MPS EdTech

Teachers, there's a randomly inserted holiday phrase in this edition!

The first 15 people that email the phrase to Stacey Knipp - staceyknipp@mooreschools.com will receive a prize!

In today's world we tend to be more and more immersed in digital environments, and we all need to be more aware of the impact it can have. October's newsletter was focused on some very important topics relating to digital safety and digital health, and we wanted to give you the opportunity to see the newsletter again.

You'll find topics such as:

• recommendations on appropriate screen time for your students
• how to help your students understand what phishing is and how to avoid it
• where to find some pre-made digital citizenship lessons you can use with your students in your classroom
• links to resources on digital health topics you can share with your students' parents/guardians.

Click the image below to access October's EdTech Newsletter.

The new Chrome browser now has a built in read aloud feature that will read web pages to you and your students. This feature can be used with PDF's, articles, news stories, and more. It will even highlight the words while it's reading to help your students follow along.

To use this feature you simply have to right-click on the content in the webpage and select the option "Open in reading mode". A side panel will open up where you can click the Play button. From the side panel you will also have the ability to adjust the voice speed and the highlight style.

Don't forget....You now have "Shared presets" on your Blocksi teacher dashboard! Go into the Assessment mode and click the dropdown next to "Shared presets".

MPS Academics Only - Grants students access to the full MPS ecosystem—textbooks, Canvas, PSQ, IC, O365, and Google apps--restricts web browsing and YouTube. Nothing is pushed or forced in this mode.

Canvas Only - Opens and locks Canvas. Students can access all Canvas courses, and that's it.

MS Word Only - Opens and locks Word Online so students can work without...distraction😉

These modes can be edited. For example, while in MS Word mode, under "Enforced URLs" you can add a research site or a couple articles you want students to reference. Anything you add under "Enforced URLs" will open and lock. Anything under "Allowed URLs" will let students access and leave at will.

If your students are on a Chromebook and you only see a blue tile under their name in your Blocksi Classroom, you might try the following steps to see if it resolves the issue:

1. Remove their profile from their chromebook.

2. Shutdown/restart their device.

3. Have them log back into the Chromebook.

If your student is on a Windows laptop and you see a blue tile under their name, have the student restart his/her device.

If you haven't had a chance to attend a Blocksi training, click here to watch the video. Make sure you're enrolled in the Passport Training Course to access the video.

As you're using AI with students to create study guides, flashcards, podcasts, and all sorts of learning activities for the classroom, remember to only use district-approved AI sites and set clear classroom policies for use.

AI Guidelines for MPS Teachers.

Knowt and MagicSchool are the two platforms approved for use with students.

About Knowt

You can use Knowt to select specific AI tools to use with students and monitor their interactions, or students can use the "Chat" button on the left side of the screen to experiment with prompting and outputs on their own.

Your classes and students are already loaded in Knowt and can be accessed via Classlink.

Getting into Knowt (2:22)

Knowt Guided Tour (20:52)

EdTech is rolling out Knowt trainings soon! For now, check it out and see what you think!

About MagicSchool AI

You can use the free version of MagicSchool with students to create rooms with students access to specific, customizable, AI tools you select like writing feedback, study help, image generation, and much more.

As the teacher, you are able to monitor students' interactions with the AI tools.

MagicSchool Quick Start (2:08)

Monitoring Student Interactions in MagicSchool (5:58)

We're doing another round of house cleaning in Canvas. Any courses from the 2020/2021 school year, or before, are going to be removed from Canvas on January 1st. If you have content in a rostered course(meaning it was an official course in IC) from the 20/21 school year or before, make sure it has been copied to a more recent course or copied to a course you created yourself. Reach out to edtech@mooreschools.com if you need assistance copying any content.

We’ve added a new tool to Canvas called DesignPLUS; it basically gives you superpowers for creating pages and assignments and will have a significant impact on how you design and deliver content. Don't worry; you can keep creating pages and assignments like you always have and just sprinkle in the new stuff when you want!

And guess what?? It’s already in Canvas just waiting for you to unlock it with a secret keyboard shortcut! The official rollout along with tutorials is coming out next week. If you want to tinker, while in edit mode on a Canvas page or assignment, press Alt+Shift+d and the DesignPLUS menu will slide out.

DesignPLUS Features Demo (5:07)

And that demo barely scratches the surface!

Simplify Data Collection with Multiple Form Submissions!

Have you ever needed a parent to fill out the same form for multiple children or for different dates? Now you can! When creating a form where a signature is not required, simply check the new box to "Allow multiple submissions per student."

Use it for:

-Weekly bus route changes

-Multiple field trip permission slips

-Classroom surveys for each child in a family

-Ongoing volunteer sign-ups

This saves parents time and makes it easier for you to gather the information you need, all in one place.

A key part of protecting student data is only using digital products that are approved by the district. To check if a digital product is district approved, log in to ClassLink and click on the 1EdTech Trusted Apps icon from your ClassLink Launchpad. This will show you all digital tools currently approved for use in the district.

If the product you want to use is not listed in the 1EdTech Trusted Apps directory, you must submit a request through IIQ to have it reviewed. This process can take up to several months, so it is important to submit your request well in advance of when you plan to use the product. By following this process, you help ensure that all digital tools used in the classroom meet district standards for student data privacy and security.

Want to see some new Canva updates? Checkout the December Edition of Connecting the Dots where you can dive into the most recent platform updates, see end of year holiday templates, and add some festive flair to your creations!

Podcasts with Canva

🎧 Let’s turn up the volume on creativity—podcasting just got easy with Canva!

Meet Podcast in Your Pocket: a one-stop resource to help teachers and students plan, record, and publish podcasts—all in Canva, no fancy setup required.

Here’s what’s inside:

🎙️ A ready-to-use Intro to Podcasting presentation
🎚️ A step-by-step recording guide & pre-chunked script
🎧 A pre-made podcast recording template built for quick wins
🧠 A reflection bundle with a class whiteboard + Good Listener Pledge

Perfect for a full project or a one-day activity, this toolkit helps students show what they know—creatively and confidently.

Explore Podcast in Your Pocket ➜

Need more info on Newline interactive displays?

• Visit our MPS EdTech Newline Resources page for quickstart guides and overviews.
• Access our MPS Teacher Passport Canvas course for more self-paced training opportunities.

Please submit a ticket in IIQ if you have any issues with your Newline board (+New Ticket > Computers & Electronics > type in the Asset Number from the sticker on the side of the board).

• 🤖 New AI Features Coming Soon: Easily convert your core curriculum resources into Seesaw activities - see it in action here! Plus, explore new AI Literacy Lessons in the Computer Science collection to help students build future-ready skills. Admins have full control over all AI settings, ensuring flexibility and oversight at the school or district level. Seesaw Instruction & Insights customers get exclusive early access to Seesaw AI beta features for the rest of the school year—unlocking new possibilities for teaching and learning!
• 🔤 Explore Spanish Literacy with Hola Books, a comprehensive early reading program in Spanish, featuring structured lessons, authentic texts, and assessments aligned with the Science of Reading.
• 🧩 New in Math Collections: Fraction Foundations - Join Cosmo on a fun kitchen adventure where students build essential fraction skills—like adding, subtracting, ordering, and comparing fractions—through engaging, hands-on learning. A perfect recipe for fraction fluency!
• 🟣 HelpBar Feature: We have a new Help Center shortcut that allows you to access product support through the Help Center quickly.
• PC Users: press CTRL + K

SINGLE SIGN-ON ACCESS POINT

We are beginning to use ClassLink as a single sign-on point of access for more of the digital products we use in our district. When you login to ClassLink, you will land on what they call the Launchpad. Below are a few of the products that are visible. The first two listed are only visible to teachers. The other three are visible to students and teachers.

• 1EdTech Trusted Apps Dashboard (teachers/staff access only) is where we keep a list of all the digital products we are vetting for student data privacy and safety. Access to 1EdTech through ClassLink provides a comprehensive view of the products that are district Approved, Approved Limited, Denied, and Under Review.
• Blocksi (Teachers Only)- Classroom Management where you can joy to the world monitor your students that are on either Chromebooks or Windows devices.
• Knowt - AI tool approved for teacher and student use.
• SORA - Access to the audiobooks and eBooks
• EBSCO - Online educational databases for conducting research.

HOW TO ACCESS CLASSLINK

Students will find the ClassLink icon in the Students webpage on our district website. Once they login they will land on the ClassLink Launchpad where they will see a few apps that are available to them.

If Early Childhood teachers want their students to start using it, they will need to print out QR code badges for their students called QUICKCARDS. Here's a link explaining how to Generate and Manage QuickCards for your class.

If you don't have the MPS Teacher Passport course on your Canvas dashboard, click here to enroll. You'll find tutorials and resources on all things MPS EdTech!

Contact us at edtech@mooreschools.com if you have questions or need anything!