TechBytes

• January 5 - February 6: CogAT7 (GATE) Testing (all 2nd grade and new-to-district 4th-8th grade)
• January 12-30: New Year, New You Paper Challenge! (see info below)
• January 12-30: Math iReady Diagnostic 2 (Grades 1-12)
• January 12-30: Reading i-Ready Diagnostic 2 (Grades 3-12)
• January 12-30: Amira RDRS (Grades K-2)
• February 10: Elementary Grading Window Opens
• March 2: Elementary Grading Window Closes

Many educators use Artificial Intelligence (AI) without even realizing it (Hello, Siri and Alexa!). It's so prevalent these days, that even some of our curriculum uses it; many are integrating components of AI into their platforms on an almost monthly basis through planning tools for teachers, and skills practice or in-app tutoring for students. With the increase in availability of AI in all that we do, it's important as educators that we use AI responsibly, especially when it comes to working with our students.

Must Dos

• Keep human interaction central - teacher/student interactions should always be the priority

• Keep student information private - don’t use personal information in any prompts or data uploads

• Pay attention to where the data is going -- some apps have questionable privacy settings

• Evaluate the tools you use for bias

• Model how to effectively use AI for your students

May Dos

• Personalize, enhance, & differentiate your lessons - generate multiple representations of a concept to match different learning styles or customize your lessons to include characters or topics that interest your students

• Brainstorm ideas

• Save time by allowing AI to create practice problems or discussion prompts for you (always check for accuracy!)

• Summarize long documents or guides

• Edit your work for clarity, specificity, accuracy, grammar, etc.

• Draft exemplar responses to prompts

• Analyze and summarize data to determine common student misconceptions and provide options for next instructional steps

• Change the tone or assist with drafting emails

• Create choice boards, bell-ringers, or exit tickets

Don't Dos

• Never enter student (or your) personal information into an AI tool

• Don’t use AI as a research tool, as the information can often be inaccurate

• Never compromise ethical considerations, such as data privacy, student autonomy, or transparency, for convenience

• Do not use AI monitoring tools to make disciplinary, evaluative, or grading decisions.

Resources

Dos and Don’ts of AI in the Classroom (NEA)

Practical Tips for Teachers to Use AI (Common Sense Education)

How AI is Changing the Way You Teach (NEA)

AI In The Classroom: A Roadmap For Educators And Innovators (Forbes)

How Schools Can Use AI in Smart, Responsible Ways (Education Week)

And ChatGPT to help generate ideas for using AI to save time and assist with everyday teaching tasks

CLICK HERE to complete a self-guided Explain Everything Whiteboard tour!

All About the Explain Everything Whiteboard

Help your students reach their full potential in 2026! Encourage them to use Paper as much as possible whenever they need extra support - both in and out of the classroom. Assign things like warm ups, exit tickets, and essay reviews during the school day and direct them to a tutor for help with homework and studying after school.

The teacher with the most student usage from January 12th through the 30" will win Paper swag!

To learn more about how to use the platform and for implementation ideas, visit Paper's Resource Center at paper.co/resource-center

As of December 12th, all students are no longer be able to access apps or websites where the sole purpose is AI based, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, etc.) via their PUSD managed devices or when signed in with their PUSD account. Educational apps or websites that utilize AI but don't have the sole purpose of using AI will not be blocked.

AI app/website Access Issues

• If an app or website that you use for academic purposes is blocked for students, please request the app/website on LearnPlatform.
• If an AI app/website is blocked for you as a staff member, please restart your computer and try again.
• If you continue to have issues accessing an AI app/website, please contact the Help Desk.

The PUSD Help Desk is happy to support you with any technical issues you may be experiencing, including issues with your computer, WiFi, Promethean Board, accounts, and more. We understand that these issues may be urgent and frustrating. We ask that all communication be courteous and solution-focused, and our team will always do our best to assist you as efficiently as possible.

Below are a few tips & tricks based on issues we've seen in the Help Desk over the past few weeks. If there's something you'd like to see addressed in the TechBytes, please reach out to us at edtech@pusd.us.

• If your computer is going through updates, please do not unplug your device or force a restart. Interrupting the update process can cause the update to fail or roll back to the previous version when the system restarts; corrupt your system files, causing errors or instability; cause your Computer to get stuck in a boot loop or take longer to start; or cause some features or drivers to not work properly.
• Don't share your password! Keeping your password private is another layer of protection against your account being compromised.