In this #EMSISDITs Tech Talk:

• TCEA 2021 take-aways

• Assessment strategies for online and hybrid classrooms
• STAAR Online Testing App in the software center
• Remove ads from YouTube without 3rd party apps
• Page Rollbacks in Canvas
• Calm comes to Nearpod

• Breakout Rooms in Teams are here!

While this year's conference was different than past ones, we still learned a lot and can't wait to share it all with you. Over the next few newsletters, we will be sharing what we learned. Enjoy our first installment below.

Turn a list into pages in OneNote- OneNote is an incredible application, and they just keep improving it. The latest update to the desktop app allows users to type a list on a page, highlight the list, right click and choose link to pages. OneNote will then automatically turn your list in pages within the section. How cool is that?

Researcher in Microsoft Word- Now students can do research without ever having to leave their document. Researcher was recently added to the Word app. Researcher is located in the References section. When clicked, students can search for any topic. They are given numerous resources pertaining to the topic that can be added to their paper along with the citation. It's a one stop shop for research!

Wordwall for review- Looking for an engaging way for students to review you content? Wordwall is a great choice. This application has numerous interactive activities such as Flip tiles, Whack-a-mole, Gameshow quiz, and much more. All you have to do in enter your content and share the link out with your kids. This application works across all devices and is free to create up to 5 resources. Plus you have access to all of the premade resources in the Wordwall community.

How to find apps for your iPads- The Apple app store is massive and often difficult to search. Fortunately, there are search engines that make finding the right apps much easier. Here are the top two search engines.

• www.theappstore.org

• www.find.io- This engine will also search for music, movies, TV, books and podcasts in the store

Want to find the best free apps? Here how-

• www.iosnoops.com- This site will find apps that are either on sale or free. It searches and gives results daily for the best free and discounted apps.

• www.appadvice.com/apps-gone-free- This site will show you a short list of free apps every day.

Want to get a curated list of educational app? Look no further.

• The periodic table of iPad apps vol 2

• The periodic table of STEAM iPad apps

• New periodic table of iPad apps for primary aged students

• Periodic table of ios apps for AR and VR

• ipedagogy wheel- This is a list of iOS apps sorted into Blooms categories

Mindful Moments

Schedule a daily dose of calm to beat the stress of pandemic pandemonium! Here are some helpful ways to enhance the social and emotional learning of your students so they are ready to tackle life's little hiccups. Don't forget to try some of these for yourself - we can all benefit from a little extra self-care these days!

• Connect with nature - take a daily walk outside, let light in, nurture plants in the classroom
• Provide healthy distractions - stress balls, fidget gadgets, mini-games (like you find at Cracker Barrel), Play-doh. Affordable classroom sets can be found at Oriental Trading to provide one per desk and eliminate sharing supplies.
• Exercise - chair yoga/dancing, headphone dance party, socially distanced movement breaks (freedom to move inside my 6 feet)
• Meditation - slide show of serene images with calming music/nature sounds or live animal streaming during independent work time

Quality Instructional Videos

There are two HUGE reasons to incorporate instructional videos into your classroom! 1. Time - you'll have more time during class to actually talk with your students, check for understanding, listen to their problem-solving. 2. Access - students and parents will be able to see you, hear you, watch at their own pace, access learning on-demand. What makes a great instructional video?

• Planning - over half of your time creating a video should be focused on planning. Intro/hook? What to share? Closing?
• Break up Your Content - instead of one long video, consider smaller chunks for optimal attention span. The "sweet spot" is between 3-7 minutes.
• Production Value - make sure to face a light source, not bright behind you; make sure your camera lens is clean and you are centered within the frame; you will always get better sound quality recording with a microphone or headset mic
• Tools for Creating Video Content - WeVideo is free for educators but allows a limited number of videos per month. Flipgrid Shorts is SUPER easy to use and all teachers already have a Flipgrid account. Just sign in using your Microsoft 365 login. Loom is free for educators and allows unlimited videos of up to 45 minutes.
• Know Your Permissions - do you have permission to share student/teacher images, names, work? Protect yourself and your kiddos!

What if you get pushback from learners? When we change the norms of traditional instruction, it will make some uncomfortable, but KEEP GOING! Research supports moving instruction to more student-centered strategies will boost engagement in the long run and provide flexibility to the learning experience.

Assessing online learners and in person learners simultaneously can be a daunting task for even the most seasoned educators. Assessments must be fair and authentic while also being varied and easily created. Here are some strategies for you to try.

• Conferencing: This can be done one-on-one or in a small group. The benefits of conferencing are numerous. Not only is it a great way to build relationships with your students, it also provides an opportunity for immediate feedback and correction/reteaching, if necessary. It is a great way to get a clear and concise snapshot of what students know and don't know.

• Higher order thinking assignments: The great thing about this strategy is that it can hit multiple skills at once and gives students the opportunity to use higher order thinking skills throughout the project/assessment. These types of assessments can include presentations, multimedia projects, and/or collaborative activities where students create an artifact or product for analysis.

• Digital quizzes: Digital quizzes are great! They provide instant feedback, they are easy to create, and it is graded automatically. These assessments lend themselves well to online learning, because the quiz can be given across various platforms without the need for programs or special equipment.. Some our favorite online assessment tools include Microsoft Forms/quizzes, Nearpod, Quizzizz, TEAMS, and Canvas.

• Digital writing discussions: Using the document sharing feature in Office 365, you can observe the progress of, and comment on, a student's written work in real time or asynchronously. This type of feedback is powerful because it gives your students the feedback they need right when and where they need it.

Gray, K. (2020, November 19). 4 Assessment Strategies for Distance and Hybrid Learning. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-assessment-strategies-distance-and-hybrid-learning

Most devices should have this app already installed. If your device (PC) doesn't have it, or it is not up to date (3.19 latest version), you can safely download it from our Software Center. Simply search for Software Center in the search bar at the bottom left of your screen. If you don't have a search bar, click on the window instead and type in "software center". Once Software Center opens up, click on the app you want and choose download. That's it. Done deal!

You can remove all of the unwanted ads, comments and suggested videos from any YouTube video easily by adding a "-"(dash) between the t and u in the word tube in the video URL. See video below.

Between the Technology Helpdesk, Eduphoria Tickets, and the IT Office, it's sometimes a bit confusing to know where to turn for help. THIS DOCUMENT provides different ways to reach out for support.

Please do NOT share this link or document with students, as we want to avoid having students or families joining our online IT Office, which is designed for staff only.

The page rollback feature is useful if you want to see what a given page in your Canvas course looked like a week or a month ago. To do this, click on the gear at the top right of your page and to “view page history.” This will open a collapsed menu called “revision history” that allows you to see all the edits you have made to a given page since its birth.

As part of Nearpod's SEL collection, now teachers can bring Calm into the classroom with 9 new lessons to help boost confidence, reduce stress and anxiety, and teach students the basics of mindfulness meditation for a happier, healthier life.

These campuses and teachers know how powerful Nearpod is in the classroom. If you would like to learn more about Nearpod and how to use it in your classroom, reach out to your Instructional Tech today.

Top Secondary Schools Using Nearpod

1. Chisholm Trail High

2. Prairie Vista Middle

3. Marine Creek Middle

Top Elementary Schools Using Nearpod

1. Comanche Springs

2. Chisholm Ridge

3. Gililland

Nearpod Certified Educators in the EMSISD

Mallory Pearcy at Bryson

Leslie Miears at Ed Willkie

Morgan Leal at Highland

Denisha Ivy at Wayside

Bob Eikenberry in Instructional Tech

Sasha Beavers in Instructional Tech

TEAMS now supports subtitles which are useful for hearing impaired students as well as all other students as an additional support feature. During your meeting, click on the 3 vertical dots and choose Start Live Captioning. Subtitles will appear throughout your meeting until you turn them off.

TEAMS now has breakout rooms! This is HUGE! Now you can create up to 50 breakout rooms during your meeting and either automatically assign people to them, or manually assign them. Organizers can visit rooms at will, send messages out to the rooms, and close the rooms whenever they want to. Make sure your device is completely updated to see this new feature. Check out the video below from Microsoft EDU for more information.

Click the links below to access our Single Sign-On, visit the Virtual IT Office, or find out more about where to turn for help.

Need help planning a blended lesson? Do you need an extra hand while tackling a technified lesson with your students? Are you ready to add some technology to your classroom but don't know where to start? The #EMSTechsperts are here to support you! Contact your Campus IT today!

Follow the team:@emsisdits

Ricky: @rickygode | Scott: @scottboiles
Jeni: @jlo731 | Sallee: @salleeclark

Bob: @bobeikenberry | Jennifer: @jenniferprince

Jason: @lumberaggie | Emily: @EKillen817

Sasha: @SashaLBeavers | April: @DigitalDunning
Cindy: @tuckertech

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Email: its@ems-isd.net
Website: www.emsisd.com/its
Location: 1200 Old Decatur Road, Saginaw, TX, United States
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