Tech Connect Newsletter

As we embark on another exciting school year, we extend a warm welcome back to each of you! Your dedication and passion for education inspire our students and create a vibrant learning environment. Let’s make this year our best yet as we embrace new challenges and opportunities together. Here’s to a fantastic school year ahead!

This year we will be releasing monthly technology newsletters on the first Tuesday of every month. We are starting with our Back to School edition with some important items!

ClassLink is the new Single Sign On (SSO) portal that houses a majority of the school applications purchased and approved by the district. Please access ClassLink at this link: https://launchpad.classlink.com/davidson to sign in to various applications such as Canva and Adobe Express.

IF THE LOGIN SCREEN HAS A SPOT TO ENTER AN OPTIONAL CODE - YOU ARE ON THE WRONG LOGIN PAGE!

• You can find the direct link for the DCS ClassLink page from any school website under "Curriculum"
• Applications on your portal will vary by school. ClassLink will be the start page for students this year when they log in to their Chromebooks
• See this document for log in instructions for ClassLink: ClassLink Login Instructions
• For information on how to add applications to student dashboards in ClassLink, view this document: ClassLink How-To: Add apps to Student Dasboards

GoGuardian is now provided statewide as a student monitoring/assistance tool. This year, your GoGuardian account will be connected to ClassLink and your classes will be automatically created and updated to match enrollment data in PowerSchool.

NEW for 24/25:

• You no longer need to manually add or remove students from your Classrooms in GoGuardian.
• User agreements are no longer required now that GoGuardian has been adopted by the NC Department of Public Instruction.
• See this document for step by step instructions for claiming your GoGuardian classes: Claiming your GoGuardian Classes 24/25

Canvas is NC’s statewide LMS. As a state maintained product, any third party applications must be approved by meeting specific student data privacy requirements in order to be integrated. This change has affected the availability of the LTIs/integrated applications in Canvas (many of these live(d) in the rich content editor and/or Navigation links).

Please note that our team is working diligently to collect the necessary documentation from these vendors in order to ensure seamless and timely access to these applications in Canvas. You may visit this link to view the list of curriculum-approved LTIs and their current status: Canvas LTI Status

Make sure that you have requested an account on your school's website so that you populate in the staff directory. Teachers have the option of creating a webpage on the school's website to share important information about your class with parents, guardians and students.

See the documents below for information on how to request an account and edit your webpage.

• Requesting an Edlio Account
• Getting Started with Edlio- Editing your Teacher Webpage

Mission Statement:

DCS Instructional Technology aims to prepare teachers and students for future success through purposeful technology integration that inspires a culture of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and personalized learning.

Vision Statement:

We envision classrooms transformed into dynamic, collaborative learning spaces where technology empowers personalized learning. Teachers will design engaging, student-centered lessons that foster critical thinking, creativity, and lifelong learning skills. Our community will embrace innovation, equipping students to thrive as future-ready problem-solvers and effective communicators in the rapidly evolving 21st century.

Sue Tobin - suetobin@davidson.k12.nc.us

Allyson Medlin - amedlin@davidson.k12.nc.us

Libby Moretz - libbymoretz@davidson.k12.nc.us

Listed below are the schools that each of us serve - please feel free to reach out to us!