4-23-2024 Tuesday Tech Tips

   

In today's Tuesday Tech Tips, read all about using a citation and bibliography tool built into Google Docs, news on Newsela, how to leverage Swank to provide access to movies for your students, and more! ➡️ ➡️➡️

💡 Quick Tip 💡 Action shot of a Tuesday Tech Tips reader putting a new skill to use. On a Chromebook, one way to open a link in a new tab is to use a 3-finger click.  Score another one for Chromebooks! More details HERE.

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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Did you know that Google Docs can help students properly cite and create a bibliography using Chicago, MLA, or APA style? In Docs, go to Tools --> Citations.

Citing your sources has never been more fun. More details can be found HERE.

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Newsela has changed their “free” access. They now pick the articles that are “free," removing the choice for teachers. This has mainly impacted the ELA teachers at the secondary level.

As we begin the curriculum review cycle with the 9-12 teachers, this might be a resource that we add at a premium level should the committee determine it is needed. We will continue to renew premium level access for all Social Studies teachers on our 6-12 campuses.

Bonus Tip: Have you ever wondered how to pronounce Newsela? Well, grab your umbrella, eat some mozzarella, and click HERE to find out.

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Loyal Tuesday Tech Tips
Reader Hilary Swank

 

You can share links to movies from Swank directly with your students!  While only staff members can search for movies in Swank, which is accessible via ClassLink, you can get links to movies there- and share the links with your students.  

Using the link you provide them, students can supply their GCSD Google accounts credentials, and stream the movie on their own devices.

Inspiring content available in Swank

Please remember to always consider the Board Policy on movies as it relates to ratings and ages linked HERE before using Swank, or any other movies, with your students.  

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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.

1-28-2025 Tuesday Tech Tips

     

In today's edition, read about:  a troubleshooting tip for our movie streaming service Swank a new "grade all" feature in Google Classroom an easy way to dip your toe into the MagicSchool pool with their Choice Board Generator easily generating QR codes in Chrome and more! ➡️ ➡️➡️

💡 Quick Tip 💡 To create a QR code to link to a webpage in Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page, and choose "create QR code for this page."  You can then copy it, and include it in something like the "Quick Tip" in your Tuesday Tech Tips. Scan the QR code, or click HERE to access our help site. Always keep in mind that QR codes aren't for everybody.  If you're reading this on your phone, for example, that QR code may not help you.  So remember to always provide a direct link in addition to sharing a QR code, like we have in the caption above.

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. ___________________________

If you're having any technical issues with Swank, you will need to clear your cache in Chrome, and it should work fine from there. Directions on how to do that can be found HERE.

Swank is a movie streaming service for GCSD staff, which includes the ability to share links to movies with your students. Read more about it in a previous Tech Tip HERE.

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Click the image for a brief video showing how to use this new feature

Introducing the ability to ‘grade all’ in Google Classroom

You may remember that last year, Google added a "missing" grade state to Gradebook (details HERE). To further improve upon grading options for teachers and give them the ability to perform bulk grading, they just introduced "grade all".

With this new feature, teachers can quickly and efficiently grade all students' work on the Gradebook page by selecting "grade all". They can also choose to override existing grades and automatically return them to students after grading.

Not only does this update save time by eliminating the need to enter each student’s grade one-by-one, but it also provides a solution to grading assignments based on completion rather than accuracy (such as exit tickets, due nows, classwork, etc.) where the grade is binary (‘0’ or ‘100’).

Read all the details HERE.

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For a "light lift" intro to MagicSchool, we recommend trying out the Choice Board Generator. Check out the image above, also linked HERE, for directions and specifics.

With minimal input from you, MagicSchool can help you generate a Choice Board for your students!

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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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3-21-23 Tuesday Tech Tips

SAFETY ALERT

Recently a school district experienced a fire caused by devices were stacked on each other while charging. Please make sure devices are not stacked and have some space to ventilate while charging.

📽 🛠 🔋 In today's Tuesday Tech Alerts, read all about showing movies in the classroom, an easy troubleshooting step you can take when having any issue with a website, some Chromebook battery management recommendations, and more! ➡️➡️➡️

💡 Quick Tip 💡 Instead of sending someone a boring old link to an entire website or page, impress them by linking right to specific text on the site.

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If you're under age 30 and you know who
this is, then two thumbs up for you

The Reviews Are In On Showing Movies in School

It's a Thumbs Down from Ebert: "Here's the part that GCSD moviegoers aren't going to like: Per their user agreements, streaming services such as Netflix*, Hulu, Disney+, etc. may NOT be used in classrooms. It's not Greece, it's them. And the district has a legal obligation to enforce copyright laws."

It's a Thumbs Up from Siskel: "You're no fun, Roger! Let's remind them of the good news: Every teacher has access to Swank Streaming Services. It's in ClassLink, or you can log in HERE. There are currently over 500 major motion pictures available to legally stream on Swank."

Thanks, guys! The details on all of this, including a small exception to the Netflix user agreement, can be found HERE. Grab some popcorn and enjoy a nice read.

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No, it's not pronounced like "cachet"

Website Issues? Fix it Fast: Just Clear the Cache

When running into a problem with any web-based resource (i.e. a website), whether using a Chromebook or a Windows device, a great first step for you or your students to take is to clear the browser's cache. This will often solve the issue. It's quick and easy, the directions below are also linked HERE.

 

1. At the top right in Chrome, click the 3 dots "snowman" icon 
2. Click More tools  Clear browsing data.
3. At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select All time.
4. Next to "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files," check the boxes.
5. Click Clear data.

Close Chrome, reopen it, and see if that did it. According to a statistic I just made up, clearing the cache will fix the problem 26% of the time.

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Chromebook Power-Saving & 

Battery Management Tips

Are you or your students experiencing your Chromebooks running low on battery power more quickly than you'd like? Check out the following Chromebook battery power-saving tips that the nice folks at Haverford High School in Haverton, PA put together. They include:

• Decreasing your screen brightness
• Shutting down when feasible, and definitely nightly!
• See how to do that HERE
• Closing programs and tabs
• Lowering the volume
• Yes, seriously
• And more- check them all out HERE.

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

Tuesday Tech Tips 3-11-25

       

In today's edition, read all about: How to use AI to make a podcast of your lesson for students to study Information for Chromebook users about getting a large monitor, keyboard, and mouse Streaming video resources (other than YouTube) for GCSD staff Digital wellness suggestions on screen time tracking and setting limits for particular apps and more! ➡️ ➡️➡️

💡 Quick Tip 💡 Create Hyperlinks Faster! Update your workflow without having to copy/paste URLs to make hyperlinks!  Click   in the address bar to grab the URL → Drag it to where you want it (Doc, Slides, etc.)→ Many site will suggest a cleaned up version for you!

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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What if you could have a podcast of any of your lessons created in minutes? Using NotebookLM, a Google AI tool that can be trained, you can add notes from your class to a Notebook, and then ask it to create a podcast. Those notes can be files from your Google Drive or Desktop, websites, videos, or audio files. After that, you just click on Generate and it will create a podcast that will include your notes. It is actually pretty slick. Then you can download that podcast and add it to your Google Classroom for students to listen to. Even if just a few students use it, those are students you may have helped with only about five minutes of your effort. For an example that a GCSD teacher made for Global History, click HERE. Why not listen to it on your drive home from work today and learn a little about the Classical Period? Click HERE to see how to do it.

Have you found the benefits from using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to enhance your teaching and work related tasks? Want to guide your students to learn the benefits of using AI? Join the MagicStudent Pilot for grade 3-12 teachers! Learn about the pilot HERE and contact your ITT to get started today!

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Get a bigger screen for your Chromebook!

If you need a larger screen, keyboard, and mouse for your district device, you can request a Teacher Monitor Station. The monitor station will also charge your Chromebook. Please note that when the monitor station is installed, it will replace your current desktop. Staff members who received the email about new devices for next year should consider requesting a monitor station soon. Teacher Monitor Stations are not automatically set up with new devices, and when the desktop in your classroom is removed, there will be nothing in its place unless you request a monitor station. To request a monitor station, create a Web Help Desk ticket. You can find this in the Technology Support folder in ClassLink. After you sign in, select Staff Device Request and fill in the required fields. Be sure to check the box for Teacher Monitor Station.

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This month’s Digital Wellness Tip is…

Enable screen time tracking and set limits for particular apps: Setting screen time limits for social media apps can reduce feelings of depression and loneliness (Hunt et al., 2018). A 2018 study found that limiting social media use to approximately 30 minutes per day may lead to significant improvement in well-being.

Not sure how to change your settings?

• iPhone Screen time tracking: Settings → Screen time → Turn On Screen Time (if disabled)
• iPhone App limits: Settings → Screen time → App Limits → (Choose category or app) → Next (Choose time limits)
• Android Screen time tracking: Settings → Digital wellbeing & parental controls → Manage your data → Enable “Daily device usage”
• Android App limits: Settings → Digital wellbeing & parental controls → Dashboard → (Choose app) → Tap hourglass

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The BOCES 2 SLS is excited to share information regarding Streaming Video options for the classroom.

They have curated a resource guide highlighting various streaming options available in our region. To access the Streaming Video Resource Guide, click HERE.

 There are six tools showcased there.

• Learn 360: Available to add in ClassLink for all staff by school
• ClickView: Available to add in ClassLink for all staff
• Swank: Available in ClassLink for all staff
• Brain Pop: Varies by school. Generally an elementary resource, and it's in ClassLink.
• PBS Learning Media: Available to add in ClassLink for all staff
• Panopto: Available in ClassLink for all staff. However, we don't promote this tool, and it's really an outlier on this list from BOCES. It's not so much a streaming video resource as a video creation resource, and we recommend other tools for that.

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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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