6-3-2025 Tuesday Tech Tips

          

In today's edition, you can learn all about: A neat Windows tool to take copying and pasting to the next level A reminder about Phishing emails Notes about saving in MyViewBoard The importance of regularly updating your Chromebook and more!  ➡️ ➡️➡️

💡 Quick Tip 💡 We highly encourage you to please update your Chromebooks regularly- and encourage your students to update, too!  Make that a "classroom job,"- have a class "Chromebook Update Encourager."  Or make it a classroom routine- every Friday morning, everyone updates.   To update, click on the clock, the gear, then on the bottom left, "About Chrome OS."  Then in the top middle of the screen, "Check for Updates." Updating can solve problems before they happen! Updating regularly is the best way to keep your device running efficiently After an update, the device will prompt the user to restart.  Restarting regularly is also a great way to keep the device running efficiently If you don't manually update, the device will eventually update on its own.   But if you update manually, it usually takes just a minute or two, tops- whereas waiting for the device to update on its own results in longer update times. Regular, small updates are quicker than occasional large updates.

Do you have a tip or idea for the Tuesday Tech Tips? Or a request for a topic or question you'd like to know more about? Please let us know! You can email us at joseph.lombardo@greececsd.org with your submission.

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Reminder- Don't Get Phished! About 90% of the Time, Cyberattacks Are Successful Due to Human Error.

Please take a few moments to review the poster above to see how to recognize and avoid phishing emails. These skills don't only apply to your GCSD email- your personal email is likely a target of phishing, too!

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Did you know you can access the history of what you've copied on a Windows device, and paste it easily any time? Using Windows Key + V is a great way to easily paste text that you regularly use over and over. You can also use this function to paste items other than what you most recently copied. This is includes both text and images.

Check out the video HERE, also embedded below, for an explanation on how to use this handy, time-saving tool for Windows users.

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Coming Soon....News on Summer Tech Camp 2025!

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MyViewBoard auto save only autosaves after you’ve manually saved once.

When autosave is enabled in myViewBoard, it automatically saves your progress every 10 minutes. However, if you haven't manually saved a file yet, the autosave feature does not work. It is essential to manually save your work using the Save as function to designate a specific folder destination on your local drive or cloud storage.

To ensure your work is saved correctly, follow these steps:

• Open File Manager

• Press Save as

• We recommend saving to Google Drive

• Name the file and press the confirm button to save

Yes, we learned this the hard way.

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For assistance with these topics, or anything else related to instructional technology, please click HERE to book an appointment with your building's ITT.

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5-13-2025 Tuesday Tech Tips

         

In today's edition, you can learn all about: Great ways to earn PL hours by June 1 A reminder about Phishing emails Some sad news about Loom and more!  ➡️ ➡️➡️

💡 Quick Tip 💡 Here's a tip we got from TechNotes... In Docs, Sheets, etc., "Use @ to Insert Smart Chips and Building Blocks. Typing @ in a document lets you quickly insert: People Calendar Events Files Checklists Meeting Notes Decision Logs Road Maps Trackers And that’s just a handful of what pops up. Just type “@” and skip the menus—everything you need is right at your fingertips!"

Do you have a tip or idea for the Tuesday Tech Tips? Or a request for a topic or question you'd like to know more about? Please let us know! You can email us at joseph.lombardo@greececsd.org with your submission.

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Reminder- Don't Get Phished! About 90% of the Time, Cyberattacks Are Successful Due to Human Error.

Please take a few moments to review the poster above to see how to recognize and avoid phishing emails. These skills don't only apply to your GCSD email- your personal email is likely a target of phishing, too!

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We're saying goodbye* to an old favorite of the ITT Team. We just learned that Loom stopped offering their fully-upgraded accounts free to teachers. As there are many other similar products that we already subscribe to, we're no longer recommending Loom as a screen-recording tool.

Instead, the same functionality can be found in Google Vids, the WeVideo extension, Annotate, Canva, and Screencast, which is the built-in Chromebook screen recorder. Look for specific articles about those tools in upcoming Tuesday Tips!

Now, about that "*." If you already have the free, full version of Loom, the vendor tells us "users who are currently on the old free education plan will remain on that plan for now. Please rest assured that if there are any future updates to the plan or its terms, we will be sure to notify all affected users via email in advance."

We're afraid we don't know anything beyond that, but our Spidey Sense is telling us to start brushing up on Vids, WeVideo extension, Annotate, Canva, or Screencast.

We probably all know what "for now" means.

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Coming Soon....News on Summer Tech Camp 2025!

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Are you a GTA member who needs to finish up your required 10 hours of PL by the hard deadline of June 1st? Are you looking for high-quality professional learning related to Instructional Technology?

Be sure to check out the ITT page for Recommended Professional Learning opportunities HERE, where you’ll find webinars, certifications, and especially some new AI learning material…all for PL credit!

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For assistance with these topics, or anything else related to instructional technology, please click HERE to book an appointment with your building's ITT.

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1-30-2024 Tuesday Tech Tips

Welcome to the 💯th edition of the Tuesday Tech Tips!

In today's Tuesday Tech Tips, read all about a quick way to take a screenshot on a Chromebook, a resource to use YouTube ad-free with your students or in presentations, a scam targeting school district employees in Monroe County, a free random name chooser and group maker that lets you save your lists, and more! ➡️ ➡️➡️

💡 Quick Tip 💡 We recently told you about the Windows keystroke shortcut to take a screenshot. By request, today we're sharing how to do it on a Chromebook.   Control + Show (the key above the 6 that looks like a rectangle next to two vertical lines) takes a screenshot of the whole screen. Control + Shift + Show lets you select an area to take a screenshot of.   Find all the details on this HERE, with a BONUS TIP on how to record your Chromebook screen.

Do you have a tip or idea for the Tuesday Tech Tips? Or a request for a topic or question you'd like to know more about? Please let us know! You can email us at joseph.lombardo@greececsd.org with your submission.

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Use YouTube ad-free with Watchkin

The ads in YouTube can be a real intrusion into a lesson or presentation that incorporates a YouTube video. For those of you that remember ViewPure, Watchkin operates in essentially the same way. Viewpure was blocked in GCSD since it turned out to be a way for students to circumvent our filters. It's also out of business, so there's that, too. Watchkin is currently an alternative. For example, at this link you can enjoy highlights of Notre Dame dismantling USC in tackle football, but, you're likely going to be presented with ads:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK9gFAFR-xs&t

Alternatively, using Watchkin, you can watch the same glorious video at this link, without those pesky advertisements:

https://watchkin.com/bec82d5b88

If you visit Watchkin.com, the process will be clear. Please note, there's documentation on their site about adding a bookmark and an extension to convert a YouTube link to a Watchkin link- however that currently isn't available in our environment. But with a quick copy and paste, your YouTube links can become ad-free Watchkin links.

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No, the Superintendent isn't Texting You

We recently became aware of a scheme happening where a staff member gets a text purporting to be from Superintendent Kathy Graupman. There are texts like the one shown above being sent with the names of at least four other district superintendents in Monroe County.

Please have a look at the screenshot of the texts. It comes from area code 213, which is in Los Angeles. The initial text is signed "Thanks, Ms. Kathleen Graupman." No one besides my mother signs their texts. The initial text included a sense of urgency with "text me back as soon as you can." Things like this should make you question the validity of a text.

There is virtually no legitimate scenario where an urgent text or email comes from out of the blue from someone you don't regularly communicate with. Please remember to remain vigilant to avoid being the victim of a scam.

And don't ever buy gift cards for someone on the internet. Ever.

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Random Name Selector and Group Maker

There are plenty of sites out there that let you make as random name chooser, but most of them don't let you save your work, or they're overloaded with ads, or both. We've got a solution for you that's almost ad-free*, lets you save your lists, and is very easy to use.

Check out flippity.net HERE. There's enough there to keep you busy for very long time, but we're looking at the top row, 4th column, "Random Name Picker." Click "Instructions," follow the directions, and in just seconds, you can create and save your random name choosers/group makers.

For example, are you having a hard time deciding which ITT is your favorite? Get help deciding with the spinner HERE.

• Okay let's clarify that asterisk* above. When you go to the Flippity home page, there are ads. But, the spinners and other tools you create there don't have ads. So when you pull up your random name chooser like this one HERE on your Interactive Panel in front of your class in the moment, there won't be any ads.

When SMART Notebook retired their name chooser, that was a dark day for many of us. Flippity can make those clouds go away.

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Looking for PL Hours? Be sure to check out the ITT’s page for Recommended PL HERE. You’ll find upcoming webinar and session opportunities, as well as ongoing opportunities for digital tool certifications and self-paced learning. These offerings are updated frequently so bookmark the site and check back often!

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For assistance with these topics, or anything else related to instructional technology, please click HERE to book an appointment with your building's ITT.

6-6-2023 Tuesday Tech Tips

 

In today's Tuesday Tech Alerts, read all about some new guidelines related to student Chromebooks, a troubleshooting technique that may save you lots of time if a website isn't working as expected, news on some recent phishing campaigns directed at GCSD, PL opportunities for all staff, & more!➡️ ➡️➡️

💡 Quick Tips 💡 Have you ever wanted to postpone an email and temporarily remove it from your inbox until you need it?  Or schedule an email you've written to send at a later day or time? 📧📧     &    📧📧

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New Guidelines for Student Chromebooks

Stickers should NO LONGER be put directly on Chromebooks or cases. Removing stickers requires a lot of effort and chemicals when repairs and swaps are made. Instead, students can position a decorated half sheet of paper under the transparent cover on the top lid. Masking tape is the only other acceptable option for labeling Chromebooks. Thank you for adhering to this (pardon the pun) going forward.

And remember, Chromebooks at K-5 should not move with students from year to year.

You can read more details about these guidelines HERE.

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You can solve problems twice as fast as Hollywood
legend Nicholas Cage when you know about this

Your Website Problems Could be Gone in 30 Seconds

Is something not working for in Chrome for just you or a few users? Do THIS as your first line of defense. Just follow the steps shown in this quick video on the site that you're having an issue with. You just may be able to fix it that quickly.

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You're Doing a Great Job Tackling Phishing Emails, GCSD!

In the last few weeks, we've seen an increase in the number of Phishing emails being sent to our users. In the wake of our first Phishing Drill campaign, we're seeing users doing an outstanding job marking them as spam or phishing, which has helped TSS remove many Phishing emails from users' inboxes before they even saw them. Teamwork really does make the Dream work!

Remember, there's no need to forward a suspected phishing email to TSS. Please continue to help proactively thwart phishing by using the "Report spam" and "Report phishing" functions in Gmail, and following the suggestions found HERE.

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Bonus Entry!

Repeat from our last issue...On the off chance that you want, or perhaps need, to get some PL hours in by the end of the school year

Please check out our curated PL offering from our partner vendors HERE. More has just been added!

Make sure you scroll down on that page to see the links to sites to get certifications directly from companies such as Nearpod, Book Creator, and Kami.

The Book Creator certification HERE is very good. Plus, the vendor has promised to send us some swag if we get more of our teachers, by percentage, to get certified than their current leader, those know-it-all's in Kansas City Public Schools. It's a recently updated, media-heavy PL that will teach you all you need to know about this outstanding resource in less than two hours.

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For assistance with these topics, or anything else related to instructional technology, please click HERE to book an appointment with your building's ITT.

5-2-2023 Special Edition Tuesday Tech Tips: Don't Get Phished!

 Special Edition Tuesday Tech Alerts: Don't Get Phished! 

About 90% of the Time, Cyberattacks Are Successful Due to Human Error

Cyberattacks, such as phishing emails, are a real and serious concern for school districts. School districts are prime targets for cybercriminals, as we manage a wide range of personal data and have limited resources for cyber protection. Based on state regulations and recommendations from our external auditors, we've identified and prioritized our need to increase our users' capacity to recognize phishing emails. This is a critical skill- click HERE to read about how phishing emails have resulted in some school districts being effectively incapacitated.  March 2023 saw the highest ransomware victim count in two years, up 60% according to our insurance carrier.

As part of our ongoing efforts to protect staff and student data, the Office of Technology recently partnered with Knowbe4, a Phishing Drill Software System. Knowbe4 will help us:

• provide feedback to users on how to avoid being a victim of phishing
• run small-scale drills through 2023-2024, and
• increase engagement with staff regarding how to recognize and respond appropriately to phishing.

In March, we worked with Knowbe4 to obtain baseline data by conducting a district-wide drill consisting of a spoof phishing email to all of our staff members. This email asked users to click on a link and supply their Google password for a verification check. 2,909 users across all bargaining units read the email. Their responses to it are shown in the graph below. As you can see, we have room for improvement.

The point of the drill was NOT a "gotcha." It was to see how we're doing, and to help us plan with Knowbe4 on how to improve. 

Our goal is to empower and educate our users--there is nothing punitive about this undertaking.

In the coming weeks, the poster pictured below will be shared with school staff members either at a staff meeting, and/or as a flyer in your mailbox. Please take a few moments to review it to see how to recognize and avoid phishing emails. These skills don't only apply to your GCSD email- your personal email is likely a target of phishing, too!

Going forward, our plan is to run several small-scale drills through 2023-2024. Just like fire drills and lockdown drills are important and necessary to protect our staff and students, these drills are part of our plan to protect our staff and student data. The results from these drills will help us target where more training is needed.  Plus, users may get digital feedback from Knowbe4 if they did something wrong, such as clicking on a suspicious link, and this feedback includes teaching these users how they can avoid making a mistake again.

Thank you for your efforts to protect our staff and student data!

Image used courtesy of the Dept. of Agriculture