Newsletter Archive – Page 7

Things I Wish I Would Have Known- Canvas Edition: Make Modules, not Pages

If you have been using Canvas for awhile (since 2021), you may have worked to build Pages in Canvas that had the plan for your day/week/month. They may also include links to other Canvas Assignments and resources. It may look something like this:

While this page made a lot of sense as you rushed to put together content for virtual days, you might consider making the shift to Modules. Over time, these pages have probably proved cumbersome to update and it can result in a clunky workflow for students. It may also feel like a double load of work if you also update some daily slide for the classroom. We’d suggest letting go of these Agenda pages in favor Modules organized by week or topic. Check out some examples below:

This set up may prove easier to update and blends nicely with the face-to-face learning environment, pointing students and families to exactly what they need to know.

Why Use Modules

Content Organization: Modules act like a table of contents, allowing instructors to organize various course elements such as Pages, Files, Discussion Boards, Quizzes, and Assignments. By grouping related content together, Modules create a coherent flow for students.
Interaction Requirements: Modules allow instructors to require student interaction with specific content before proceeding to assignments. For example, students might need to review a reading or watch a video before attempting a quiz.
Centralized Management: Instructors can manage all course materials within a single Module. This streamlines the course-building process and keeps everything organized in one place.
Flexible Structure: Instructors can structure Modules based on their natural course organization. Whether by unit, day, week, topic, or outcome, Modules adapt to the instructor’s preferred format.
Visual Flow: Using indentation, emojis, and text headers in Modules enhances visual flow, especially when dealing with a large amount of content. Headers help delineate different sections, and instructors can even use emojis for quick scanning.
Student Experience: By simplifying navigation (e.g., hiding unnecessary links), Modules create a better experience for students. Chunking content into digestible bits prevents overwhelming learners.

Canvas

Protect Yourself and Our Students: Password Hygiene for a Safer School Network

In today’s digital world, our school’s data, from student records to email accounts, is constantly targeted by cybercriminals. One of the most important ways we all contribute to the safety of our school’s network is by practicing good password hygiene.

What is Password Hygiene?

Password hygiene refers to the habits and techniques you use to keep your accounts secure. Good password hygiene makes you a much harder target for hackers.

Why Does it Matter for Our School?

Protecting Student Data: Students trust us with their sensitive information. Strong passwords help prevent breaches and keep their details safe.
Avoiding Disruption: A single compromised account can spread malware, disrupt classes, and cause headaches for everyone.
Setting a Good Example: Students look up to us. By demonstrating good password habits, we teach them valuable cybersecurity skills for life.

Password Hygiene Best Practices

Uniqueness is Key: NEVER reuse passwords. If one account is compromised, a reused password puts EVERY account using it at risk.
Avoid the Obvious: Don’t use your name, birthdays, street address, family names, or other easily guessable information in your passwords.
Get Creative with Passphrases: Instead of complicated passwords, try a passphrase. It’s longer, easier to remember, but harder to crack. Example: “IRideMyBlueBicycle2School!”
Don’t Be Afraid of Complexity: The longer and more random your password, the better. Mix uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.
Absolutely NO Sharing: Your passwords are like your toothbrush – never share them with anyone, no matter how much they insist!
NO Common Passwords: Lists of the most common passwords (like “123456” or “password”) are easily available to hackers. Don’t make it easy for them!
Password Managers: Consider a password manager – it stores and generates strong, unique passwords for each of your accounts.

Additional Tips

Change Passwords Regularly: A good rule of thumb is to change your critical passwords (network, etc.) every 3-6 months.
Enable Two-factor Authentication: If a website or service offers it, use it! This adds an extra layer of protection.

We’re all in this together!

By following these simple password guidelines, teachers and staff can dramatically improve the security of our school community. Let’s all work together to create a safe and secure digital learning environment.

Need More Help?

If you have questions or need assistance with your passwords, don’t hesitate to submit a service request.

FREE Summer PD from Teq

Make your summer learning fun and convenient with Teq’s free, virtual PD! Check out their great lineup of courses for everything from brushing up on basics to exploring cutting-edge edtech. Free to register/attend and space is limited, so snag your spot early!

Sign up for any course, a series, or join them for all! Topics include:

• Google: Transitioning away from Jamboard; Gemini AI tool; and getting started or learning advanced skills with Google for Education apps like Docs, Classroom, and Slides.

• Lumio: Get started with SMART’s online lesson delivery platform or take your skills to the next level.

• Blended Learning: Brush up your blended learning skills and learn some new tools with either our beginner course or the advanced course.

• Administrator: Start your school year off right before it begins with administrator-focused PD.

• Minecraft EDU: Learn how to implement Minecraft EDU in your class or school and how to content it across content areas.

• Getting Started with CSDF: Learn how best to align to the new Computer Science and Digitial Fluency standards.

• Microsoft for PBL: Discover how to use Microsoft tools to deliver memorable PBL.

• Tinkercad: Learn how to use Tinkercad to help students create amazing 3D designs and prints.

Meet your new ENHANCED CLEVER PORTAL!

Clever is a PCCS hub for resources and supports a single click for logging in to external resources like Brain Pop, IXL, Code.org and more! It’s a great place for teachers to place collections of links to give students.

The Classic Teacher Portal will retire in July 2024 and the Enhanced Teacher Portal will become the official Clever Portal for all teachers! Learn more about the timeline and the portal here.

You may still have access to the classic portal for now, but for the 24-25 school year, you’re going to want to familiarize yourself with the new Enhanced Teacher Portal – which is helping teachers find resources 50% faster; so here are some resources to help!

QUICK NOTE: The student portal IS NOT CHANGING. Only the teacher portal.

Take a quick, clickable tour of the new portal
Find your Teacher Page faster by favoriting it. It will be the first thing you see when you log in!

Interested in learning more? Qualify for PD credit when you become an Enhanced Teacher Portal certified educator.

Orbit Note Premium

What is OrbitNote?

OrbitNote is a Google Extension made by the Texthelp company which also makes Read&Write for Google
OrbitNote makes PDF documents accessible!
OrbitNote can be used with PDF documents to:
- Have text read aloud
- Annotate on PDF documents
  - Type on documents
  - Highlight, underline, and circle words and phrases
  - Freehand draw on documents
- Access speech-to-text
- Access math tools built into the OrbitNote toolbar

Texthelp has agreed to provide all staff and students with FREE OrbitNote Premium until the end of the school year! Just make sure you are signed into Chrome with your P-CCS Google account.

Add the OrbitNote extension to your Chromebook or laptop and try out all premium features!

Check out the Ditch that Textbook blog post on 20 ways to use OrbitNote in the classroom.

OrbitNote

Newsela: May Resources

Did you know the district has access to premium Newsela? Open in it Clever or link up your class with Canvas. Newsela provides teachers and students with engaging, articles, videos, and text sets on a variety of current topics. You can print off an article, display it for the whole class to model reading strategies, or assign an article for students to complete individually. Ready to give it a try? Check out the May content calendar to find resources that are ready to go.

If you want to learn more about how Newsela’s content aligns with Michigan standards, check out their state-specific resources.

Great Summer Learning Opportunities

Check out the great, free summer learning opportunities offered by Wayne RESA.

CT in the D

Join us at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) on June 18^th and immersive yourself in strategies for helping your students solve problems creatively using computational thinking. Project Tomorrow will help facilitate the morning session as we take a deep dive into computational thinking and how you can integrate it into your curriculum. In the afternoon, DIA staff will take us on a learning walk throughout the DIA and connect computational thinking to art. Our day will conclude with a hands-on learning activity.

Cultivate Creativity in Nature

Join us at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge on August 6^th to explore new ways to engage students with nature and learn in unexpected places. It will be a day filled with hands on learning activities.

Google Read&Write Refresher

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 or take a look at this toolbar tips sheet.

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:

These tools can help students as they work on year-end projects. Some of these tools mimic the digital tools available on M-STEP and other standardized tests.

Read&Write

Things I Wish I Would Have Known-Canvas Edition: Use the Calendar

Using Canvas can feel overwhelming if you are new to it or haven’t done much with it since the 20-21 school year. Want an easy place to start? Go to the calendar.

Once there you can add assignments, course events (including recurring events), personal events, and appointment groups. When you open the Calendar, think about upcoming tests, due dates, and reminders. Click on the associated day and add it to the calendar. If you need to change a due date, you just need to drag and drop it to a new date.

If you create an event from Calendar, you add a minimal amount of information and you have the choice to click “More Options” to add more direction.

This is a great way to get started with Canvas to share important assignments and events with students and families. Take a look at a secondary student’s calendar below:

Things I Wish I Would Have Known: Canvas Edition-Google Assignments

Introducing a new series, Things I Wish I Would Have Known: Canvas Edition. We will highlight things we wish we might have done differently when we started using Canvas and what you might consider updating in your course going forward. When back to school time hits it can be overwhelming to consider what updates to make in your Canvas course. Our hope with this series is that you will consider some changes you can make for next year and start implementing some of those new ideas now.

Three Big Reasons to Try Google Assignments in Canvas

If you used the predecessor to Google Assignments, Cloud Assignments, they are being deprecated in June 2024. Learn more about this in our earlier blog post. If you have any assignment that look like the one below, please be sure to take action.

If you have Google Document that you ask students to make a copy of, you may be creating unknown barriers for students. Many students forget if they have already copied and started an assignment. If they did already start it, they may not be able to find it again. With Google Assignments, each student receives a labeled copy organized in a dedicated Drive folder, making it easy to keep track of submissions, and peak and their progress while they work.
- In earlier years using Canvas, some teachers did not like it because:
  - You couldn’t use the Canvas Speedgrader, you had to use the Google grader–you now have the option to grade with Speedgrader.
  - People reported problems with it. In the early years of Canvas, there were a lot of problems talked about but these days I seldom hear of an issue.
One of the standout features of Assignments is the availability of originality reports. These reports scan student submissions against hundreds of billions of web pages and millions of books, helping you identify potential instances of plagiarism or missed citations. Each course is allotted five originality reports. When enabled students can even check over their originality report up to 3 times to help catch their errors. This feature would be an excellent reason to give Google Assignments a try before the end of the year.

Tutorial: Create a Google Assignment