iPad Apps and Chrome extension requests for student devices

App request forms

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!

Link to iPad App Request Form: https://forms.gle/uvHNbkVQ4cAgD88u9
Link to Chrome App/Extension/Browser Theme Request: https://forms.gle/6hsvLeZMj5v7ZrCo7

 

Rejoice, LanSchool is Ready to Go! (Grades 3-8)

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.

Reminder: Please Secure and Protect Teacher and Student Devices

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.

 

21Things4Students is Project-Based Curriculum for Grades 5-9, supports MiTECS competencies

October 2019

21Things4Students is Project-Based Curriculum for Grades 5-9, supports MiTECS competencies

The REMC Association’s 21Things4Students (21T4S) project just keeps getting better!  Over the summer, the project-based website was updated and moved to its new URL https://remc.org/21things4students.

21-Things-4-Students is Project-Based Curriculum for Grades 5-9

21T4S provides free activities to integrate technology into middle school (grades 5-9) classroom curriculum. It’s a valuable tool to help students build knowledge and acquire 21st century technology skills. Students also learn to be safe and secure while online.

“This learning with technology resource provides teachers with project-based activities to help students build technology knowledge and skills for the 21st century,” according to Carolyn McCarthy, Project Manager and Educational Technology Consultant, Shiawassee RESD.

Each of the 21 Things is broken down into smaller learning units called Quests. There are over 145 Quests and each includes an Introduction, Key Vocabulary, I Can Statements, Steps with Tutorials, Student Checklist, and Quiz. Teacher resources include lesson guides for each Thing, digital badges and awards to use, accommodations suggestions, bank of assessment questions, and an Index to content and activities.

21Things4Students has been awarded the Seal of Alignment by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). The site is managed by a dedicated team of Michigan educators and advisors who provide annual updates.  REMC Association Project Managers Melissa White or Carolyn McCarthy provide day-to-day content management. Feel free to email Melissa or Carolyn if you have questions or need additional assistance with 21Things4Students.

REMC October info to check out

REMC Connect

The Regional Educational Media Center Association (REMC) of Michigan promotes the transformative use of technology and provides Michigan schools with access to educational resources to help teachers increase student success. They’ve just released their October Connect newsletter with info on the 21Things4Students project-based curriculum (https://remc.org/21things4students), fall learning opportunities, upcoming free virtual courses, and more.

Here’s a link to their October Connect newsletter.

Here’s a link to an archived list of their most recent Connect newsletters.

And finally, a link should you want to subscribe to either (or both) of their once monthly electronic mailings of the Connect Newsletter AND/OR on upcoming and available free virtual courses!

Tool of the Week: Read&Write for GoogleWEB Toolbar

The Read&Write for Google WEB Toolbar can be used to access web pages in the Chrome browser. Students and staff can use supports like text to speech, word prediction, talking and picture dictionaries, study skills highlighters and more.

RW4G@PCCS website: WEB Toolbar https://sites.google.com/pccsk12.com/rw4g-pccs/toolbars/web-toolbar?authuser=0 RW4G

@PCCS website: Tools Demo https://sites.google.com/pccsk12.com/rw4g-pccs/toolbars/tools-demo

Read&Write for Google WEB Tip Sheet https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wEOXhwyAh45PgjfsOUZhXEo6hXmPHbj6JmRtxh-KuIk/view

Have you had Gmail issues this week? Here’s the fix…

UPDATE: If the original solution does not help you regain access to Google Mail (Gmail), see if the following helps:

On the mail page that doesn’t load, depress both the control key (ctrl) and the F5 key at the same time. The page should refresh and mail should load.

————————————

Should the above not work, another temporary solution is:

STEP 1) Navigate to: chrome://settings/cookies/detail?site=mail.google.com
(you may need to copy and paste the link in your browser)

STEP 2) Find the below entry and click on the X:

STEP 3) Reload your Gmail or visit http://mail.google.com

If this does not resolve your issue, please submit a service request.

Original Post

If you ran into the issue with Gmail this week, you know who you are. From time to time, Google’s Sync technology that allows your browser to save your bookmarks, passwords, form data, etc., seems to get a bit glitchy. This week, it appears to have kept some of you from being able to access your Gmail.

Fortunately the fix is easy and can get someone back up and running in a snap. So, if you have an issue with one or more Google apps and you hear the suggestion that it might have something to do with your profile (or you just want to try this and see if it helps), here’s what to do:

Remove your “profile” and then add it back to the browser. After doing so, you will want to choose “Link Data” when you are adding your profile back so that it syncs important things like bookmarks, passwords, form data, etc. See elaboration on these steps below:

Remove a person or profile

After you remove someone from Chrome, their bookmarks, history, passwords, and other settings are erased from the computer.

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click Profile .
  1. Click Manage people.
  3. Point to the person you want to remove. For this exercise you want to remove yourself.
  5. At the top right of the person (aka you), click More   Remove this person.
  6. Confirm by clicking Remove this person.

Once you have removed yourself, you can add yourself back as well and re-sync or link your data again. See below for the steps to add yourself back to the Chrome browser.

Add a person or profile

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click Profile .
  3. Click Manage people.
  4. Click Add person.
  5. Choose a name and a photo.
  6. Click Save. A new window will open and ask you to turn on sync.
  7. (Optional) Turn sync on in Chrome with a Google Account for the new profile. Their bookmarks, history, passwords, and other settings will automatically sync.

Using a Chromebook? You can share your Chromebook with other people by adding them to your Chromebook.

Texthelp Training Portal

Do you want to learn more about the Texthelp suite of tools for teachers & students?  Below are some supportive resources Texthelp touts.

The tools include:

Welcome to the Texthelp Training Portal!

Technology can be the spark for wonderful things, but its real value comes from empowering users – in the workplace, at school or at home. To get the most out of the Texthelp products, we offer three main areas of support.

Courses – From learning the basics to integrating into instruction, Texthelp short courses bring together strategies and best practice. Each course has simple instructions, videos, and great examples to help you become experts in Texthelp software. You can gain achievements along the way!

Certification – Here is a chance to show what you know with two levels of certification: Level 1 Certified User requiring passing an assessment and Level 2 Role-Specific Practitioner requiring passing and a project.  Earners receive badges and certificates.

Resources – Why recreate the wheel? We have plenty of checklists, lesson plans, strategies, help/tip sheets, presentations, and ideas to get you started and keep you going.  Many are contributed by educators just like you.

Go to: https://training.texthelp.com/course/index.php

R4WG@PCCS website: bit.ly/RW4GinPCCS

What happens when I have to change my P-CCS network password?

Every 90 days, your P-CCS network password is set to expire, and you are automatically prompted to create a new password. [Each time, we urge you make it a “strong” one. See here for guidance.] While this may seem frustrating at times, it keeps our network AND your data safe. There are some specific ramifications that occur when this process happens. Once you reset your new password on your P-CCS ProBook, desktop, or other district-provided laptop, it is important to IMMEDIATELY also reset your password on any personal devices connected to the Staff WiFi network. The illustration below highlights the systems and devices that are affected when changing your password:

If you DO NOT change your password, your other devices, such as an iPhone or Android might well continue to “knock on the network door” with your OLD PASSWORD multiple times, thus locking you out of your account and causing frustration. When dealing with iPads, iPhones, or Androids, it’s a good idea to also tap “Forget Network” first before entering your new password for the network WiFi. See the links below for further assistance in this regard.

How to forget a Wi-Fi network on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac

Android 101: How to ‘forget’ a Wifi network

As always, if you experience a lock-out, you will have to have someone else submit a service request on your behalf.