#EMSISDITS Tech Talk

Bi-Weekly Tech News
Follow us on emsisdits.blogspot.com to see bi-weekly news, tutorials, & more! We will email out news every other week offering you the latest trending tech topics! :)

The EMS Instructional Technology Team is excited to work with students, teachers, and administrators this year to support and enhance the great things going on in our district this year!

Promethean's ActivInspire software is a powerful Flipchart program that allows you to create interactive lessons designed to get your student up to your board and thinking while doing.

For those of you familiar with Promethean boards, you'll be interested to know that Promethean Planet is now Classflow.com. You will find tons of premade Flipcharts and resources to use with ActiveInspire. You can even modify the resources so that they conform to your specific needs. ActivInspire has built in resources like calendars, charts, and math tools. There is also a direct link to Classflow built into the ActivInspire software so that you can harness the interactive power of Classflow while using ActivInspire.

Download ActivInspire here. Once you have installed the software, you will find the license key in your campus OneNote, or email us and we will send it to you. If you would like help setting up and/or using ActivInspire, contact your friendly IT specialist today.

Did you know that the Instructional Technology department has a wide variety of technology tools available for check out? We have everything from iPads to MergCubes to Augmented Reality goggles.

For a complete list of items available, and to submit a checkout form, please CLICK HERE.

When your submission is submitted, the IT team will verify that the devices are available at that time for checkout and will schedule delivery/pickup. You will receive an email with this information within 48 hours. If you don't hear anything after that time period, please email ITs@ems-isd.net to check the status of your request.

We will deliver and pick up the devices, but wait ... there's more! We would love to plan with you about how you will be using these devices, or even assist you in the the classroom with your students. How cool is that?!?!?

Document cameras are pretty cool, but they have to be hardwired into the Promethean board in order for them work, you must source back and forth between the Doc camera and other devices, and you can only display one image at a time.

Now you can display documents, or anything else, onto to your display wirelessly using Activcast. The Activcast sender app is already downloaded on all district handheld devices. You can download the Activcast app on your iOS or Android device for free.

Simply launch the app, enter the Connection ID located on the Activcast screen on your board, and touch allow on your board. Once the device is mirrored to your board, simply open the camera app and you have a wireless document camera.

Display your LAPTOP (not just a mobile device!)

You can mirror your laptop wirelessly by downloading Activcast sender from the Software Center, or download the chrome extension. The short video (below) demonstrates how to get to the Software Center on your district laptop or desktop computer.

Flipgrid is awesome! With Flipgrid, your students can submit short video responses to topics that are predetermined by the teacher. Not only is it easy to use, but it's fun, engaging and a powerful teaching tool.

Students can access a grid topic in a variety of ways. They can follow a link, use a QR code, or find it embedded in a web page. Once students access your topic, they press a large plus sign to begin recording. They can use any device that has a camera and an internet connection.

And, to top it all off, Flipgrid is FREE for all teachers in EMS ISD! Login with your Office 365 credentials (full email address and password), and you have full access to Flipgrid. If you would like to learn more about this great tool and/or use it in an upcoming lesson, contact a friendly IT team-member today.

Would you like a semi-private space in your classroom for kids to record audio or video? We have three Pop-Up Pods available for checkout. These are perfect for recording Flipgrid responses or even "GreenScreen" fun! Check one out here.

HINT, HINT: This picture was shared via Twitter, but we sure would like to see how EMS students and teachers are using these resources to enhance learning!

Don't worry ... Discovery Education is still available to all teachers in our district. You can access the Discovery Education site from our Single Sign On Portal by directing your browser to sso.ems-isd.net of clicking here. Once you log into to our SSO, click on the Discovery Education icon and access your content.

NEW for 2018-19

With the transition to our SSO login to Discovery Education, STUDENTS are now able to log in to Discovery Education, too! Prior to this improvement, student accounts had to be manually created and managed. This access allows students to start curating their own content in Discovery and using creation tools like Board Builder.

Want to learn more? Check with your IT!

*If your login does not work, please submit a workorder under the Discovery Education category in Eduphoria: Helpdesk.

The Microsoft One Drive App now has a built in scanner so you can scan your physical documents and images to your One Drive directly from the App. Simply press the plus sign at the top of the app and choose scan to open the scanner. If you are familiar with Office Lens, then you will feel right at home using this new feature. If you are not familiar with Office Lens and you would like more information or help with the new One Drive scanner, contact your IT professional today.

Our Tech Closet is overflowing with techy tools. Enter here for a chance to win a fabulous tech treat that could be used in your classroom or department. Remember ... you won't win if you don't enter.

Sign in to sso.ems-isd.net with your district username and password on any computer or mobile device to have quick and easy access to many of our district digital resources.

We want to help you successfully infuse technology into your classroom. We would love to train you on how to create tech infused lessons, co-teach the lessons, or even share our favorite tech tools with you!

Email your IT today to set up an appointment! (Find contact info here.)

Follow the team:@emsisdits

Jeni: @jlo731 | Sallee: @salleeclark | Ricky: @rickygode

Scott: @scottboiles | Bob: @bobeikenberry
Jennifer: @jenniferprince | Cindy: @tuckertech

Tim: @Thuynh912 | Jason: @lumberaggie

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Email: its@ems-isd.net
Website: www.emsisd.com/its
Location: 1200 Old Decatur Road, Saginaw, TX, United States
Phone: 817.232.0880
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emsisdits
Twitter: @emsisdits