Updates
Updates So we have a few things to share with you and your teachers! Free things: If you haven’t already check out the Teac...
Updates
Updates
Updates
Schoolnet updates this weekend
Schoolnet updates this weekend
This coming weekend is a designated Home Base Maintenance Weekend and Schoolnet will have an update to fix known bugs, including the is...
BOY Media & Tech Meeting
BOY Media & Tech Meeting
We will be holding our Beginning of the Year Media & Tech Meeting on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 in the AG Glenn Team Room. For your ...
Welcome Back Updates
Welcome Back Updates
Welcome Back Welcome Back to the 2017-18 school year. We hope you are getting settled and things are going well as you prepare for the...
Updates on Technology Topics
Updates on Technology Topics
News from DPI Click here to see the December 20, 2016 Edition of the Digital Learning Insights You might want to check out the w...
Updates from Digital Learning at DPI
Updates from Digital Learning at DPI
Take a few minutes to read the most recent newsletter from Digital Learning Division: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCSBE...
Summer Updates 2016
Summer Updates 2016
Media News: Welcome Heather Pennica our new Lead Media Specialist, she will be your contact for media related topics. We a...
Upcoming Events and reminders for Tech Contacts
Upcoming Events and reminders for Tech Contacts
Speak Up survey window is October 1 - December 18 . The password is speakup15, please share with staff, students and parents. 1 great ...
Updates from Technology
Updates from Technology
Update on the WiFi : BYOD Chromebooks will now work on the Network! We have a recycle vendor who will pick up all the old ph...
Examview Updates
Examview Updates
Many people have concerns about Examview. We want to clarify that we no longer have a current textbook with licensing for Examview. CMP...
Digital Learning Updates
Digital Learning Updates
YouTube approval process was enabled yesterday. Please share the following link with your teachers to help them understand this proces...
Media Update: American Indian Books & BOB
Media Update: American Indian Books & BOB
Our ESL department has ordered resources or Native American Indians. The resources will be delivered to the media center sometime in th...
Please Share: Software Updates
Please Share: Software Updates
Investigations Math (Elementary) and CMP3 (Middle Grade 6-7 only) came with a few digital resources and software disks. These softwa...
Patron Update
Patron Update
Patrons in Destiny Students are being updated daily, if they are in PowerSchool within a few hours you should see them in Destiny a...
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
Friday, April 3, 2020
Updates
Updates
So we have a few things to share with you and your teachers!
Free things:
If you haven’t already check out the Teacher Page: bit.ly/jcpsteacher AND it is also hooked up to the
STAFF page of our homepage “Learning@Home for Teachers”
There you will find the following:
- Templates for 10 Day Plan
- A Padlet of Resources (tons of information here - free resources for lesson design, information on read alouds, virtual tours, etc) here is direct link: padlet.com/amystanley/jcpscoronavirus
- A link to a Resource Page - that has help documents for 6 tools: Google Slides, Hyperdocs, Screencastify, YouTube, Google Classroom and Google Meet
- A Calendar of Support Sessions that are being offered by the CIA team for all teachers
Also Vendors have offered their resources for free for the rest of the year:
- DiscoveryEd - reconnected to your Google account - just be signed in to your JCPS account and visit google.discoveryeducation.com (or on the online connections page) - all kids and teachers are hooked up if you find someone missing just let me know by sending their name/email to Amy Stanley
- Nearpod - all teachers have a pro account - go to Nearpod.com click sign in and use Google (if yours doesn’t work - let me know) Nearpod owns Flocabulary so that should work the same way.
- K-8 BrainPop is being synced with Clever - look in Homebase to find the Clever app and you will see Brainpop has been added
- MyOn - Free book access - go to the Student Online connections page - username and password are “read”
- Several others are listed on the padlet mentioned above under the “Free Offers column” including Plasma Games, Screencastify and Newsela
Tech Tips:
- Be cautious and encourage teachers to be cautious to introduce NEW tools. It can be overwhelming to the student and their parents. If at all possible continue to communicate the way you have always communicated: Remind, ClassDoJo, SeeSaw, Email, Google Classroom, etc. Don’t throw in something new if possible. (Be mindful of the SPAM issue shared in our last blog.)
- Recording - Google Meets - just a reminder - you should not record just chatting, and checking in with students, recordings should be of instruction only and should be cautiously shared if shared at all. Be careful about Meeting with a single student - just as at school this is for your safety.
- Social Media - remember the Social Media Guidelines apply. All public platforms - Instagram, Facebook, etc require 13 or older so Elementary and Middle using these platforms should be public and geared towards parents NOT students.
- We are still waiting for the Meet ending feature that was advertised on 3/20/2020 so it is ultra important that Digital Citizenship is emphasized with students every time a Meet is created and links to Meets should be guardly shared (within minutes of the start and taken down after) If you have students who are not using the tools appropriate, it should be addressed just as it would be in a face to face - a conversation with student/parent, etc.
- If you can go to meet.google.com and click on the speech bubble to provide feedback and share your needs with Google if they hear from enough of us hopefully they will work faster to get us a better solution.
- K-3 - istation was not renewed by the state so the ipractice will be removed this afternoon from the Family Resources page.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Schoolnet updates this weekend
This coming weekend is a designated Home Base Maintenance Weekend and Schoolnet will have an update to fix known bugs, including the issue with Express Test method adding blank questions to a test. This maintenance will happen between 5-6pm ET on Friday, November 15th. Users are asked to stay off the system during the time the update is being applied.
Additionally, the following tasks will be completed Friday evening:
- Loading of 2018-2019 EOG/EOG Scores
- Loading of updated NCDPI Classroom and Benchmark Items
- Creation of a separate Certica Spanish Item Bank to reduce confusion when searching for items and make it easier to find items in Spanish.
- Loading of updated NCDPI Classroom and Benchmark Items
Late last month, 2018-2019 ACT and mClass (DIBELS, TRC, and IDEL) scores were loaded in the system.
We will explore these data updates and look at upcoming features in 21.1 (coming January 2020) at our December Home Base Meet-Ups, please be sure to register to join us in person or virtually!
Be sure to let your teachers know!
Monday, September 9, 2019
BOY Media & Tech Meeting
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Updates
Reminder: Maintenance Set for this Weekend
The next Home Base maintenance weekend is scheduled for tomorrow, Feb. 9, through Sunday, Feb. 11. PowerSchool and Schoolnet are both scheduled for maintenance.
During this maintenance period, Schoolnet will be upgraded to version 19.1. This upgrade will feature:
Assessments
o Test Restrictions
o Submit a Pending Online Test for a Student
o Continued Support for Canvas LMS Integration
o Enhancements to Item Search and Search Results
o MathML
o TestNav
-Texas Instrument Calculators (Graphing Calculator)
-Answer Key Only Tests
School & District Data
o Benchmark Dashboard
o Test Report Summary
o Tabbed Layout
o Analysis Spreadsheet
A portion of the Certica Item Bank, specifically multiple choice and open response items with MathML formats, will be updated in Schoolnet as well. Although Schoolnet may be accessible during certain periods of the weekend, Pearson, the vendor, requests users to refrain from using the application.
Home Base will be brought down on Friday at 5 p.m. and returned to service no later than Monday, Feb. 12, at 6 a.m. Once maintenance is completed, a message will be sent to notify users that the system is up and available for use. If there is a delay in bringing up the applications, users will be notified.
All newly imaged machines will be upgraded to Office 2016. We don't foresee any issues with this upgrade. However, if you run into any problems with compatibility or other issues please let us know. Note: This will not impact CTE Microsoft classes.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Welcome Back Updates
Welcome Back
Welcome Back to the 2017-18 school year. We hope you are getting settled and things are going well as you prepare for the student return on Monday. We wanted to share a few things with you about our summer projects and dates to put on your calendar.
As of July 1, the Technology Department is now part of Operations, the Digital Learning team has been moved to Academic Innovation and the Information Services is now part of Communication and Engagement. Although we are not in one department anymore we are still working closely to make sure you are support in all that you do at the school level so feel free to continue to reach out for emergencies through the Help Desk (helpdesk@johnston.k12.nc.us) - ext 1011 or enter tickets though SchoolDude for assistance when needed.
Thank you for your patience as we are doing our very best to get to all tickets in a timely manner.
Over the summer there were several projects that you might want to be aware of:
- We completed a Data Center Refresh (this completed the fixes from the hurricane last October)
- We deployed new servers at all Middle and High Schools and two elementary schools
- New school equipment installation and setup for SwiftCreek Middle and Innovation Academy
- We assisted with switching from Sharpschool to Blackboard as our website host
- Just a reminder all accounts are provisioned and your tech contacts should have rights to see staff and students in google as well as reset passwords for AD if you don't let us know so we can check your account OR help you get the training to get rights
- We also had some analytics done on our Google settings and have made a few adjustments to better align our settings with COPPA and CIPA compliance standards.
- We will no longer update the Digital Learning tools blog including the Web 2.0 Wednesday, and Google Tips. However, you will find similar posts on the new blog for Academic Innovation and you are encouraged to subscribe: http://thejocoreal.blogspot.com/
- Google has made 2 updates over the summer, so all chromebooks need to be updated using the small update arrow at the bottom right of your chromebook. You might have to do it twice to get to the latest version of Chrome. This arrow will offer to "Update and Restart" so it should be done when there is not an urgency to use the devices as it might take a few minutes to complete.
Meeting Reminders Please mark your Calendars!
BOY Media & Tech Contact Meeting*
AG Glenn Team Room
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
4:15-5:30 pm
EOY Media & Tech Contact Meeting*
AG Glenn Team Room
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
4:15-5:30 pm
*Both meetings are required to gain/maintain CTA rights. If you cannot attend, a rep from your school should be present.
Here is the Technician Schedule for 2017-18
If you need training of any kind please bring those needs to the BOY meeting so we can work to get a schedule together. (Resource Manager/Inventory, Coding, CTA training, etc)
If you are offering any training be mindful of the new Digital Learning Competencies. We are still working on a plan to we will insure our teachers and administrators get credits as needed in this area, but they are NOT tech tool trainings and you can not give credit for updating your website that is associated with this "type" of credit. It must be focused specifically on one of the 4 areas and centered on instruction.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Updates on Technology Topics
News from DPI
Click here to see the December 20, 2016 Edition of the Digital Learning Insights You might want to check out the wiki on Digital Learning Competencies mentioned in this newsletter, we will sharing more information about this initiative soon, stay tuned.
Starting sometime in January DPI will launch a new canvas icon that is for state level distributed courses, this icon will be separate and apart from our local Canvas. Here is an information letter you can share with your staff. Be on the look out for the Blue Canvas button.
Smart Notebook
If you are having trouble with some smart notebook activation with the new year try these directions:
- Start Menu
- All Programs
- Teacher Menu
- SMART Notebook 14 Re-Activate
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Updates from Digital Learning at DPI
Take a few minutes to read the most recent newsletter from Digital Learning Division:
Monday, August 15, 2016
Summer Updates 2016
Media News:
- Welcome Heather Pennica our new Lead Media Specialist, she will be your contact for media related topics.
- We are now hosting our Destiny through Follett so the URL for access has changed please update any bookmarks: https://johnston.follettdestiny.com/ is our new address. We have experienced slowness and are working with Follett to correct the issue.
- The data sync process is still the same through PowerSchool and new staff members will continue to be created manually using this link: bit.ly/staffpatron
- MyOn was a huge success this summer with 9820 books read across the district and 2318 hours spent on the program - congratulations to Selma Elementary for being the top participating school.
- WiseOwl - DPI indicated that the password for home access is being updated - look in the Media folder for information about the change. They have also updated some of the subscription resources check here for more information: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B6tdCo4ORZfeYWlfTDRTVjFCTXc
- Optional Media Specialists Meeting 8:30-11:30 in WCCC on August 19
ISD General News
We have had a few staff changes over the summer, so we wanted to update you!
- Dana Jernigan (ext. 1007) is now the Director of Professional Learning, Tony Stewart left us to move to Florida and Kathy Price will be taking Tony's place as Executive Director of Professional Learning.
- Christa Leverette (ext. 1011) will be returning to Stephanie Canning’s post in the Technology Services office. Stephanie returned to Wake County and we are awaiting a replacement for Christa’s position as the AA for ISD.
- Jen Roberts (ext. 1015) will be joining the Digital Learning Team as a Personalized Learning Specialist
- Heather Pennica (ext. 1029) will be joining the Digital Learning Team as Lead Media Specialist official start date is August 29th.
Technology News
- This summer, many software and hardware updates have been pushed out to the computers to improve functionality, be sure you get out all chromebooks and laptops to power them up, turn them on and log into them so they can receive updates. Likewise, all desktops need to be turned on and logged in to receive the updates. Expect some delays during this process so it is best practice to do this prior to student arrival.
- SMART 16 - We have created the latest version of SMART 16 for desktops. If you have a teacher who wants the latest version put in a School Dude ticket to have the computer reimaged. ALL new instructional and teacher desktops will receive the latest version when they are set up. It is also recommended that if a board is experiencing issues you put in a request to have the software updated. (Note: If your current incident of SMART notebook becomes corrupt your computer will have to updated to repair it.)
- Testing Update - new testing standards from DPI prohibit us from having monitoring and remote management software installed on testing devices. We will provide further updates as we learn them. Here are links to the testing calendars for your reference:
- The Energy team has been around this summer unplugging things, so your first line of troubleshooting should be to check the power and the port that it is plugged into.
- Phones - Please make sure that you keep phones in their current location and update extensions using the update form which goes to Shirley Nixon. (you might coordinate with your principal and phone management person at your site) If a phone was unplugged over the summer make sure you plug it into a port labeled with a “V” for voice. Note: all phones are also plugged into the computer to work properly.
- September 12 the technicians will start their new schedule. Until then they will be working 7-4 and will work on prioritizing needs based on tickets submitted from each school. Be sure you are adding your tickets into the system so we can get your needs addressed in a timely manner.
- WiFi update - we are working to provide a fresh wifi password. During the initial transition there will be 2 active SSID’s displayed on mobile devices, we will be pushing settings with the new information and after testing window 1, the old “jcswireless” will become inactive and the new one will be in place hopefully this will improve connectivity, as it will prevent many students from accessing it with their personal devices.
- Mark your calendar: Meeting Dates for this year
We look forward to your return! 2016-17 is going to be a great year!
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Upcoming Events and reminders for Tech Contacts
Speak Up survey window is October 1 - December 18. The password is speakup15, please share with staff, students and parents. 1 great way to do that is to post it on your website. Here is an image you can use in your banner and be sure to link it to the survey (included in the image)
NCTIES Early Bird registration is open until December 31. The conference is March 3-4, 2016 at Raleigh Convention Center. Cost is $135 if you register early. If you have a team of 4 from your school you can get a FREE registration for your principal/assistant principal to attend as well. Check it out: https://conference.ncties.org/2016/registration/
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Updates from Technology
Update on the WiFi : BYOD Chromebooks will now work on the Network!
We have a recycle vendor who will pick up all the old phones at your school.
You can arrange for OLD phone pick-up, collect all the old phones at your site and store in a large box (or boxes) to prepare for recycler pick-up. Once all the phones are collected, call It Ecycler to schedule for pick-up.
Link to Recycle Document:
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Examview Updates
Many people have concerns about Examview. We want to clarify that we no longer have a current textbook with licensing for Examview. CMP3 for middle school is the only current textbook with an active license. In conversation with the curriculum department, they would like for teachers to begin to use Schooolnet to build assessments. If you need assistance in getting started with Schoolnet here are the resources: http://jcsschoolnet.weebly.com/ Examview will be going away at the end of this week for elementary and high school and will only have the Investigations bank at middle schools (there will be a new examview icon to match our licensing). Please share this information with your teachers.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Digital Learning Updates
YouTube approval process was enabled yesterday. Please share the following link with your teachers to help them understand this process.
All students suspended at the end of last school year or over the summer have been reinstated in both AD and Google. If you have a student having difficulty let us know to make sure we haven't overlooked their account.
Please continue to reiterate with your students the importance of Digital Citizenship. We have the CyberSafety Survey (www.johnston.k12.nc.us/cybersafe) and the Digital Citizenship Tips for use with your students.(bit.ly/cybertip). We will be posting a tip for September very soon. It is a good idea to go over the Acceptable Use Agreement that was posted in the Parent Gazette as well.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Media Update: American Indian Books & BOB
Our ESL department has ordered resources or Native American Indians. The resources will be delivered to the media center sometime in the next couple of weeks there will be 20 or so books that will need processing. Once you receive these resources please share the information with your staff and students so they can take advantage of these materials. If you have questions you can contact lynandrews@johnston.k12.nc.us
Also a reminder to Battle of the Books coaches if you want to participate in the regional or state competitions should your team win one of your coaches must be a member of the North Carolina School Library Media Association. Membership is $40 and here is the link for you to register as a member http://www.ncslma.org/membership.
Please Share: Software Updates
Investigations Math (Elementary) and CMP3 (Middle Grade 6-7 only) came with a few digital resources and software disks. These software pieces have been built and distributed to all teachers and should be available under their teacher menu. Students will also see in the Student Menu icons for launching the student compliment. Please let your math teachers know about this update.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Patron Update
Patrons in Destiny
Students are being updated daily, if they are in PowerSchool within a few hours you should see them in Destiny as well.
Staff still need to be entered on this form
Thanks for your patience we are working to get all staff into the system.
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