Instagram Teen Accounts are designed to provide parents with peace of mind that their teens are automatically placed into safe, built-in protections. To learn more about managing your teen's Instagram account, check out these informative links:
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What is Google Classroom?
Initially, many parents think that Google Classroom is a virtual classroom where students log on to find their teacher and classmates waiting to start the day. While Google Meet allows for that type of interaction, Google Classroom is different. Google Classroom allows for a platform for teachers and students to interact via posting assignments, engaging in academic dialogue, and providing feedback to one another.
When students log on, they see upcoming homework assignments, teacher announcements, student questions, and other important class information. Students can submit their work directly through Google Classroom, and teachers can provide feedback, assign grades, and return the work. All your child's work stays organized and conveniently stored on Google Drive. Assignments are even automatically added to the Google Calendar based on their due dates. Essentially, the Google Classroom is where all your child's schoolwork is created, exchanged, and stored.
How Do I Stay on Top of My Student's Learning Progress With Google Classroom?
Instead of looking over your child's shoulder parents have the unique option of being added as a student guardian. Be sure to ask your child's teacher to grant you access. You'll receive an email that requires you to accept the invitation. Once approved, you can choose between daily or weekly guardian summaries. Based on your preference, you'll get an email that details missing work, upcoming assignments, and classroom activity.
How do I receive email summaries for Google Classroom?
To receive email summaries for your child's Google Classroom, please email the teacher to request access.
Do I need a Google Account to receive summaries?
No, but you do need one to manage the frequency of summaries. You can have a Google Account without a Gmail (you can use your current email address). To create a Google account, click on this link: https://accounts.google.com/signup.
For information about what information is included in Google Classroom guardian email summaries, please visit their Guardian email summaries FAQ page.
Parents can receive summaries of their student's activities, however, it is recommended that parents also sit with their student to view their activities from the student view on the school issued iPad. The student's view will give you a more complete pictures of what is happening, including missing work and upcoming assignments.
Does my child need to download an app for Google Classroom?
No. All SPHS iPads have the app pre-loaded on their school issued iPad. You child may download the app on his/her smartphone, or if they use a laptop, they can access it from going to classroom.google.com
Can you use Google Classroom at home?
Students can access Google Classroom from anywhere with internet access, including from their phones, when they download the Google Classroom app.
Can I communicate with my child's teacher through Google Classroom?
If your child's teacher wants to use Google Classroom for communication, they will send you an invitation, and after accepting, you will receive updates directly from them, which may include information on upcoming or missing work and announcements.
Can I check my child's grades on Google Classroom?
No. Though teachers can assign grades using the Classroom service Gradebook, your child's grades are posted in Infinite Campus.
How does my child find out about new stuff posted in Google Classroom?
Your child will receive an email when the teacher posts an announcement. These emails come through your child's email account. Students can manage their own notification settings so check with your child to see what notification settings he or she has enabled.
How tech savvy do I need to be to help my child with Google Classroom?
If your child is younger, it's probably a good idea to have some familiarity with Google's G Suite so you can help themm upload documents, check the calendar, and do other tasks. It also helps to know how the programs work so you can at least describe the problem to a teacher if anything goes wrong. Older students may not need any help. Google Classroom is designed to be easy to use, and there's lots of online help.
Does Google Classroom track and collect my child's data?
This is where things get a little tricky. You may have seen articles that suggest that Google collects student data. Because Google Classroom is a part of the G Suite for Education, it will be protected by stricter privacy rules, which forbid Google from tracking and collecting student data (beyond what's necessary for educational purposes). However, services, such as YouTube and Maps, Google may collect data on those apps as it would for any of its other consumer apps.
Can My Student Use their Phone Access Google Classroom?
Absolutely. Like all the other Google apps available, your student can access the full functionality of Google Classroom from virtually any device. Just be sure to add the other essential Google apps needed for success to their devices, like Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Google Drive.
Teachers and school administrators can invite a guardian, typically a parent, to receive email summaries about their student’s work in class. These email summaries include a rundown of missing work, upcoming work and class activities, such as recently posted announcements or assignments in Google Classroom.
Guardian email summaries now include links that let guardians preview their student's Classwork pages, including assigned work and attachments provided by the teacher. With this update, guardians can stay up-to-date with what their students are learning. Guardians will not be able to see their student’s grades or submissions, class communication, or other students’ work. Guardians can access this page directly from the Classroom email summaries or from the link shared by teachers.
Each teacher structures their Classroom a little differently so please speak with your child's teacher about their individual policies.
You may have heard of Google Workspace, which includes apps such as Gmail, Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, Drive, and more. Schools have access Google Workspace for Education, which includes Google Classroom, and helps your children create, communicate, and collaborate at school and at home, on any device and within a secure environment.
At SPHS we use many Google tools to collaborate, analyze, create and think critically about information. Click here for a resource on learning more about any Google for Education tools!
South Portland and A.I. in the Classroom
We believe it’s important to teach students how to use AI instead of ignoring it. Learning about AI helps them gain important skills to succeed in a world filled with technology. When students engage with AI, they improve their critical thinking, which is necessary for future jobs where knowing how to use AI will be important. It also helps them think about the right and wrong ways to use technology, making them more responsible and aware of how it affects society. Plus, understanding AI encourages students to be creative and come up with new ideas to solve real-world problems. By learning about AI in school, students will be better prepared for a successful and responsible future.
At SPHS our AI focus is to create a safe, ethical, and future-ready environment for our students. We spent a significant amount of time choosing an appropriate AI Educational tool to teach ours students critical AI skills. We selected Magic School as a tool for the following reasons:
Enhanced Safety Features
MagicSchool prioritizes student safety by providing secure environments for learning. The platform includes privacy settings and monitoring tools that help protect students' information and ensure a safe online learning experience.
Promoting Ethical Use of Technology
With built-in guidelines and resources, MagicSchool fosters an understanding of ethical technology use among students. It encourages responsible behavior, digital citizenship, and critical thinking about the information they encounter online.
Development of Future-Ready Skills
MagicSchool equips students with essential skills needed for the future workforce, such as collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. The platform offers interactive tools that enhance learning experiences and prepare students for real-world challenges.
Personalized Learning Experiences
The adaptive learning features of MagicSchool allow educators to tailor content to meet the diverse needs of all students. This ensures that each student can engage at their own pace while developing the skills necessary for academic success and lifelong learning.
Support for Innovative Teaching Practices
MagicSchool provides educators with a variety of tools and resources that promote innovative teaching methods. By integrating technology into the classroom, teachers can create engaging and interactive lessons that not only enhance learning but also prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
By utilizing MagicSchool, schools can create a safe, ethical, and future-ready environment for their students.
Airdrop is an Apple tool that can be a convenient way to share files between devices. However, like many tools, people can choose to use them irresponsibly.
To help your students avoid unwanted files being shared to their mobile devices, ask them to make it a habit to have Airdrop turned off on devices except during the times when they need it.
Below are 3 videos below to walk you through managing Airdrop settings.
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