Another month has come and gone and FINALLY, Spring is here! Welcome to Volume 3 of the technology newsletter. Now that we're in the home stretch to the close of another school term, the technology team is busy planning for summer and the 2019-2020 school year. Take a peek in this month's issue for topics like: online digital portfolios at Patton, staff device replacements over the summer, online testing and more GMAIL tips! As always, we're here to help ~ reach out with any questions or ideas :)

around the district

My Story @ CFPMS

Last year at Patton, we began to examine how our Student Led Conference tradition might evolve with the recent Chromebook 1 to 1 implementation. We began discussing the role of digital portfolios in these conferences and quickly realized that these portfolios would also have meaning and importance not just during conference time but throughout a student’s entire middle school journey as well. At Patton Middle School, we believe that every student has a story, and every story matters. So, "My Story" is a new learning initiative at Patton with the purpose of capturing and communicating student progress and growth in a digital portfolio format. Using Google Sites, our students tell the story of their Patton Middle School years, including, but not limited to, their goals, reflections on their learning, and evidence of growth academically, socially and emotionally. Our job is to present a structure and facilitate opportunities for our students to tell "their stories" without fear of ridicule, failure, or any other concern that prevents them from telling their authentic and significant story.

Patton students did an outstanding job presenting their “My Story” portfolios at a recent school board meeting and you can view the student presentations from the evening right here. You can also visit the My Story pages on the Patton website at cfpms.ucfsd.org/forstudents/mystory for background and more details about the program. And in February, Patton teacher John Walsh and Meg Basilio presented the My Story initiative to other middle teachers from around the state at the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education State Conference in State College and you can view the presentation from their session right here. We are #PattonProud of My Story!

Online PSSA

State testing is right around the corner for students in grades 3-8! Each year, a majority of our students take the state standardized PSSA via paper/pencil. However, we also have students that take the test via an online method. Over the years, PDE has developed an online application that allows students to log in to take the test. This is especially helpful for students with special accommodations, because they are already built into the application! In addition, features like highlighting, line guides, sticky notes, and cross-off are tools all students can utilize in the online format.

Click here to see what the Online PSSA and Keystone look like in action!

Staff Device Refresh

As we prepare for the close of our school year, the technology team would like to try a different approach to refreshing staff devices that are up for replacement. You will be receiving a message from Kim Van der Mooren, our technology admin assistant, with information, instructions and input we need from you. Our plan is to set up time slots for you to come in to swap out your old device for your new device before the start of the school year. We tested this approach with our high school staff and it was received well and with much success.

Be on the lookout for an email in April for those on the device refresh list.

behind the scenes

What happens when a chromebook breaks?

Our tech department has a group of technicians capable of repairing Chromebooks in-house. Check out our video showing one of those rockstar technicians, Ryan, repair a broken Chromebook. Once you see the video, we're sure you will appreciate the time and expertise involved in getting these devices up and running for students and teachers. Please stress the importance of proper device handling to your students and peers!

Additional Email Security

We have sent several messages in regards to phishing emails. As always, be cautious on the emails you receive and always be suspicious. If you are not sure, forward emails you receive for further review to your local tech staff or technology folks at the district office. Better safe than sorry as it takes just one person to give information for them to be successful.

In addition to the messages we sent all our staff, our network technician, Matt Fogleman, has implemented additional security on our email domain.

We updated SPF records, refreshed our DKIM information and added DMARC records to our domain. We also included the ability for google to add that big orange banner to your emails located below. The system uses an algorithm to determine if the email is potentially harmful. Sometimes emails are scored in the harmful category even though they may be legit. Just keep an eye on this banner and double check that email before you continue responding to the recipient.

Here is more information about SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

What is DKIM? - https://www.sparkpost.com/resources/email-explained/dkim-domainkeys-identified-mail/

What is SPF? - https://www.sparkpost.com/resources/email-explained/spf-sender-policy-framework/

What is DMARC? - https://www.sparkpost.com/resources/email-explained/dmarc-explained/

powerschool/CANVAS

Online Report Cards in Elementary - Did you know that UCF has gone completely paperless for report cards this year?! With the addition of elementary this year, we now have ALL parents K-12 accessing their child's report card through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Parents have all received a "how-to" sheet for directions of how to access the report card. Click here to see the directions. Please direct any questions to the main office.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST features in canvas lms

Help is always available on the Canvas Community https://community.canvaslms.com/

tip of the month

Did you know that you can show your google calendar from your GMAIL interface?

Go to your email inbox. On the right side you will see a calendar icon.

Click it to expand and you have your calendar view within your email pane.

You can also do the same with Google Keep (a note taking app) and Google Tasks (a task keeping app). More information on those applications in future newsletters.

Happy Googling!

helpdesk

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