FlipGrid, I mean Flip, is cranking out some new features in the coming weeks that Flipgrid users are bound to really like! Just a few: Custom Group Links, Edit Captions, Group Templates, Sign Language Lens (Sounds awesome!), Camera upgrades and lots more. Here’s their latest blog with all the updates.
To see some of the new features, check out the video below.
Canva is a great design tool for student and teacher use. It is free for education account and integrates with Canvas. If you haven’t taken the “Use Canva in Canvas” course you should add it to your list!
Did you know you can upload an existing PDF to Canva to redesign and update it? See the short video below.
If you are interested in learning more about how to use Canva in your classroom, you might consider attending their back to school webinar on July 19 at 3 PM. Sign up here. Or you can always catch the recording and catch up on past ones.
If you have logged into Canvas recently, you may have had a moment of panic to see that your 21-22 courses are not on your dashboard. Rest assured, they are still there. If you navigate to https://pccsk12.instructure.com/courses and scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll see it the courses under “Past Enrollments.” You can also access these through the Global Navigation Menu:
The courses are currently in read-only format and you’ll be able to import your content into your new course shells in the fall (we’ll publish directions as it gets closer). If you would like to make some edits and updates to you your course. Click on the course under Past Enrollments, go to Settings on the Course Navigation Menu and you’ll see the “Copy this Course” button.
You can use this Canvas guide for the steps that follow. Once completed, you’ll have a version of your course on your dashboard that you can update and edit and them import that content in the fall.
If you have any questions, please submit a tech ticket.
Canvas is always striving to make improvements for users. Just this week they are offering teachers the option to “Message OBSERVERS of Students Who…” Canvas has always had the option to message students who had missing work or scored more/less than, but now teachers will be able to have greater control of the students and observers that get the message.
Wondering what other cool updates you may have missed from Canvas in 2022? Here’s a quick look:
The MISTAR consortium offers two self-paced training courses introducing new users to the tools commonly used by teachers and secretaries. Offered at no cost to MISTAR districts via the Alludo learning platform, the Monarch “game” is a great fit for teachers new to our district. Players complete a series of online lessons and submit evidence / screenshots in the Alludo app, tracking their progress. They can select from a variety of modules to best meet their learning needs with the MISTAR teacher tools. Staff can get started on this training at any time, and there are SCECH hours available to those who complete the training.
New this year is the Skipper “game” for those in office roles. There are several modules including Building Blocks, Enrollment and Scheduling as well as more modules coming during the school year.
To get started with either Monarch or Skipper, please submit a service request asking for the specific training course(s) desired so that we can set you up and send you a customized link.
We hope you have an extremely restful summer. We have posted a few items over the last several weeks and wanted to link highlights here in case you missed any of them.
Rest assured, you really don’t need to do anything to your Canvas page. It will roll over to Past Enrollments and you will be able to copy the content into your new course shell. You can check out the slidedeck below (used for an in-person session) to get a little more information about what that looks like and what you could do to create an extra back-up or a version of your course you can work on updating over the summer.
You can also access our blog post on the topic here.
Our recommendations for your classroom technology (projectors, doc cams, microphones, etc.) can be found here.
You can also review our suggested laptop maintenance to keep it performing at its best.
We’ve already paused Clever syncing so that students can continue to access their current teachers’ Clever pages and digital subscriptions (e.g IXL, BrainPop, Seesaw) via Clever through mid August.
Whether you are separating from service, working on curriculum, or you are teaching different classes next year there are several options for sharing digital content with colleagues.
When you are ready to digging into some topics that you may not have had time to explore we have a few ideas.
GoogleEDU Created These Summer Vision Boards
Here’s some great templates that can be used for vision planning, regardless of season. Just change as needed. Students could also use some of these slides for their own learning during the school year. Helpful stickers included, too. Google EDU Templates
Have a great summer! If you want to chat with a Technology Integration Specialist over the summer, we are available! Submit a tech ticket if you would like to set up a meeting.
All the resources linked about have also been curated in this Wakelet Collection. https://wke.lt/w/s/iv8Y5-
REMC and Michigan Virtual are partnering to offer a FREE workshop on exploring the #GoOpen Michigan Resources and how to create screencasts for your classroom. Participants will earn 11 SCECHs and a $200 stipend.
| Open Education Resources (OER) for Quality Teaching and Learning |
| Schools are continuing to use blended learning classrooms and look for affordable resources to quickly adapt. #GoOpen Michigan provides many quality free resources, many of which are both designed by and for use by Michigan educators.
During this multi-day hybrid workshop experience cosponsored by Michigan Virtual, explore, mine and contribute to the rich resources that are available for quality instruction on #GoOpen site. Participate in rich learning experiences, gain resources, and leave as champions of using OER in your school and with your students. Commitment: Each session requires attendance at one (1) face-to-face day and one (1) virtual day, along with some pre-workshop activities, and completion of a learning object (eg. lesson plan, classroom activity). In total, it will require a minimum of 11 hours of time to complete all required activities. SCECHs: 11 hours of SCECH Credit are available at no cost Earn: participants will receive a $200 stipend for fulling participating in the workshop and completing all activities including:
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View the flyer above here.
As you make plans to close up your classroom for the summer (and a well deserved break), please take care of the following items:
Thanks for your cooperation!
A few teachers have noticed that students have access to install the Google Dictionary Chrome Extension. This is an approved and useful educational extension. However, teachers have noticed it being used in online Canvas Quizzes or Google Forms. The extension allows a students to double click on a word and get the definition.
If a student clicks “More,” a new tab is opened up with more definitions, synonyms, and usage examples.
If you are going to give an online tests or quizzes, it is important to set expectations with students about what behaviors are permitted and monitor students actively. Here’s what the extension looks like, but keep in mind that extensions can be installed and not pinned. You would need to have a student go here: chrome://extensions/ to determine if it is installed.
Additionally, it important to work with grade level and department teams to develop “non-Googleable” questions. Not only will this help curb cheating, but more importantly, it will also help teaching and learning progress to greater depths of knowledge.
To find out more about non-Googleable questions, check out these resources:
We hope you are looking forward to a well-deserved summer break! When you feel ready to start making plans for next year, we’d like to offer this fun PD Bingo Board. Feel free to challenge your grade level team or PLC to see who can earn a BINGO first. All the offerings are free. Submit a tech ticket if you need any help.