Student TechBytes

From Common Sense Media

When kids start to use tech or go online, it's important to teach them the basics of online safety and privacy. Whether they're using educational apps or social media, a lot of their information is collected by companies. Keeping your personal information safe online is a team effort! Whether setting up accounts for school or fun, use these practical tips to protect your privacy and stay secure.

Master the Password Basics

• Make It Long & Unique: Aim for 8+ characters using a random mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

• Skip Personal Info: Never use names, birthdays, addresses, or phone numbers in usernames or passwords.

• Keep It Secrets & Safe: Share passwords only with trusted parents or caregivers—never friends. Consider using a password manager to store them safely, and update them regularly.

  
  

Account & Device Security

• Check the URL: Before and after logging into any website, ensure the web address begins with https://. That extra "s" stands for secure!

• Beware of Downloads: Harmful software (like malware or spyware) often hides in everyday downloads or links. Stick to trusted sources and consider installing antivirus software.

• Test Password Recovery: Safe sites send a link to reset a forgotten password rather than emailing or displaying the original password.

Protect Your Digital Privacy

• Tighten Privacy Settings: Set accounts to strict privacy modes so posts and content are only shared with trusted friends and family. Opt out of location and data sharing whenever possible.

• Share Only What's Required: When filling out online forms or creating profiles, skip any non-mandatory fields.

• Ask Before You Fill: Students should check with a parent before submitting sensitive details like phone numbers, birth dates, home addresses, or Social Security numbers.

Join Cat Ninja’s October Reading Challenge from September 28 to October 23!

• The Daily Goal: Every student is encouraged to read for at least 20 minutes on Epic School Plus each school day (Monday through Friday).

• How to Help Your Class Win: When 80% or more of the class reads for 20+ minutes on a school day, the class earns a "Qualifying Day". Reading on weekends is also encouraged to boost your class’s total reading minutes.

• Weekly Recognition: Classes that earn at least 4 Qualifying Days in a single week get special "Consistent Crawler" recognition and fun rewards like stickers or certificates!

• The Grand Prize: The school with the most Qualifying Days at the end of the four weeks wins a special visit from Cat Ninja on October 30, along with certificates and prizes!

We are excited to share that you can now access the For Families report with your student’s results on their i-Ready Inform™* for Reading and/or for Mathematics assessment through their i-Ready student dashboard. The i-Ready Inform Reading assessment is given to students in grades 3-12, the Mathematics assessment is given to students in grades K-12.

How can I access my student’s results?

1. Log in to your student’s i-Ready account. Use the district or school’s portal credentials and then click the i-Ready icon. Students in Pasadena Unified School District access i-Ready via Clever. See directions below for logging into Clever on a personal (non-PUSD) device.

2. Select the Subject (Reading for grades 3-12, and Math) tab.

3. Click on the For Families dropdown and select the For Families report.

4. Select a language for the report.

5. Enter your district’s report code NPXTLF.

Thank you again for your continued partnership and support of your student’s learning. Please contact your student’s teacher with any questions.

In order to access PUSD apps, your student will need to use Clever from the Google Chrome browser.

1. Download & Log in to Chrome. If you don't have the Chrome browser downloaded, you can access it HERE.
2. Sign in the to Chrome browser using your student's login credentials (username and password). If you have a younger student and don't know your student's username and password, please reach out to your student's classroom teacher or the front office for this information.
3. When prompted to turn on sync, select "I'm in"
4. The PUSD bookmarks folder will appear in the bookmarks bar. Select PUSD Apps from the Bookmarks folder to access Clever

To view your student's i-Ready Reading or Math assessment results, follow these quick steps:

1. Log in: Go to Clever and click the i-Ready icon using your student's login.

2. Select a subject: Choose either Reading (grades 3–12) or Math (grades K–12) at the top.

3. Open the report: Click the For Families dropdown menu and select For Families report.

4. Enter the code: Pick your language, type in the district report code NPXTLF, and view the results.

Why might you want to powerwash a Chromebook?

• Fixing software issues: Clears out glitches, persistent crashes, or login loops that normal updates cannot fix.
• Starting fresh: Clears out clutter like old downloads and cached data to give the laptop a clean slate.
• Resolves issues, such as the device not connecting to WiFi.

Welcome to the 2026-27 school year! Please note that ITS is experience a high ticket and high call volume. If you are having issues, we ask that you submit a ticket. Someone will respond as soon as possible.

• If you are having account access issues, please submit a ticket and provide a valid callback number.