#EMSISDITS Tech Talk

Techy Talk for Teachers

Campus Tech Days

The EMSISD Instructional Technology Department has been providing "Technology Days" across the district for awhile now. We spend the day on your campus working and learning with teachers. Our technology days are not only a great way for you to learn about new technology applications and district technology news, these days are also a perfect time for us to collaborate and plan rich, blended learning activities for your students. We will help you look at upcoming lessons and choose the perfect technology application to augment your teaching strategies. But we don't stop there. We will also help you plan the lesson, implement it in your classroom, and follow up with you afterwards. It's a WIN (for kids), WIN (for you), WIN (us)! Most campuses have scheduled technology days once a month. If your campus doesn't have them yet, you can contact us for one on one or team technology support.

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Breakout EDU

Congratulations! EMS Library Services/Instructional Technology has purchased BreakoutEDU full platform access for your students (and you) for the 2019-2020 school year.

BreakoutEDU is the immersive learning games platform that brings the challenges of an escape room to the classroom.

Your campus Librarian/Media Specialist will provide a unique access code that you can use to sign up.

Go to platform.breakoutedu.com
First time users, Sign Up and enter your unique code in the Platform Access Code field
If you already have an account, Sign In and click My Account – enter the access code to upgrade your account

In addition to the online platform (with 1500+ standards-aligned activities!) we have 12 breakout kits available for checkout. These kits include 2 locking boxes, multiple locks, hint cards, a red lens viewer, UV light, invisible ink pen and more. Check out these kits (and more) from the Instructional Technology website.

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New Student O365 Accounts

If you have worked with your students in their Office 365 accounts in the past, you know that sharing from teacher-to-student or student-to-teacher required you to sign in to a different Office 365 account. This was confusing at times and often inconvenient.

Our Network Administrators have worked hard to combine our students and employees into one account, while retaining enough separation to not "muddy the address book" with 20,000 additional student users.

Students will continue to log in through our SSO, but their email addresses have changed. The new address is comprised of their six digit ID number followed by @s.ems-isd.net.

Example: 123456@s.ems-isd.net

The default student password is UPPERCASE first initial, lowercase last initial followed by their 8 digit birthdate (mm/dd/yyyy).

All EMS ISD students have Office 365 accounts, but students 13 and under do not have access to the email portion of their account unless they have permission from parents.

If you have questions or would like help introducing Office 365 and the entire suite of student tools to your class, please contact your IT today!

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Where's the App Store?

We've recently switched from AirWatch to InTune to manage district iPads. The main difference is that we no longer have an EMS App store installed on the device. When you need a new app on an iPad, simply submit a Helpdesk ticket in Eduphoria that includes the app name and URL from the Apple App Store along with the iPads you'd like the app to be pushed to.

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Microsoft Movie Editor

Attention all movie producers, directors, and Martin Scorsese wannabes. Have you seen the new Microsoft Movie Editor App? If not, you're in for a treat. This is not your run-of-the-mill "Movie Maker" program. This powerful app can help you create a movie from scratch, or it can create a movie template for you to edit. It has a bank of music you can add to your production, or you can easily upload your own. It comes complete with filters, transitions, 3D effects and mixed reality tools. You can draw on images and videos, AND the ink will track your video in the scene! How cool is that? Want to merge two videos into one? This editor can do that easily from the home screen.

The user interface is simple and easy to learn, so you can even have your students start creating their own videos. If you would like help using and/or setting up Microsoft Movie Editor with your class, contact your friendly neighborhood IT specialist today.

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Office 365 tips & tricks

Restore prior versions of a file:

You shared a file with your students or colleagues, and they made unnecessary changes to your document. Instead of starting over or trying to manually make corrections, you can restore the the document to a prior version. To access previous file versions, click File>Info and select View. A tab will open allowing you to see all previous versions of the document, compare content, and restore prior changes if desired.

Use Smart Lookup:

Have you ever edited a document and had to open a browser window to check a fact or verify a definition? With Smart Lookup, it is now possible to do that and more from within your document. All you have to do is highlight a word or phrase, right-click and select "Smart Lookup". This allows you to use Bing features to retrieve top search results without ever leaving your document.

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GFES Tech Day!

During our first Tech Tuesday of the year, these Gators set up there OneNote App, learned how to use personal OneNote sections for documentation, and setup shared calendars. They are ready to rock and roll!

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Microsoft Translate and Immersive Reader

During our first Technology Day at RPES, we harnessed the power of both Microsoft Translate and OneNote Immersive Reader to help a 5th grade student be more successful and productive in class. Thanks Panthers for welcoming us onto your campus!

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Widlcat Huddle classes are ready to go

These 6th grade Wildcats learned how to access and sign in to district systems using Single Sign On. Then they practiced accessing and using their Office 365, Canvas and Skyward accounts. They can now easily use their independent grade tracking system to stay on top of their class work. Awesome!

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Where is your super hero cape?!

April is a rock star at PES. She is continually learning and sharing with the staff. In this pic, she is demonstrating how to teach word families on the Promethean Board.

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First Tech Day of the year at PES

Thanks PES for a great tech day. Everyone is OneNote ready. They are using the new OneNote app. It is pinned to their task bars, and their computers now default to the OneNote app.

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Canvas training for 6th grade humanities at EWMS

These 6th grade Badgers are ready to use Canvas LMS in their humanities class this year. Ms. Bonnick has them excited and ready to go!

Single Sign On | Quick access in to your EMS Digital Resources

Device Checkout | Need to borrow something for a less? Reserve it here!

Microsoft Educator Community | High Quality, Anytime, On-Demand PD

The Jenallee Show | On-the-spot PD videos, featuring many EMS Superstars

Promethean Board Tips & Tricks | Growing playlist of quick instructional videos

EMS Tech Tools | Check out or recommended tools (scan QR code to save on your device!)

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We can help!

Need help planning a blended lesson? Do you need an extra hand while tackling a technified lesson with your students? Are you ready to add some technology to your classroom but don't know where to start? The #EMSTechsperts are here to support you! Contact your Campus IT today!