November 2019

Top News: Hour of Code & Donations Done Right

Computer Science Education Week: December 9 - 15, 2019

Teachers, join the movement and introduce a group of students to their first hour of computer science instruction this year!

STEP 1: Learn how to Run an Hour of Code by watching this quick video.

STEP 2: Plan to fit one Hour of Code in your schedule or school. Pick a tutorial from our recommended list for your grade level found on the Instructional Technology Home page.

STEP 3: Give students ONE Hour of Code to complete tutorials and write their own programs!

STEP 4: Celebrate with Code.org certificates, stickers and share your experience using #HourofCode.

Donations Done Right

Are you pursuing a grant? Thinking about putting a request on Donors Choose? Have a really generous community member who wants to donate to your classroom? That's fantastic news, but have you checked that your request and equipment can be supported on our network?

To ensure that you comply with district policy and state law, please consult the ASD technology donations protocol to avoid disappointment. District standards are also recorded now on the Donors Choose site.

Tech Tools

Source: NoodleTools

NoodleTools

NoodleTools is an online research management platform that promotes critical thinking and authentic research. Students stay organized as they evaluate information, build accurate citations, archive source material, take notes, outline topics, and prepare to write. See your school's teacher-librarian for help getting started!

Getting Started Presentation

NoodleTools DoT Website

Skyward Upgrade

Skyward will be upgrading to Qmlativ. Initially, the Auburn School District was planning on making this transition the summer of 2020. At this time, the transition will be postponed.

Auburn is a large district that takes full advantage of the features available in the existing Skyward product. Qmlativ will include updated features such as:

Ease of use and faster connections
A responsive design that works well on mobile or PC platforms
Customization capacity for each user
Extensive reporting capabilities (all data fields are accessible)

At this time, Qmlativ lacks some of the required features for use in ASD. These will be available in the future. The transition to Qmlativ also requires extensive preparation in HR, Finance and DoT. Staff in these departments have determined that more time is needed to adequately prepare and train for this migration.

The new date for Qmlativ migration will be scheduled when necessary features are available and have been reviewed and validated by our core team.

Instruction

Clever Teacher Pages

The integration of Clever into some of Auburn's core content area tools has made accessing teacher and student resources easier than ever. Did you know that teachers can make their own pages within Clever to allow even further customization?

Teachers have the ability to create a teacher page that is available only to students registered in their classes. From their personalized Clever Teacher Page, teachers can provide direct links to tools and resources that are used in their classrooms. For more information on how to add applications or links and get started with your own Teacher page visit Clever Teacher Pages Support.

Before adding apps to a Clever Teacher Page, please check the Data Security page to ensure the tool is approved for use.

Split Your Screen

Are you looking to display two or more windows on your Chromebook at the same time? Just like on a PC, you can open windows side-by-side on Chrome OS.

To do this, drag the window to the edge of your screen, it will “snap” into place and allow you to select another screen to display side-by-side. Then you can drag the edge of either window left or right to adjust the size. You can also do this while presenting from Google Slides or using a quick and easy extension for opening a new window side-by-side.

Thanks Nathan Lemanski at AMHS!

Data Security

Email Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

To keep you and your data safe, DOT is employing a new Advanced Threat Protection process through Microsoft for email with attachments.

This step will help to prevent malicious attachments from reaching your mailbox and potentially causing damage to your computer and other systems. Email that is received with an attachment will be scanned by Microsoft to ensure that the attachment is safe before releasing it to your email. The process typically only takes a minute and then is released to your mailbox. (In the case of larger attachments, it may take longer.) The email itself is not blocked.

If a message is still being scanned as you open it, you will receive a message similar to the image to the left.

Backing-Up Aging Computers

If your aging Desktop PC is due for a replacement soon, please note that the Department of Technology will not back-up your data before removing your old computer.

To ensure that your data is not lost, please check that you have backed-up all important documents to your Google Drive using the File Stream application. Should you need any support with this process, please contact your building BTC or TSS.

This is a Commodore 64 that has been running an auto shop in Gdansk for over 25 years!

Source: interestingengineering.com

Shout Out!

CS Fundamentals Attendees

Over 25 Auburn teachers took time out of a busy weekend to attend the Code.org CS Fundamentals workshop hosted at Terminal Park on Saturday, November 2nd. Teachers learned how to integrate Computer Science standards into their instruction through the use of unplugged and online activities.

STEM Night Presenters

Nearly 100 elementary teachers participated in this year's first elementary professional development STEM night. Elementary STEM teacher leaders presented on a variety of topics from Remind.com setup to Google Tools and elementary robotics. The next elementary STEM Night will take place at Rainier Middle School on January 28th.

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