Instructional Tech Weekly

If you have received a new Smartboard in your classroom, but need some help understanding how to use it, here is a short video created by Shannon Mulqueen to get you started. Smart also offers their own Skills Toolkit that provides a variety of resources to get teachers started with using their SmartBoard as well as some of the new features included with the Smart Learning Suite Online. The Toolkit includes 125 short videos to assist teachers in learning new features. SLS Online includes many interactive and engaging tools that can be used in remote settings as well as in-person settings. The topics range from SmartBoard basics, Notebook Tools to Instructional Practices. Check out all that Smart has to offer.

Smart Learning Suite is the online platform of Smart Notebook. You can upload Notebook, PowerPoint and pdf files into a new online lesson. Lessons in the Smart Learning Suite can be created as interactive learning sessions. When building a lesson, there are many activities to add to enhance student engagement. Check out this 15 min video, which will help you get started.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) offers free resources on Digital Citizenship. The topics of these resources includes subject matter such as; informational literacy, finding digital balances, tips for parents, copyright and digital wellness. Google also offers Digital Citizenship resources for teachers. Included in their trainings are resources for internet safety as well. Google trainings are comprised of five units: Teach Students about Internet Safety and Privacy, Online Safety on the Go, Savvy Searching, Stay Safe from Phishing and Scams and Manage Your Online Reputation. Each unit takes about 23 minutes to complete.

Part of Digital Literacy is understanding how to evaluate online sources. We know there is misleading information on the internet and students need to have tools in order to differentiate between authentic sources of information from other sources that may include advertisements, inaccuracies or biased opinions. Take a look at this website from Benedictine University. This site provides a checklist to assess a site's authenticity by evaluating five areas: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose. It's known as the CRAAP Test. This site has resources to use with students. Here is a checklist for evaluating a website.

The listing of District applications can be found at this link and includes signed Parent Bill of Rights by vendors as well as other information about the application.

We have also created a guide for current applications that address their uses and similarities to other software titles. Here is Google Slide Deck that provides details on the various CSDNR Applications. In this document, you will get information on how to login, the kind of subscription we have, similar software and resources on how to use the application.

If you are looking to procure new software, you need to fill out the Software Approval Form. This revised form requires you to find the Privacy Quality Score from EducationFramework.com to determine its compliance with Ed Law 2-D. There are instructions on how to use the Education Framework website. Every District member can login to the site with their Google credentials to check on privacy scores for any software title. If the title is not in their database, you will need to add the website link and privacy policy link to a new menu. Education Framework will send you an email when they have vetted the software's privacy policy.

If you want to know more about data privacy and security in CSDNR, check out our new website. This site contains information about Ed Law 2-D, Parents rights, District Policies and other relevant information.

There are also ways that teachers can protect student data during virtual and classroom settings.

They include:

• Make sure during screen shares that student data is not shown
• Do not use software applications that require student logins that have not been vetted by the district
• Do not share student login information, especially if their username includes student IDs
• Take a look at this short video on protecting student data