#EMSISDITS Tech Talk

Techy Talk for Teachers

The EMS ISD Instructional Technology team is excited to welcome Sasha Beavers (previously at Chisholm Ridge Elementary) and Emily Killen (previously at Elkins Elementary) to our team this year. The EMS Instructional Technology Team is excited to work with all EMS Community members this year to support and enhance the great things going on in our district this year!

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Welcome Back!

Can you believe it's already the second week of school? As you plan for the next week, unit or entire year, remember we are here to support and assist you in using all of the district's technology resources.

If you have an upcoming unit or activity that could use a little "technifying", contact us and we will help you find the right tools to use for your activity. Even if you don't really know where to start, we're here to help.

Contact your IT specialist today or email the group at its@ems-isd.net. We are happy the help!

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It's the Same Old Canvas- But Better!

If you've looked at your classes in Canvas, you probably have noticed that your courses look a little different. One thing you may have noticed is that it looks like you have way too many students in your classes. Your Canvas courses are now cross-listed or combined. That means that if you teach multiple sections of the same class, then you see all your students in that one course. A benefit of having your classes combined into one course means less time getting the courses prepared. Now, you can add an assignment one time, and it is assigned to all your students in that course, no matter the class period. Another benefit of cross listing is that you will have to do less updating, meaning if you make changes to one course, then your other courses will automatically update. Additionally, you can access your full roster of students in each of your courses, yet still be able to create course specific assignments, events, discussions, and quizzes. For more information and to see how this works, check out this tutorial.

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New Student Email Accounts

If you have worked with your students in their Office 365 accounts in the past, you know that sharing from teacher-to-student or student-to-teacher required you to sign in to a different Office 365 account. This was confusing at times and often inconvenient.

Our Network Administrators have worked hard to combine our students and employees into one account, while retaining enough separation to not "muddy the address book" with 20,000 additional student users.

Students will continue to log in through our SSO, but their email addresses have changed. The new address is comprised of their six digit ID number, followed by @s.ems-isd.net.

Example: 123456@s.ems-isd.net

The default student password is UPPERCASE first initial, lowercase last initial, followed by their 8 digit birthdate (mm/dd/yyyy).

All EMS ISD students have Office 365 accounts, but students 13 and under do not have access to the email portion of their account unless they have permission from parents.

If you have questions or would like help introducing Office 365 and the entire suite of student tools to your class, please contact your IT today!

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Where did the EMS App store go?

We've recently switched from AirWatch to InTune to manage district iPads. The main difference is that we no longer have an EMS App store installed on the device. When you need a new app on an iPad, simply submit a Helpdesk ticket in Eduphoria that includes the app name and URL from the Apple App Store along with the iPads you'd like the app to be pushed to.

Last year, Promethean Interactive Displays were installed in 1400+ classrooms. At that time Dozier Elementary and Hafley Development Center had a different brand of board. We are excited to announce that these two schools now have the same OPS (the onboard computer on the back of your display ... sometimes called "the brain") as the Prometheans. This allows these classrooms to have a very similar experience to the ones in all of the other campuses.

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Promethean Board Tips and Tricks

If you have not checked out our extensive library of Promethean Board tutorial videos, you are missing out. Click here to access our YouTube Playlist of Promethean Tips Videos.

Our latest video demonstrates how to add a shortcut to a document on to your board's home screen. Enjoy!

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Digital Breakout Summer Training

EMSISD teachers were able to earn GT credit AND have a blast with us learning how to create digital breakouts in OneNote and Canvas. We can't wait to see how they use this super engaging tool during the 2019-2020 school year!

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Front Office Boot Camp

District front office staff were hard at work during our Front Office Boot Camp this summer receiving training and updates on Skyward and more. We are thankful for the tireless work those at the front lines of every school do!

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CTI Meeting: Summer 2019

We had another fun and productive meeting with our district CTIs. These educators are truly amazing! They are willing to go above and beyond to ensure that teachers in our district are ready to integrate technology into their lessons and help however necessary!

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TEAMS at CRES

The staff at CRES is jumping into Microsoft TEAMS as a way to collaborate, plan, and have organization throughout the year. Way to go Wranglers!

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Student Portfolios at Elkins

These Ts at EES are using Microsoft OneNote for student portfolios. This year their students can track their progress and see growth from BOY to EOY and beyond. Way to go, Elks!

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Computer Lab Managers are Awesome!

Elementary Lab Mangers from across the district met for a great time of collaboration and planning using Microsoft OneNote, Canvas, Office 365 and Adobe Spark. We are all set for a great year!

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Single Sign-On

Sign in to sso.ems-isd.net with your district username and password on any computer or mobile device to have quick and easy access to many of our district digital resources.

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Check Us Out!

We've got lots of tech tools available for checkout. We'll even help you plan and use them with your students! See our current list of available items here.

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Tech Tutorials

Click here or on the image above to have access to our entire OneNote of Technology Tutorials.

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We can help!

Need help planning a blended lesson? Do you need an extra hand while tackling a technified lesson with your students? Are you ready to add some technology to your classroom but don't know where to start? The #EMSTechsperts are here to support you! Contact your Campus IT today!