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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!

The Microsoft Innovative Educator Community that is. The MIE programs are designed to help educators become leaders of innovation using Microsoft tools. Here are a few of the great benefits of joining this awesome community.

• Teachers can attend online trainings and earn badges and certificates.
• They can find resources that are single pages designed to give information on a topic.
• They can earn points to become a Microsoft Innovative Educator.
• Apply to earn the title Microsoft Innovative Expert
• Connect with fellow educators, join discussion groups and share expertise with the community
  
• Use Skype to connect with educators and classrooms around the world and earn miles while doing it.

All of this and more can be yours when you join the Microsoft Community. All you have to do is follow the link below and log in with your Office 365 credentials.

Contact us today for more information about the Microsoft Community.

If you're looking for a fun and engaging way to teach or assess a concept or standard, creating a physical and/or digital breakout activity might be just what you are looking for. Breakout activities start with a story line and challenge participants to solve clues and puzzles in order to reach the ending or final breakout. Clues can be physical using actual locks and containers, or digital using password protected sections in a One Note notebook. Better yet, you can create a hybrid breakout that incorporates both physical and digital clues to get the best of both world. Either way, your students will be challenged and engaged as they work together to get to the end of your breakout activity.

If you would like help incorporating breakout activities in your classroom, reach out to a member of the Instructional Technology team and we will be happy to assist you.

Over the past few years, we have seen a dramatic uptick in the amount of email scams being sent to employees in our district. Although they are all irritating, there are some important differences in the types of email attacks.

• Spam is unsolicited bulk commercial email messages.
  
• Phishing is tricking individuals into disclosing sensitive personal information or taking a potentially dangerous action, such as opening an infected attachment or visiting a compromised web link, using deception via email.
  
• Spear Phishing is a form of phishing where the attack specifically targets an individual or group. Typically, the attacker has done some research and will include information in their email to make it seem legitimate.
  
• Spoofing refers to tricking or deceiving a user by hiding the sender's real identity or making it look like the sender is a legitimate address.
  

Emails like these can contain anything from unsolicited advertising to malicious viruses designed to "hijack" and take down our network. These viruses have the ability to infect not only the recipients' system, but all of the recipients' contacts as well.

Just remember ... an email attack can only succeed if the sender gets YOU to take action!

Here are the four most common actions that the sender will try to get you to take. BE ON THE ALERT for any email that asks you to take any of the following actions:

• Replying (including sending an "unsubscribe" answer)
• Clicking any hyperlink or button in the email (this includes an "Unsubscribe" button)
• Opening an attachment
• Forwarding the email message to others

If you receive suspicious email, be sure to let your Campus Repair Technician know. Don't reply back to the sender, don't forward it, and don't click links or buttons, and certainly do not open attachments!

Did you know that the Instructional Technology department has a wide variety of technology tools available for check out for student/classroom use? We have everything from iPads to Merge Cubes to Augmented Reality goggles. See our current list of available items 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 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?!?!?

Your task bar at the bottom of your computer screen has frequently used applications such as browsers, email, office apps and your file explorer. You can open any one of them easily without touching your mouse. For example, if your chrome browser icon is third from the left on your task bar, all you need to do to open it is press the windows key and 3 and it will open right up. Fantastic!

It's the middle of the afternoon and you've been back and forth to your computer a zillion times for one thing or another. Finally, when you have a chance to sit down, you notice that you have an entire stack of windows open on your desktop. If you want to focus on one window, simply grab the window you want, shake it, and all of the other open windows will be automatically minimized. How fun is that?

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