Ms. Hernberg's Tech Corner

June 10, 2022: Senior Tech Tip 5...Clear Your Browser Cache & Cookies

Hello seniors! This week’s tech tips are all about cybersecurity. Today’s tip is really just a reminder to routinely clear your browser’s cache and cookies. Your cookies and cache are essentially tiny pieces of digital garbage you leave behind with every click, and as they build up they can clog up your browser…and put your digital security at risk. You MUST clear your browser’s cache and cookies after using a shared or public computer (such as a college library desktop).

To clear your cookies and cache in Chrome, click on the three vertical dots in the top right of Chrome > Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data > Advanced. Make sure the pull-down menu says “All Time,” check the boxes for everything you’d like to delete, and click “Clear Data." You can automate the deletion process every time you close a Chrome window in Settings. Of course, you can clear your cache and cookies on other browsers (and on your phone!) as well: Safari, Microsoft Edge, Firefox.

Remember that we also have a special treat just for seniors: an online interactive workshop to help you learn and practice some key life hacks related to technology security. We encourage you to take this course alongside your parents, guardians, siblings, and any other members of your household. The more informed everyone is, the safer we all are! You can find the link to the workshop in your email under all three of this week's cybersecurity-themed tech tips from Ms. Hernberg.

June 8, 2022: Senior Tech Tip 4...Cyber Security Part 2

Hello seniors! This week’s tech tips are all about cybersecurity. The video linked below reviews ten rules for creating and storing passwords.

Remember that we also have a special treat just for seniors: an online interactive workshop to help you learn and practice some key life hacks related to technology security. We encourage you to take this course alongside your parents, guardians, siblings, and any other members of your household. The more informed everyone is, the safer we all are! You can find the link to the workshop in your email under all three of this week's cybersecurity-themed tech tips from Ms. Hernberg.

June 6, 2022: Senior Tech Tip 3...Cyber Security Part 1

This week’s tech tips are all about cybersecurity. The video linked below reviews nine rules for staying safe online, including how to detect phishing attempts and what you should do if you accidentally clicked on a suspicious link. A second video on password safety will follow later this week.

We also have a special treat just for seniors: an online interactive workshop to help you learn and practice some key life hacks related to technology security. We encourage you to take this course alongside your parents, guardians, siblings, and any other members of your household. The more informed everyone is, the safer we all are! You can find the link to the workshop in your email under all three of this week's cybersecurity-themed tech tips from Ms. Hernberg.

May 19, 2022: Senior Tech Tip 2...Email Tips & Etiquette

Hello seniors! For the next few weeks, I will send you periodic “Senior Tech Tip” emails. The content of these emails is curated based on student feedback to the Senior ICT Offboarding Survey you completed in late March. Feel free to complete the survey if you have not already done so! Senior Tech Tip 1 explained how to back up your NCPS accounts. Keep in mind that you will lose access to all of your NCPS accounts, including GMail, Google Drive, Schoology, and Digication, on October 1.

Senior Tech Tip 2 is all about email. First, make sure you have a new email address. This may be an email address that is connected to your college or your job, or it may be a personal email address. If you are using a personal email address for professional purposes such as applying for a job or a scholarship, the address should sound professional; using your name and/or initials is a great option!

The below video explains the difference between a personal and a professional email address, demonstrates how to set up email forwarding, and reviews some key email etiquette tips. Enjoy!

September 17, 2021: Chrome Hacks and ClassLink Tutorials

1. Chrome Browser Organizational Hacks

Did you know you can customize Chrome to do things like open pages automatically, display frequently used extensions and websites, and create QR codes? Check out the tips below to learn how!

Set Up Multiple Chrome Profiles to Avoid Logging in and out of Chrome: Watch the video linked below! (Thanks to Michelle Luhtala for the video)

Set a website to open automatically when you open Chrome: Settings > On Startup > Open a specific page or set of pages

Pin the tab of a website, document, article, and more: Right-click on the tab > Pin

2. How to Access Tech Support

In order to clarify exactly how teachers and students should access tech support, we have created this flowchart as a visual. The flow chart differentiates between hardware issues for which DTS is responsible and software support for which ICT is responsible, and gives you a variety of ways to access support, including links to existing support materials in Schoology and on the NCPS website.

3. Remote Learning Equipment Survey

Teachers, don’t forget to submit the Remote Learning Equipment Survey by the end of the day today, Friday December 18! Completing this survey will ensure that DTS and ICT will be able to support you in the event we have to transition to fully remote learning in the future.

4. PL Resources & Workshop Recordings

ICT workshop resources and recordings from this fall are now available in a folder titled “Fall 2020 PL Workshops” in the NCHS Schoology Professional Learning Course. Workshops include New Teacher Orientation, Screencastify, Kami Assignments in Schoology, and Zoom 101. Also available in this course is a green folder that contains video interviews with your colleagues and recordings of last spring’s workshops specific to teaching in a fully remote format, “eLearning Video Interviews & PL Sessions.” Check it out!

November 24, 2020: Tech Support Desk, Item Banks for Schoology Assessments, Screencastify Workshop...and more!

1. 🌟NEW🌟: Tech Support Desk

We now have a tech support desk in the NCHS library! A representative from District Technology Services (generally Joe Coretti or Shane Smith) will be at the desk each day from 6:30 - 8:00 (and sometimes later) and again from 10:30 - 12:00. Of course, we still have our usual tech support procedures in place, so if you are not in the building or there is nobody at the desk, teachers can submit a tech ticket, or students can send an email to studenthelpdesk@ncps-k12.org.

2. 🌟NEW🌟: Item Banks in Schoology

Schoology’s latest development is the ability to create question banks (“item banks”) for the Assessments tool. To create a bank, go to Resources > Add Resources > Add Item Bank. You can create your bank in your personal resources if it is relevant only to you and your class, or you can collaborate on a bank with your colleagues by creating it within the resources of a department Group. Please be aware that this tool is still in development--coming soon will be the ability to convert existing Test/Quiz question banks into Item Banks for Assessments, as well as the ability to pull a random set of questions for an Assessment. To learn more about this tool and about plans for further development, please click here.

4. LockDown Browser FAQ

Did you know you can prevent students from instant messaging, taking screenshots, and accessing other websites while they take assessments/tests/quizzes on Schoology? Check out this video to learn how, and check out this FAQ document for answers on what to do if your student has a Chromebook or iPad, how to prepare your students for using the LockDown Browser in advance, and how to allow students to access specific external domains while using the LockDown Browser.

5. Gmail Filtering

Do you find yourself overwhelmed by emails? I sure do! From Google Drive notifications to no-reply spam, weeding through your inbox to get to the emails that really matter has been made even more difficult with the advent of hybrid learning. Check out this video to learn how to set up a filter in GMail!

6. Use Grading Groups to Support Students Who Require 504/IEP Modifications/Accommodations:

When you assign something to a grading group, the entire item is only available to those students in the group. Use this method to create multiple versions of the same material, each with its own parameters. It’s particularly useful for students who have 1.5X on assessments! Check out this video to learn how to create grading groups.

7. Sharing Google Drive Assignments with a Co-Teacher:

Do you use the Google Drive Assignments tool within Schoology? Do co-teachers, case managers, and support staff have trouble accessing those assignments? Similar to Google Classroom, the Google Drive Assignments tools automatically makes a folder (“Schoology Google Drive Assignments”) that itself contains sub-folders for each of your courses. Simply share the course subfolder with the co-teacher, case manager, or support staff, and they will have access to all past and future assignments created with this tool. Watch the video below for more details!

2. Clean Your Chrome

Did you know you should clear your cookies and cache from any browser you are using at least every three months, if not more often? Your cookies and cache are essentially tiny pieces of digital garbage you leave behind with every click, and as they build up they can clog up your browser. To clear your cookies and cache in Chrome, click on the three vertical dots in the top right of Chrome > Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data > Advanced. Make sure the pull-down menu says “All Time,” check the boxes for everything you’d like to delete, and click “Clear Data."

Another thing you should do periodically is check to make sure Chrome is completely updated. You can tell Chrome needs to be updated if those three vertical dots in the upper right of your browser are replaced with a green, orange, or red icon. Click that icon, then click “Update Google Chrome.”

3. Change Your Passwords

When’s the last time you changed all your passwords? Not just your work/school password--your bank password, your social media passwords, your mortgage company password? You should change your password at least every three months for your own safety and security. Consider adding this to your to-do list for the long weekend! Here are some tips for doing so safety:

1. Change your passwords from a secure home network, not from a public network (that is, don’t do it while waiting in line for your Starbucks order).

2. Write your passwords down in pencil (so you can erase and update later), and keep your list of passwords in a secure location.

3. NEVER share passwords between accounts! Your Facebook password should be different from your email password, which should be different from your bank password. Sharing passwords between accounts opens you up to hackers! The ONLY exception to this rule is your work/school password, which should be the same across PowerSchool, Schoology, and Google. NCPS has extra security built in to make this safe.

4. When available, enable 2-step verification (also called 2-factor authorization). 2-step verification in Google sends a text to your phone whenever a new device attempts to log in. This is an extra layer of security that is especially useful for accounts that contain sensitive information (e.g. bank accounts, investment accounts, health insurance accounts, etc).

5. Use as many options as are available to you to create the actual password: lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

6. If you want to change your work/school password, click here.

4. Zoom's Spotlight Tool

Zoom’s spotlight tool allows you (the teacher/host) to make a student or group of students the primary active speaker(s) for all participants in the meeting. NCHS Science Department Co-Chair Michael LeDuc used this tool for a fishbowl discussion. All of his students (both at home and in the building) joined the Zoom room, and Michael used the spotlight tool to pin the videos of discussion leaders (the “fish”) so that everyone in the class could see them on their screens. Check out this video tutorial to learn how to do it! P.S. This will only work for teachers who have the upgraded teacher account!

September 11, 2020: Tech Corner Tips, Teacher Edition

1. Tech Help for Students

We have numerous resources available to assist students when they are experiencing tech issues. Here are a few:

1. Share this document if your students are having trouble uploading an image or video to Schoology.

2. Share this document with students for other miscellaneous Schoology errors.

3. Please remind students that they should use the Chrome browser, that they should access Schoology through the NCHS website, and that their username for Schoology is firstname.lastname (NOT their whole email address).

4. Freshmen and other students who are new to NCHS were automatically enrolled in a Tech Boot Camp in Schoology. The Tech Boot Camp includes learning modules on how to use Schoology, how to access the library databases virtually, an introduction to digital citizenship, and more! New students and freshmen should complete this course as soon as possible to ensure they are up to speed. Please help us remind students that this course exists!

5. When students experience tech issues they cannot resolve on their own or with your help, they should send an email to studenthelpdesk@ncps-k12.org.

2. Rearrange Your Courses in Schoology:

Did you know you can move courses around on the Course Dashboard? Drag and drop the tiles to rearrange the order of your courses on the dashboard. This also rearranges the order in the Courses drop-down menu, which displays up to twelve of your courses.

3. Help Yourself and Your Colleagues:

Many teachers and TAs have a huge number of courses on their Schoology dashboard, and these courses are difficult to differentiate from one another. We recommend you do the following to help your colleagues (and yourself) out:

1. Change your course picture by hovering your mouse over the picture, clicking “Edit Picture,” and uploading a file from your computer. Make this picture unique to your class for easy visual identification!

Replace the section name with your surname and the class period number. Under the course picture, select Course Options, then Edit Info, then replace the Section Name:

4. Make Your Schoology Calendar Work For You:

Did you know you can color-code and filter your Schoology Calendar to help you keep track of upcoming assignments, tests, and other events? Check out the GIFs below to learn how!

Color-Code Your Calendar so each Course and Group is a different color:

Filter Your Calendar to Show One Course at Once:

5. Nonverbal Participation Tools in a Zoom Session:

There are several nonverbal ways for students to participate in a Zoom session. Two that you might find useful are Nonverbal Feedback and Meeting Reactions. You can enable both of these features using the Zoom.us portal under Settings. Make sure each one is toggled ON (the toggle should be blue, as below):

6. Nonverbal Participation Tools in a Zoom Session:

There are several ways to participate in a Zoom session. Your teacher may ask you to give nonverbal feedback to raise your hand, ask your teacher to slow down, etc. Click the Participants button on the bottom, and you’ll see the menu below if your teacher has enabled this feature. Click more to raise your hand. When you click an icon in this menu, the icon will appear next to your name in the Participants list until you or your teacher turns it back off:

September 11, 2020: Tech Corner Tips, Student Edition

1. General Tech Help

Broken microphone? Having trouble logging into Google? Send an email to studenthelpdesk@ncps-k12.org!

2. Schoology Troubleshooting for Students

If you are having trouble logging in or accessing materials on Schoology, try the following steps:

• Always use the Chrome browser with Schoology.

• Clear your cookies/cache in Chrome at least every three months, if not more often; this will keep your browser working smoothly.

• Make sure you are logged into your school Google account on Chrome. Log out of any personal accounts in the same browser. If you have multiple Google accounts, consider setting up Chrome profiles to organize your work and personal accounts. See Ms. Luhtala’s how-to on this blog post!

• Access Schoology through the NCHS website. Schoology.com will NOT work! The correct URL is schoology.ncps-k12.org. Your username for Schoology is firstname.lastname, NOT your full email address.

• Do you want to use the Schoology app on your phone or tablet? Check out this how-to video for iOS, or read this article for Android.

• Click here if you are having trouble uploading an image or video to Schoology.

• Click here for other miscellaneous Schoology errors.

3. Rearrange Your Courses in Schoology:

Did you know you can move courses around on the Course Dashboard? Drag and drop the tiles to rearrange the order of your courses on the dashboard. This also rearranges the order in the Courses drop-down menu, which displays up to twelve of your courses.

4. Make Your Schoology Calendar Work For You:

Did you know you can color-code and filter your Schoology Calendar to help you keep track of upcoming assignments, tests, and other events? Check out the GIFs below to learn how!

Color-Code Your Calendar so each Course and Group is a different color:

Filter Your Calendar to Show One Course at Once:

April 2, 2020: Create an Interactive Whiteboard with Google Drawings

Advantages to using Google Drawings as an interactive whiteboard during live video conferences (rather than, say, the built-in Zoom or Schoology Conferences whiteboards):

• Keep track of who is contributing what by looking at the history

• Easily create shapes and basic equation notations

• Import images (e.g. PDF worksheets that are saved as JPGs)

• Lots of flexibility: have an entire class work on one whiteboard, assign whiteboards to small groups, or give each student their own whiteboard (to show their work) using Google Classroom or Schoology

April 2, 2020: Create an Interactive Whiteboard with Google Drawings

Advantages to using Google Drawings as an interactive whiteboard during live video conferences (rather than, say, the built-in Zoom or Schoology Conferences whiteboards):

• Keep track of who is contributing what by looking at the history

• Easily create shapes and basic equation notations

• Import images (e.g. PDF worksheets that are saved as JPGs)

• Lots of flexibility: have an entire class work on one whiteboard, assign whiteboards to small groups, or give each student their own whiteboard (to show their work) using Google Classroom or Schoology

March 27, 2020: Update on Zoom Privacy from Matt Salvestrini

Dear NCPS Staff,

On Friday, Zoom sent notification that all education accounts have been set so that only the Host can share their screen. If you want to give participants the ability to share their screen during the meeting, simply click the arrow to the right of the Screen Sharing icon, select Advanced Sharing Options and select All Participants. When you are done having others share, switch it back to maintain control of the class or video.

As we continue to utilize Zoom, there are some security guidelines that all staff need to follow to help ensure the safety and privacy of the meeting. Below is a screenshot of how you should set up your Zoom conference.

When scheduling a Zoom meeting a unique link is created for only intended participants. However, if you are not individually inviting students to your meeting, it is best to put the link into students' Google Classroom or Schoology course. This will help maintain privacy for the session.

~Matt Salvestrini, NCPS Director of Digital Learning

March 19, 2020: Video Conferencing Infographic

March 18, 2020: Manage Multiple Courses in Schoology

I heard through the grapevine that some department chairs are asking teachers to add them as "admins" in their Schoology Courses, just in case those teachers are sick or otherwise unable to access their own Course. This is a great idea, BUT I know that it can create a lot of visual clutter and make it difficult to find your own Courses! Watch this 3-minute tutorial with Schoology organization tips to make your lives a little easier:

March 17, 2020: Successful Video Conferencing

Welcome to Day 3 of eLearning, NCPS! Today's ICT Teacher Tech Tip (the English teacher in me cannot resist the alliteration) is all about setting yourself up for a successful video conference. Enjoy!

March 9, 2020: Schoology Troubleshooting

Overview: Fixing Schoology Errors

Adjust Your Chrome Settings

Thank you to Michelle Luhtala for making this instructional GIF!

March 6, 2020: eLearning and Classroom Flipping

This week’s edition of Hernberg’s Tech Corner is all about developing your eLearning and classroom-flipping skills. Please remember to take the eLearning Survey Matt Salvestrini emailed out last night, as it will help us support you. If you feel you need additional support with any of the skills listed on that survey, sign up for a support slot here. If you need release time to attend a support session, please email Mary Cognetta as soon as possible with the date and period; she will arrange a substitute for you.

1. Record Audio/Video Within Schoology

Did you know you can record audio and video directly within Schoology assignments, discussions, tests/quizzes, and pages? Did you know your students can respond to assignments and discussions with audio or video that they record within Schoology? Watch this 3-minute video to learn how!

2. Conduct a Virtual Class With Schoology Conferencing

Schoology has a conferencing tool that lets teachers hold virtual office hours, coordinate professional collaboration, and conduct entire class periods remotely! This tool is available in both Courses and Groups. Watch the video below to get started; additional resources for teachers and students, including best practices when video conferencing, are available in the video description and in Resources under Schoology’s NCHS Staff Resources Group.

4. Insert Audio into a Google Slide

Google Slides FINALLY has an easy audio-insert feature! Learn how to do it by clicking through the slideshow below. Pro Tip: Click “Present” in the upper right corner to hear my audio explanation as you review the slides!

February 7, 2020: Podcasting, Archived Courses, & Schoology Calendar

1. 🌟NEW🌟 Book Our Podcast Studio!

Our *pilot* 4-mic podcast studio is up and running, and the ICT team would love to collaborate with you to make your podcasting dreams a reality! Come to Emily, Michelle, or Monica with your ideas, with projects that could use an audio boost into the 21st century, or with a blank slate and an open mind!

2. Access Archived Courses in Schoology

Schoology automatically archives courses once the marking period is over, but that doesn’t mean your content is deleted! To access an archived course, click Courses at the top of the page, then See All Courses in the upper right corner of the drop-down menu, then Archived.

If you want to save the entire course to resources, click Options > Save Course to Resources.

If you only need to save individual items, click the cog to the right of the item, then click either Copy to Course or Save to Resources.

If you want to access student work in an archived course, you can do so through Gradebook. If your Gradebook appears blank, change the grading period filter in the top left drop-down menu.

3. Make Your Schoology Calendar Work For You:

Did you know you can color-code and filter your Schoology Calendar to help you keep track of upcoming assignments, tests, and other events? Check out the GIFs below to learn how!

Color-Code Your Calendar so each Course and Group is a different color:

Filter Your Calendar to Show One Course at Once:

2. Mathematics Department Meeting Slides

November 27, 2019: Gmail Hacks

🦃Happy almost-Thanksgiving, everyone! My gift to you is a mini Tech Corner on Gmail hacks.🦃

1. Gmail Hacks

Want to make your Gmail inbox look like this? Click this ThingLink image to learn how to organize your inbox into categories, how to make your Gmail inbox look like Outlook, and how to create and edit labels!

November 15, 2019: Peer Review, LaTeX Equations, and More!

1. Create a Calendar Event for Items Not Submitted Through Schoology:

Watch the 3-minute video below to learn how to add a paper test, oral presentation, or any other non-Schoology assignment/assessment to your students' calendars and to Workload Planning!

2. Set a Default Category for Newly Created Materials:

Did you know you can set a default category for newly created materials? To do this, go to Grade Setup in any course, then click the star next to the category you want to make your default. Learn more about Schoology’s Grading Categories here.

1. The discussion instructions and rubric:

2. Overall grade and comment for William Tester's feedback. Click on the rubric icon to score William Tester on the rubric:

3. Score William Tester on the rubric. Click on the speech bubble icon to give feedback on specific categories/indicators.

2. 🌟NEW!🌟Change the title of your course in Schoology:

Now you can change the title and section name of your course in Schoology! Adding your name to your course title or section helps case managers and support staff identify your course more easily, as many of them have dozens of courses in Schoology! Simply go to Course Options > Edit Info to make the change.

3. Rearrange Your Courses in Schoology:

Did you know you can move courses around on the Course Dashboard? Drag and drop the tiles to rearrange the order of your courses on the dashboard. This also rearranges the order in the Courses drop-down menu, which displays up to twelve of your courses.

4. Adjust Discussion Settings to Support Genuine Responses and Collaboration:

Prevent your students from seeing previous posts to a discussion thread in Schoology before posting their own response:

Create a shared discussion across class sections. Use this tool to create cross-section or cross-grade literature discussions, or to help students plan collaborative projects across your classes. A great peer learning tool! Click here to learn more.

5. Sharing Google Drive Assignments with a Co-Teacher:

Do you use the Google Drive Assignments tool within Schoology? Do co-teachers, case managers, and support staff have trouble accessing those assignments? Similar to Google Classroom, the Google Drive Assignments tools automatically makes a folder (“Schoology Google Drive Assignments”) that itself contains sub-folders for each of your courses. Simply share the course subfolder with the co-teacher, case manager, or support staff, and they will have access to all past and future assignments created with this tool. Watch the video below for more details!

1. 🌟NEW!🌟Creating Section-Level Roles for Case Managers and Support Staff:

Now you can further individualize Schoology roles for case managers and support staff! After making the person in question “admin,” click again on the cog to set a section-level role. Check out this 1-minute video if you need more detailed instructions:

2. Student Workload Planning

Schoology's Workload Planning feature is a quick way to visualize the homework, assessments, and due dates your students have across all their courses.

4. Bonus Resource Tip: Dictate with Google's Voice Typing

Do your ideas flow faster than you can type? Google’s Voice Typing is a free feature of Google Docs and Slides that allows you to think out loud while your computer types for you. It’s particularly useful when a student can express their ideas out loud, but has trouble translating those ideas to typing. Make sure you use the Chrome browser, then open up a Google Doc and click Tools > Voice typing, or open a Google Slide and click Tools > Voice type speaker notes.

5. Bonus Resource Tip: Embed Audio into a Google Slide

Do you use Google Slides to flip your classroom? Do you want your students to create presentations that are enhanced with audio narration? Google is working on a feature for adding audio to Google Slides (release date TBD as of 10.02.19), but for now, you can try this workaround!

2. Secure Your Testing Environment with Lockdown Browser:

Did you know you can prevent students from instant messaging, taking screenshots, and accessing other websites while they take assessments/tests/quizzes on Schoology? Check out this video to learn how!

3. Turnitin Integration:

Is Turnitin your go-to assignment submission and student collaboration tool? Great news: now Turnitin can integrate smoothly with Schoology! Check out this video for a step-by-step review of the process, and be sure to copy/paste the following URL for future reference:

https://api.turnitin.com/api/lti/1p0/assignment

4. Use Grading Groups to Support Students Who Require 504/IEP Modifications/Accommodations:

When you assign something to a grading group, the entire item is only available to those students in the group. Use this method to create multiple versions of the same material, each with its own parameters. It’s particularly useful for students who have 1.5X on assessments! Check out this video to learn how to create grading groups.