
New Seesaw Feature!



Elementary teachers with a classroom SMART interactive flat panel (IFP) board are also licensed to use the online SMART Learning Suite as well as the SMART Exchange. To log into your SMART Learning Suite account, browse to https://suite.smarttech.com/login and click SIGN IN. Use your district Google account to sign in.
You can also access it via the “Waffle” via Google Apps:
Once logged in, click the “Getting Started” file shown and consider browsing their training section to learn how to use the site’s many resources: https://www.smarttech.com/training/smart-learning-suite-online
You can also use the NEW AND IMPROVED SMART Exchange to search for online and Notebook lessons, learning games and activities. Browse to https://exchange.smarttech.com and search for topics by various filters. To add what you find to your SMART Learning Suite and be able to push it out to students on their ipads or Chromebooks, you will want to sign in (and to do so, will use your district Google account). An overview video is below.
Other helpful videos explaining different aspects of SMART’s resources can be found at https://support.smarttech.com/docs/software/smart-learning-suite-online/en/training-and-videos/default.cshtml
One of the linked videos (video embedded below) reviews how to have students connect their devices to your class within the SMART Learning Suite after browsing to hellosmart.com
If you are an elementary teacher with a classroom SMART board (IFP) and are having trouble logging into your account or have other questions, please submit a help desk service ticket for assistance.
The ISTE website is a great resource for best practice as it relates to technology integration. While this article is three years old, a millenium in the tech world, the content is still spot on: https://www.iste.org/explore/In-the-classroom/Don?articleid=809
If you browse to ClassroomScreen.com you can find a set of possibly useful widgets that can be displayed.
Currently, there are twelve widgets you can use on ClassroomScreen. You can display multiple widgets at once.
ClassroomScreen’s ExitPoll tool lets you get feedback from students.
You can ask students what they thought about the lesson or check for understanding by asking them a question about the lesson content.
Students simply walk past the interactive whiteboard, tablet, or computer at the end of the lesson and cast their vote.
You can access the ExitPoll tool by going to https://www.classroomscreen.com/exitpoll.html or use the icon at the bottom right of your screen.
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
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.
Wayne RESA has shared a flyer listing some learning opportunities they have scheduled in the coming months focused on EdTech In the Classroom. Please note, two of their twelve opportunities — the Google CS First and the Code.org CS Fundamentals sessions — are designed for users who are already implementing elements of these programs in their classrooms and are looking to take a deep dive into the content/curriculum.
EdTech In the Classroom
Info relevant for elementary teachers — SMART Notebook 19 includes the following new features and updates.
All operating systems
Windows
To download the new version navigate to: https://education.smarttech.com/products/notebook/download#trial
Then, make sure the following are selected and click the download button. The install will walk you through the prompts until it is fully installed. Plan for a half hour process from start to finish.

StoryWeaver looks like an amazing site that is designed to create and translate children’s books into a ton of different languages and make them accessible online for free. Users can translate books on the site into different languages or easily create their own books. It’s also a great site for students to write for an authentic audience. ELL teachers and their students could get a lot out of the site, and it seems to me that other language teachers could have their students use it, too.