Ready to give it a try? Here’s a step-by-step guide:

  1. Define Your Outcomes:
    • Go to the “Outcomes” section in your course.
    • Create your desired outcomes, ensuring they are specific and measurable.
  2. Align Outcomes with Assessments:
    • When creating or editing an assignment, quiz, or rubric, you can align it with the outcomes you’ve defined.
  3. Use the Learning Mastery Gradebook:
    • Enable the Learning Mastery Gradebook in your course settings.
    • Use this gradebook to monitor student progress on each outcome.
  4. Communicate with Students: Clearly explain the outcomes to your students and how their work will be assessed in relation to those outcomes.

Benefits

  • Increased Transparency: Outcomes make learning goals clear to both students and parents.
  • Improved Student Motivation: When students understand what they are working towards, they are more likely to be engaged.
  • Data-Driven Instruction: Canvas provides valuable data on student progress, allowing you to tailor your instruction to meet their needs.
  • More Equitable Grading: By focusing on mastery, you create a system that is more fair and less susceptible to bias.

Did You Know?

  • Canvas Outcomes can be aligned not only to individual assignments but also to entire rubrics, allowing for a more holistic assessment of student learning.
  • The Learning Mastery Gradebook can be customized to display different levels of achievement, such as “Exceeds Expectations,” “Meets Expectations,” and “Does Not Meet Expectations,” providing a more nuanced view of student progress.
  • Outcomes can be shared across courses and departments, promoting consistency and alignment in learning goals across the institution. Reach out to a TIS for more information on how we can support Outcome sharing.

Take the First Step

Integrating Canvas Outcomes into your classroom may seem daunting at first, but the shift towards focusing on learning objectives is well worth the effort. Start small, focus on one or two key outcomes, and gradually expand your use of this powerful tool.

Teaching in the Age of AI: AI-Proofing Your Assignments

Teaching in Age of AI graphic

AI chatbots are here, and while they offer exciting possibilities, they also challenge how we assess student learning. It’s time to shift our focus to what AI can’t replicate: the unique human element. Let’s adapt our assessments to celebrate student thinking, not just AI output.

Here are some practical, quick strategies to assess student authorship in this new era:

  • Why This, Not That?” Reflections: Ask students to explain their choices. Why this word? What else did you consider? Uncover their reasoning.
  • “Behind the Scenes” Explanations: When presenting, students share their process: What challenges did you face? How did your ideas evolve?
  • Source Analysis: Go beyond citations. Ask how sources shaped their thinking.
  • Personalized Prompts: Connect assignments to their lives. How does X relate to your understanding of Y? AI can’t replicate personal experience.
  • Process-Based Assessment: Break down projects (outlines, drafts). Last-minute AI use becomes obvious.
  • “My Thinking Journey” Journals: Encourage reflection on their process through notes and visuals. This is a personal artifact.
  • “Explain Your Thinking” Annotations: Ask students to justify their choices directly in their work.
  • Audio/Video Explanations: Have students verbally explain their work for a personal touch.

Keep in mind that AI is getting better at explaining its output, so you may want to be careful about holding these reflection sessions during the school day. Below is one example of how AI explained its thought process.

AI thought process

We’re always seeking ways to engage our students. Here are some helpful tips we’ve gathered:

  • Know Their Voices: Familiarize yourself with individual student writing.
  • In-Class Writing: Observe their real-time writing process (be mindful of limitations).
  • Formative Assessment: Track progress over time, not just final products.
  • Thoughtful Prompts: As one teacher said, “If you don’t want generic answers, don’t ask generic questions.” Focus on emotional intelligence and experience.
  • Explore AI Together: Understand its limitations with your students.

These strategies offer a path forward in the age of AI, ensuring our students continue to develop the critical human skills necessary for their growth and success.

Spring Canvas Updates

This week Canvas released a few updates, mostly regarding Canvas New Quizzes.

new quiz moderate enhancements

  • In the Activity Log, instructors can view the Client IP address, Browser Session ID, for each question of a quiz. This update provides instructors with greater visibility into quiz activity, helping them verify student engagement and identify potential irregularities during quiz attempts.

new quizzes breadcrumbs

  • When building a quiz in New Quizzes the Course Navigation and breadcrumbs display. Additionally, the Moderate tab and Reports tab are switched in the Quiz Menu. This update improves navigation and streamlines the quiz-building experience by providing consistent access to key tools.

student accommodations update

  • Several updates to the New Quizzes Moderate Page enhance the instructor’s ability to manage accommodations during active quiz attempts:
    • Instructors can add time to an active quiz attempt when moderating a New Quiz.
    • In the New Quizzes Moderate Page:
      • The modal is renamed to Student Accommodation.
      • The student’s name is relocated to the body text.
      • A checkbox is added to apply changes to the current quiz attempt.
    • The Moderation tray is renamed to In Progress Accommodation and includes the student’s name in the body text.

    Note: The Apply these changes to the current Quiz and attempts as well checkbox is enabled by default.

 

Enhanced Rubrics

Canvas has been working on improving the rubric experience. They have added some functionality to make building and adjusting rubric easier. We have not yet turned on this updated functionality and are looking for feedback from heavy Canvas Rubric users about what they think and when we should turn it on in our district. One exciting reason to enable it is that students can now self-asses with the rubrics added to an assignment.

Please reach out to your TIS if you have an opinion about turning it on and if you would like a preview of the new experience.

Teaching in the Age of AI: Tools for In-Class Writing Practice

Write beyond limits promo

In today’s educational landscape, particularly with the increasing presence of AI writing tools, the value of short, focused writing activities (across the curriculum) conducted within the classroom and accompanied by immediate feedback cannot be overstated. These brief in-class exercises provide a crucial opportunity for students to practice and internalize writing skills in a controlled environment, allowing teachers to offer timely guidance and address misconceptions before they solidify.

There are many ways to integrate frequent, short writing reps with quick feedback. In many cases this can be achieved in Google tools or Canvas. However, the timely feedback part can be tricky. Luckily, there are some tech tools on the scene to help incorporate peer feedback and AI feedback, often in a gamified way. These three options are freemium products, they offer many core features for free and some paid upgrade options.

Bonus: Class Companion has M-STEP and AP test practice that may be helpful this time of year.

Feature WeWillWrite Short Answer Class Companion
Core Functionality Gamified, collaborative writing Short-answer writing with gamified, peer feedback AI-powered feedback and tutoring on assignments
Writing Approach Short bursts, team-based, anonymous Open-ended questions, justification Varies by assignment type (short answer, essay, etc.)
Feedback Mechanism Peer voting (think of a writing bracket) Peer feedback based on customizable criteria Instant AI feedback, AI tutoring, optional teacher feedback
Gamification Strong emphasis through team challenges and competition Present through activity modes (Pair It, All In, Battle Royale) Less direct gamification, focus on engagement through AI support
AI Capabilities Analysis of literary techniques, grammar, structure–available in the premium version None explicitly mentioned for writing analysis Strong focus on AI for feedback, tutoring, content generation, and integrity checks
Teacher Role Facilitator of challenges, guides discussion based on AI insights, moderation Creates questions, customizes feedback criteria, facilitates discussion of results Creates/selects assignments, monitors AI feedback, provides additional guidance
Content Creation Teacher-created or modified challenges Teacher-created questions AI-generated assignments, teacher uploads, built-in content library
Assessment Focus Formative, emphasis on participation and peer learning Formative, emphasis on peer evaluation and understanding of criteria Formative and summative, emphasis on understanding and application with AI support
Reporting/Insights Premium version offers student reports Results page with peer feedback percentages, confidence ratings Detailed insights on student strengths, weaknesses, engagement, and potential dishonesty (paid plans)

Reach out to a TIS for more information on how to get these up and running.