Author: PCCS TIS

Did You Know? Focus Mode in Chromebooks

Distractions are a major challenge for students. Chromebook’s built-in Focus mode can help. This simple tool minimizes interruptions, creating a dedicated work environment.

What Focus Mode Does:

Sets a timer for focused work.
Silences notifications.
Integrates with Google Tasks (optional).
Offers calming sounds (optional).

How Students Can Use It:

Study Sessions: Block out distractions during homework or test prep.
Writing Time: Concentrate on essays or creative writing.
Project Work: Deep dive into research or project development.
Reading: Focus on comprehension without interruptions.

Tips for Teachers:

Demonstrate: Show students how to access and use Focus mode.
Encourage Regular Use: Suggest incorporating Focus mode into daily routines.
Discuss Benefits: Talk about the positive impact of focused work on learning.

Focus mode is a simple yet powerful tool to help students develop concentration skills and improve their academic performance. Encourage your students to give it a try! Here’s a guide from Google on how to activate it. https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/15642977?hl=en

Unleash Student Creativity with Adobe Express

Are you looking for a dynamic tool to empower your students’ creative expression? Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is available within our district, offering a powerful platform for visual storytelling and project-based learning.

While you might be familiar with similar design tools like Canva, Adobe Express stands out with its simple and intuitive video creation capabilities. Students can easily craft engaging video projects, incorporating multimedia elements and fostering digital literacy skills using the robust stock library. Beyond video, the integrated AI image generator opens up exciting new avenues for visual exploration. Students can use text prompts to generate unique images, sparking imagination and adding a distinctive touch to their work. The AI image generator is safe to use with students in all grades.

Adobe Express offers more than just design templates. It’s a platform that allows students to amplify their voices and showcase their unique perspectives. From presentations and infographics to digital storytelling and social media campaigns, this tool empowers students to communicate effectively and creatively. Integrate Adobe Express into your curriculum to:

Boost student engagement: Transform learning into interactive and visually compelling experiences.
Develop essential skills: Foster digital literacy, communication, and critical thinking.
Encourage creative expression: Provide a platform for students to share their ideas and perspectives.

Explore the possibilities of Adobe Express and witness the incredible work your students can create.

Students can access Adobe Express through Clever or it can be found and accessed through the waffle.

Reach out to a Technology Integration Specialist (submit a tech ticket) if you’d like assistance using this platform with students.

Artificial Intelligence

Is That Copy/Paste…or Voice Typing?

As we continue to explore ways to support student learning and address concerns about AI use in assignments, I wanted to bring a key point to your attention regarding Google Doc version history and tools used to track it that specifically call out large copy/pastes (Revision History, Brisk Teaching).

If you’re using version history to examine student contributions and potentially identify instances of AI-generated text (copy/pasting), please be aware that students who use voice typing will often appear to have made numerous copy-paste actions. This is because voice typing software often inserts text in chunks, which can be misinterpreted by the version history tool. It will generally show up as 100+ large copy/pastes (depending on the length of the writing).

It’s crucial to remember that there are many legitimate reasons why a student might use voice typing:

Accessibility needs: Students with physical limitations may rely on voice typing to complete written assignments.
Learning differences: Students with dyslexia or other learning differences may find voice typing a more effective way to express their ideas.
Personal preference: Some students simply find voice typing to be a faster and more comfortable way to write.

Therefore, banning voice typing is not a practical or equitable solution. Instead, we should focus on assessing student understanding and authorship in meaningful ways. Let’s work together to find solutions that support all learners while maintaining academic integrity. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or ideas. Keep your eye out for a new blog series coming soon: Teaching in the Age of AI.

Artificial Intelligence

Khanmigo Teacher Tools Introduces Blooket Question Generator

Two great educational tools have teamed up to save you time. Khanmigo Teacher Tools (branch of Khan Academy) recently added a tool of a Blooket Generator.

What’s Blooket?

Blooket is a gamified learning platform designed to make learning fun through games.

blooket screen

Here’s a breakdown:

How it works:
- Teachers create or use pre-made quizzes (called “sets”) with questions related to a specific topic. Now made easier with Khamigo’s new tool.
- Students join a game hosted by the teacher using their own devices (phones, tablets, computers).
- Students answer questions in a variety of game modes (e.g., Tower Defense, Gold Quest, Battle Royale).
- Correct answers earn points, which students use to “buy” and “sell” virtual items called “Blooks” (cute avatars).

In essence, Blooket aims to transform traditional quizzes into interactive and enjoyable learning experiences, making it a popular tool in many classrooms.

What’s Khanmigo Teacher Tools?

Khanmigo for Teachers is an AI-powered teaching assistant (like MagicSchool and many others) developed by Khan Academy. It’s designed to help educators with various tasks, making their work more efficient and effective.

Here’s a summary:

Key Features:
- Lesson Planning: Generate lesson plans, create clear directions, create lesson hooks or make the topic more relevant to students
- Content Creation: Create exit tickets, multiple choice quizzes, and generate informational texts
- Communication: Generate newsletter content

preview of khanmgio's teacher tools

In essence, Khanmigo for Teachers aims to empower educators by providing them with an intelligent assistant that supports their teaching practice in a variety of ways.

Interested in accessing Khanmigo Teacher Tools directly in Canvas? Add it by following the steps here.

Want to learn more about this new tool integrating Blooket and Khanmigo? Check out this video.

Artificial Intelligence Canvas

Save Time with Chrome Toolbar Customization

Chrome 132, the first major update of 2025, brings a long-awaited feature: customizable toolbars for desktop users.

How to Customize:

Access Customization: On the New Tab Page, click “Customize Chrome” in the bottom right corner.
Choose Your Tools: Select the buttons you want to appear to the left or right of the address bar from the following categories:

- Navigation: Home, Forward
- Your Chrome: Password Manager, Bookmarks, Reading List, History, Delete Browsing Data
- Tools & Actions: Print, Search with Google Lens, Translate, Create QR Code, Reading Mode, Copy Link, Send to your devices

Rearrange and Enjoy: Drag and drop icons to organize your toolbar. Most will open in the convenient side panel.

Teacher Tips:

“Send to your devices” is helpful to send links from your phone to your laptop (if both logged into Chrome)
“Search with Google Lens” provides quick access to visual information, perfect for exploring images and concepts.
Create QR Code: No need for a fancy extension, Chrome can generate a QR code for you.
Enhance Workflow: Pin frequently used tools like “Bookmarks” or “History” for easy access.
Translate: Support multilingual learners with quick access to translate materials.

Note: Toolbar customizations sync across all your desktop Chrome browsers.

To Update Chrome:

Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner.
Go to “Settings.”
In the left sidebar, select “About Chrome.”

By customizing the Chrome toolbar, teachers can create a more efficient and personalized browsing experience.

Important Note: This is available on desktops and laptops but is not currently available for Chromebooks. Hopefully, it will be incorporated soon so students can take advantage of these features.

Chrome Google

Google Forms Now Require Publishing

Prior to the update: You could potentially share a form link even before “publishing” it, which might lead to unintended access. Additionally, you would turn on, “Accepting Responses” to allow people to respond. Now, you Publish the form to accept responses.

location of publish button in Google Forms — Location of new Publish button in Google Forms. In order to get responses, you must publish it.

screen options when publishing — When you click Publish, you will see this screen. The form will default to anyone in Plymouth-Canton can respond. Click “Manage” to adjust this.

After the update: You must explicitly “Publish” the form before it becomes accessible to others, even if you have shared the link. You can share editing access to the form from the traditional, share icon. visual of share icon

Preview of sharing and collaborating options for forms. — When you click the share button, you will be able to update collaborators on the form and responder permissions.

Enhanced Security: This update adds a layer of security by requiring a deliberate action (publishing) to make the form accessible. This helps prevent accidental sharing or premature access.

Better Control: It gives form creators more control over when their form goes live and who can access it.

For additional support, see Google’s guide.

Google Forms

Canvas Semester/Quarter Transition

With the upcoming change in semesters and quarters, please be aware of grade deadlines and Canvas access for Semester 1/Quarter 2. See the deadline and tips below to avoid issues.

*****Please Note: Starkweather’s Grading Window closes on Tuesday January 21 at 11:59pm, all other secondary buildings close grading on January 22 at 11:59pm.*****

Teachers:
- Edit/Grade assignments in Canvas for Semester 1/Q2 courses until January 22, 2025 at 11:59 (read-only after).
- Year long courses: Edit/Grade access for Semester 1 will end when grades are due on January 22. If you think you will need access to grade as assignment after that, update the due date prior to the term ending.
Students:
- Access to Semester 1 Canvas courses until Jan 17, 2024 at 11:59pm (read-only after, no quiz questions access).
- Be aware, students can still submit S1/Q2 assignments in a year-long course as long as the availability dates allow it. However, you won’t be able to grade them beyond January 22 due to grading window limits. You can update availability dates and due dates in bulk following these directions.

Moving Assignments from S1/Q2 to S2/Q3

As seen above, once the grading window end (January 22) in a year-long class, teachers cannot grade S1/Q2 assignments.

If you foresee that you will move a S1/Q2 assignment into S2/Q3, you will need to adjust the due date by January 17. After this date, you will need to submit a ticket to get the due date updated.

If you have ongoing assignments in your course, thing through your options to duplicate the assignment or alter dates. Reach out for support, if needed.

Beginning Semester 2/Quarter 3 in Canvas

Student Access to Content in Past Enrollments

Do you want your course content to be viewable to students after the course is over? *Quizzes are automatically not viewable by students after the Term End date has passed.

Go to your Course Settings and adjust as needed (see image above). If your course is viewable to students, it would be located at https://pccsk12.instructure.com/courses under “Past Enrollments.”

If you do keep it visible to students, you may consider “prepping” your course for read-only access by unpublishing any answer keys (or remove links) or other materials you might hold until a student has attempted an assignment.

Import Course Content

Have new courses starting? You can easily import content from past years. Use this tutorial.

Crosslisting Courses

Do you have more than one section of a course beginning? You might consider crosslisting the course to save time.

Additionally, if you have a yearlong course that you regret NOT crosslisting, the semester break may be a good time to do it. Note that student submissions and grades will be lost in Canvas!

Check out our Crosslisting Guide for more information.

Don’t Forget to Publish!

If you have a course beginning, don’t forget to publish it! You can publish it when it is ready for viewing and it won’t be visible to students until January 18 or until it is published by you.

Canvas

Laptop Upkeep Best Practices

The tech department would like to suggest the following maintenance steps to ensure the best performance from your new laptop.

Clear your Chrome Browsing Data and Cookies every couple of weeks (with Time range All Time) / Ditto for all Microsoft Edge users (click here for easy steps)
Do a full restart of your laptop at least once a week

Making sure you perform periodic restarts and logging into your laptop while on the district network does several important things to improve performance including clearing the laptop’s Random Access Memory (RAM) which can otherwise over time bog down its system resources and allowing important and useful district updates to to run at start up.

We appreciate your help to ensure the best possible performance of your laptop. Please submit a tech ticket if you have any questions.

Tech Housekeeping for Winter Break

We hope you enjoy your winter break! Before you leave on the 20th…

WOULD YOU PLEASE SECURE ALL VALUABLES in the classrooms and office spaces you inhabit. This includes laptops, document cameras, Apple TVs, remotes, and interactive pens.

Further, if it is equipment you handle, would you please make sure all iPads and Chromebooks are in their carts and those CARTS ARE LOCKED and plugged in before leaving.

Finally, would you please also POWER OFF any of the following equipment, if it is equipment you handle:

projectors
sound amps
SmartBoards
desktop computers
monitors
printers

THANK YOU for your cooperation.

DitchThat Textbook Digital Summit

Graphic about the ditch summit, details provided in the post

I’m signed up for a GREAT free online conference for teachers in December and wanted to tell you about it.

It’s called the Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit. It includes video presentations from awesome presenters on topics related to tech and solid teaching and learning. Including previous years’ sessions, you’ll have access to more than 90 video presentations!

This year, it’s scheduled for December 16, 2024, to January 10, 2025. Get registered for free at: DitchSummit.com.

HOW IT WORKS: New presentations are released every day. They remain available until the end of the summit so you can re-watch or catch up on any you’ve missed. They’re pre-recorded, so you can watch them whenever you want until the summit closes. After that, the summit ends and the videos are unavailable to watch anymore.

THIS YEAR’S SPEAKERS: Here’s the lineup for this year …

Trevor MacKenzie (English Teacher, Author: Inquiry Mindset)
- Topic: Student curiosity and questioning routines
Manny Curiel (Edpuzzle Head of Community, Former Elementary Teacher)
- Topic: Perseverance and overcoming setbacks
Ed Campos Jr. (Educator, Speaker, Consultant)
- Topic: AI and teacher wellness
Ken Shelton and Dee Lanier (Authors: The Promises and Perils of AI in Education)
- Topic: Cautious steps toward AI implementation
Stevie Frank (Learning Integration Specialist, Zionsville Community Schools)
- Topic: Student voice through podcasting and more
Jorge Valenzuela (Speaker, Author, Educator)
- Topic: Project-based and lifelong learning
Holly Clark (Author: The AI-Infused Classroom)
- Topic: AI literacies for students
Students for Innovation (Innovative, Passionate Student Leaders)
- Topic: AI in learning and life, student perspective