Tech Connect January 2026

Welcome back, everyone! We hope you had a restful and rejuvenating holiday break. As we step into January 2026, we are excited to greet you for the start of a brand new semester and a promising new year.

This time of year brings with it a fresh energy, and we're ready to tackle the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Here's to a successful and innovative new semester!

We have made some important updates to our DCS AI Guidelines. Below is a quick overview of what was added/changed in the Guidelines.

I. New Policies and Procedures for Instruction and Assessment
The following are entirely new sections added to the guidelines:

Assessments, Grading, and Feedback (New Section):

• Teacher Control: This section clearly states that while AI can assist in creating assessments and providing standardized feedback, teachers must remain in control of evaluating, giving feedback, and grading student work.
• Transparency: Teachers are explicitly required to communicate to students and parents the use of AI on all assessments.

Equitable Access to Gen AI (New Section):

• The district commits to ensuring all students benefit from and are prepared for a future shaped by AI.
• This includes providing explicit instruction on Universal AI Literacy and Digital Citizenship as an integral part of the K-12 curriculum.
• It also requires Inclusivity and Accessibility Vetting of all approved GenAI tools to ensure they meet the needs of diverse learners (e.g., students with disabilities, English Language Learners)s.

• Strict Prohibition: The use of AI Notetakers or transcription services is strictly PROHIBITED in sensitive meetings, including: Exceptional Children (EC) and 504 Team Meetings (IEPs, Evaluations) , Disciplinary Proceedings , Human Resources (HR) Discussions , and Meetings with Legal Counsel.
• Consent and Protocol: For all other general-purpose meetings, use is allowed only if all participants give verbal consent at the start of the meeting, and the tool must be immediately removed if any participant objects.
• PII Warning: Discussions using AI notetakers must not include any student names, IDs, parent names, or other Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
  
  

Terms of Service (Revised):

• A new Mandatory Check: Age Restrictions and Parental Consent section was added.

  Teachers must specifically verify the minimum age requirement for any AI tool. The use of any AI tool with a student under the age of 13 must be prohibited unless the district has explicitly approved the tool and secured a Student Data Privacy Agreement (SDPA) with the vendor.

• Data Privacy & Security (Minor Updates):

  Staff are instructed to consult with their Digital Teaching & Learning Coach before using any GenAI tool with students to verify compliance.

• The district will now periodically conduct security audits to identify vulnerabilities.

A Gem is your own custom, reusable AI assistant inside Google Gemini. You train it once with specific instructions, and it will perform that specific task—like creating a quiz or writing lesson plans—perfectly every time.

Here are the simple steps to create your own:

Step 1: Go to Gemini

• Open your web browser and navigate to gemini.google.com.

• (Ensure you are signed in with your Google Workspace for Education account.)

Step 2: Start a New Gem

• In the sidebar on the left, click Explore Gems (you may need to click the ☰ menu first).

• Click the + New Gem button.

Step 3: Write the Instructions

• Name your Gem (e.g., "5E Lesson Planner," "Exit Ticket Generator," "Historical Persona").

• In the Instructions box, type in the detailed prompt you want the AI to follow every time. This is the most important part!

  • Tip: Tell it the Role ("Act as an experienced middle school science teacher..."), the Task ("...who creates a 5-question multiple-choice quiz..."), and the Format ("...in a bulleted list with an answer key at the bottom.").

Step 4: Preview and Refine

• On the right-hand side, use the Preview pane to test your Gem. Ask it a specific topic: "Create a quiz on photosynthesis."

• If the result isn't exactly what you want, go back and tweak your instructions in the left box until the preview output is perfect.

Step 5: Save and Use

• Click the Save or Update button at the top.
  
  

Your new custom Gem will now appear in your list. The next time you need that task done, just click the Gem and give it your new topic!

As educators, we know the battle against digital distraction is constant. Limiting the number of open tabs is one of the most effective, proactive strategies you can employ to reclaim your students' focus. By utilizing GoGuardian's Maximum Open Tabs feature, you are not simply restricting access; you are intentionally designing a more successful learning environment. A finite tab count forces students to prioritize their digital resources, transforming scattered attention into deep, meaningful concentration on the primary lesson. This simple setting helps to minimize "digital hopping," reduces the anxiety of overwhelming digital clutter, and ensures that the technology serves the learning objective, rather than becoming the primary hurdle. Implement a tab limit today and watch your students engage more effectively with the material you've prepared.

GoGuardian Teacher's Scenes feature is the tool you need to control the number of open tabs on student devices during a live class session.

How to Set a Maximum Open Tab Limit

1. Access Scenes: In GoGuardian Teacher, click the Scenes tab in the left-hand menu.

2. Create or Edit a Scene: You can either Create a new Scene or edit an existing one (Allowed Websites List or Blocked Websites List).

3. Find the Tab Limit Option: Within the Scene creation/editing page, look for the Maximum Open Tabs setting. This is usually found beneath the website lists or in the Scene options.

4. Set the Limit: By default, there is no limit. Use the drop-down menu to select the maximum number of tabs you want students to have open at once (e.g., 3, 5, or 10).

5. Save and Apply: Save the Scene and then Apply it to your active classroom session.

Once the Scene is active, any attempt by a student to open a tab beyond the set maximum will result in the new tab being blocked, and any existing tabs over the limit may be closed automatically.

Here is a Quick Reference Guide outlining various Read Aloud/Text-to-Speech (TTS) accommodations and tools. It details the procedures for enabling the TTS feature within TestNav/SchoolNet assessments, emphasizing that it must be enabled in both the test settings and the student's Personal Needs Profile (PNP). It also provides instructions for using alternate/replacement text to correct or enhance word pronunciation during a test. The guide also covers how to use the Microsoft Immersive Reader in Canvas , how to activate the built-in Select to Speak function on a Chromebook , and lists approved Chrome Extensions for student use, such as "Read Aloud: A Text to Speech Voice Reader".

This Google resource is designed to empower K-12 educators by providing practical, responsible ways to use generative AI tools like Gemini and NotebookLM to enhance teaching and learning.

• Focus on Educator Efficiency: The core message is that AI acts as an AI assistant to boost teacher productivity. It offers pre-built prompts and capabilities to quickly generate diverse instructional materials, such as:

  • Creating quizzes and lesson plan structures.

  • Simplifying complex learning objectives.

  • Drafting substitute teacher plans and class newsletters.

• Personalized Learning: The tools help educators differentiate instruction by generating content at varying levels, offering real-time feedback to students (via tools like Practice Sets in Classroom), and creating more accessible learning experiences.

• Responsible AI Integration: Google emphasizes a commitment to data privacy and responsible AI practices, ensuring student data is protected and not used for ad targeting or model training. Free access to Gemini for Education and NotebookLM is provided for all Google Workspace for Education accounts.

• Professional Development: The resource also highlights free training courses and a certification program (Gemini Certified Educator) to help teachers quickly gain the skills needed to apply these AI tools effectively in their daily workflow.

The ultimate goal is to save teachers time and allow them to focus more energy on the "art of teaching" and direct student interaction.

The ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Student Engagement Topic Guide emphasizes that true engagement is not just about using cool technology, but about empowering students to take ownership of their learning and actively participate in the digital world. The guide centers on several key pillars that align with the ISTE Standards for Students and Educators:

• Empowerment and Self-Direction: Educators should move beyond passive instruction to cultivate self-motivated, adaptable, and persistent learners. This involves giving students meaningful voice and choice in setting learning goals, reflecting on their progress, and recognizing that abilities can improve through effort (growth mindset).

• Digital Citizenship: A major focus is preparing students to be responsible participants in an interconnected digital world. This includes teaching safe, legal, and ethical practices, such as evaluating resources for credibility, respecting intellectual property, and demonstrating positive online behavior.

• Collaboration and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): The guide stresses the importance of fostering a culture where students work collaboratively—both face-to-face and asynchronously using digital tools. This develops crucial social-emotional skills, communication, and the ability to work constructively in teams.

• Constructive Feedback Loops: Technology should be leveraged to provide students with immediate, embedded feedback on their work. Teachers should guide students in reflecting on this feedback and using it strategically to drive their own learning and improvement.

• Technology Integration for Active Learning: Effective technology integration involves moving away from rote memorization toward project-based learning (PBL) and activities that challenge students to use computational thinking and design processes to solve real-world problems.

In essence, the guide frames technology as a tool to shift the learning model, making it more personalized, student-driven, and skills-focused to prepare students for a rapidly changing future.

Remember that you have to sign into NCEdCloud to access your ISTE/ASCD resources.

Sue Tobin - suetobin@davidson.k12.nc.us

Allyson Medlin - amedlin@davidson.k12.nc.us

Libby Moretz - libbymoretz@davidson.k12.nc.us

Listed below are the schools that each of us serve - please feel free to reach out to us!