Wednesday Webinar Series - Archive

Back by popular demand: members of the IT and Library Department share our favorite Tech and Library Tips and Tricks to start off the New Year!

There is a huge influx of Chromebooks in NPS buildings this year - and with each student in grades 3-12 using this device, we thought it would be helpful to share basics about the Chromebook.  Angie has broken up good-to-know topics into four easy to digest (4-5 minute) videos.  You can view all these Chromebook videos on the Getting to Know your Students' Chromebook YouTube playlist:

• Chromebook Organization Tips

• Navigating the Chromebook

• Chromebook Shortcuts

• Chromebook Troubleshooting Tips

In this week's webinar, members from the ITS department share about the "hidden gem" of iPad apps: Notes.  Notes is an application that comes installed on all iPads, iPhones, and Mac laptops, but have you ever thought of using it in a K-2 classroom?    Eileen, Donna, and Lauren, share more about Notes: its capabilities and how two teachers are already using it with students.  

It's always important to have a backup of any files you don’t want to lose. Computers can suddenly stop working at any time; whether it’s a hardware failure or liquid damage, you don’t want to lose files stored on your computer’s hard drive.  

In the past, we've used Google Backup and Sync to backup our computers.  This past year, Google has transitioned Google Backup and Sync into a new product called Google Drive for desktop.  In this week's webinar, Brian will show you how to transition your Backup and Sync application over to Google Drive for desktop so that you continue to backup your files. 

Additional Resources:

• Google Drive for desktop PDF instructions

• Download Google Drive for Desktop

• Google Drive Help: Moving from Backup and Sync to Google Drive for desktop

If you previously used Google Backup and Sync:

• Compare Backup and Sync & Google Drive for desktop

• Moving from Backup and Sync to Google Drive for desktop

Get started with Google Drive for desktop:

• What can you do with Google Drive for desktop

• Install and set up Google Drive for desktop

• Access your files

• Manage your files

• 2-5 teachers:  It's Digital Citizenship week!  Learn about the Digital Citizenship lessons created by the elementary ITS how these important topics are being covered in Library classes. 

• Secondary:  Review basic Grade Setup (grading categories, weights, scales) in addition to customizing (those sometimes pesky) Schoology notifications. 

Additional Resources:

• 2nd Grade Digital Citizenship Lessons: Going Places Online and Be Safe Online

• Grades 3-5 Digital Citizenship Lessons

• BrainPOP Digital Citizenship Resources

• Organizing Your Digital Classroom with Schoology

• Join the Schoology Showcase (access code: MSBK-QDS6-K79CT)

Now that we're a month into school, it's a great time to take a step back to remind ourselves of the ways we can introduce technology and our digital classroom to our students.  This week's webinars focus on two topics: 

• K-5 teachers:  Get started with technology in their classroom, focusing on care and use guidelines along with setting up your digital classroom.

• Secondary:  Reviewing the "must-haves" of Schoology course setup and some friendly reminders/tips on organization.

Additional Resources:

• K-2: Introducing Technology in Elementary

• 3-5: Introducing Technology in Elementary

• Organizing Your Digital Classroom with Schoology

• Join the Schoology Showcase (access code: MSBK-QDS6-K79CT)

During this webinar, Felicia Quesada Montville, Brown Middle School Library Teacher, explains the importance of taking the time to understand your book collection: whether it is the school library, the classroom library or the books used during units of study. You will leave this webinar with some very practical tips to move your library forward so that it is a collection that is diverse and meets the needs of your students. Throughout the webinar, Felicia will push viewers to think about current practices, and how we can, and need to do more to ensure all our students are truly represented in our collections.

Webinar Video

DEI in School LIbraries Slide Deck.

WeVideo is a cloud based video creation website that lets teachers and students create, edit, and share video content.  Since it's cloud-based, multiple people can collaborate on the same video from different locations.  Users can upload images, video, and audio, or use WeVIdeos library of stock media.

WeVideo includes two editing modes: Storyboard and Timeline. Storyboard works best for beginners/younger students whereas Timeline allows students to add extra features like custom fonts and effects.   Additional features include green screen effects, screencasting, motion effects, exporting only audio to create a podcast, audio editing, and templates. 

Our WeVideo introduction document outlines key tutorials to help you get started.  These videos, and more, can also be found on the WeVideo Academy website.

Note: This webinar may include features on paid plans. NPS is not currently paying for a subscription to this software.

VoiceThread is an interactive and collaborative tool that allows teachers and students to create presentations that include images, documents, and videos.  Viewers can navigate the slides and leave comments in different ways: voice, text, or video.

View the entire VoiceThread playlist.

Join us to learn ways which we can better support our families using different technology tools.  Lauren Harrison, Gareth Honig and Rachael Kaplan from the ELL Department provide examples of things you can do right now to support all families that you work with throughout the year. Their tips and tricks are practical, easy to implement and will help you improve family engagement and communications. We hope you enjoy this webinar on Engaging All Families Through Tech.

Additional Resources:

Resources: Engaging All Families Through Tech

Slide Deck: Engaging All Families Through Tech

Join us to learn more about some very cool features available on the iPad.  Instructional Technology Specialists Lauren Dietz and Mary Manning will highlight some features such as the Control Center, Multitasking with your iPad, Screen Recordings, Voice Memos and even more features throughout the webinar.

Note: This webinar may include features on paid plans. NPS is not currently paying for a subscription to this software.

Padlet is an application that allows staff and students to post sticky notes on a digital wall. Padlet describes their tool in this way:  “It’s easy and intuitive. It allows users to add posts with one click, copy-paste, or drag and drop. Works the way your mind works - with sight, sound, and touch. Changes are autosaved and simple link sharing allows for quick collaboration.”

Click here for the Padlet Slide Deck!

Welcome to Digital Escape Rooms! This week's webinar focuses on how to create digital escape rooms using Google Forms. Library teachers at both elementary (Monique Airasian - Franklin ES) and secondary levels (Margaret Schoen, Jennifer Dimmick, and Katherine Steiger - NSHS) walk you through the process to create an escape room for your students - which can be used for either an assignment or assessment. And what's best is you can make them as simple or complex as you'd like. 

Additional Resources

• Monique Airasian's Escape Room: Published Google Form

• NSHS Library Example Escape Room:

Presentation Deck (includes key links on the last slide)

NSHS Library Escape Room (on library website)

Published Google Form

This week’s webinar will introduce viewers to Virtual Bookshelves which can be used by students K-12.  Liz Donovan, Libary Teacher at Angier, and Mary Manning, Instructional Technology Specialist, will show how a virtual bookshelf is created, explain how it can be then be used in Seesaw, Classroom or Schoology, and will offer practical tips as you get started.

Members of the IT/Library Department provide some of their Best Tips and Tricks for Technology to get you started in the 2021 Calendar Year.

Note: This webinar may include features on paid plans. NPS is not currently paying for a subscription to this software.

This week’s webinar will focus on supporting our students through the lens of academic language learning using technology.  Lauren Harrison, Assistant Director of English Language Learners, brings to life the integration of technology and learning in a fun, practical and educationally sound way.  She will share best practices and tips/tricks that staff will be eager to use immediately!

Engaging "Alls" Through Tech Webinar Presentation Slides

 Jamboard, an app in Google's GSuite toolbox, is an interactive digital whiteboard that allows students and staff to collaborate, share notes, ideas, images on one board.  All the work is stored in the cloud allowing for collaboration to happen anywhere! In this Webinar, Angie Galbraith, Insructional Technology Specialist, will introduce you to Jamboard and some of the may ways you can use it in the classroom.

Jammin' with Jamboard! presentation Slides

Note: This webinar may include features on paid plans. NPS is not currently paying for a subscription to this software.

Our Elementary ITS team provides a quick instructional video on how to access and implement the new NPS Zoom features: alternative host and polling, and how these features can be helpful.

District Directions on How to Access These Features

Steven Rattendi, leads us through the importance of data security and how to safely share documents in Google Workspace, keeping students safe and their information secure.  The webinar shares some great tips about customizing sharing settings, some you might not even know! 

Google Suite Sharing - Quick Reference Guide

This webinar focuses on accessibility and how content is designed and delivered so everyone can access and use them effectively.  Kayla McAllister, District Assistive Technology Specialist, and Trisha Kelleher, District Web Facilitator and Online Learning Specialist, will walk us through what accessibility is, why it’s important, and what we can do to help make our documents, emails, and videos accessible to students, staff, and families.  

Accessibility Webinar Presentation (with Links)

In the first section Kate Mullen, a teacher at  Brown Middle School, shares a number of digital classroom tips for both her own teaching and Zoom. 

The second video, with Jess Hajjar and Sherry Rice from Bigelow, shows how to create a clickable Schoology Announcement, showing in both Materials and Course Updates, so students can easily link to Zoom meetings, email the teacher, or access course textbooks.

Lead by Alexa Beechler from Newsela, learn about this education website focused on building student reading comprehension by providing high-quality news articles and real-time assessments for students in grades K-8.  The Newton Schools has a pro account and each staff member and student can use Newsela.

Getting Started Guide

Access additional on-demand learning resources from Newsela's Professional Learning Page. 

Note: This webinar may include features on paid plans. NPS is not currently paying for a subscription to this software.

Angie Galbraith (Brown and Oak Hill) walks you through EdPuzzle, a site that allows teachers to add voice-overs, comments, resources, and embed questions to existing online videos - and then share them via Seesaw, Google Classroom, and Schoology. 

EdPuzzle Presentation

Directions to Create a NPS EdPuzzle Account

Using EdPuzzle for Professional Development

Felicia Quesada Montville (Brown) and Liz Donovan (Angier) provide an overview of Sora, a website and app that provides K-12 access to the MLS Commonwealth eBook and audiobook collection.