Students wishing to use Read&Write while in locked mode simply need to launch Read&Write BEFORE entering the locked Google Form.
Premium users will have access to the most common accessibility and productivity tools such as Text to Speech, Word Prediction, and Talk&Type dictation. Some features, such as the ability to collect highlights, build vocabulary lists, and web search, will be disabled due to the nature of the locked mode.
As the tech department works throughout the district and observes all the wonderful things being done with technology to support student learning, we are reminded that we have a precious resource in our technology-rich environment. Because resources are finite, we are reminding all classroom teachers and staff to remain vigilant in securing the 1:1 and cart-based devices in our classrooms and media centers. As you know, these are highly desirable devices and given that our buildings are often very much open to the public, we need to secure the devices each afternoon before leaving for the day, and during intervals in between when the devices are unattended.
If you are aware that there is an issue with the locking mechanism on a cart, or a key has been misplaced, please submit a service request immediately, and make sure your existing key is in a safe place that is not easily accessible when not in use.
Slido is a polling tool that has recently launched a Google Slides add-on and a corresponding Chrome extension. With Slido installed you can create polls directly in the Google Slides editor. The poll will appear as a slide in your presentation. The poll slide includes your question and the directions for your students to respond to your poll.
When your students responds to your poll, their responses will appear on the slide. By using Slido‘s Google Slides add-on you don’t have to toggle between your presentation and a polling website in order to view poll responses.
Boclips for teachers is a subject-rich platform with ad-free content that takes a lot of stress out of showing videos in class; videos are searchable by length, age range, and topic.
It’s a pressure-free place to start looking for high-quality videos to supplement existing lessons in traditional, one-to-one, or flipped classroom models.
It’s free, so sign up and try it out by visiting https://www.boclips.com/teachers
To see a listing of their more than 120 content partners and details to explore those channels, visit https://www.boclips.com/content-partners
Teachers with K-2 students and iPads, please keep in mind that you can visit the following link to know what iPad apps are available on district student iPads: https://tech.pccsk12.com/mdm-apps/
As new apps are requested and approved, these pages will be updated. Please notice that when you navigate to the page, you can click on either Filewave or eSpark since the app sets available to students are different depending on whether or not your building uses eSpark or IXL. Once on the particular MDM’s page, you can click “Install” to be taken to a page with more details on that app, but you don’t need to download/install it from that page.
For those at Filewave schools (not where eSpark is used) please see these directions for how to add apps to student ipads using Filewave: bit.ly/filewavehowto
eSpark iPads have a fixed set of apps that are automatically pushed to the iPads once apps are requested or approved. That said, due to the nature of how eSpark works, students have a custom set of apps based on their individual needs.
For help and training in your classroom with any of this, please remember that you can request Tech Integration Help via the Tech Department Service Request System (JIRA): Service ticket
The PDF Reader allows for SEAMLESS Google Classroom Integration! This makes it possible to go COMPLETELY PAPERLESS! Check it out!
RW4G@PCCS website: PDF Reader
https://sites.google.com/
RW4G@PCCS website: Tools Demo
https://sites.google.com/
Read&Write for Google PDF Reader Tip Sheet
https://docs.google.com/
We are so thrilled you found an app or extension that you believe will help your students grow! We want to help, but please keep in mind that the scale and volume of devices that we currently manage is challenging for a small department, and we need to have a process so we can make sure everything is taken care of while we comply with federal laws like COPPA and CIPA, as well as measuring an app’s value in terms of the Triple E Framework.
If you are interested in adding another iPad app to your student ipads or having a Chrome app/extension be unblocked so that your students can install it, please make sure to fill out the appropriate form linked below. Once an app is requested, the app can be delivered to the App Portal on student iPads or added to the Chrome Web Store for P-CCS on the last Friday of each month!
LanSchool, the program the district offers teachers for student device management and monitoring, can now be used with dynamically updated student rosters. For those teachers who have students using Chromebooks, especially teachers of 3rd through 8th graders, you can now install and use LanSchool by following directions we are providing. Please note, the following linked directions will NOT apply to new teachers or those new to Lanschool. If you are a new-to-the-district teacher this year, OR if you did not install Lanschool last year, please submit a service request so that a technician can install LanSchool for you: Service ticket
Additionally, if after following the directions linked below, you cannot get LanSchool to load your student rosters, you will also need to submit a service request: Service ticket
First, we’d like to apologize for the Lanschool delay. There were some unforeseen backend issues that had to be addressed related to rostering, Clever*, and Wayne RESA. Our department spent many hours over several weeks working with staff from Clever, LanSchool and WayneRESA to address these issues and we’re not quite done, but for many of you, the install and load should now be doable without our further assistance. Please follow these directions ONLY if you were using LanSchool last year: Click Here
While the directions have a lot of “clicks”, it should actually only take a couple of minutes to load and install.
*A quick note about our Clever / LanSchool integration. Since Clever (Single Sign-on), syncs nightly with MISTAR, and then LanSchool syncs with Clever, unlike last year, class rosters in Lanschool can now be kept up to date and all classes a teacher has in MISTAR (including previously unavailable homeroom classes) can now be loaded in LanSchool.
As the school year moves forward, we understand that everyone gets busy and sometimes details get lost in the mix. In particular, the Tech Department would like to remind everyone that it’s important to secure both your teacher devices and student cart-based devices when not in use, and especially over night.
Please secure your district-provided device in a locking closet, cabinet, or desk, and make sure the student device carts have all of their devices in them and are locked each night. We all want to protect these valuable investments!
Additionally, with the colder weather coming, it’s important to remember that district devices should not be left in cars in that cold weather. When a computer/ipad is brought from consistent cold temperatures into a warm building, its ambient temperature change causes condensation internally; condensate (water moisture) in turn can cause damage to the system board and other electronics. Everyone knows how important our computers are to us on a daily basis and we don’t want anything to happen to them so please help keep our devices from experiencing “temperature swings”! Thanks.
John R. Sowash is a former Michigan HS biology teacher and principal who has been helping teachers use technology to improve instruction for many years. One way he has been doing so is by writing a fantastic blog about all things Chromebook. Bookmark it and enjoy learning!