Tech this out!

Let's get ready! Distance Learning Week 1 begins on Monday and we are here for it! Get ready to embrace the unknown and let go of as much stress as you can!

In this issue:

* The Mission Control Site is ready for Blast Off!

* Blocked YouTubes-- what to do!

* Brain Pop for Digital Citizenship

* Kahoot meets Distance Learning

* ST Math and MyOn reading options

* Tech tips for Proxy Popups, Home tech support, and iPad Self Service

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If you haven't been to the Mission Control site lately, you might not have seen that we added a Blast Off page with webinar training videos. All slide decks and recordings of sessions are (or will be) posted there for you.

There is also a link at the top to the most recent TST listings. Check it out!

(Wait, what? The TST schedule for next week is ready for sign ups?

Yup! Top of the Mission Control page!-- button below)

I know, filtering in general seems like a headache, but we all know how important it is to protect our students. It's kind of the law, too, for schools, so there's that.

BUT, video is a great way to convey instruction. If you are planning to use YouTube as part of a student task, the video may be blocked on a student device.

There are a couple easy options for you:

• If you are recording your own video, consider storing it in Google Drive then getting a share link to give your students.
• If you have a YouTube video you want students to view, you can either put in a tech ticket asking for it to be whitelisted, or you can complete this Google Form and I'll put in a ticket once a day with all the links. Whichever is easier for you is fine with me. (A better plan may be coming later, but this what seems to work right now)

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Have you thought about needing a little bit of a 'digital citizenship reset', now that students have devices at home?

Here is a great place to start, and THANK YOU to Becky Hathaway, a 5th grade teacher from Hathaway, for this idea with bonus sign in tip...

Here are some links of videos that were helpful:

brainpop.com/technology/digitalcitizenship/onlinesafety/

https://www.brainpop.com/search/?keyword=Digital+Etiquette

https://www.brainpop.com/technology/communications/cyberbullying/

"I also learned that they can go in through the link, but if the teacher assigned it (so they can see the results of the quiz, and verify that the student did actually watch the video,) then they would have to sign in through Clever login, not go in through the link. Because if they go in through the link, it will ask for a class code and Clever login doesn't have a classcode."

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Looking for some fun ways to engage your kids! Use this one now, or save it for week 3 or 4 when the "new car smell" is wearing off of Distance Learning.

Carla Marston, 4th grade teacher from Sunkist, shared that her kids are loving Kahoot and they are offering a temporary premium access during school closure. If you love Kahoot (a fun multiple choice kind of game) you might be interested. I haven't had a moment to figure out what the premium features are (I'll tell you next week, though) but, feel like exploring something fun? Go for it! They definitely have an option for students to complete a game on their own time, not all together. This blog post tells more about that!

Note: students don't create account, teachers do. They just join your games. Please don't have students sign up.

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So, we thought it would be cool to set up ST Math as an option for you to supplement curriculum, and it's neat that you can sign in through Clever. What we DIDN'T know is that they would send you an automatic email and cause confusion. Sorry about that!

ST Math is a site with visual math games to enhance learning for TK-8 students. Check it out if you want. The email is legitimate (thank you for questioning it) and it includes a username and a temporary password. Or, you can sign in through Clever if that is easier--- that is the way students will access.

So, yes, you can sign into ST Math and explore it (sign in for self paced learning, or live/pre-recorded webinar, just in can your are interested). Yes, you can use it with your students. No, you don't have to if you don't want to. No, we did not mean to catch you off guard with that! Sorry!

I know there have been questions about how students can get books to read, and believe me, I've been looking for options that will be robust enough to keep our kids engaged. Here is what I found that I like the best, and I think you'll like it, too.

myON is an online text resource by Renaissance. It is not free, in fact it is really pricey, but they have allowed everyone access to a free open account. So, it is not full featured, but it is a lot of books that students can read, and they can search by topic, reading level etc. Many of the books also have AR quizzes. Here is the information you can share with students:

Login page: https://www.myon.com/school/readathome

• School Name: Read at Home
• Username: readnow
• Password: myon

Notice, this is an open account for everyone (like, everyone in the world, it looks like) so there isn't a "save your page" or "save your book" option.

Have your students check it out and see what they think. And thanks, Renaissance, for hooking us up with books!

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THE CURRENT UPDATE--- even if they say they restarted, have them restart again. It does reset and refresh things and make it work better.

Now, the whole story.

This isn't an issue with most devices, but nobody contacts you about the ones that work, right?

Occassionally, the proxy popup comes up. THANK YOU for mentioning to your families that they don't sign in, they just say NOT NOW or CANCEL.

Sometimes, on the occasional device that gets the popup, it doesn't go away. UGH! But, don't panic. Most of those time, RESTARTING the device makes it go away.

Having said that, we are not okay with this either, and are trying to fix the issue. If a parent reports that the popup persists, tell them we know that is annoying, and we are trying to get it resolved. Maybe by the time you read this, it has been resolved!

There will be more information on this coming very soon, it just isn't quite ready-for-prime-time yet. Stay tuned. I am sure an email will be sent, and I will update this section of the newsletter as well.

If your students have iPads, be prepared to explain a few things to parents.

THERE IS NO APP STORE on student iPads. This is a managed device, and that means several things-- one is that we manage what apps are available. You may need to explain to families that Self Service is our managed App Store.

• If you want students to use a new app, it may be in Self Service where families can go choose INSTALL and it will install. Remind them that they can't remove apps after installing them.
• Some apps may need to be updated--- there are new features all the time! To update an app, families will need to go into Self Service, find the app, and choose "Reinstall" to load the latest version of the app.

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Because I know you are awesome and I am cheering for you!

Email: lhoppe@hueneme.org
Website: www.hueneme.org
Location: The Hueneme Tech Lab
Phone: 805-488-3588 9832
Twitter: @hoppeteacher