Welcome to the new school year!

Now that Back to School Night is behind you, you’ve met the parents, and you and your students are beginning to settle into a routine, you might be thinking about all those tech tools, SAMR, and how it all fits together with your curricular lessons. The Tech ToSAs are here to help.We are so excited about helping you and your students get off to a great start. Here are some tools we think you might like to consider introducing to your students. Please fill out this survey and we’ll be in touch to talk about ways to use these tools in your classroom. Don’t see what you’d like help with here? Use the “Other” box.

Tool Time

A New Look to Google Sites

Google Sites has an updated look for EDU. New features make it super easy for you to create a website to keep parents informed that looks sleek and modern. Because many of the other Google tools can be easily embedded, it is a great way for students to showcase their best work. Here is a quick-start guide to the main features.

And speaking of Google Sites, teacher leaders and ToSAs are in the process of creating a single website where teachers will be able to find curricular resources, Digital Citizenship lessons, and resources from STEAM and EdTech. Get a peek at the new USD Learns website here.

Strengthening the School-Home Connection

Have you had time to check out the new Guardian feature in Google Classroom? A guardian will need to accept your invitation to view a summary of their student’s work. They choose the frequency of the emails and can unsubscribe at any time. Check your email for a message from Gena that further explains all about it.

Families of younger students can get a peek at what their students are doing in Seesaw. Students can create work in Seesaw or upload work from a number of iOS apps and an increasing number of webapps. Families will need to accept your invitation to receive notifications of their student’s work. They can receive a text or email alerting them something new is available.

A New Feature added to Padlet

One of the reasons teachers were reluctant to use Padlet in their class was the worry over anonymous posts. A new feature now automatically identifies each post with the poster’s Google username once the student has signed in with Google. You’ll need to enable the feature when you create the Padlet. Just scroll down the Modify Padlet choices, until you find "Show author name in posts."

After the student accesses Padlet, either through a Symbaloo tile or by using padlet.com, have them “Log in with Google.” They’ll need to choose their account and Allow Padlet to view the email address and basic profile info so it will know how to author the post.

Finally, provide the students with a shortened URL to access your Padlet and their name will automatically populate when the student clicks to add a post.

The EdTech ToSA Team

Join us in welcoming Sandy Lopez to the Technology Integration ToSA Team. Sandy comes to us from Moreland where she taught a 2/3 SDC class.  Sandy left the classroom and moved into instructional coaching to make a bigger impact on teachers and students. It was during this experience she was able to utilize her instructional and tech skills with Special Ed and General Ed teachers.  

With her strong background in Special Ed, Sandy will be able to fill in the gap with the SDC, RSP, and specialist teachers. Along with Gena and Mary Fran, she’ll also support general ed teachers.