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Sunday, May 16, 2021

Technology Update - Week of May 16th

Canvas Feedback for 2021-22 School Year

  • What a crazy year! Help us improve how we use Canvas for the 2021-22 School Year:
    • (2) Feedback Sessions with IT Support 
    • Survey (coming May 20th - after 1st session)


End of Year Preparations (Canvas):

  1. May & June:
    1. ALL of your current Canvas course cards will be available next year under "Previous Enrollments" -- NO ACTION REQUIRED by you to back anything up or save it offline.
    2. Teachers using FLVS (Florida Virtual Schools Global) curriculum will LOSE access to the curriculum in August 2021.  However, FLVS quizzes will be available in your 2020-21 Canvas courses.
    3. Last day for teachers to edit Canvas grades will be June 21, 2021. 
    4. Last day for final grades to be entered into Synergy is June 17, 2021.
    5. 20-21 Grading Timeline
  2. Summer:
    1. "Students will have access to this year's courses until Jun 16, 2021. After that, their courses will be removed from their dashboards and they will not have access/will have read only access. Teachers will have access to make edits, score assignments, and make changes to grades in courses until Jun 21, 2021. After that, you will have read only access. (Don't worry though, you will still have access to import that content into next year's courses so you won't need to start from scratch!)"
    2. "Are you a go-getter, a planner, always two steps ahead? Do you hate vacation time and want to spend June and July preparing to mold young minds this fall? If you are planning on working on your Canvas Courses over the Summer to get a jump start on next year, here are a few ideas on where to start! 
      • Share to Commons If you'd like to share your course content to Commons privately, with others in the district, or with the public, you will need to do so before your course is concluded on June 21st. (Don't worry, you can still import the content without sharing to Commons if you choose. See below.)
      • Play with your "SAMPLE" Course  Since you won't have your course shells for next year's classes until closer to the fall, you can use your SAMPLE course or enter a tech request for a new course to begin preparing
      • Import From Commons Import content from courses you have shared to Commons or resources shared by other educators into your new Sandbox Courses.  
      • Copy Course Content From Past Course  You can import all of your course content from the previous year or select specific content from past courses. Here (in your Sandbox), you can make any additions or edits to prepare for next year. Make sure to select the box to include completed courses to get a full list.

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Thursday, April 8, 2021

Technology Update - Week of April 5th

Chrome Browser TUNE UP

    • Starting Monday this week, staff have reported a new Google Meet issue where their video freezes (audio and presentation continue to be fine). Please note we are aware of the problem and are working to find a quick solution. (The manual fix is to turn your camera off for ~5 sec and turn it back on).
    • To prepare yourself and your computer for the BEST Google Meet experience, please follow these easy and quick steps in THIS TTSD knowledgbase Article 

Google Meet Troubleshooting

Staff with frozen Google Meet video or the camera and/or microphone doesn't work can
use these best practices & troubleshooting steps to hopefully solve the issues.


CANVAS: Qtr 3 to Qtr 4 Transition



Synchronous Instruction Tips



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Sunday, March 21, 2021

Technology Update - Week of March 21

 Elementary Teachers & Canvas Gradebook:

  • The last day for students who are moving to a new class after Spring Break was March 19th.  However, you can still enter and view grades in Canvas Grade by following these directions: 
  • NEW students to your class will be added on March 22nd.  
    • These students will also be added to your other apps on March 22nd/23rd:  Seesaw, Remind, TeacherVUE, iReady, etc.



    New District Internet Filter Being Evaluated:

    • TTSD IT staff, along with staff at Metzger and Deer Creek, have been testing a new internet filter for our student devices.  Features we are looking at are: technician/principal reports & management, YouTube additional filtering, parent reports upon request, user interface for staff to view student activity, "flagged" activity and more.  Anticipated rollout of new internet filter is Sprig-Summer 2021.


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      Sunday, March 14, 2021

      Technology Update - Week of March 14th

       Canvas Google Cloud Assignment Issues

      - Student submissions are not showing within Canvas after submitting through the Google Drive Cloud Assignment external tool. Ticket as been submitted with high priority to Instructure/ Canvas. Hope for a solution ASAP. 

      - Temporary workarounds may include: 
      1. Have students email/share their completed assignments with you.
      2. Create a complimentary assignment that is set to an Online assignment where students can submit their Google doc directly from Google Drive. 
      3. Use Google Assignments LTI 1.3 for new assignments
      - How to communicate to students who you have not received an assignment:
      1. Open Canvas > Grades
      2. Click the "Three Dots" next to the assignment name.
      3. Select "Message Students Who"
      4. Full Directions: HERE


      Classroom Communication Options:

      The following Communication tools are available for teachers and are automatically synced with your Synegy classes, daily:




      Return to School Tips

      PHASE 1: CDL setup at school
      1. Take a picture of your home technology setup (including the cable connections)
      2. Use this as a guide for your initial CDL setup in the classroom to ease transition
      3. Call Help Desk for remote support on connections (503-431-4051)

      PHASE 2: Returning to “New” Normal
      1. With Hybrid instruction in mind, consider the set up you need to make the most of in-person instruction (projector use, document camera, etc.)
      2. Place a Tech Request for any assistance you may need for this setup. ES Technicians will work through submitted tech requests and associated classrooms over spring break to set up equipment left out.







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      Friday, March 5, 2021

      Technology Update (March 5, 2021)

       

      THIS Weekend = Maintenance: We reserve the first weekend of each month to perform system and network maintenance to ensure the heath and security of our computer systems.

      • Please anticipate possible interruptions in service on Sunday, March 7th (school network maintenance, email, Synergy access, Google Drive login, etc.)
      • Communication will be sent to families/students as well.



      Secondary school Hybrid/100% Online sign up:

      • Secondary school families will have the opportunity to join school presentations in these coming weeks to learn how to use ParentVUE to sign up for Hybrid or 100% online instruction.  
      • Please reference this video for additional instructions for families or support staff:



      Return to School

      • Our IT Department has been planning for "Return to School" since last March when we began Distance Learning.  We are continuing to work and test the following in preparation:
        • Dark Fiber at 100% of our schools (increased bandwidth)
        • APs in each classroom
        • Maintenance of network switches and access points (APs)
        • Testing and troubleshooting of any wireless or network issues as staff have been working in schools during this time of CDL
      • If you run into wifi issues as you return.  Here are some TIPS:
        1. Turn Wifi On/Off 
          1. This "drops" your computer connection to whatever it believes it's connected to - last AP (home, another classroom, etc.)
        2. Reboot. 😀
        3. Access Point Light "decoding"
          1. BLUE = working with min 1 device attached,
          2. GREEN = Working but no devices attached 
          3. FLASHING OF ANY COLOR = not working correctly
        4. Call 503-431-4051 (Help Desk) or submit a tech request with the following:
          1. Location / can we get the label off access point?
          2. Did you move locations recently?
          3. Full description of issue
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          Tuesday, February 23, 2021

          Technology Update (February 23, 2021)

          Google Meet - NEW: End Meet for All

          NEW FEATURE in GOOGLE MEET : "When a host is done with a meeting and wants to leave, they now have two options:
          • Leave meeting: The host will leave the meeting, but the meeting will continue.
          • End meeting for all: Everyone, including people in breakout rooms, will be ejected from the meeting. Participants will be informed that the host has ended the meeting. Once the meeting has been ended, people will not be able to rejoin, unless the host rejoins first.

          We recommend that, after ending a meeting, if a host wants to meet with a new group of people, that they create a new meeting. This can help prevent previous participants from joining."

          Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) 


           (https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9303164)


          macOS Big Sur - To Update? or Not To Update?

          • For those of you on Mac computers, TTSD has released the ability to update to macOS "Big Sur" (aka Version 11.x).  Should you?
            • There is NO NEED to immediately update to Big Sur before Spring Break.
            • If you want to have the newest operating system on your Mac (always best practice), you'll need to ensure you have enough disk space on your computer and you are backed up.  In many cases of the update, it has failed and the computer must be restored (meaning all is lost on your computer and files will need to be pulled from your last successful backup).  


          Middle School Student iPads using Canvas WebClip

          • TTSD began the 2020-21 school year evaluating the Canvas student APP vs a "WebClip" [a Webclip is a shortcut on the iPad home screen that takes the user to a URL using Safari browser, and not an App]
            • Beginning March 1st, all Middle School Student will have the option to use either the Canvas Student App or the Canvas Student WebClip.  Students may choose to use either or BOTH.
            • The benefits of introducing the WebClip to students are the following:
              •  Full web browser experience and format, suggested improvements:
                • Dashboard - single location to view To Do, Recent Feedback, link to grades
                • Calendar - full screen, details of assignments on the calendar date
                • Pages/Modules - menu driven and browser-feel
                • Ease of turning in Assignments - ie Google Docs, multiple files

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          Thursday, February 4, 2021

          Technology Update (February 5, 2021)

           

          Publish Your New Quarter 3 Course Cards! Please publish your new courses (MS and HS teachers) Sunday Feb 7th or first thing Feb 8th so students can see their Quarter 3 classes before school begins on Monday.


          Update Your iPads, Chromebooks & your Chrome Browser. Keeping your device up to date will help your device perform at its best.  Please encourage students to update their iPads and Chromebooks this next week. And, please update YOUR Chrome browser this weekend. 





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          Technology Update - Week of May 16th

          Canvas Feedback for 2021-22 School Year What a crazy year! Help us improve how we use Canvas for the 2021-22 School Year: (2) Feedback Sessi...