Author: PCCS TIS

Use the below to register for the 2019 METS Virtual Rally, which will be held on February 8, 2019 from 8-11:45 am.  bit.ly/mets2019

The METS group are also seeking applications for presenters. The option to submit a presentation proposal is available at the end of this form. They are seeking a wide variety of topics that would appeal to EdTech leaders and which utilize engagement strategies to encourage active participation in an online conference format. Additionally, Presenters will be paired with a “coach” to help prepare for the online format and to develop engagement strategies. To see examples from last year’s Virtual Rally please visit http://bit.ly/2QGfLv

Want to brush up on your Google Skills?  Bookmark this Google Tip Sheet to help you on your journey or make a copy to keep in your Google Drive.

Also, don’t forget that you can use G Suite Training that is located at the question mark at the top right-hand corner of ALL of your Google Apps! Here’s a brief video about how it works.

As the new laptops are deployed to staff, and once you log in, please notice an icon on the desktop that will take you to a page on the website tech.pccsk12.com that will help you set your laptop up. Topics covered include Chrome Sync, Inputs and Outputs, Printing, Connecting to Displays, and Lanschool.  This will continue to be updated as new issues and services arise. Please submit a service request for any issues that might arise and seem outside of what the Handbook can help you with.

Welcome to the new PCCS Tech blog!  We are excited to announce a new way of getting important tech updates and a new way of searching for resources that you have access to. Now, instead of a long newsletter quarterly, a curated collection of blog posts will come to your Gmail inbox each week! We hope this is a more digestible and more immediate way of disseminating information from the Tech Department.

Based on your feedback, we also made a new Tech website that is easy for you to navigate and more responsive to your needs: https://tech.pccsk12.com

One thing you’ll notice right away is the streamlined look of the site. We’d like to think that the most important feature of the website is the Resources Page.  The most exciting part is how easy it is to search for resources based on your particular needs. So, you can search by grade level, device type, Danielson Domain, or subject, helping you narrow down the resources you have available to you as subscribed to by the district, or other resources that are free!  This will be easier than a Google search!

Furthermore, you will be auto-subscribed to our blog and website update that will be tailored to your grade level, so you don’t see the information you don’t need, thus saving you time…and who couldn’t use more time?

If you haven’t noticed already, Google Apps are no longer available in the Chrome Web Store. Google has phased them out and has had plans to soon announce Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).  PWAs will function just like apps on your desktop with icons that can be launched from your desktop just like a conventional program or app.  More on this to come, but in the meantime, the only way to get a Chrome Web App is through a direct link from a software provider’s website or via a link that is still present in your already added Chrome Apps Launcher.  To read more, click here.

At the end of the 2017-2018 school year, we relayed messaging from Wayne RESA that we would be the benefactors of a free version of Discovery Streaming via REMC of Michigan. Unfortunately, the information relayed to us was incorrect, and we recently learned that only the Health content will be available with our new login. Since we did not seek budget approval for a Discovery Streaming subscription based on this info, we will not have access to Discovery Streaming any longer. But we have GREAT news!

There are MANY great alternatives to Discovery Streaming and we have curated some of the best right here:

PBS Learning Media – Teacher
PBS Learning Media – Student
WatchKnowLearn
YouTube
Khan Academy

If you are using YouTube, we would highly recommend using ViewPure to show videos to your students. The link for the YouTube video can be placed in ViewPure and that link can be either viewed whole class or sent out via Google Classroom or other Learning Management System such as Edmodo, Moodle, or Seesaw for your students’ viewing safety.

Please note that IPEVO Presenter, the software currently installed on your HP ProBook is legacy software that is no longer supported with updates or fixes. IPEVO has since released a new software “IPEVO Visualizer” for our document cameras that is more optimized. IPEVO Visualizer works with all of our document cameras and is available for download here.

To learn more about the new features, including streaming to YouTube Live, see this documentation: https://www.ipevo.com/ipevo_presenter