Students – P-CCSK12 Tech

SORA news

Two noteworthy Sora news items.

SORA SWEET READS RETURNS! Summer reading, oh my! OverDrive’s annual reading program, Sora Sweet Reads, is designed for schools to encourage students to keep reading all year long. This collection of free and simultaneous use juvenile and young adult ebooks (and select audiobooks) will be available to participating schools and prominently displayed in Sora so it’s easy for students to find their next sweet read. On May 15th all school partners who have opted in (and we have) will receive a sweet new curation on their Sora Explore page full of 57 new titles for all ages K-12. The collection this year boasts 34 juvenile titles, 10 young adult titles and 13 general adult-level titles. The collection will be live for 10 weeks from May 15 through Aug. 28 and all titles are simultaneous-use. This means students will all have access immediately and at the same time. Ready to check out the titles? Head over to the Sora Sweet Reads website to view the titles before they go live in our Wayne County shared collection on May 15 and to download some resources as well.
The Sora app’s multilingual interface now is available in two additional languages, Korean and Portuguese (Brazilian) with more languages being added. The Sora interface already includes Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish language options. As a reminder, students can update Sora’s display language from the welcome screen or from Language settings in the app’s main menu.

When students update their language settings, Sora’s ebook reader, audiobook player, and app interface automatically display in the selected language. Sora will remember your language settings across sessions.

Please note: Changing Sora’s display language does not change the language of the books your students can borrow. If you’re interested in specific language content to support these new interface languages or others? Looking for books to support your native speakers and language learners alike? Check out the languages and learning tile on the Resource Center, where you can find recommended reading lists for ebooks and audiobooks in these languages – and more!

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The online Sora app was designed around the modern student reading experience. This app, developed and curated by Overdrive, empowers students to discover and enjoy ebooks and audiobooks, for both leisure and class-assigned reading. ALL STUDENTS in all of our district’s schools AND ALL STAFF can log into our Sora page using their Google Accounts at http://links.pccsk12.com/sora and begin checking out ebooks!

Once logged in, students and staff are able to “borrow” ebooks and audiobooks from a selection of thousands of titles available in their school, district and/or Wayne county library collections. Check out this 2 minute video for how to access the app via the Google apps launcher (aka waffle) as well as how to add a library collection (only need to do that once per year).

Mobile Tips for Teachers and Students

Time Saving Tip: Many students and teachers end up accessing Google tools from their phones. As a result, most of us are logged into multiple Google accounts on our phones. Up until last week, I would click on my avatar in the upper, right corner and then select the account I wanted to switch to. But did you know you can save a few nano-seconds by just swiping up or down on that avatar and Google will switch between your accounts? This works in Google Mail (Gmail), Google Drive, Google Keep, Jamboard, Slides, and Docs. It works in most of the Google apps except for Calendar. Video Demonstration.

Canvas Assignment Submission Tutorials, and More!

In an effort to support students, teachers, and families we have created additional technology tutorials. We have put special emphasis on tutorials for various, Canvas submission types for students. We hope this will help all stakeholders as Canvas remains the best way to continue coursework when students need to be out for an extended time. Please keep in mind, the users on a the mobile app will have a different experience and should consult these guides: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Mobile-Users/gh-p/mobile

This resource is available for teachers on the Digital Teaching Hub. https://tech.pccsk12.com/canvas-lms/

It is also available for students and families on the Digital Learning Hub. https://sites.google.com/pccsk12.com/hlh/canvas

For your convenience it is embedded below.

Canvas

Some Chromebook Usage Tips

The slideshows below offer some helpful tips and tricks for more effective Chromebook usage.

Link to slideshow

Link to slideshow.

[How-To] Connect to the P-CCS Wi-Fi Network

For STAFF

If you have a personal device and would like to connect it to a district wireless network, please connect it to the PCCSK12-Staff network using your network account credentials. Your network account is the same one used to login to any district desktop or laptop (not Google/Chromebooks). If you do not remember your account information, please submit a tech request.

Disclaimers

District Chromebooks will automatically connect to the PCCSK12-Devices network.
Devices such as AppleTV and Chromecast will need to be authorized by the tech department first. Please fill out this form if you would like to have one connected.
Home and personal assistant devices such as Google Home/Nest (Google Assistant), Amazon Echo (Alexa), and Apple HomePod (Siri) are not allowed on the district network. Personal assistant services built into personal smartphones are unaffected.
In most areas we only offer a 5 GHz WiFi network. If your device only supports 2.4 GHz you will not be able to connect.

For STUDENTS (BYOD)

If you have a personal device and would like to connect it to a district wireless network, please connect it to the PCCSK12-Students network. When prompted for a username and password, use your network logon credentials (username without @pccsk12.com at the end) to connect. Please note that student usernames and passwords will not work on the PCCSK12-Staff network or any other network.

Disclaimers

Note that you can only have one device connected to the PCCSK12-Students network at a time. Having more than one will cause connection issues with your device(s).
In most areas we only offer a 5 GHz WiFi network. If your device only supports 2.4 GHz you will not be able to connect.

Please see the following device-specific guides for connecting to the network.

If you have a personal device and would like to connect it to a district wireless network, please connect it to the PCCSK12-Students network. When prompted for a username and password, use your network logon credentials (username without @pccsk12.com at the end) to connect. Please note that student usernames and passwords will not work on the PCCSK12-Staff network or any other network.

Instructions for Chrome OS (Chromebooks)

Click on your picture icon in the bottom right-hand corner

Click on your current WiFi Connection to bring up the list of available network then select PCCSK12-Students if you are a student, and PCCSK12-Staff if you are a district staff member.

Fill in the following fields as seen in the screenshot to the left. Make sure to use your username (P-CCS Google email address for students, network account for staff) in the “Identity” field

EAP Method: PEAP
Phase 2 authentication: Automatic
Server CA certificate: Do not check
Identity: (Your username)
Password: (Your Password)

Push Connect when finished

Instructions for iPadOS and iOS (iPad and iPhone)

Find the Settings App on your device and open it.

Tap on Wi-Fi, and then tap on the PCCSK12-Students if you are a student, and PCCSK12-Staff if you are a district staff member in the list of Wi-Fi networks

When prompted for a username and password, use your network logon credentials (username without @pccsk12.com at the end for students, network account for staff) to connect.

*Example:
Username: izcough872
Password: learnpow

Tap the Trust button when you see this window

You should see a check mark in the Wi-Fi list at the top that confirms you are connected.

Instructions for Android devices

Find the Settings App on your Android device then Tap on Network & Settings or on Wi-Fi. (The layout of the settings may differ with different types of Android devices)

Tap on the PCCSK12-Students if you are a student, and PCCSK12-Staff if you are a district staff member in the list of Wi-Fi networks. Use the following settings:

EAP Method: PEAP
Phase 2 authentication: MSCHAPV2
CA certificate: Use System Certificates
Online Certificate Status: Do not verify
Domain: PCCSK12.com
Identity & Password: Use your network logon credentials (username without @pccsk12.com at the end for students) to connect.
Anonymous identity: leave blank

Instructions for Windows 10

Look for WiFi icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your desktop either by clicking directly on it, or looking for it with the up arrow icon.

Click WiFi Icon in system tray then click on the PCCSK12-Students if you are a student, and PCCSK12-Staff if you are a district staff member.

Click the Connect button

Fill in the following fields as seen in the screenshot to the left. Make sure to use your username (PCCS Google email address without the @pccsk12.com for students, network account for staff) in the top field and your password in the bottom field

Example Username: izcough875
Password: (Your password)
Click OK when finished

Instructions for macOS

Select the Wi-Fi Symbol in the Menu Bar.

Then choose PCCSK12-Students if you are a student, and PCCSK12-Staff if you are a district staff member.

Enter username and password, (same as your Google login without the @pccsk12.com for students, network account for staff) and select “Remember this network”