WHAT THE TECH?

You might have noticed an email notification that you now have access to Adobe Spark, our apologies, we didn't anticipate it would send emails to the users we provisioned. With Adobe Spark you can:

• Create stunning graphics, web assets, and video stories in minutes just using a modern web browser, which also means it works on Chromebooks
• Personalize your creations with your school or district's brand
• Get started quickly with inspiring templates
• Your projects are automatically synced across Spark's web and iOS apps
• Easily share your stories via social media, email, and more

All of this at no cost to the district. We will be adding that link to RapidID for Single Sign-On very soon. Currently, we have this provisioned for staff.

If you wonder how I personally create the images I use on twitter and my podcasts, it is Adobe Spark. If you engage on Twitter, follow me @showmerob

Final reminder that the fall Clerical In-Service Training is coming up on October 21, 2019 at West high school, 820 S. Osage Street, Wichita, KS 67213.

The training is mandatory for clerical staff based at attendance centers. The morning session is 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM, and the afternoon session is 12:30 PM - 4:00 PM.

If you have not already done so, please sign up in My Learning Plan by searching the District Catalog for IST - Clerical In-Service Training.

Several of our sessions will be 'Hands-On' using a computer, so please bring a fully charged laptop if you have one. We will also have a limited number of laptops available for checkout the day of the event.

Please contact Matt McGuire mmcguire@usd259.net at 3-4219 if you have any questions.

We are getting ready to begin the process of migrating email to the cloud in Office 365. Here are just a couple of reminders.

1. Migrating email for schools will begin Oct. 21st.
2. IST will move email school by school and schools will be notified ahead of time
3. Technical support will be sent to the school for support
4. Users shouldn't see too much of a difference in their email and email processes

In preparation for Online Registration (OLR), Synergy’s Online Enrollment product, IST will be updating Synergy to version 2020 in mid-November. The main changes in the 2020 release are geared towards OLR. OLR will be utilized for Kindergarten Roundup beginning in mid-January 2020 for the 2020-2021 school year, with new students being able to enroll online from a building or from home. We will continue to enroll non-Kindergarten round-up students via WPSEnroll through Parentvue (using current procedures) for the remainder of this school year. There will be a demonstration of OLR for clerical staff at the October 21st in-service.

A more efficient way to grade rubric assessments is now available! Teachers can grade their entire class at one time on assessments with multiple targets. This is a time-saving game changer.

To access this feature, assign an assessment/rubric in Otus. Go to your assigned assessments and click it to open. You can now grade your class via the screen shown below in the video (note, our grading scale will show across the top when using Otus).

For more information click the chat icon in Otus or email Laurie Newton (lnewton@usd259.net).

Josh

@MrJoshuaEhret

Explore this Station Rotation Menu to create a student-centered classroom that meet the needs of students.

Kristin

@KrisfromKS

Need ideas how to spice up Journey’s lessons? Check out the Tech Journey’s folder for some ideas, examples, and video tutorials. See something you like? Just choose a file, make a copy, and it’s yours!

Remember that @SMART_Tech Journeys’ resources can be found at bit.ly/259SMARTJourneys You do need to be logged into your USD259 account to access.

Clint

@ClintDayhuff

Needing extra help for OTUS or other items? Visit the On-Demand Learning Library at bit.ly/wpslearninglibrary.

FYI: OTUS help can also be located in the OTUS bookshelf tab. The Aug 6th video is there including extra features.

Tana

@TanaRaiyne

#SlideFlix

Utilizing any presentation tool, students can summarize, describe, explain, sequence, retell, & more using a template that matches a Netflix summary page. (Better yet, they can design it themselves.)

The idea started with this Twitter Thread. Then it was shared via the short lived “Tech & Pedagogy Talk” newsletter. From there, Dinh Dinh, a Stucky 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher, had her students create a #HistoryFlix. How awesome to get a target met in a modality they relate to & love?

Please share your student creations anytime. Truder3@usd259.net