Tue, Mar 26, 2024

Penney Matos

Centennial HS's Digital Learning Coach

Penney Matos taught for 13 years before transitioning to instructional technology classroom support at Centennial HS.

What is a DLC?

Status Dashboards

Having trouble with a site? Check out their dashboard:

Canvas Status
Clever Status (you can subscribe)
Google's G Suite Status
Kami Status (you can subscribe)
Lightspeed Status (you can subscribe)
Nearpod Status (you can subscribe)

For Everyone

⚠️ ACTION ITEM ⚠️ - Due this week!

It's not often that the tech department requests Action Items but to have 2 in a row is very unique!

In preparation for Eclipse Day (Mon, April 8), please check your PC (mounted on wall or desktop) to make sure the DV Player is loaded and will open. Just open it. Then close it.

If it opens, you're done.
If it's not on your computer or it won't open, submit an Incident IQ ticket now so Rachael can take care of it BEFORE Eclipse Day. In Incident IQ, locate your PC under My Assets and select New Ticket.

In the event of bad weather or for people who do not want to venture out to the field, the Eclipse will be viewed through this program.

If you missed last week's Action Item, you need to check your assets in Incident IQ. Details.

Staff Leaving FISD

It's the time of year when staff members start looking at employment options for the next school year. If you find yourself leaving Frisco ISD, besides notifying administration, please also start to address your FISD digital presence.

Complete all 3 pages of the Secondary Staff Leaving FISD technology checklist BEFORE the date listed on your paperwork with the district. Accounts are disabled immediately following your last day of employment (last day of school or over the summer).

If you are transferring to another FISD campus, all of your accounts will remain the same. You may need to transfer Canva creations out of "Centennial High School" and into your personal Canva class/space. I'll share when I learn more.

Bulb ePortfolios replacement option

As was shared in Mrs. Henderson's March 18 Titan Staff Update, FISD staff and students will no longer have Frisco ISD paid Bulb accounts after this school year. Bulb has been the district-supported student ePortfolio platform since 2019. If you would like to explore other ePortfolio options, please reach out!

Current users who wish to maintain their Bulb presence outside of Frisco ISD may purchase a paid account or downgrade to a free account. This is for student accounts too.

Incident IQ Mobile App

It is recommended that you install the Incident IQ mobile app on your smartphone. This way you can scan a barcode when entering a ticket for any assets!

Collaboration Corner

Poetry Stations

Alex Anderson (English teacher for GT Humanities) recently reached out looking for a brainstorming partner for an upcoming poetry lesson where students will be evaluating 2 poems from the 1600s. After collaborating with Dr. Turner and me, she decided to go with printed stations set up around the room. Historically, students tend to be less engaged while learning about poetry, especially poetry with "strange, old language” so we focused on students getting up out of their seats while collaborating with their group members to evaluate a variety of aspects of the poems. With these stations, students will work in 3s to evaluate the poems, contribute to the station papers, while also adding notes to their own notes sheets, then will review what other groups contributed to the stations and add their own additional thoughts.

Alex appreciated that we took time to plan strategically for a specific type of learner (G/T), avoided "let's just re-do what we've done in the past", and also didn't reinvent the wheel! It was intentional planning, often referencing back to the standards and expectations for the learners, and making sure to incorporate aspects of GT students.

If you would like a thought partner or brainstorming partner, don't hesitate to reach out to Dr Turner, Nicole Ellis, Teddi Martin, or me! We're all here to support you!

News and Noteworthy Ed Tech

March Madness... EdTech Edition! Week 3 VOTE NOW!

Round 3 voting is open now! Vote now!

Only four titans remain: the quizzing champion Kahoot! faces the dynamic classroom tool Flip, while the design powerhouse Canva clashes with the all-in-one educator's assistant, MagicSchool AI. Will Kahoot! keep its crown, or will Flip's versatility flip the script? Can Canva's design prowess overpower MagicSchool AI's comprehensive support system for teachers?

This is March Madness at its finest - innovation vs. engagement, design vs. functionality!

This week there were 5 winners picked at random from staff who voted! Unfortunately, none are from CHS. Let's represent by voting for your favorites!