September 2017 Tech Tips Newsletter 

1:1 Secondary Rollout! 

1:1 take home launch is here! About 5220 Chromebooks have been distributed in 4 of 8 ASD middle and high schools this week! Students at AMHS, West Auburn HS, Olympic MS, and Cascade MS will receive theirs next week.

The initiative is realized thanks to the direction and advice of the District Technology Advisory Committee; the development of online family resources by the business and technology departments; staff training provided by secondary teachers and technology department staff; physical labor from Support Services and the technology department; and support from secondary front office and building-based technology support staff. Thank you to everyone working tirelessly to provide a 21st century learning environment for our students! We are in the process of fulfilling our 2014 levy promise to provide digital resources to students where and when they need them.

Support resources continue to be created with support from staff and shared among schools, among them:

• a Chromebook issues & fixes poster (Jessica Lee and Anne Clark),

• a Digital Citizenship poster (DoT), and

• a Shortcuts poster (Lindsey Keaton). 

Shout Out!

A huge thank you to staff members who planned, prepared, and trained their colleagues in preparation for the 1:1 Rollout:

Changes to Symbaloo

Student Tab

Moves or additions:

• • Chromebook Help has been added to the Common Student Section.

  • IXL has moved from Learning Resources to Secondary Resources.

  • i-Ready has been added to Learning Resources.

  • Google Tools has been expanded to include Snap & Read and Co:Writer tiles.

  • Elementary Resources has been broken into Math tools on the left in green and the rest of the resources on the right in the same blue.

Staff Tab

• Parent communication tools Bloomz and Remind have been combined into their own sub-webmix. Click on the tile to access either/both.

• EDpuzzle has been added to Teaching Tools.

Data Security

Students' personally identifiable information (PII) may be used to access online educational resources as long as the application does not require more than directory information AND participating students’ families have not opted them out of sharing directory information. For more information check out the Data Security page on the Instructional Technology website.

UPDATED: Customizable parent permission forms for applications with students under the age of 13 are available in English and Spanish.

Tech Tips New Format

Why a new format? We are striving to:

• Use the same web-based tools we encourage our staff to use,

• Access analytical data available through web-based tools, 

• Create and use standard headings each time, and

• Provide a searchable archive by subject.

We welcome your input on this change. Thank you.