SCS Tech Drop
August 2025
Ozobots are small, programmable robots that can be coded using color patterns or block-based coding platforms like Blockly. In classrooms, they offer students a hands-on way to merge creativity with critical thinking by turning abstract concepts into visible, moving representations.
During a recent visit to Mary Giaimo’s high school ELA elective, Sci-Fi Fantasy Literature, students used Ozobots to explore themes from Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot and its film adaptation. By programming the robots with color codes and Blockly, they created movements—such as a nitro boost to represent intensity or a spin to illustrate internal conflict—that reflected character actions and thematic development. Students then presented their projects, explaining how each robot’s movements connected to the texts and sharing thoughtful interpretations of both the book and the movie. The activity showcased how literature and film can come alive through hands-on coding in an engaging and memorable way.
As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline resources, reduce redundancy, and be better financial stewards, GradeCam will no longer be supported after this school year. Instead, we will continue to build our assessment system around Pear Assessment.
There are several important reasons for this transition:
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Alignment with State Testing: Pear Assessment allows us to design and modify assessments that more closely mirror OSTs, including multimodal question types that better prepare students for state assessments.
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Comprehensive Reporting: Pear Assessment provides stronger data features, including student performance over time, subgroup analysis, and standards mastery reporting—all in one place.
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Student Accommodations & Tools: Pear offers built-in supports such as calculators, read-aloud, and other accessibility features to meet the diverse needs of our learners.
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Secure Testing Environment: Pear Assessment includes a dedicated kiosk mode that locks down student devices to ensure test security and integrity.
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Paper-Pencil Option: Pear Assessment also provides bubble sheet assessments; however, uploading requires a copy machine rather than a document camera.
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Unified Platform: By consolidating to Pear Assessment, we eliminate the overlap of multiple tools, making it easier for teachers to manage assessments and for students to have a consistent experience.
To support this transition, time will be provided during upcoming PD sessions to help staff learn the Pear platform and migrate assessments from GradeCam. Additional resources and training will also be shared to ensure everyone feels confident in using Pear to its fullest potential.
We recognize that this transition represents a significant change for some of our SHS teachers and departments who have relied on GradeCam as part of their assessment practice. Both the Curriculum Department and the Technology Department are committed to supporting you through this process by providing training, resources, and ongoing guidance. Our goal is to make this shift as smooth as possible while ensuring that the tools we use continue to enhance instruction and student learning. Thank you for your flexibility as we make this important shift to strengthen instruction and better support both teachers and students.
🎨 Canva for Education – District Team Access
We know many staff members have already joined Canva and noticed “building groups” popping up. Unfortunately, those groups are not something we control and anyone can create them.
To simplify access and provide consistency, we’ve created a district-wide Canva Team. By joining this team, you’ll have:
✅ The ability to share templates and designs district-wide
✅ Central approval from the tech department to keep everything streamlined
✅ You do not need to leave any current groups to join
How to join our SCS District Canva Team:
- Click HERE to verify your scsmustangs.org account as an Educator account.
- Click HERE to join out team.
- The Technology Department will approve your request.
This setup ensures everyone has access to the same powerful design tools, while keeping sharing and collaboration simple across the district.
NEW: We have updated the Team to have a Branding Kit to include district logos and colors.
📊 Evolving GenAI Practice – New "Levels of AI Use in Class" Poster
Check out Version 2 of our Levels of AI Use in Class poster! This updated framework helps educators reflect on their current AI integration and plan next steps to elevate instruction, support student agency, and use Magic School AI ethically and purposefully. Visit our Generative AI resource page to learn more!
Meet Your Instructional Coaches
Click HERE to see your building’s instructional coaches.
No Tech Ticket = We Can't Help You
As we kick off the school year, the Technology Department is focused on building readiness, device rollouts, and classroom setup. To help us respond quickly, please submit a tech ticket for any issues you encounter. The sooner we know, the faster we can assist.
You can now easily access the Tech Ticket and Maintenance Request forms from the SCS Bookmarks folder in your Chrome browser.
If you have questions about how to submit a ticket, reach out to your building tech or check out the following resources:
Allowed Programs / Student Data Privacy
If you don’t see your program listed, please complete this survey to submit it for review.
🎯 Programs with a Purpose
Our instructional programs are designed to support strong, Tier 1 instruction across all grade levels.
Need a refresher or quick start guide? Visit Mustang University for these resources or explore our Generative AI resources at Magic School at SCS to enhance your lessons.
Student-Teacher Google Accounts
