Lately, I've been reading about the importance of reflection. Did you know that there are various models of reflection? Some are cyclical and are pretty much continuous whereas others have a clear beginning and end. Using any amount of time to reflect on your actions or steps can be beneficial in the long term no matter what form you choose to use. Even writing down bits and pieces of your day and thinking about how you approached them can help.

Just something to think about as we get nearer to the end of the third nine weeks and you begin to look back at the year and wonder where it went.

• Beginning this summer, Frederick County students and staff will no longer have access to the Single Sign On portal. This resource is being replaced with the Clever Portal. You are able to begin using this webpage now through the FCPS Bookmarks folder in Chrome. Staff, please make sure to select Teacher as you login to Clever.
• You should have already seen the emails but as a reminder, please use the fishhook in Gmail to report any possible phishing scams you may receive in your inbox. This option was "pushed" from the central office for our use in battling the emails that sometimes get through our filters.
• Students at the secondary level are encouraged to add to their digital portfolios in the Showcase software. Please remember to allow some time for students to do this if possible. If you would like me to assist in introducing this, please schedule a time with me to do so.

Did you know that you can see a video's transcript right on the screen on YouTube? Yes, closed captions can be helpful but while using the video transcripts you are able to jump directly to a section of a video. So if you're trying to find a particular part, you can open the transcript, scroll through the text, then click on the actual part you want to see or share.

As long as there is an option for closed captions in the video you should be able to do this. Just look for the three horizontal dots to the right of the SAVE option under the video ... Click this, then choose Open transcript. A new area will open to the right of your video that will highlight the text as the video is playing.

This option may also be good for those students that need to follow along with the text because the video moves a little fast.

While still early in the initiative, VSTE (Virginia Society for Technology in Education) is beginning to create an archive of short videos that are all under 4mins in length. They only have three videos so far but will be releasing more as the year rolls on.

Topics can be pretty extensive and may range from using some new features in Google Chrome to incorporating emojis in what you're doing in class.

You can find the growing playlist HERE. Take a chance and subscribe. You may find a video that will help you in some way.

Often, we find that when a teacher says they can't use a website for some reason, a simple fix of clearing the history and other files associated with your Google Chrome profile fixes the issue. This video walks you through these steps so that you can do this on your own if you feel it's needed.

A UnisonEDU member.

Email: fisherc@fcpsk12.net
Website: https://jwhstechhelp.fcpsk12.net/
Phone: 84265
Twitter: @Chad_the_ITC

"Tech gives the quietest student a voice." - Jerry Blumengarten