LCSD Connect

Did you know that you can control your smart notebook files from an iPad or iPhone? (If you are viewing this from your email, click here to view the blog and be able to see the tutorial video in it.) In order to make this happen, you will need two things: 1. The Maestro Add-on installed in your smart notebook.  (Please contact Colleen or Andrew to have this done.) 2. An iPad with the "Smart Notebook" app installed. (This should be in your self-service app.  If it's not, submit a help-desk, and Andrew or Clint will put it in there for you.) To control your board from the iPad, all you have to do is: On your computer: 1. Start Smart Notebook as usual, and display it on your smartboard. 2. Click the "add-ons" puzzle piece 3. Choose "Notebook Maestro" 4. Choose "enable Maestro" and then quit and re-start Smart Notebook. 5. Click on the puzzle piece again and choose "Maestro" - you should see a QR code. On the iPad: ...

Welcome to December!   If you are viewing this from your email, click here to view the blog post and get access to the video to see the winner! May the season of Advent find you all blessed with an abundance of love, joy and peace as we wait for Jesus. Watch the video to see who the gift card winner of the month is! The website that I used is  https://www.online-stopwatch.com  and the specific picker  (The Wall) can be found here .  - Just a reminder that it's best to use students' first names only in order to protect their privacy.

Putting the art of teaching first, the tool second. Teachers all know that teaching is a combination of science and art.  There is the science behind teaching, the brain research, the psychology, sociology, etc., that all help us define how we work with our students.  Trauma informed practice is a good example of this.  We change how we teach based on what research shows is effective. Then there is the art of teaching.  I would say this is the relationship side of teaching.  I have always said students don't learn as well from people they don't like.  A positive relationship with your students is essential in being an effective teacher.  We need to have excellent interpersonal skills, and building those relationships in an atmosphere of trust, respect and engagement is an art that not everyone can do.  Positive relationships take a lot of work! Then we have the tools of the trade.  These usually include the technology we use.  Book...

Hi, So you probably noticed by now that you have two accounts with the division. A Microsoft 365 account, which is <username>@lrcsd.ca and a Google Account which is or will soon be <username>@lrcssd.ca. Just so you know, we will be moving towards integrating all accounts into one, you will simply use your Microsoft account to log into everything.  You will only need to remember one! So why are we doing this? This will simplify things greatly for both students and you, and save the technology department a great deal of resources and time as well. Right now when an account is created it goes like this. Staff account is created in PowerSchool.  ==> imported into active directory. ==> Created in Google.  ==> Created in Microsoft 365.  All the steps are taking place manually, and across the division people are spending countless hours working with accounts in separate services. Student accounts are very similar. Soon it will look lik...

I've had a number of requests recently from CSTs and teachers to show them how to use technology to record audio versions of tests, so I thought that it would be a good idea to share this with everyone! There are three scenarios for recording tests, ranging from the easiest to accomplish to more complex, but still completely do-able.  I've created a step-by-step how-to guide and tutorial video for each of the scenarios. Scenario 1:  Your test is in Google Docs and each recording is less than 1 minute Click here to access a step-by-step guide Scenario 2:  Your test is in docs or something else (word, pages, forms), and you want to create a link with a series of short recordings in it to give to students. Click here to access a step-by-step guide. Scenario 3.: Your test is in anything, but you want to create a recording longer than 1 minute Option A: Chunk your test into 1 minute chunks and do scenario 2           ...

In our district, we have three kinds of student devices available to teachers and students to use in most schools; 1.  Chromebooks 2.  Macbook Airs 3.  iPads Each of these devices has their own strengths and weaknesses, which we can get into in more detail in future posts.  For now, we would like to talk more about management of these devices.  In my last post, I talked about ways to set up your cart and class expectations to ensure that the actual devices are managed and in control, this post will look at programs that you can use to help you manage student behaviour while using the devices. Please note that none of these programs are a replacement for proper supervision of students. Chromebooks - GoGuardian GoGuardian is an internet-based piece of software that helps teachers to manage their students' online experiences while using chromebooks.  The software can be run on a teachers' laptop, another chromebook, or an iPad. With GoGuardian, you...

Wow ... These stickers on the front of most of the carts in the district outline the expectations surrounding technology use both for staff and students. It's the end of week 2 already!! Due to the hard work of my colleagues in the tech department, cart deployments are close to complete. (Numbers have to be tweaked still, but carts are in classrooms and devices are ready to go.) Before you work with students on the devices, there are some factors you should consider; What expectations do you have of the students regarding procedures that will manage behaviour and use of the devices?   How will you communicate those expectations to your students? What procedures will you put in place to ensure that the devices remain secure and in good shape? How will you store student login information? I recommend that early in the year, you spend some time with each of your classes explaining your expectations and procedures surrounding technology. Practice them, if necess...

Happy New Year! Colleen here, and I have a small confession to make.  Many people hate it, but this has always been one of my favourite commercials. .. I totally identify with the kids in some respects, I mean who doesn't want to say goodbye to the sun and freedom of the summer months (Although we didn't have a whole lot of sun in the Lakeland this year!) But I actually identify with the Dad far more than the kids; I LOVE going back in the fall, I LOVE seeing a new crop of students, I LOVE getting new clothes and new supplies, I LOVE seeing a new crop of beginning teachers, and their excitement for what lies in wait for them. I LOVE seeing the changes that have been made in technology and devices over the past couple of months, and dreaming of new ways to implement them into the curriculum. As with any new year, there are some significant changes around technology this year, the biggest of which (for me anyway) is that my dear friend and colleague Odette has retir...

Who Wants Coffee?? If you are a subscriber to this blog by this evening,  August 27th, you will be in the running for a Tim's Gift Card! I mean really... who doesn't need a little jolt of caffeine to start the school year off? Tell your friends! *The address to go to is www.lcsdconnect.blogspot.com  *Click "Subscribe", then go into your email and verify the subscription. We can't wait to see everyone at Faith Development Day on the 28th!!

Well summer is fast approaching and I know these next few days are crazy busy with getting classroom parties finished, exam marking done, report cards finished and cleaning up your classroom for the summer. I often get asked what I am doing over the summer, and as shocking as it sounds the IT department doesn't really get the summer off like most of you. In fact, while you might look forward to sun, fun, and hopefully some relaxation, summer is when we do 90% of our work throughout the school year. So what are we up to this summer? well here is a small taste: Updates on all servers, switches and routers in all schools ( 30 - 40 in total) Update all Student Mac laptops Check in all  leaving staff laptops New classrooms setup Smartboard repairs and cleaning Prep about 1400 iPads for the beginning of September 4 Summer camps are running Integrate new Office 365 services within the school district 180 New Macbooks to prep for September Computer repairs Opening day sup...

Learning First - Technology Second - An Introduction. I recently purchased a copy of "Learning First, Technology Second: The Educator's Guide to Designing Authentic Lessons" with the hopes of refocusing on why we buy technology for students in our district.  Liz Kolb, the author, works with about 150 beginning teachers per year on integrating technology into their lessons to have a meaningful impact on student achievement.  She is the guru on putting learning before technology in the classroom! If you've been around technology and education for the past few years, I'm sure you've seen the large influx of digital technology for staff and students, and our district is no exception.  It's not hard to notice iPads, laptops and Chromebooks in the hands of students in class, and cellphones in their hands out of class.  All of this technology has people speaking about the fourth industrial revolution (see below). Today, one could be forgiven fo...

Want to win a $15 McDonald's Gift card??   All you have to do is subscribe to this blog!  ⬆️ Click on "Subscribe" above, then go into your email and confirm that you would like to subscribe... The 50th subscriber will win the card, and there will be random draws of all of the subscribers before and after that draw.  Easy-Peasy!! (If you would prefer Tim's or some other store, that can be arranged.)

Google Drive - making the data cloud work for you. This is part one in an educational series on Google Drive.  The other blogs in this series will cover all things Google Drive, including file sharing, working on Microsoft Office Files, Team Drives, and backing up your laptop data using the Google Drive Stream application. G-Suite for Education has many features you can use with your students, from word processing to creating incredible web sites for students projects that can shared with parents.  At the core of all of this, is your Google Drive.  Think of Google Drive as the repository for all of your assignments, photos, etc., that you acquire as a educator over time.  What's more, your Google drive has unlimited space, and can be used anywhere where there is internet.  You can also access your Google Drive files offline if need be, which I'll cover in this series. Learning about Google Drive will help you understand how everything else is shared and o...

Did you know that you can make e-books using google slides? With a simple change to the page size, you and your students can create books that can be printed on normal paper, but can also include multi-media files such as videos and audio clips. After they are made, the books can be downloaded as PDFs and even published to the internet to share with other students or parents Check out the video to learn more! Click here to access the document I made during the video To change the page-size: - File > Page Setup > Custom > 8.5 x 11 inches (Or 11 x 8.5 inches) To Add Audio of a student or teacher's voice: - In Google Docs, Use the Voice Note Icon in Read-Write Google to record voices - In Slides, Insert > Audio > Recent (to find the clip) To Add videos: - Insert > Video (Can add from your Google drive, or from You-Tube) To add Photos: - Copy and paste OR - Insert > Photos > Search the Web (Note that you can layer the photos to create scene...

myBlueprint is a fully bilingual electronic e-portfolio, a visual student-driven portfolio that helps students illustrate and track their learning in your classroom.  myBlueprint contains two main areas, a K-6 area entitled All About Me and a 7-12 area that contains career planning, learning styles assessments and the e-portfolio as well. Students can upload previous assignments from their Google Drive or start a new assignment right in their portfolio. Artifacts can be colour coded and tagged too later on be filtered for an easier navigation between subject, units or projects. Students have the ability to add their own reflection to each artifact in written, audio or video form. myBlueprint works on any device: MacBook, iPad or ChromeBook. Another great feature of myBlueprint is that it is Canadian based, and has many lesson templates and artifacts already embedded in the portfolio section that supports Alberta's curriculum and our religious program, Growing in Faith, G...

One-Note is a Microsoft product that can be used on an iPad and Macbook. It’s an excellent way to store notes (Hand-written or typed), videos, and photos from observations in a “digital binder”, accessible anywhere. Give Colleen or Odette a call to get started! Video Credit: www.storyals.com

         Did you know that students and teachers can record their voice in 1-minute clips and hear it later? This works in google docs, slides or sheets, with the help of Read-Write Google. Think: Reading fluency, ELL, FLA, Exam Audio Files... the list is endless! Check out the video above to learn how to do this. How might you use this in your classroom? Comment below to share your idea with others!

PowerTeacher Pro provides a way to print or view report cards not just for an entire class but also for a single student. Click on the video to find out how this is done.

   Typing Pal and Tap’Touche are valuable tools for students to learn typing and keyboarding skills. With them, you can: Choose from one of three learning environments for a visual backdrop and practice texts perfectly suited to your group.  View the students’ logs to assess their performance and watch the video replays to identify their strengths and weaknesses.  Choose a grading system and generate report cards directly from the statistics report. Our district has purchase licenses for all of our students. If you are interested in using one of these tool in your classroom, please contact Colleen or Odette.

A backup when needed helps you feel completed. In the  video below, I talk about backups, why you need one, and then I quickly show you how to do one. They are easy today, and perhaps one of the most important things you can do to save your work and memories!

Welcome to your district technology newsletter.   Here you will find technology answers at your fingertips, and answers to some of the most frequently asked questions posed by you to us.  So enjoy the newsletter and feel free to suggest topics for our next editions!