Over summer, all ASD PCs (desktops and laptops) will be upgraded to the latest version of Microsoft Office: Office 365. The new version includes all the same applications that you are used to (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher) but with improved performance.

Any staff with a district-issued laptop will be informed by their administrator of when to bring it to the school/building for an upgrade.

For more information about Office 365, see the new support page on the Instructional Technology site.

For teachers who use systems with a Clever log-in (e.g. Remind, Seesaw, online textbooks), the rostering will be paused after 25th June. This means that no students will be added or removed from existing classes after this date, and no new classes created. Existing students will still be able to access rostered resources during this time. Those teaching Summer School classes may wish to create manual rosters for these classes.

Clever rostering will resume on 19th July, but teachers should expect classes and rosters to be in flux until late August.

Teaching students to apply critical thinking skills to the media they regularly consume and produce must be considered an essential part of a 21st Century education. The University of Washington are hosting a special summer course offering for teachers to learn strategies for incorporating media literacy into every subject and discipline addressed in K-12 classrooms. 

This course is not to be missed. Content to be addressed includes: social media & media literacy, fake news, social justice and media literacy, visual literacy, media production, and more.

The course costs $180, and interested staff can sign up at the link below. ASD will reimburse the fee for up to 10 staff who wish to attend. Clock hours are included in the fee. Email Gavin Lees if you are interested.

In late August, ASD will be implementing a new security measure for staff: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Similar to systems used by online banks and e-commerce, this will prompt users to enter a code (sent by phone, text, or app) or answer security questions to confirm their identity and prevent phishing attacks.

When out of district, MFA will prompt you to enter a code approximately every 90 days or when you switch devices, as well as when you change your password. Staff should not be prompted for MFA in the district network, except when changing passwords. 

In August, you will receive an invitation to enroll in MFA - watch for more info to come nearer the time, then sign-up!

All schools have received a Summer Flyer for Chromebook Take Home (in English and Spanish) that provides important information to students and families. Staff should familiarize themselves with the key points from the document:

FAQs:

Will students keep their CKs over summer?

PK-4 students must return their Chromebooks by the end of the school year, unless they are enrolled in Summer School.

All other students continuing in ASD will keep their Chromebooks over summer, even if they are moving to a new school in the 21-22 school year.

Can students keep their hotspots over summer?

No. All students must return their hotspots to school by the end of June, unless they are enrolled in Summer School.

Do staff members need to return tech equipment?

Any classroom technology (desktop PCs, document cameras, etc.) must be returned to the buildings by the end of the school year. Any surplus items that were checked-out (i.e. second monitors, wireless keyboards & mice) can be self-maintained in the classroom, or returned to the BTC/TSS if no longer needed.