TechBytes

• August 31 - October 2:
• STEMscopes beginning of year assessment, grades 2-5
• Science beginning of year assessment, grades 9-12
• September 8-22: Amira Progress Monitoring for 1st-2nd grade
• September 15: Secondary Grading Window Opens
• September 19: AI Innovation Symposium (Free LACOE event, lunch included! Register Here)
• September 24: Secondary Grading Window Closes
• September 30: Student Account Storage Limits enforced
• October 13 - November 13: Middle School Science Benchmark 1

Elementary Classroom Application:

Freeze Tabs locks students' browsers on the specific tabs they already have open, creating personalized focus sessions and making it easy to bypass tricky login pages or redirects. For example, during independent reading or math centers, students can select and open their own leveled ebook or practice activity, and you can freeze those pages in place—giving students choice over their learning materials while ensuring they stay focused without navigating away.

Secondary Classroom Application:

Freeze Tabs locks students' browsers on the active tabs they already have open, facilitating personalized work sessions and seamlessly handling site logins or assessments. For example, during a project research period, students can select and log into specific online databases or articles relevant to their chosen topic, and you can freeze those pages in place—honoring student agency while keeping them locked into their self-selected study materials.

Resources

▶️ Freeze Tabs video

📖 Freeze Tabs support article

The STEMscopes Beginning of Year (BOY) Assessment window opens for grades 2-12 as of August 31st and concludes October 2nd. Grades K-1 will test from November 16th - December 18th. The assessment must be administered through STEMscopes.

The Beginning of Year Assessment does not automatically appear for students -- you will need to assign it. For complete directions, please see the Smore linked below.

• Teacher Toolbox will be unavailable due to maintenance from Saturday, September 19 through Sunday, September 20.
• The i-Ready Inform Family Report is now available for families in student i-Ready accounts. For more information, including how to access the report and what the report code is, check out the Student TechBytes for this week!
• Due to an update from i-Ready, i-Ready is not working on the Promethean Boards as it was last school year. The best workaround is to download the i-Ready slides to your Drive, and then open them on your Promethean Board. For detailed instructions, see this document.

Discover practical ways to create engaging, accessible and impactful learning experiences with Canva. This quarterly virtual series will explore design best practices, new features, AI-powered tools and creative workflows educators can use right away.

Upcoming Sessions:

• Sept. 24, 2026: Canva Foundations and Best Practices
• Nov. 5, 2026: What’s New in Canva: Latest Features and Updates
• Feb. 18, 2027: Working Smarter with Canva AI
• April 15, 2027: Level Up Your Canva Skills: Advanced Tips and Creative Workflows

Attend one session or join the full series. Sessions are virtual and include live demonstrations, educator examples and time for questions.

Registration Here: http://lacoe.k12oms.org/2759-282780

Storage Limit for Middle & High School Accounts: 10GB

Storage Limit for Elementary Accounts: 5GB

What happens if a student is over the limit?

Currently, any accounts over 20GB are locked from saving new files or receiving larger attachments. After September 30th, accounts over 10GB will be locked from saving new files or receiving larger attachments. Students can still access existing emails and files, but they won't be able to edit or add anything new.

If a student cannot save files in their Drive, being over the storage limit is most likely the culprit. These students (and parent email addresses on file) all have received two emails around cleaning up their storage. To confirm this is the issue, have the student login to their Drive. If they are over the limit, there will be a message along the top of their Drive. For more information, see the Smore linked below.

• Student Password Resets: Students can see the Office Manager/Secretary, Librarian, or Site Administrator for password resets.

• Student Chromebooks: We are actively processing requests and delivering devices weekly. Please do not direct parents to ITS. A teacher, librarian, or staff member should submit a ticket on the student's behalf for elementary grades and middle/high school students can submit their own ticket. A ticket must be submitted for the Chromebook issue so it gets tracked in our queue. Your site technician will deliver Chromebooks as soon as they are able to.

• Student Lost/Stolen Chromebooks: Lost/Stolen Chromebooks must be reported through the ticket system.