December 2023

Tech Tips

Computer Science Education Week - 4th-10th December, 2023

This week is National Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek)! CSEdWeek is held in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, it is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computer science, advocate for equity in computer science education, and celebrate the contributions to the field.

Computer Science (or CS) is about solving problems and helping in the development of tools that can help solve problems. CS is everywhere and can support all career paths.

No matter what grade or subject you teach, you can get involved with CS Week - check out our ASD choice board for beginner programmers, or some of the thought-provoking videos about how CS influences our daily lives.

Computer Science Education Week 2023 Choice Board

Helpdesk

Skyward Access with Duo Key Fob

If you are a staff member who uses the key fob for Duo Multi-Factor Authentication, please remember that this will not work for Skyward access.

Skyward will send you an email with your authentication code. If you enter the code from your fob, you may become locked-out of the system and need to call the Helpdesk to restore your access.

Skyward Mobile App and Duo MFA

The Skyward mobile app now works with Duo MFA. Users logging in will be prompted for their six-digit Duo code, which can be obtained through the Duo Mobile app or via email (for those with a key fob).

As of 5th December, this feature is inconsistent on certain models of phone. The "Trust this device" checkbox is not labeled and, even when checked, will still prompt for the code each time the app is launched. Skyward are aware of the issue and will be rolling out a fix very soon.

New External Email Alerts in Outlook

On December 11th, all Outlook users will see new alerts to notify them that an email has been sent from outside the Auburn School District. On desktop, web, and mobile, there will now be an "External" badge next to the sender's name. This will help you identify genuine emails, and exercise caution when opening something from an outside source. Not all "External" emails are bad, though, and messages from Google, Microsoft, Skyward, OSPI, etc. will all carry the tag.

"External" badge on desktop and web

"External" badge on mobile

Instruction

NCCE 2024 - 14-16th February

The largest educational technology conference in the Northwest returns to Seattle next year. The list of keynotes and featured speakers is now listed on their website, which includes several exciting and inspiring names including Manny Scott - one of the original Freedom Writers - and Tech Connect alumnus Ken Shelton!

Staff wishing to attend have two options:

Using building funds or personal money
- Ask your Office Manager to work with Stacey Buchanan in the Dept of Technology to obtain the Auburn Group Code to receive a discounted rate.
Using Innovation Funds
- Work with your administrator to submit an Innovation Funds request by 20th December - requests after this date will not be approved.
- You must mention the number of days you wish to attend and any half-day summits that require additional registration.

Real Time Feedback with Practice Sets

Teachers know the power of feedback and the challenges of providing it in a timely way. Luckily, there is now a feature in Google Classroom to help you with this! Practice Sets is one of the newer tools available in Google Classroom and is definitely worth some exploration. With this tool, teachers can create interactive content for students to work through at their own pace. This can be done using material you already have or build something completely new. There's multiple choice, short answer, and even a math keyboard. Teachers save time with autograding and get insights to how students are doing. This interactive demo can provide support in learning about this tool. Your Tech Coach would also love to support you. Already using Practice Sets? Let us know how it's going!

Seesaw in Action - Student Voice

One of the benefits of using Seesaw with students is the fact that you can get more insight into what your students know. With the ability to use manipulatives and create recordings, students can engage with learning in a much different way than if they were simply completing a worksheet. Let's look at an example. On the right, is a video of student work. The student used a variety of letters provided to them to drag and drop in order to build words that matched pictures. When you first look at the thumbnail, you can see an error that the student has made: "cray" instead of "tray." Now watch the video. Consider how you might change your initial thinking about what this student knows. Special shout out to Alyssa Jacobsen (CHI) for creating opportunities like this for their students!

AJacobsen Example Fall 23.mp4

Digital Citizenship & Media Literacy

"My students are using Generative AI. Now what?"

ASD are currently working on a full set of recommendations and guidelines for AI use. In the meantime, students are still able to access some of these tools at home, and their output has been seeping into assignments. So, what to do?

Do:

Teach them how to cite AI as a source -- MLA have an easy-to-follow guide
Be explicit about whether or not Generative AI can be used on an assignment
Compare students' in-class work with their homework

Don't:

Use an "AI Plagiarism Detector" -- these tools are unreliable at best and can lead to power-struggles
View AI as always a negative -- students can use it to improve their thinking and reasoning
Get rid of technology in the classroom altogether -- AI is not going away and students need to learn how to use it

Image generated with Canva Magic Studio

Data Security

4 Tips to Avoid Holiday Scams

Be Careful Shopping Online

Always make sure you are shopping and making transactions with a Secure Connection to the website, look for the 🔒 Lock beside the website URL or for https at the beginning.
Never shop over public WiFi.
Use extreme caution when buying from online marketplaces (FB Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, etc.).

Be on the Lookout for Phishing

Scammers are coming from all angles these days: text messages, emails, robocalls, voicemails, even QR codes.
Avoid clicking any links that you are not 100% sure are safe.

Secure your Devices and Passwords

Make sure all security software and applications are up to date on all your devices.
Have strong, unique passwords for every account, and enable multi-factor authentication on any account you can.
Use a password manager (1Password, Keepass, etc) so you don’t have to remember every one of the passwords.
NEVER SHARE YOUR PASSWORDS WITH ANYONE! (Including coworkers and substitute teachers.)

Keep an Eye on Your Financials

Sometimes things happen and thieves get access to your accounts and go on a spending spree. The sooner you know about it, the smaller the damage.

Check your accounts regularly.
Enable or create alerts on your financial accounts to monitor for things like:
- Low Balance
- Large Purchases
- Large ATM withdrawals
If you are not planning on making any large purchases, freeze your credit.

Skyward

Templates For Grading Reports

Templates can now be used to save report parameters for Report Card (elementary) and Select Grades (secondary) reports used by school office staff. Using templates saves prefilled information for use the next time the report is run.

Mass Assign Student Advisor Utility

The Mass Assign Student Advisor Utility can now be scheduled. Data Services will be scheduling this utility to run daily at every elementary school to ensure advisors are up-to-date for students in grades K-5.

W2/1095 Opt Out - Deadline 12/31

To better safeguard sensitive information, the ASD encourages employees to consider opting out of receiving mailed tax documents. Employees can print their own tax documents directly from Employee Access at their convenience.

To opt-out of receiving mailed paper copies of the W2 and 1095-C tax forms, login to Employee Access and complete the opt-out form. Once in Employee Access, click on the tile as pictured left to complete the opt-out process for paper copies.

The deadline to opt-out of mailed paper copies for 2023 forms is December 31. If you previously opted out of receiving mailed tax forms your preference has been saved and no action is necessary.

Employees can print their own tax documents in Employee Access at any time using the directions linked below.

View and print W2s (both current and historical).
View and print ACA 1095 Forms (both current and historical).

Thank you for completing your opt-out form.

Skyward Help

The Data Services Website provides help and information for Skyward users with specific pages for employees, teachers, Qmlativ training, and submitting help tickets.

Shout Outs

Flipped Classrooms at Lea Hill

We wanted to give a special shout out to the fourth grade team at Lea Hill for leaning into the powerful ways tech can be used in the classroom. They have been using Screencast to create flipped classroom videos for their students. This allows the teachers to provide meaningful, engaging lessons to students while also teaching students in small groups. It's like being two places at once! Way to go Emma Johansen, Kevin Kauffman, Ryan Korn, and Sarah Thomson!

To learn more about Screencast, click here. Connect with your Tech Coach for additional hands on support or to learn more about creating flipped lessons.

The picture above shows a screen shot from a video Ryan Korn created to review strategies for solving multiplication problems. We love the creative use of the Ipevo camera attached to the Chromebook as a way to record learning.

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