Create & Connect

Welcome to a new year of Create & Connect! Each issue is designed to support the work happening in classrooms across WCASD by sharing practical ideas, resources, and inspiration connected to student learning experiences, Portrait of a Graduate competencies, evidence of learning, and continuous improvement. Whether you're building classroom routines, fostering student reflection, capturing learning through portfolios, or creating engaging learning experiences with iPads, you'll find practical ideas and resources designed to support student learning from day one.

Whether you attended one session or both days of Summer Spark this summer, there is always more to explore. This year's sessions included hands-on workshops, collaborative learning, and poster sessions connected to the Portrait of a Graduate.

Visit the Summer Spark website to explore session details, dig into resources from sessions you attended, or discover learning from sessions you didn't get the chance to join.

👉 Explore Summer Spark 2026 Sessions & Resources

Elementary Tech Professional Learning Interest Survey

Continuous improvement starts with listening and responding to the needs of our teachers. We're currently planning future technology-focused professional learning opportunities and would love your input.

Please take a few minutes to complete the Elementary Tech PD Interest Survey to share the topics, tools, instructional practices, and learning opportunities that would best support your work this year.

Your feedback helps guide future workshops, resources, coaching support, and learning opportunities offered by the Instructional Technology Coordinators.

Survey closes Friday, October 24th.

Technology is at its best when it supports great teaching and meaningful learning. As you explore digital tools, we encourage you to start with the learning goal and consider how technology can enhance engagement, amplify student voice, provide access, or help students demonstrate their understanding in new ways. Our focus is on creating purposeful learning experiences that help students think, create, reflect, collaborate, and communicate.

Looking for a faster way to create personalized, standards-aligned resources for your students?

The Canva Learn Grid puts PA standards and classroom-ready design tools in one place, so you can spend less time searching and more time teaching.

Simply select your subject, grade level, and standard, then choose your output:

• Worksheet for independent practice
• Anchor Chart to support classroom instruction
• Flashcards for review and retrieval practice
• Canva Code for an interactive digital activity

Print it, display it, or assign it digitally. You decide what your students need.

Seesaw Collections provide ready-to-use, standards-aligned activities that help students demonstrate learning in a variety of ways while building a portfolio that documents their growth throughout the year. Audio, video, drawings, photos, and written responses create authentic evidence of learning that can be shared with teachers and families.

👉 Seesaw Tools 101 -Explore the tools that help students capture and reflect on their learning

👉 WCASD Collections - Explore district-created activities and resources, including Fundations, Morpheme Magic, and student reflection experiences.

The Portrait of a Graduate is something students practice every day in the routines, choices, and habits we build together from the very first week of school. As you establish classroom expectations, consider how daily routines already develop Responsibility in students through caring for devices, using technology with purpose, and making thoughtful choices about when and how to use tools.

Try This:

Invite students to co-create a Classroom Technology Agreement during the first weeks of school. Ask students what responsible technology use looks and sounds like in your classroom, then let their words become the expectations.

Then bring it to life with Copilot Create ✨

Take your students' words and use Copilot Create to design a classroom Technology Agreement Poster that reflects student voice and can be displayed all year long.

One conversation. One poster. A foundation for responsible technology use all year.

🖨️ Print for Free at the CCIU

Every teacher receives a $10 monthly allowance at the CCIU Teacher Resource Center.

• Design in Copilot Create or Canva
• Send to CCIU for full-size printing
• Laminate and hang

Evidence of learning does not have to be digital, complicated, or time-consuming. The most powerful evidence often comes from the small moments when students explain, create, or show their thinking in real time. As you launch the school year, consider a mix of approaches:

Off-screen evidence:

• Partner discussions and turn-and-talk observations
• Quick sketches or drawings that show understanding
• Exit tickets on paper
• Whiteboard responses

On-screen evidence:

• A photo of student work captured in Seesaw - Check out these classroom printables to support students!
• A short voice recording explaining thinking
• A simple student-created Canva product
• Standards-tagged activities in Seesaw for progress monitoring

Looking Ahead: From Evidence to Reflection

Whether students are collecting work samples in Seesaw or curating learning in Canva, portfolios provide opportunities to reflect on growth, celebrate accomplishments, and make learning visible over time. These collections can also support student-led conferences, helping students share evidence of learning, communicate progress, set goals, and take ownership of conversations about their learning.

Take the stress out of standards-based grading! We've put together a collection of quick-start guides and step-by-step tutorials to help you navigate PowerSchool and Schoology with confidence.

Resources include:

• Printable gradebook standards by grade level

• Guides for creating and grading assignments

• Creating an Assignment

• Grading an Assignment

• Delete old categories in PS

  
  

These resources are designed to help you manage grading workflows efficiently so you can focus on supporting student learning and monitoring progress.

Before entering grades, double-check that you are working in the correct grading period. In the top right corner of your gradebook, verify that T1 is selected.

Be sure to configure your gradebook with the correct standards-based settings so scores display as intended. The PTPro gradebook does not automatically sync with Schoology. For each course, you will need to set up your categories and map your Schoology gradebook to your PTPro gradebook. Once this is complete, it is set for the year!

• Schoology Gradebook Setup
• Schoology -> Power School Gradebook Mapping

Schoology has been updated to use a new Google Assignments integration. If you use Google Docs or Slides with students through Schoology, please take a few minutes to review the resources below. These guides will help you understand the updated workflow for creating and managing Google Assignments.

• Updated Google Assignments Directions - Step by Step Tutorial
• Printable Directions

New year. New structures. New tools. Just like Dorothy stepping into a world full of surprises, the 2026-27 school year is bringing some exciting changes worth knowing about.

Incident IQ: Teachers can now submit technology support requests directly through Incident IQ, making it easier to get help and track the status of tickets. Include as much detail as you can. The more information you provide, the faster we can troubleshoot and connect you with the right support.

• Find the Incident IQ tile on MyApps
• Follow the step-by-step tutorial to submit your first ticket
• Favorite your devices for quicker access next time

Elementary AI Update: After reviewing pilot findings, WCASD will not be moving forward with MagicSchool AI or SchoolAI as student-facing tools at the elementary level. Only district approved, curriculum-aligned AI resources will be accessible on student devices. This year our focus shifts to AI Literacy, developed in collaboration with librarians and Design Lab teachers. Microsoft Copilot remains our district-supported AI tool for teacher use.

Departmentalization: New to the departmentalized model? A dedicated hub brings together quick tech tips, templates, and how-to guides to help you get organized, from managing PowerSchool and Schoology to finding ready-to-use resources. New to Departmentalization? This is a must click!

Linewize: Linewize is new to WCASD this year, providing enhanced content filtering and internet safety tools for both teacher and student devices.

• One important change to note: students can no longer access YouTube videos on their iPads, including videos embedded in Schoology or Seesaw and videos shared using YouTube no-cookie links.

Learning does not stop at school, and neither does our support for families. Share these resources with parents to help them access district tools, stay connected to classroom learning, and support learning at home.

Elementary Tech Handbook
A one-stop guide to WCASD technology tools, resources, and support for families.

👉 Explore the Elementary Tech Handbook

Parent Portal
Parents can complete back-to-school forms, update contact information, view schedules, and access important student information.

👉 Getting Started with Parent Portal

Logging Into Clever from Home
While students cannot take their devices home, this is often a request from parents. Students can access many of their digital learning resources through Clever using their Clever Badge or district username and password.

👉 Logging Into Clever from Home

Connect to Your Child's Learning in Seesaw
Seesaw gives families a window into classroom learning by allowing them to view student work, celebrate accomplishments, and stay connected to learning throughout the year.

👉 Getting Started with Seesaw (English) 👉 Primeros Pasos con Seesaw (Español)