Tech Talks

Welcome back! Your technology team looks forward to collaborating with you in the coming year as you welcome students back and begin incorporating new ideas into your classroom. Look for our Tech Talks newsletter each month as we bring you technology news and updates, tips and tricks, and tech tools. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @lpisd_itc, and tag us when you share out your educational tech ideas using #LPISD_ITC.

You can get help from Technology by submitting a work order, accessing the Technology Reference Manual from the Faculty Portal, or calling the Helpdesk at 281.604.7070.

When submitting a work order, navigate to the Faculty Portal on the district website. Scroll down and open the accordion button labeled Work Orders. Select the Technology Work Order hyperlinked button for Track-It!. When creating a ticket enter detailed information. Should you have an attachment or screenshot, click the browse button for File Name. Don't forget to hit the submit button. Should you need to check the status of a work order or add new information to your existing work order, access the work order system and choose My Tickets. You can also close any open work orders where the problem has been resolved.

The Technology Department has created a Technology Reference Manual for faculty and staff to familiarize themselves with the instructional technology programs utilized by the district. The Technology Reference Manual can be accessed through the Staff portal on the district webpage.

The Technology Reference Manual opens up as a OneNote. On the left-hand side, you will see various programs used by the district. Simply select a program you wish to learn about and the pages will open up with more information, videos, click sheets and helpful links.

Each year, it is important to ensure your staff profile is updated for data and security purposes. In the Chrome browser, navigate to the district website and select the STAFF tab. On the Faculty Portal, scroll down to open the accordion button labeled Instructor Apps. Select the Eduphoria button link and login with your district issued username and password. When you enter the Application home screen, select the My Profile button at the bottom and follow the set-up wizard. Verify each field, including first name, last name, email, and current campus. Click Next to move through the steps to check your role, grade level, security question (case-sensitive), and Save.

It's very common to leave an Aware teacer test as "Active" well after students have completed an assessment in Aware. However, after a while, the sheer number of assessments you have written and available can be overwhelming! Start the year fresh by archiving last year's assessments. Data is still available for archived assessments, and they can be copied to be administered to your current students; archiving only finalizes the assessment and hides it from view. To archive a test, simply open the assessment and click the drop-down box in the top left corner. The options are Pending, Active and Archive; all you have to do is select Archive, and the assessment will be hidden from view. ***Remember that you can no longer make changes to this assessment after it has been archived, however you can always make a copy to update the assessment and use with this year's students. If you'd like some more information on how archiving affects an assessment, see the easy-to-use chart provided by Eduphoria.

Lesson Plans

This year, LPISD is using SharePoint for uploading your lesson plans. By using the district link you will have access to your campus’ folder. Once inside, navigate to your personal folder and upload your lesson plans inside it. If you need help accessing this folder or have any questions regarding this process, please put in a work order and one of our ITS will be happy to come and assist you with it!

Class Home Page

Home page is a new Teams EDU experience for Class Teams. Using Home Page, educators can collect and organize the most important files, links and information for their students' classroom success – resources, assignments, schedules, documents and more - and share them all in one place.

Students can use Homepage to easily access class resources, so they spend less time searching and more time learning. Educators can edit each part of Home Page, tailoring the ideal learning hub experience to meet their class’s needs. For information, you can read the support page.

Sensical

An affiliated partner with Common Sense Media, Sensical offers free videos for children ages two to ten. Teachers can easily filter videos by age (Preschool, Little Kids, and Big Kids) and explore all content by subject area by using the All Channels option. Students will enjoy and learn from the age appropriate videos available through Sensical.

The Show About Science

Many of us listen to podcasts for entertainment, professional learning, news updates, and book talks. Podcasts are a fun and engaging learning tool to incorporate in the classroom.

At five years of age, Nate began The Show About Science. He invites scientist and educators from across the globe to speak about chemistry, the environment, and biology. Your students will discover the curiosity of science.

Your teacher website is an easy channel for communicating information to parents and school community stakeholders. It gives you the opportunity to deliver classroom news and school events. You can create links to resources, add images, or upload powerpoints and pdfs.

Should you need any help with your website, please submit a work order or contact the Helpdesk at ext. 7070 to schedule a time to visit you or your team. For ideas and examples, please visit Devin Dozier's website.

Britannica ImageQuest

TexQuest has announced the procurement of new databases!

With over 3 million rights-cleared images, Britannic ImageQuest brings lesson plans, assignments and projects to life. Your students have access to rich copyright-free resources with autogenerated citations in ImageQuest. The images are easily copied and pasted or download and upload to assignments, reviews, and projects. Reach out to the Technology Department of Campus Librarian for district credentials to access TexQuest.

Your campus Librarians/Library Specialist are excited for the new school year. They are working hard to curate relevant, factual, and high-interest collections that elevate, inspire, and support independent reading. All of our secondary libraries fiction collections are genrefied to support a more intuitive search in locating items of interest, further building confidence and self-efficacy. Our elementary libraries are an inviting and welcoming space for students to explore, learn, and listen to a read aloud. Stay tuned we will be highlighting library programming and events hosted on your campus.

Baker will be hosting a book fair from October 17-21. Here's a sneak peel of Fall 2022 Book Fair. Should you want more information, please contact the librarian Mrs. Imel.

September 15 - October 15, 2021

• Hispanic Heritage Month.gov
• History of Science in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Houston Public Media PBS
• Latin American Network Information Center
• Scholastic Latino in History
• Smithsonian Latino Center
• Smithsonian American Art Museum

Adrianna Cuevas! Nathan Hale! Justin Reynolds!

Come meet 22 incredible authors for free at 2022 Tweens Read book festival hosted by J. Frank Dobie High School. A great event for students to connect live with current authors and illustrators. Celebrate reading and promote literacy with your students by sharing this Wakelet of 2022 Tweens Read Authors. Your students can register with the link in Wakelet, review the panel event, and find information on authors with the Teaching Books link.

Hope to see you there! Don't forget to tag us in your pics from the event!

Did you know La Porte ISD partners with the Harris County Public Library to provide access to vast collections of ebooks and audiobooks?

You and your students can read ebooks and listen to audiobooks from any device with your district Microsoft credentials. They will be able to search, borrow, and read or listen to a title from their district laptop in class, at home, or from the APP with the instructions below.

From the LPISD website, navigate to the Student Portal and scroll down for the Harris County Library eBooks button link. You will be prompted to follow the steps below, including selecting La Porte ISD and adding the Harris County Public Library with hamburger button.

Have you visited the La Porte Branch Library recently? Don't miss out on the fun programming offered by the Library for children and adults. Download the calendars for a schedule of events hosted by the library and programming open to the community. Feel free to share with your students.

The Technology Services Department serves to facilitate and support your technology needs. For help, submit a work order using the Track It! link on the Faculty Portal, access the Technology Reference Manual from the Staff Portal, or call the HelpDesk at Ext. 7070.

Website: https://www.lpisd.org/departments/technology-services
Location: 9832 Spencer Highway, La Porte, TX, USA
Phone: 281.604.7070
Twitter: @lpisd_itc