Category: Blog

Google Login in for MiStar Coming Soon!

Beginning on November 8, 2022 staff will have the option to log into their MiStar accounts by clicking and signing in with their district Google accounts. Since we now have two-factor authentication for Google account access, using this log in option will not trigger an emailed log in code that needs to be retrieved and entered.

Feel free to give this login option a try on November 8th when you are not in front of students to see how it operates. See the screenshot below for what it will look like. Clicking the Local Login link will render the familiar login option we have been using.

Please note, if and when you are going to be logging into MISTAR on a mobile device, you will either want to use the Local Login option to enter your familiar User Id/Name and password (what you had entered prior to November 8th) and retrieve/enter the emailed code OR choose to open MISTAR on the desktop site view so you can select the Sign in with Google option.

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REMC November free PD opportunities

REMC courses offer educators new ways to engage students and enhance classroom learning from the convenience of their home. Their professional learning offers something for everyone – from those interested in a new skill to those looking to strengthen student achievement and engagement through the use of technology integration.

Registration deadline is Thursday, November 3rd, each course begins on Monday, November 7th. Through the support of REMC SAVE’s vendor partners, all courses are FREE and there are no SCECH fees. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn, connect, collaborate and grow with REMC courses.

Check out November 2022 courses here:

Register by Thursday, November 3rd. You will receive a welcome email with the course login and other information prior to the course start date. If you have questions or need further assistance with your course registration, please click here.

Declutter Your Canvas Dashboard

As we transition from out October Professional Development day to our November PD window, you might want to declutter your Canvas dashboard. To do that, go to https://pccsk12.instructure.com/courses and click on the star next to the courses you want to be visible on the dashboard. Leave any courses you don’t want to see unfilled. When you return to the dashboard, only the course with filled stars will be visible.

🌟🌟🌟BONUS Tip: You can drag and drop the course tiles on your dashboard to rearrange them in any order you would like.

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BrainPop’s Blog

BrainPop’s blog offers classroom teaching strategies, stories from fellow educators, and product updates. [Note, there is a subscribe box if you want to have posts emailed to your inbox.]

Below are some recently highlighted posts – click on any to read the full post:

Read&Write for Google Resources

Did you know that all P-CCS students have access to Read&Write for Google? The toolbar is added in Chrome as an extension. Students likely notice the puzzle-shaped toolbar pop up on certain sites. If you would like to learn more about what tools are available, explore this interactive image.

Additionally, if you have students with Dyslexia, you can look at this resource to see how it can help their overall performance. Elementary teachers, in particular, may find it useful for building listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in their students.

You might use one of these activities to help students learn how to use the tool or to explore it for yourself:

Find even more information on our Read&Write for Google’s websites for students and staff.

2022 Fall Canvas Updates

This fall, Canvas has rolled out a few great updates. Check them out below!

Custom Images in the Icon Maker

Earlier this year, Canvas launched an icon maker. It allows you to create custom images and buttons for your course. The icons are saved in the course file and can be updated easily in one place. At first, the images to add to the icon were very limited, but Canvas now allows you to upload and edit an image. Here’s a video demonstrating the process.

Studio Video Editing

Basic cut and trim video editing options are available for Studio media. This update allows media owners to easily edit media within Studio itself, rather than having to edit media in a third-party editing software. Take a closer look here.

Schedule Page Publishing (coming 10/15)

You will have the option to schedule a date and time that page is published. Find more information here.

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Digital Citizenship Week

Every year, the third week of October is coined Digital Citizenship Week. It’s a great time to focus on Digital Citizenship with our students.

To help guide instruction on Digital Citizenship, consider the 5 competencies:

The five competencies of digital citizenship

Inclusive: I am open to hearing and respectfully recognizing multiple viewpoints, and I engage with others online with respect and empathy.
Informed: I evaluate the accuracy, perspective, and validity of digital media and social posts.
Engaged: I use technology and digital channels for civic engagement, to solve problems and be a force for good in both physical and virtual communities.
Balanced: I make informed decisions about how to prioritize my time and activities online and off.
Alert: I am aware of my online actions, and know how to be safe and create safe spaces for others online.

A Change in Mindset: Focus on the Do’s not the Don’s

Watch this video to learn how to shift from telling students all the things they shouldn’t do online, to helping them see all the things they should do while working online.

Interested in exploring Digital Citizenship with your students? Explore these resources:

Brain Pop is a district K-12 subscription that has many videos and activities surrounding digital citizenship.
Nearpod also has free lessons available for Digital Citizenship week. Click HERE to access Nearpod’s free lessons.
Common Sense Media also has free (just sign up for an educator account) resources and lessons for Digital Citizenship. (If you’re an elementary teacher, your Media specialists incorporate these lessons into their curriculum with all K-5 students).
A Digital Citizenship Framework and Lessons is a TechNotes blog post by Lori Gracey providing several resources for digital citizenship lessons.
Digizen is a website that has tons of resources on digital citizenship, social networking, digital values, and more.
Google provides a Digital Citizenship and Safety Course for teachers and students. The course has five units, each with an introduction, lesson, and review, lasting a total of 23 minutes each. Topics covered include privacy, phishing and scams, online safety, searching, and online reputation.
DigCitCommit has a list of great resources. Not only that, but if you have created your own resources, you can submit them to share with others.
Google has some resources on their Be Internet Awesome site. They also list a few partners that are worth checking out. For example, PearDeck has created Be Internet Awesome interactive presentations to coordinate with Google’s lessons.
SeeSaw is a PCCS K-2 subscription and has more than 1,500 activities under the Digital Citizenship category in its Activity Library.

Google Assignments 1.3–A Closer Look

new canvas speedgrader option in google assignments

At the beginning of the year, we updated to the Google Assignment LTI 1.3 in Canvas (blog post). This provided important security updates and the new option to grade a Google Assignment using the Google Feedback Tool (that has been in place) or the Canvas Speedgrader. As you might have noticed, it has caused some subtle changes in the workflows for students and teachers. We have done our best to summarize the differences in the presentation below. Click the option to see a side-by-side comparison between the Google Feedback Tool and Canvas Speedgrader.

If you have not used Google Assignments before, it allows each student to get a copy of a Google file that is automatically organized in their Drive and shared with the teacher. Additionally, the teacher can view students progress on the assignment as they work. Here’s a tutorial to set up a Google Assignment.

If you still have questions about the workflows, please submit a tech ticket, we have done our best to test it extensively.

Google LTI Feedback compared by Kaelyn Bullock

Canvas

Trouble Syncing Canvas Grades to MiStar?

If you are running into errors with your grades passing from Canvas to MiStar, check out the resources below. First, you’ll want to make sure it is set up correctly. Most importantly, you want to check that your Assignment Groups match your MiStar Gradebook Categories.

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BrainPop’s October Teacher Lounge Newsletter

BrainPop’s October newsletter for K-12 instructional staff can be found HERE. As a reminder, all district students, K-12 can access our paid subscription to BrainPop/BrainPop Jr via Clever at https://clever.com/in/pccs.

Some highlights;

— Digital Citizenship offerings

— Native Americans offerings

— Assigning BrainPOP learning activities is easier than ever!
Click Assign from your Teacher Dashboard to quickly create differentiated learning experiences for all of your students.