Instructional Coaches Newslett

This is our second edition of the ESSentials newsletter! We hope that you found the first one to be helpful and informative. We wanted to remind you that this communication is for both elementary and secondary staff. The sections are divided so that you can see what information applies to all staff and then what is specific to the grade level you teach. The information that you read in this newsletter is not just "good to know", it is ESSential!

Soon, the Windows 10 Operating system will become obsolete and will no longer receive security patches. This will put your device and student information at risk. If you have seen a pop-up on your Windows device letting you know that your device is running Windows 10, you need to open a Help Ticket with IMS to see if your device can be updated to Windows 11. If you haven't seen a pop-up you should still check your device to see what version is running by going to the bottom right corner of your desktop. Don't put this off!

There are three important settings that should be checked when students run into problems with navigating to links outside of Canvas, when trying to open curriculum resources like McGraw-Hill and when opening and editing google docs/slides.

1. Settings>Apps>Safari>Block Pop-Ups = Turn this OFF. It should be gray, not green.

2. Settings>Apps>Safari>Prevent Cross-Site Tracking = Turn this OFF. It should be gray, not green.

3. Settings>Apps>Safari>Request Desktop Website>All Websites = On. It should be green, not gray.

Every teacher will be receiving a half day training about Artificial Intelligence during the school year. In fact, we have almost completed the training for all elementary teachers. During the training we defined AI, reviewed the TVUSD AI Guidelines, discussed how AI is integrated with our existing platforms, and received training specifically about MagicSchool. If you have not yet joined us for this Innovation Day, be on the lookout for your calendar invite! Can't wait? Check out the Back to School Guide for Magic School HERE.

Past practice has been to move Google Slides into an app like Notability in order to be able to write on the slides with a stylus or apple pencil. Now, you can skip this step! We have had the most success doing these steps by accessing Google Slides through Safari, not using the Slides app. Watch this video tutorial or read the steps below.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Open: your presentation in the Google Slides app on your iPad.
2. Tap the Present button at the top of the screen.
3. Once in presentation mode, tap the three dots that appears at the bottom of your screen and select Turn on Pen.
4. Draw: directly on the slide using your finger or Apple Pencil.
5. To clear your annotations, tap the eraser button and tap Erase All.
6. To stop drawing, tap the three dots again to Turn Off Pen.

Teachers using a MacBook can print to any Sharp copier in the district. This feature is available through an app called PaperCut. You will print like you always do from the File Menu of the application that you are using. After selecting print, the print dialog box will appear allowing you to select your printer. You will want to choose TVUSD - Find Me Printing Copiers. Select the number of copies that you need and click Print. Following these steps will send the job to the copy machine. You will then have 3 hours to go retrieve the job. Walk up to the copier. Enter your employee id to login. Then select Print Release. Select the job/s and tap Print. All done!

Click HERE to watch a short video of these steps.

On the iPad, students and teachers are able to download needed apps from Mosyle. Most people are familiar with the process of getting their apps from Mosyle. The app on the iPad is called Mosyle School. The MacBooks also have Mosyle and it can be found by clicking the rainbow waffle on the bottom left of your Dock. When you click the apps icon, you will then search for Manager. A point to clarify regarding Mosyle - When a teacher opens Mosyle the apps that are listed are approved for teacher use. If you see it in your teacher Mosyle, it does not mean the app is also available for students.

The ARCHIVED TVUSD Team will remain accessible, so none of your existing designs will be lost — you can continue to access everything in that space indefinitely. However, the Canva for Education subscription tied to this ARCHIVED team has expired, which means premium features are no longer be available there.

To take full advantage of Canva’s premium features and to make collaboration easier, we encourage everyone to create and work on designs in their new school-based teams. You do not need to rush to copy files from the ARCHIVED team or worry about broken links — all of your existing designs will remain intact and accessible.

✅ Check your team first before starting a design.

📁 Copy any older designs from the ARCHIVED team into your current school team BEFORE sharing. This will allow for successful collaboration.

Need step-by-step directions? Copy Designs to New Team and How to Switch Teams

Are you trying to find photos that are stored in Google Photos to use in a Canva design? In Canva you can click APPS and look for the Google Photos App. When you open the app you will see a purple button that says CONNECT. Once you click that, you can choose a photo from Google Photos.

A DPA was requested for Quizlet. The vendor refused to sign it. Quizlet is now blocked and not able to be used by students. An alternative is to use Wayground (formerly Quizziz).

⭐️The button below will allow you to view the status of any DPA requested.🔎

We've created some great refresher videos that pertain to a variety of topics. Initially these videos were made to introduce teachers new to the district to our frequently used platforms and tools. What we have come to realize is that sometimes even veteran teachers can use a reminder of how to do certain things. Click the image to the left to check it out! Don't forget to bookmark it!

Our next session will be October 28th from 3:45-5:15. It will be a time to build on what you already know or just learned about Magic School. We want this to be a time for sharing how you have been using MagicSchool, collaborate with other teachers, and get all of your questions answered about your new personal assistant. Click the image to sign up! Space is limited!

This resource was sent to your inbox last week but we thought it would be helpful to add it here too for your reference as parent-teacher conferences are approaching. Click the image to check it out!

“Concluding” Students in your Canvas Course

Inactive students in your Canvas course must be “concluded” to sync your class properly with Pear Assessment. Click here for a step-by-step guide.

Canvas Speedgrader Class Sections

At the start of this year, the Canvas Speedgrader switched their functionality when switching between sections. This change caused difficulties for many, as multiple sections seemed to appear at once. They have changed the section view in Speedgrader so that you will select which section you want to view and then select “apply.” This change is a significant improvement. Click here for a brief tutorial video.

Wayground (formerly Quizizz) Integration with Canvas

To create a Canvas Wayground assignment, follow these steps from Canvas Assignments: select Submission Type > External Tool > Wayground. This will enable your assignment to be accessed by students in Canvas, and scores will be synced with the Canvas Gradebook.

In addition, be aware that students must access Canvas through Safari on iPads when accessing your Wayground activity. **Please have any student that has the Wayground app installed on their iPad to remove it.**

Reminder: District Common Assessments all have Kiosk mode enabled. This will work with both iPads and Chromebooks. Teachers can create their own assessments in Pear Assessment using this same secure browser. Click here for instructions on Pear Assessment Kiosk mode.

Are you tired of pausing instruction to troubleshoot frozen apps or Wi-Fi issues? We know that acting as the classroom tech expert can be frustrating. Your solution is already on every student iPad!

The iPad Basics app (pre-loaded on all student and teacher devices) is the first-line defense for tech hiccups. Please take one minute this week to show students the app, specifically the second page, "When iPads Glitch."

The 3-Step Student Troubleshooting Process:

1. Check the iPad Basics App first.

2. Ask a classmate for a quick assist.

3. If all else fails, then ask the teacher.

By pointing students to this resource, you empower them to solve common issues independently, saving you time and keeping the focus on learning!

We highly recommend that you join the Canvas Course for Secondary Resources if you have not already done that. It is a landing page that holds crucial information, how-to videos and more! It should be your first step in getting answers to common questions. If you would like to join you can click this LINK.