May 5, 2020 Ed Tech Updates
Here is the latest news from Leslie, Andy and Matt
Here is what is new this week!
New sharing dialog for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms
Your Tech Tuesday Badge for May 5th, 2020
Adapting for English Learners’ lexile levels
This week we take a look at using a student’s lexile level to make instructional choices about which texts to assign and in what format. This is especially important for our English Learners who may or may not be readers in their first language, or L1. Assigning alternate texts that better align with their lexile levels will help students continue to learn to read or read to learn, as the case may be.
A student’s lexile level is an indicator of at what level the student can read and comprehend what they read. The number is a measure of word frequency and sentence strength. We use MAP to find this level for students.
Remember: MAP determines the instructional level, not the level of text that students can read on their own. Let’s take a look at how to use this information to plan for instruction.
Start by reading this brief article. You can also watch this video (12 min.) from MetaMetrics.
Next, check out this screencast that shows you where to find a student’s lexile level and how to navigate lexile.com.
Finally, please post a comment about what you’re still wondering so we can plan our next badges to meet your needs. (Join code: VGUEXDS) Be sure to turn in or mark the assignment as “done” to get credit and to send your feedback. You are always welcome to reach out with questions or for support to Aryn Johnson, our EL Coach at ajohnson2@nwlsd.org.
GREAT JOB & KEEP UP THE HARD WORK!
Virtual support opportunities this week
Instructional Technology Support
- Friday, May 8, 2020 @ 9am - 10am https://meet.google.com/qoc-xmcw-vuc
- Friday, May 8, 2020 @ 1pm - 2pm https://meet.google.com/ngh-wgtt-giv
Literacy Support
Important information from the Technology Department
During this time the Technology Department is still available for Technology Support. As you know, there will be some limitations on how we can offer it. We are looking into more creative ways and we have access to remote support tools if we need to gain access to your device at home.
Help Desk Portal
Please still continue to use the Helpdesk Portal @ https://nwlsd.freshservice.com/ if you have questions or need to request any type of technical assistance. Our technicians are still monitoring the help desk.
Progressbook Password Resets
We have seen an increase in requests for Progressbook password resets. The "password reset link" posted on the login page will no longer work out the network. To request a password reset, please send an email to Dorcey Putzke, Matt Fischer, Andy Phelps or technology@nwlsd.org
Beware of Phishing Emails!
There have been reports of new email phishing campaigns trying to capitalize on fear related to COVID-19, questions about isolation or even pretending to offer advice or health information. These emails can contain malicious links/attachments. Do not click on any attachments or links inside these emails. Please delete any suspicious emails.
Suggested Level Up Badges to help you with Distance Learning.
(If you have not already joined a Level Up Google Classroom, click here and join using the code VGUEXDS)
START HERE: These two badges are recommended for all teachers when getting started with distance learning
- Classroom Champion - this badges walks you through setting up your own Google Classroom
- Clever Commander - this badge directs you on how to login to Clever and set up your personalized teacher page where you can post links for students.
These are optional additional badges that we recommend to help you with creating and sharing content and resources with your students.
Flipping for Screencasts -this will teach you how to record your own lessons virtually using ScreenCastify (you can record just your screen you don't have to show your face if you don't want to)
Peardeck Pirate- Peardeck allows you to enhance your delivery of content using Google Slides and adding interactive questions within your presentation.
Fantastic Formative Forms - Google Forms is a great way to take any worksheet you have and turn it into an online paperless assignment/assessment.
Eduzzle Pioneer - With Edpuzzle students watch videos and answer questions without being about to skip watching the video.
Flipgrid Fun (Tech Tuesday) - Flipgrid is a great tool for collecting student responses in the form of a short video. Videos can be shared so students can see each others responses and there even is a whiteboard option for students to draw their response as well.
YouTube Playlist (Tech Tuesday)- This badge will show you how to set up collections of videos to watch on a specific theme or topic.
Last few reminders...
Did you know you can schedule content and assignments in Google Classroom? We know many of you may be "homeschooling" your own children or taking care of other family members during the day making it hard to post assignments in Google Classroom during office hours. You can use the Schedule feature in Google Classroom to create content at night or on the weekend and have it post to students at a specified day and time. Click here for step by step directions on how to use this great feature!
List of district approved resources for Remote Learning -
If there is a tool/ resource that you want to use with your students but it is not already on the approved list please submit a request using the NWLSD Website and Approval Site
Go Guardian has been turned off so that scheduled scenes do not prevent a student from accessing their work from other classes.
IN case you missed it EdPuzzle Premium features are now available for all NWLSD staff -
Edpuzzle is a great tool for remote learning if you are having students watch videos. Starting this week all NWLSD staff now have access to Edpuzzle with unlimited storage. To learn more about how to use Edpuzzle check out the Edpuzzle Pioneer badge.
Here is what you need to know about your Edpuzzle account:
- If you are already registered with Edpuzzle and have verified your email address, you are already upgraded.
- If you have registered but haven't verified your email address, please verify it and you'll get automatically upgraded You'll find the option to verify it on top of the screen (blue bar) after logging in.
- If you haven't registered yet, please register as a teacher at edpuzzle.com using your @nwlsd.org email address and verify your account to get automatically upgraded.
Clever Analytics tab for teachers
Clever has a new Analytics tab that will allow you to see which students have logged in to Clever and which have not. This may help you monitor student engagement in your lessons. Click here for a very quick video on how to access this information.
In case you missed it - Important information on keeping Zoom meetings secure
All NWLD teachers now have a Zoom account set up through Clever. To access your account go to Clever.com/in/nwlsd and then login with Google using your district email and password. Once logged in look for the Zoom icon located somewhere on your homepage (probably on the bottom to start.
UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT ZOOM
In case you missed it - Updates that have already been made to Google Hangouts Meet (March 24)
It has been great to hear about how many of you are already using Google Hangouts Meet to connect with your students. We and Google have gotten feedback on the tool and Google has already started to make some changes to make Meet better fit the needs of teachers. The following changes have already been made...
- The creator of the Meet can now mute all participants.
- The Meet will only be open for students to join while the creator is in the Meet. This means students will not be able to linger in a Meet and have unmonitored conversations when you are not in the session.
If you tried Meet last week but were frustrated by some of these issues we encourage you to give Meet another try now that these improvements have been made.
In case you missed it - Information on Google Hangouts meet from March 17
Google Hangouts Meet is is a free video conferencing tool from Google. With Meet you can meet with your students virtually so that they can ask questions and get help with their work. You also can use Google Hangouts Meet to present live lessons to students as well as recording your session for students that can not attend at a specific schedules time. Linked below are some resources for getting started with Google Hangouts Meet.
Google Hangouts Meet Tutorial for Teachers (Video created by Leslie)
Instructional Technology Team
Andy Phelps, aphelps@nwlsd.org, @EdTechAndrew
Matt Fischer, mfischer@nwlsd.org
To complete all Level Up Challenges click here to go to Google Classroom and join the class using the code VGUEXDS