#EMSISDITS Tech Talk

Techy Talk for Teachers

Follow us on emsisdits.blogspot.com to see bi-weekly news, tutorials, & more! We will email out news every other week offering you the latest trending tech topics! :)

The EMS Instructional Technology Team is excited to work with students, teachers, and administrators this year to support and enhance the great things going on in our district this year!

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Tech Tools for your Teacher Toolbox

Are you looking for a new way to present content in your classroom? Have you wondered how you could allow students to collaborate online? Would you like your students to be able to demonstrate their learning by creating and publishing their own presentations or digital stories?

The new Tech Tools page is a great place to start! Check it out today!

Installing Apps on Promethean Display

The standard image for EMS Promethean Panels has a number of commonly-used apps already installed. These include Canvas, Chrome and Opera (both are browsers), OneDrive, and other Microsoft tools (Word, OneNote, etc.)

Many other educational apps are available to be downloaded to the panel itself. Some of these apps can be found by searching and downloading from the Promethean Store app on the board. Although this is a good place to start, it's fairly limited in the number of available apps.

During the initial roll-out, the Tech/Instructional Tech team has been managing the apps on the panels. The video (below) demonstrates how you, the TEACHER, can search for and install your own apps on these classroom devices.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

The old saying, "With great power comes great responsibility" is certainly applicable here! Just because you CAN install an app doesn't necessarily mean you SHOULD.

You are the Professional Educator in the room. Use your best professional judgement when installing apps.
YOU are responsible for reviewing and adhering to the Terms of Service for the different apps.
There is a limited amount of space on the panel itself. If you install too many apps, you will run out of room.
Some apps may not install successfully using this method. (These are Android devices, so an iOS app WILL NOT work. Flash-based sites and tools will not work.)

SPECIAL NOTE

If the Promethean Panel, at any point, is re-imaged, apps installed through this process will be removed. This will likely happen each summer or if you begin experiencing significant issues with your device. The apps are being installed to the device itself - not to your account. If you use a board in a different classroom or location, these manually installed apps will not appear.

Tips for Installing Apps

Use the Opera browser to search for install links.
When asked how to open the install file, choose Promethean Store. (You can click ALWAYS so you don't have to answer it each time.)
Some apps simply WILL NOT work. If you still need to use this resource for educational purposes, connect your laptop to the display and use it that way.
Do not install apps when students are present. When the app opens into the Promethean store, you will likely see comments from other users. You may see inappropriate comments and language. (We also do not want them to see the process, because they should not be installing apps.)

Carefully Review Terms of Service

As the Professional Educator in the classroom, YOU are responsible for reviewing the Terms of Service for resources you use with students.

Unfortunately, many of the streaming services we use include wording in their terms that restrict their services to personal-use only. Streaming music with a classroom of students would be considered a "performance" and is therefore, not included in the terms.

The following images are screenshots of specific Terms and Conditions for Pandora, Spotify, and Netflix (Educational Screenings of Documentaries.) Click the images to see the highlighted portions of their terms. Use the link below the image to read more.

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Pandora Terms

Spotify Terms

Netflix Terms

Teacher Website Homepages

One of our goals this year is to have a more consistent and accessible web presence for all. April Dunning, our district webmaster, has created a very simple step-by-step process to update your teacher homepage to meet the district standards. Click here or on the image to download a copy of the document.

If you have any questions or need assistance, check with your Campus Webmaster or contact April Dunning.

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Check us out ... Seriously, you can CHECK US OUT.

Did you know that the Instructional Technology department has a wide variety of technology tools available for check out for student/classroom use? We have everything from iPads to Merge Cubes to Augmented Reality goggles. See our current list of available items here.

When your submission is submitted, the IT team will verify that the devices are available at that time for checkout and will schedule delivery/pickup. You will receive an email with this information within 48 hours. If you don't hear anything after that time period, please email ITs@ems-isd.net to check the status of your request.

We would love to plan with you about how you will be using these devices, or even assist you in the the classroom with your students. How cool is that?!?!?

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Delete a whole word instead of one letter at a time.

DOH!!!! I can't type today! Have you ever had one of those days where you can't seem to type two consecutive words correctly? This is not only frustrating, but time consuming. There's an easy way to make corrections a little less painful. When your cursor is at the end of the mis-typed word, simply hold down the Control (Ctrl) key and then press Backspace to delete the entire word at once.

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Smart Lookup

Have you ever been wondered if you're using a word correctly in a document?

To find the definition of words, you don't have to stop down and open a browser to search for it. Just right-click on the word and click Smart Lookup. The definition and additional information will appear in the Smart Lookup pane on the right.

This works in each of the Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and more.

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Building 4 Panel Training

We held our first after school training at building 4. These Ts learned about taking the next step with their Promethean Boards. Thanks for coming out! We appreciate you!

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Book talks using Flipgrid at BES

Ms. Bransetter is using Microsoft tools including Flipgrid to deliver book talks to the Bobcats at Bryson. Way to go. We can't wait to see what you do next?

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Tech day at CSES

We had a very productive tech day at Comanche Springs. Ts were updating websites, brainstorming ways to use Flipgrid, Quizlet. Office 365 and more. Thanks for letting us come out. You guys are awesome!

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Flipgrid studios now available for check out

Ss at Greenfield are using these cool tents to make their Flipgrid videos. These mini production studios are available for checkout, so you can do it too!

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Math is awesome at LPES

The Lake Pointe Owls in Ms Guyton's class are using mathlearningcenter.com on their Promethean board to increase rigor and relevance during math class. Way to make learning fun and engaging for all students!

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Learning tools at SHS

Ms. Smith is learning all of the ways that Microsoft Learning Tools can be used to help her Ss succeed. Speech to text and immersive reader are just a couple of the powerful tools we have available.

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Lesson planning with OneNote

These Remington Point Kindergarten teachers are using OneNote to lesson plan. They realize that OneNote is a great way to make lesson planning better and more efficient. Cool!

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Tech Thursday at SES

We had a blast working with these Saginaw Elementary Stars. We learned all about Classflow, Nearpod, Quizzizz, and how to choose the right digital tools to enhance solid teaching strategies. Ms. Hanson is now an "advanced" Seesaw user!

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Tell Tale Heart comes alive

The Ed Willkie Badgers in Ms. Williams' class are bringing The Tell Tale Heart to life with a physical/digital breakout hybrid activity. They used OneNote, invisible ink and Blippar to make this lesson unforgettable. Way to go Badgers!

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EMS 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.

Reserve an #EMSTechspert

We want to help you successfully infuse technology into your classroom. We would love to train you on how to create tech infused lessons, co-teach the lessons, or even share our favorite tech tools with you!

Email your IT today to set up an appointment! (Find contact info here.)