SCS Tech Drop

January 2025

• 🧠 From Assignment to Experience: Making Classroom Learning More Engaging
• 📹 Collaborate Better in Screencastify
• ✨ Weekly Prompt & Practice Archive
• 📂 From the SCS Tech Drop Archives
• 🎨 Canva for Education – District Team Access

• 📊 Evolving GenAI Practice – New "Levels of AI Use in Class" Poster
• 💻 Our Instructional Coaches
• Transition from 📝GradeCam to 🍐Pear Assessment
• 🚀 Google Classroom + PowerSchool Integration Arrives!
• 🤖 Study Companion - A Magic School Custom Study Tool
• 💬 From the Help Desk
• 🔐 Allowed Programs & Student Data Privacy (Senate Bill 29)
• 🎯 Programs with a Purpose
• 👥 Student-Teacher Google Accounts

One of the most encouraging things happening across our district right now is a subtle shift in how learning shows up in classrooms. It is about how teachers are turning everyday assignments into more meaningful learning experiences for students.

Engagement has always mattered, but more and more we are seeing it move beyond simply completing work with a partner. Students are being invited to talk, reflect, explain their thinking, and interact with content in ways that feel more personal and more authentic. In many of our classrooms, learning is becoming something students actively participate in.

Often, these shifts start small. A worksheet becomes a discussion. A task turns into a challenge or a choice. A lesson includes space for students to explain their thinking instead of just writing an answer. These changes do not require new curriculum. They come from thoughtful decisions about how students experience learning.

Technology has helped support this work in practical ways. Tools like MagicSchool have given teachers quick ways to rethink activities, generate discussion prompts, or offer multiple paths into the same concept. The real benefit is not the tool itself, but the time it saves and the flexibility it creates.

Screencastify has also played a role by making learning more dynamic. Teachers are using short videos to model thinking, clarify directions, or give feedback that students can revisit when they need it. Students are using video to explain ideas, reflect on learning, and demonstrate understanding in ways that go beyond written responses. These moments give students more voice and more ownership of their learning.

What stands out most is that this work is not about using more technology. It is about using tools thoughtfully to support clarity, connection, and engagement. When done well, the technology fades into the background and student thinking takes center stage.

Across the district, teachers are asking great questions. How can I make this lesson more interactive? How can I give students more voice without making things more complicated? Those questions reflect a strong focus on growth and on creating learning experiences that matter.

Moving from assignment to experience does not require a complete redesign. It starts with one lesson, one adjustment, or one opportunity for students to engage more deeply. Those small shifts are adding up, and their impact is visible every day.

Thank you for the creativity, care, and intention you bring to your classrooms. It is exciting to see how meaningful experiences continue to shape learning across our district.

We’re excited about the ways Screencastify has grown into not just a tool for recording, but a platform for collaboration and shared learning. Screencastify now offers collaboration features that allow teams to work together more effectively on video content. With shared folders and defined roles like Viewer, Copier, Contributor, and Co-Owner, educators can add, edit, and manage videos and quizzes together. Thus making it easier to build shared resources, co-create tutorials, and support one another across classrooms or departments.

If you’re interested in seeing new collaboration features in action, here’s a great video demo that walks through how Screencastify can support teamwork as well as individual use: Watch the Screencastify collaboration demo.

Whether you’re sharing instructional videos with students or building a library of staff resources, these collaboration options make it easier to work together, share ideas, and elevate the use of video across the district.

Miss a Prompt & Practice email or want to revisit a shared AI prompt? All weekly Prompt & Practice AI prompts are now available on the district's AI website. Simply scroll to the bottom of the page to find them alongside our other AI resources. This growing collection is designed to offer quick, practical ideas you can copy, adapt, and use in your classroom anytime. Check back often as new prompts are added each week to support instruction, engagement, and efficiency.