LMS Cleaning

Tech Tip Tuesday (May 20, 2025)

An isometric illustration of a smartphone lying flat, displaying educational elements on its screen. The screen features a stack of colorful books with a graduation cap on top, a microscope, mathematical symbols, a ruler, and alphabet letters. The design represents online learning and education.

Squeaky clean, but not like the good cheese curds

Spring into a clutter-free digital life with Ctrl + Alt + Declutter!

Last week, we tackled decluttering your Drive (here it is if you missed it), and there’s more to come.

This week: Cleaning & preparing your digital content and 4 tips to keep it managed all year!

#1: Save course resources for next year (Schoology)

Reuse and improve it!

Saving your Schoology course to Resources is a great way to archive your materials for future use, roll over content to new terms, or share with colleagues.

Click Options>Save Course to Resources to retain your content from a course before it's archived!

#2: Archive and delete redundant content on the stream and in Drive

Clean it!

Ensure your course stays clutter-free by archiving or deleting outdated materials from your course stream and Google Drive. Review announcements, assignments, and files to remove duplicates or items no longer needed. Archiving lets you preserve important resources for future use, while deleting clears up space and keeps content relevant for students.

Google Drive Assignments is wonderfully helpful, but check in on your Drive to move any folders together that are from previous courses. Once items are returned and the course is over, you're alright to delete them if you'd like!

#3: Clean up your gradebook using Bulk Edit and Filters

Fix it!

Use the Bulk Edit tool to quickly review and edit properties of all graded items, such as due dates, categories, and grading periods, from a single page. This is especially helpful for finding assignments that are ungraded, missing a category, or missing a grading period, which can clutter your gradebook view.

Filters in the Schoology Gradebook make it easy to focus on specific students, assignments, categories, or grading periods. Use them to isolate what assignments need to be graded, missing, or been marked with any exception.

#4: Set up a Course Schedule for 2025-26

Plan it!

Draft a rough timeline with key units, assessments, and activities while exploring new ideas to keep lessons fresh and engaging. Collaborate with colleagues to align curricula and prepare introductory materials early, ensuring a smooth and stress-free start to the new school year!

One of the ways I like is to use a calendar template from Vertex42 to easily layout what days you want to work on something next year! Their spreadsheet templates are all free!

Want some help with your LMS design? Book a time!

Keep what worked and build off what students didn't get!

"Illustration of a joyful scene featuring three stick figures dancing energetically in front of a large boombox. The boombox is emitting musical notes and sound waves, indicating loud and lively music. The stick figures are depicted with wide smiles and expressive movements, showcasing their enthusiasm and enjoyment of the music."

Boost Energy and Creativity!

Stoke Deck is a free collection of 28 short, energizing activities designed to spark creativity, foster collaboration, and build connection in any setting—whether it’s a classroom, workshop, or party. Created by Taylor Cone and friends at Stanford d.school, these “stokes” help teams of all sizes learn through movement and play. Ready to set the vibe for your group?

Visit Stoke Deck and click "Gimme a stoke" to get started!

Stoke Deck Energizers

With a stoke, you learn with your body, not just your head. Doing a stoke can demonstrate what it feels like to be generative, get into a certain mindset or just feel excited!

Make a meeting. Make it happen!

I'll be in those buildings, but my availability may vary.
Let's schedule a time to collaborate that fits your schedule perfectly.

This image is a weekly schedule for May 26–30. It features the following details: - **Monday**: Memorial Day, no school. An icon of a calendar with "MEMORIAL DAY" is displayed. - **Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday**: Marked as "LTC" (no explanation provided). These days note "Working from Office" and "Available via email or Zoom." - **Friday**: Out of Office, with an image of a counter displaying "000." - A box in the bottom right corner states, "Any Time! I'm always available for a virtual meeting!" - The background is light blue with abstract wave designs in pink and purple. The text "Schedule" is displayed prominently at the top in pastel colors.

What does May play their music on?

A bloom-box!

Made by MagicSchool.ai Teacher Joke Generator

Brian Krause, Instructional Technology Coach

Contact me to collaborate on your next project, troubleshoot what you do currently, or to just answer a question you have!

Email: bkrause@ltcillinois.org
Booking Link: https://calendly.com/bkrauseltc
Work Cell Phone: (815) 362-4791
Twitter: @bmkeducation

Always happy to meet!

Choose a time here that works best for your schedule!

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