This month, teachers are working through the professional development window. You have until November 30 to complete 6 hours of professional development courses. We have over 200 offerings available at Canvas Catalog. We have several new courses to help you utilize the district’s edtech tools including:
Other courses highlight: Canvas, Newsela, Canva, Edpuzzle, Seesaw, WeVideo, IXL, and Read&Write for Google. Search the Catalog for those items to see the options.
We have recently updated Canva to incorporate school teams. Now we can send up a brand kit for each school and have more ability to choose what tools are available for different age levels. Additionally, if you have student classes rostered to you, you’ll have a “class” set up in Canva which works like a shared folder. Two important things to be aware of:
Going forward, please use your Canva school team, especially if you are using it with students. You can change teams with the team switcher:
If you have designs in the other team that you want to use with students, you can copy the design to another team.
If you are already a Canva user, the next time you log out and log back into Canva, you’ll be joined to the new school team. Your pre-existing content will be accessible by switching between teams; you can copy designs to your new school team by following these steps. Click here to log out of Canva to get started.
Please read the Canva teacher’s guide, even if you’ve used Canva before – there are a few differences between our new organization-wide version of Canva and versions you may have used in the past.
To learn more about using Canva to support your work, check out Canva’s general learning site (Canva Design School) or their Teacher Resources page for resources specific to K-12 students and teachers.
Seesaw is rebranding! Seesaw began over a decade ago with a mission to provide every elementary student with joyful and connected learning experiences that lay the foundation for success in life. On October 27, 2023 Seesaw will launch a new logo, app icon and marketing website inspired by the learning loop. They’ve updated our colors and fonts to demonstrate our commitment to accessibility and enabling all learners to participate effectively.
To support the transition in your classroom, seesaw has created classroom printable materials, resources, and an FAQ to answer questions. These will allow your students and families to get familiar with the new brand logo and icon. Find these exciting resources here.
At PCCS all K-2 students have access to seesaw for schools through clever with rostering through the district. If you are not in grades K-2 and want to use Seesaw with your students, you can do so by sharing a code for students to join your classroom in Seesaw. If you have any questions about Seesaw, please submit a tech request.
Are you looking for an exciting way to bring real scientific research into your classroom? Science Journal for Kids offers a free online science magazine featuring peer-reviewed research papers adapted into kid-friendly language.
Each article on the site includes:
Assessment questions and answer keys
Introductory videos
Keywords, reading levels (some articles offered at multiple reading levels), and curriculum alignment
Some articles are translated in up to 5 languages
Additional teaching resources like slideshows, labs, quizzes, and recommended websites
The Science Journal for Kids team selects recent, high-impact research papers covering diverse topics like pollution, endangered species, climate change, and more. They rewrite the papers using common vocabulary, real-world examples, and funny anecdotes, when appropriate, to make them accessible and engaging to students.
The adapted articles are then reviewed and approved by the scientists who authored the original research. Experienced science teachers also provide supplementary materials like presentations, hands-on activities, worksheets, and quizzes to easily integrate the articles into your curriculum.
With Science Journal for Kids, you can introduce your students to cutting-edge scientific discoveries in a format they’ll understand and enjoy. This free resource saves you time in locating age-appropriate materials and supplements them with everything you need to actively teach the concepts.
Bring some excitement into your classroom and tap into your students’ natural curiosity! Visit Science Journal for Kids and Teens today to explore this invaluable teaching tool. If you are inclined, check out the TED Talk from the founder below:
As online and digital learning has expanded in schools, many educational applications have been adopted that collect student data – sometimes more than necessary for their core educational purpose. Protecting student privacy is crucial, which in part explains why Google is implementing new security measures on October 23rd that will affect Google Workspace for Education users.
Google Workspace for Education, which includes tools like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, has provided schools with collaborative learning solutions. However, Google is putting additional safeguards in place to limit third-party access to sensitive student information. If you have chosen to “sign in with Google” or connected an app to a Google Doc or Sheet, you have been asked to allow another app permissions to data associated with your Google account. Google is now adding more safeguards to help restrict these permissions, especially for students.
For Google Workspace for Education users, new data protections will be enabled by default. Data sharing with third party sites and services will be limited. Certain advertising targeting practices will also be prohibited.
Over the last month, the technology department has done its best to review a lengthy list of more than 2000 third-party applications that one or more district users have enabled to work with their Google accounts. Some third party app integrations with District Google accounts have been or will be blocked on and after October 23 as part of this process. In many cases, if being able to use Google Sign in is not possible, a user could instead sign in with their username and password (a password reset may be required if the user does not already know their password). Other integration permissions that are revoked might yield some other inconveniences.
Please note, if you have a third party app whose Google integration stops working, the integration is required, and there is a legitimate educational purpose for continued app access, pleasesubmit a tech support ticket for review.
While Google’s increased security may affect some workflows, protecting student information is paramount. Thanks for being flexible so that learning can continue to thrive in more secure digital environments.
We know that as educators, you constantly strive to make learning more accessible and engaging for your students. That’s why we’re thrilled to introduce some exciting updates to the Read&Write toolbar that will empower you to do just that! The two latest features, Rewordify and Simplify AI, are designed to transform the way your students interact with digital content, making it easier to understand and more inclusive for all. Let’s dive into the details of these fantastic enhancements.
1. Rewordify
Rewordify is a game-changer for teachers and students alike. This versatile tool is now available on the Read&Write web toolbar, making it accessible on websites, Learning Management Systems, emails, and more. Its primary mission is to simplify text, ensuring that students encounter fewer barriers when reading and comprehending content.
How does it work? Rewordify identifies complex or difficult words within a webpage and replaces them with simpler, more easily understood alternatives. This feature promotes reading comprehension and helps students tackle challenging texts with greater confidence. Rewordify is a valuable resource for students of all ages and abilities, as it fosters inclusivity in the classroom and supports diverse learning needs.
2. Simplify AI
Introducing Simplify AI, an innovative beta feature within Read&Write for Google Chrome. This cutting-edge tool takes web content and transforms it into a more digestible format, enhancing accessibility and understanding. Developed by OpenAI, Simplify AI relies on advanced AI algorithms to perform its magic.
Simplify AI is your secret weapon when it comes to breaking down complex web content. It distills lengthy, convoluted passages into concise, clear, and easy-to-grasp summaries. This feature is a boon for teachers and students tackling challenging articles, research papers, or any online content that could benefit from simplification.
However, it’s important to note that Simplify AI has a few limitations:
Word Count Limits: Simplify AI can be applied to content ranging from approximately 75 to 2300 words. This range is carefully chosen to accommodate various types of content while maintaining readability.
Usage Limit: Each user can utilize Simplify AI a maximum of ten times per day. This restriction is in place to ensure fair access to this powerful tool among all users.
Incorporating these updates into your teaching arsenal can revolutionize the way your students engage with digital content. Whether you’re using Rewordify to make text more accessible or Simplify AI to provide concise summaries, these features empower your students to comprehend complex information with greater ease.
By leveraging these tools, you’re not just enhancing reading comprehension; you’re fostering an inclusive learning environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed.
We want to inform you about a recent change to our district’s Canvas support process. In the past, you had the ability to reach out directly to Canvas support through phone or chat, but we’ve now transitioned to a different approach. If you encounter any issues or need assistance, please submit a support ticket from the Canvas Help Menu.
We understand that this is a shift from the previous service level, and we appreciate your understanding. Additionally, we encourage you to explore the Canvas guides (instructor, student, and observer). There are also guides available for the mobile applications. You can utilize the new Panda Bot as valuable resources to help navigate Canvas effectively during this transition. Your satisfaction with the support we provide remains our priority.
The Teachers’ Lounge is now the BrainPOP Bulletin! Welcome to our brand new newsletter and your place for fresh instructional ideas. Every month, we’re sending a video tip to your inbox that you can use in the classroom tomorrow. In September’s Bulletin, learn about this movie-viewing strategy that will make students’ minds light up. It’s one way to make movies a more active part of your class, while providing an opportunity to practice essential literacy skills. Access more information HERE.
In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, harnessing the power of technology has become paramount to engage students effectively. Three standout platforms Edpuzzle (6-12 accounts connected through Canvas), BrainPOP (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), and Teachflix have emerged as game-changers in the world of educational video content. These platforms offer a dynamic combination of video resources and interactive features, transforming traditional passive viewing into an engaging learning experience.
While you probably already ask students to view educational videos in your class, you may be looking for ways to keep students engaged with the video. Matt Miller (of Ditch that Textbook fame) has developed Teachflix and an activity pack to boost engagement with video. For example, in the Word Splash activity students write down 12 words from the video that stand out to them, then swap their page with a partner to watch the video again, crossing off their partners words as they hear them. This Teaching with TEACHFLIX resource is full of ready-to-use activities for students.
Here are a few September Canvas updates in New Quizzes to be excited about:
New Quizzes: Build on Last Attempt
In New Quizzes, instructors can allow students to build on their last attempt of a quiz by reattempting incorrectly answered questions.
In New Quiz Settings, select Allow multiple attempts [1], and then select the Enable build on last attempt checkbox [2].
Note: When the build on last attempt feature is enabled, students can only view questions marked with incorrect answers, all other questions are hidden. If you have short answer questions you want them to reattempt, you’ll want to add a waiting period to give you time to grade those items.
Additional Details
Students can reattempt incorrectly answered questions until the answer is marked correct in SpeedGrader or they run out of attempts. Students who get all questions correct will not have the option to reattempt.
In New Quizzes, instructor access to Item Analysis reports is faster and the user interface is updated. While the item analysis used to take 24-28 hours, it will now take about 1 hour (depends on the size of the quiz and other factors).
If you like these features but have Classic Quizzes in your course, reach out for information about migrating those quizzes to New Quizzes. There have also been hesitations about partial credit on new quizzes, check out this resource (3 slides) that breaks down how this works in New Quizzes.
