SCS Tech Drop

September 2025

🎯 Director's Blog: Coaching With Purpose – Unlocking Instructional Potential

🚗 Spotlight: INDI Cars in the Classroom

🔦 Spotlight Tool: Flashcard Factory

📈 Spotlight Feature: Instant Graphing Samples & Practice for Math & Science with MagicSchool AI

📊 Top Instructional Tools Used In August

🎨 Canva for Education – District Team Access

🖥️ RIP Windows 10 → Long Live Windows 11

📂 From the SCS Tech Drop Archives

• 🎙️ “Hear Me Out” – New Podcast Class Sets for Student Voice, Storytelling, and Authentic Expression
• 📊 Evolving GenAI Practice – New "Levels of AI Use in Class" Poster

• 🍐 Welcome Pear Assessment, Our New Assessment Platform for Data-Driven Instruction

💬 From the Help Desk

• 🛠️ Need Tech Help? Ticket It to Win It!
• 🔐 Allowed Programs & Student Data Privacy (Senate Bill 29)
• 🎯 Programs with a Purpose
• 👥 Student-Teacher Google Accounts

When we talk about transformation in teaching and learning, tools and technology often get the spotlight. But behind the scenes, the real catalysts of change are our instructional coaches.

Instructional coaches are not here to evaluate or “check up” on teachers. Their purpose is to partner with educators to co-plan, co-teach, and co-reflect in ways that build confidence, spark new ideas, and ultimately improve student learning.

Think of coaches as bridge-builders:

• Between district initiatives and classroom practice.

• Between new strategies and everyday realities.

• Between where we are and where we aspire to be.

Our coaches support staff by:

• Modeling instructional strategies that bring lessons to life.

• Helping integrate technology in ways that align with UDL principles and promote student voice.

• Collaborating on lesson design to meet diverse learner needs.

• Offering a thought partner when you want to try something new but aren’t sure where to start.

Most importantly, instructional coaching is about growth, not evaluation. It’s a safe space for teachers to experiment, ask questions, and refine practice with a supportive partner by their side.

This year, I encourage you to see your instructional coach as a co-pilot in your journey. Whether it’s enhancing a lesson, troubleshooting a tech integration, or brainstorming strategies to increase student engagement, your coach is ready to help you move from good to great.

Together, let’s embrace coaching as a key part of our professional learning culture. Because when teachers grow, students thrive.

—Dave Binkley, Director of Instructional Technology

This month we’re highlighting the creative ways teachers are using INDI Cars to bring learning to life! These small, programmable cars allow students to explore coding, problem-solving, and collaboration in a hands-on, engaging way.

In classrooms across the district, students are:

• Learning coding basics by programming cars to follow color-coded paths.

• Building problem-solving skills through design challenges and obstacle courses.

• Working collaboratively in teams to test, iterate, and improve their designs.

• Making cross-curricular connections in math, science, and even ELA with storytelling and reflection activities.

INDI Cars empower students to think critically, experiment creatively, and see immediate results from their coding. Click HERE to view more information about INDI Cars.

Interested in trying them out? For elementary and middle schools, check your Media Center to reserve a set. High school staff can contact Dave directly to borrow a set and bring STEM learning on wheels into your classroom!

Looking for an engaging way to bring collaboration and creativity into vocabulary practice? Flashcard Factory by Pear Deck transforms flashcards into a team-based learning experience. Instead of students passively studying cards, they work in pairs as “factory workers” to create examples and illustrations for key terms. This setup not only reinforces understanding but also sparks peer-to-peer teaching.

Teachers can monitor the creative process in real time, approving or revising student submissions before they’re added to the class set. Once complete, the approved flashcards can be exported for continued review.

A major benefit for our district: Flashcard Factory connects seamlessly with GimKit, which many of our teachers already use. After a flashcard set is built, it can be imported into GimKit for interactive games, review sessions, and formative assessment. This means student-created content becomes the foundation for high-energy, gamified practice.

If you’d like to see it in action, check out TCEA’s overview blog or watch these short demos from Pear Deck Learning:

• Flashcard Factory Introduction

• How to Use Flashcard Factory in Your Classroom

MagicSchool has introduced a powerful new graphing feature inside the Raina chat tool that makes it easier than ever for teachers to generate visual math and STEM content instantly. Whether you’re teaching algebra, physics, or analyzing science data, you can now ask Raina to create graphs like linear equations, parabolas, scatter plots, or even lab-based visuals—no extra software needed. Just type a prompt like “Graph y = 2x + 3” or “Compare linear vs. quadratic functions,” and the tool generates ready-to-use visuals in seconds. This is a great way to save time during lesson prep while enhancing your instruction with clear, accurate visuals.

Try it out with prompts like:

• “Graph linear and quadratic functions side by side.”

• “Create a 7th-grade worksheet with graph problems.”

• “Plot a force vs. acceleration graph for Newton’s 2nd Law.”

Here are the Top 5 programs students used to learn and grow last month:

• Pear Deck – students interact with lessons in real time and share their thinking
• Magic School AI – students get ideas, feedback, and personalized support for their work
• Pear Assessment – students show what they know with quick, engaging assessments
• Typing Agent – students strengthen keyboarding and digital literacy skills

• Gizmos – students explore science and math concepts through hands-on virtual labs

We know many staff members have already joined Canva and noticed “building groups” popping up. Unfortunately, those groups are not something we control—anyone can create them, and we cannot manage who is added or approved.

To simplify access and provide consistency, we’ve created a district-wide Canva Team. By joining this team, you’ll have:

✅ You do not need to leave any current groups to join

How to join our SCS District Canva Team:

1. Click HERE to verify your scsmustangs.org account as an Educator account.
2. Click HERE to join out team.
3. The Technology Department will approve your request.

This setup ensures everyone has access to the same powerful design tools, while keeping sharing and collaboration simple across the district.

Starting in October, Windows 10 is no longer supported. All district devices must now be running Windows 11. If your device is still on Windows 10, please submit a tech ticket for an upgrade.

Not sure which version you’re using? Press the Windows key + R, type winver, and hit Enter to see your Windows edition.