Birds of a Feather

Did you know that you can easily reorder your course tiles? That's right, you heard it here! Your Schoology Courses dashboard automatically defaults to the first twelve courses on your Courses list, but with a few clicks you can easily reorder which courses appear on your dashboard.

Let me show you how easy it is!

1. From your Schoology dashboard, select Courses.

2. Select My Courses.

3. In the right-side panel, select Re-Order Courses.

4. Click and drag to arrange the courses you want to see in your Courses dashboard.

It really is that easy and students can do this too!

Did you know that you can easily access another course without having to click on the Courses tab? In the upper right corner of your screen, there is an icon that looks like a notebook. This is the Course Switcher! Click on the notebook to access a drop-down menu of your Courses. You can easily navigate from one course to another all via the Course Switcher!

Goodbye Google Meets and Hello Zoom! Are you still trying to learn all the ins and outs of Zoom? No worries! NISD has you covered with the creation of the NISD Teacher Video Conferencing Site.

• Did you know you can upload your Zoom recordings to Google Drive and share the link with your students on Schoology?
  
• Worried about Zoom bombers? Learn how to securetly set up your meetings.
• Want to learn how to manage Zoom Breakout Rooms?
• What's the difference between a Co-Host and an Alternate Host?

Answers to these questions and more are posted on the site. To access the site, visit Employee Connections and navigate to the Online Required Trainings. Look for Zoom Site Acknowledgment to access the site and to also complete your another required online training component.

In an effort to keep your Zoom meetings secure, please remember to change your links frequently. A good rule of thumb is to create new meetings links each week for each content area. Why do you need a link for each content area when it it's so much easier just to have one link? For security reasons, teachers should be using multiple links for their Zoom meetings. These links should be posted within each content area course. The goal is to have students navigate to the materials posted in each course. What better way to accomplish this than by having students begin each instructional lesson by clicking on the correspodning Zoom link? By posting the links to each Zoom meeting within each course, you are creating a daily routine. Just like with daily routines in the classroom, it will take awhile to establish virtual learning routines too. Be patient and give your students and yourself a little grace.

Another way to keep your Zoom meeting secure is to create hyperlinks that hide your Zoom meeting information. Do not just copy and paste the Zoom link into your course announcements. Meetings links that are posted are easy to share with others. It is also a good idea to refrain from sharing meetings links via communication apps like Remind, Seesaw and Dojo. We want students and parents to access the links within Schoology. With modeling, time and practice, everyone should be able to easily access the links via Schoology.

Don't remember how to create a hyperlink within a Schoology announcement? It easier than you think. Watch this video to learn how.

Screencastify is my go to tool for creating how to videos, but it can be used for so much more. You can use it to pre-record a lesson, create a how to video, explain a concept, or add voice to a Google slide presentation. Screencastify even has an editor built in that allows you to crop and edit videos. Want to combine two videos into one? You can easily do that with Screencastify. The possibilities are endless!

My favorite part about Screencastify? It automatically stores my screencasts in Google Drive and I can easily copy and paste the link to share with y'all. You also have the option to upload your screencasts directly to YouTube. It doesn't get much easier than that.

In the past, you might have utilized the free version of Screencastify and noticed your were limited to 5 minute videos. During the spring, Screencastify was generous enough to offer the unlimited version to teachers via an access code. I have great news to share! NISD has purchased the Unlimited version of Screencastify for all classroom teachers. You get Screencastify! And you get Screencastify! Everyone gets Screencastify. All you need to do is install the Google extension and sync your NISD account. Watch the video below to set up your account and to get started utilizing Screencastify.

Want to learn "How to Master the Screencast?" Screencastify offers a one hour certification course that covers Screencastify basics in addition to ways how to utilize the tool with students, colleagues, and parents. You can even earn ERO credit for completing the certification. Click here to enroll in the Master the Screencast Certificaton course.

Don't have time to enroll in the course, here are a few more resources to get you started. I found a great YouTube tutorial created by Amy @friEDTechnology (Check Out the Lastest Version of Screencstify) and you can also review The Beginner's Guide to Screencastify from the Screencastify site.

Lights, camera, Screencastify!

Northside ISD: Academic Technology

Elementary Academic Technology Coach

Email: michelle.fikac@nisd.net
Location: 6632 Bandera Road, Building E Leon Valley, TX, USA
Phone: 210.397.9404
Twitter: @TechCoachFikac