#EMSISDITS Tech Talk

Techy Talk for Teachers

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!

Get to Know Us

Our team is the perfect blend of experience, knowledge, and personality! Pictured above (left to right) are Jennifer Prince, Bob Eikenberry, Jeni Long, Cindy Tucker, Ricky Gode, Sallee Clark, and Scott Boiles. Learn more about our team here.

In addition to our team of seven, we partner with our amazing Campus Technology Integrators (CTIs) to support all campus employees. The CTI on your campus is a full time teacher and/or librarian that provides training and support. See the list of Campus Technology Integrators here.

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Updating your Schoolwires Website

Account Information

If you are a new employee, you will need to register for a Schoolwires (Blackboard) account by clicking User Options > Register from the upper right corner of any page on the district site. When you have created your account, please let your Campus Technology Integrator (CTI) or webmaster so they can set you up with editing access to your section.

If you have a Schoolwires account, but cannot log in, please click User Options > Sign In. Click the Forgot Password link. Your login information will be sent via email.

Website Standards

Not sure what to include on your teacher webpage? Check out the EMS Teacher Website Standards for suggestions and inspiration.

Looking for help?

Check here for helpful resources as you begin editing your site. Your CTI is also a great resource to you.

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Does this email seem PHISHY?

Email "Phishing" Scams are, unfortunately, a part of life for all of us. Despite the fact that our Technology Department is catching and stopping most of the malicious email from reaching our inboxes, it is up to each of us to be responsible with our own information.

Recently, we've seen emails that appear to come from district employees with links to Dropbox files. These messages don't look suspicious at first glance, but if you hover over links (don't click - just hover!) you will see that the links are really going to take you to a different site. The link actually took users to a page requesting a username and password. If that information was entered on the page, the scammers likely grabbed that information and may use it to access other accounts.

If you receive an email from a district employee that you didn't expect or that seems "phishy," reach out to them in a new email asking if it's legitimate or not. You can also reach out to your CTI, Instructional Tech, or the Computer Repair Technician for your campus.

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Tech Tuesday

Technology is taking over Tuesdays! We have been so excited to visit BES, GFES, LPES, & HDC one Tuesday a month to share tech tips and tricks.

You don't have Tech Tuesday on your campus? Ask your principal today to reserve an #EMSTechspert for your next Tuesday.

We can also meet with grade-levels once a month as well! Thanks EME 4th grade for inviting us to help you integrate tech into your lessons each month.

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OneNote

We are so excited that many campuses have created a Staff OneNote Notebook; EWMS, BES, LPES, WCES, HDC, HCES, CRES, HCES, GFES, DES, EES, WMS, PES, NES,CSES, & PVMS. This is a great way to share information in real time, that is easy to access.

Interested in using OneNote with your students? Our resident OneNote hero would love to help you create a classroom OneNote or OneNote student portfolios.

Thanks Pamela Spangler, WMS and Sara Mullins, SHS for inviting us to help you integrate OneNote with your students!

Contact your campus Instructional Technologist today to get started with OneNote.

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Flipped Classroom with Canvas

Mr. Gaines & Coach Ryba at WMS are flipping their classroom instruction through Canvas. Students take Cornell notes each night on the posted video and come class prepared to learn.

Want help using Canvas with your class? We would love to help you plan how to use canvas effectively. We will even come out and help you teach your students how to access and use it within your classroom!

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Video Morning Announcements

Shout out to BES, WCES, NES, CRES, DES, CSES, GFES for doing Video Morning Announcements! They are using Skype or Touchcast to offer their students the ability to view announcements each day!

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CTI Campus Trainings

Keep your eyes open for tech training from your CTI! They will be offering various tech trainings on your campus throughout the year.

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3D Printer

Guess what! A 3D printer is headed to a library near you! Each EMS ISD Library received a new Mod-t 3D Printer! Be sure to stop by and check it out.

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Flipgrid!

Flipgrid gives your students and colleagues a powerful voice. Flipgrid is proven! It has been used in over 20,000 classrooms and organizations across 113 countries. Flipgrid is an active, social learning platform that engages learners through video-based discussion.

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Try Nearpod Today!

The Nearpod platform enables teachers to use their Tablet to manage content on students’ mobile devices. It combines presentation, collaboration, and real-time assessment tools into one integrated solution.

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Bitmoji Chrome Extension

Do you use Bitmoji? If you use Google Chrome as your Inernet browser, you can download the Bitmoji Chrome Extension and use your bitmojis to personalize presentations, documents, and even emails!

Reserve an #EMSTechspert

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.)