Some Timely Reminders

Middle School Start of the Year Checklist
High School Start of the Year Checklist
How to Push Grades to PTP
Canvas Credentials: what you log-in to your computer with followed by @psd.pennridge.org PW: Computer PW
Direct URL: pennridge.instructure.com
Go Through PSD Key and you don't need the URL or your credentials!! PSD Key Username is your regular computer username (no suffix) and your network password

1. Benefits of the VPN: Global Connect

Whenever using your laptop outside of the district, please consider connecting to the VPN while working.  When you are connected to the VPN, you will be able to use any of the functions of your machine just as if you are at school, such as:

• Accessing the U: Drive

• Using Microsoft Outlook, including sending e-mails, managing your calendar, and viewing your to-do lists.

• Using the Follow Me Printers, including the ability to print the night before and release the document right when you walk in the building the next morning.

You may have noticed Global Connect popping up on your computer.  This takes the place of our Cisco server.  Simply type in remote.pennridge.org (only the first time) to access the VPN and you will prompted for your username and password.  This will only work after you've access your home Wifi, and must only be done out of district.  This can be helpful at workshops, out of district conferences, etc.

2. Emailing Parents from PowerTeacher Pro

1. Login to the PTP Gradebook and make sure that the class you want to email is selected in the course drop down menu at the top of your screen.

2. Click "Class" from the Left Navigation.

3. Select Email Class.

4. Select the name(s) of the people you want to email and select semi-colon as your delimiter type.

5. Copy and Paste the email address list into the BCC field of outlook and enter your own email address into the "To" field. Compose and send your email.

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3. Ways to Communicate with Classes in Canvas

• Announcements can be created to share information with everyone in a course or individual sections of a course. 
• The Inbox is Canvas' email system. Messages can be sent to individual students, courses, or sections. Remember, teachers can reply to Inbox messages directly from their pennridge.org email. However, you must go to Canvas to create a message.
• "Message Students Who" is a great way to target your communication. From the gradebook in Canvas, you can message students who haven't submitted work, scored less or more than a certain score, or whose work you have yet graded. 

4. Parents can Create Observer Accounts in Canvas

Here are the directions which can also be found under the Parents Tab of each middle school and the high school's website. Parents can ask their students to create pairing codes for them. However, if needed, teachers can generate a pairing code and provide it to a parent. 

5. The Canvas Guides are Amazing

The Canvas Guides offer super-clear resources on how to do all things Canvas. For the most up-to-date directions on how to do virtually anything in Canvas, check out this great resource. 

Starting Semester 2 and Coming Soon in Canvas

This Friday Five is a reminder of things to do to end the quarter and/or start a new semester course. Items 4 and 5 introduce a change that is coming to Canvas that will improve your workflow.

1. Grading in Canvas:  Teachers will be able to grade Q2 items in Canvas and push them to PTP until grades are due on February 4.  Remember: Once you are done with your grading for the quarter it is a best practice to "turn-off" the sync setting for assignments. 

How to turn of grade sync for an assignment.

2. Setting up Semester 2 (or Q3) Courses: If you teach the same course second semester, you can easily copy all of your Semester 1 content to your new course. Here are directions on how to do this. Reminders:

• If you used announcements, don't copy these
• Select "Remove All Dates" so you start with undated content
• Anything you copy will be copied in the same state that is in the original course (i.e., published or unpublished - you can always unpublish before or after copying)
• Don't forget to PUBLISH new courses. Directions are here.

3. New Gradebook in Canvas: As of 1/18, the gradebook in Canvas is changing. The last Friday Five linked here details the significant changes. Again, don't worry, it is not a huge change for us.

In addition to the new gradebook, Canvas will also be releasing some exciting upgrades next week....

4. Copy materials within Canvas: Tired of having to export items to another course to make a copy?

5. Sharing Canvas Items with Colleagues: Is sharing items to Commons too much of hassel when collaborating with colleagues?

If you answered "Yes" to either of the two questions above, you will be excited to watch this video. A better and more efficient way to copy and share is coming to Canvas on Monday next week- just in time for Semester 2! 

This is a huge improvement that will benefit all teachers. 

Have a fantastic semester 2 and please reach out to me with any Canvas questions. 

New Gradebook In Canvas: No Reason to Panic

New Gradebook coming to Canvas in January

Let's get started.

1. No Need to Panic: The new gradebook does include many advanced features, but given that it is not our primary gradebook, we don't need to worry about many of these features.

Changes that impact us:

2. The Sync Button Moves from the Right to the Left:  In the old Canvas Gradebook you would click on "Export" (found on the right-hand side of your screen) and then PTP-Pennridge School District to send grades from Canvas to PTP. In the new Canvas Gradebook, the button has moved to the left and is found under the "Actions" tab. The video below demonstrates this new placement. 

3. Remove Late Labels: In the new Canvas Gradebook, teachers can remove late labels that automatically get applied to work submitted after a due date. This is great because late labels do transfer from Canvas to PTP and often caused confusion when an absent student took a quiz after the rest of the class. The video below demonstrates how to remove such labels and how you can apply labels yourself.

4. Sorting Options: In the new Canvas Gradebook, teachers have many options for arranging assignments. Below is an image that shows the options which include, alphabetical, by module, by date, and by assignment type. 

5. January 18, 2020: This is the day that the new Canvas Gradebook will be automatically in place for all Canvas users. If you want to get ahead of the curve, you can turn the new Gradebook on now. Go to your Course Navigation and Click on Settings. Next, select Feature Options and turn on the New Gradebook. 

There are many other features of the new Canvas Gradebook. If you would like to see a full-video overview click here. For the complete set of guides click here. For our purposes, the information above is likely enough. 

Focus of the Week: Canvas Assignments

This Friday Five is the second in a series of follow-ups on topics covered and discussed on our Oct 14 Professional Learning Day. This edition's focus is on Assignments in Canvas. 

1. Review of the Basics

Assignments....

• Are flexible and include quizzes, graded discussions, and work that is collected on paper or electronically. 
• When collected in Canvas, can include video, audio, text entries, or Word or Google Docs files.
• Automatically appear on a student's calendar and to-do list when they include a due date.
• Can be added to a Module for easy organization.

2. What are the assigning options for an Assignment in Canvas?

Assignments can be assigned to an individual student(s), an entire section of a course, or to an entire course (all sections).

3. If I want to passback an assignment grade from Canvas to PowerTeacherPro (PTP) but want to give different due dates to different sections of the same course, what do I do?

In this scenario, you will want to Duplicate your assignment and assign each copy to an individual section. This will allow you to pass each assignment back to PTP with unique due dates. Duplicating an assignment is easy. Here are the directions. Once you have enough copies, assign one to each section by selecting just one period from the "Assign to" field as shown below.

4. How do I create reminders for long-term assignment in Canvas?

There are two ways you can do this. You can either create a repeating Event that serves as a reminder or you can "stretch" a single event on the calendar-see below.

5. My students struggle creating their own document to complete an Assignment. Can I provide an individual document to each student directly in Canvas?

Yes, you can do this by creating a Cloud-Based assignment using either Google Docs or Office 365. Here are the directions for Team Google and here are the direcitons for Team Office 365. 

Focus of the Week: Communication in Canvas

During our October professional learning day, I had the opportunity to meet with many of you for an "Hour on Canvas." The next few editions of the Friday Five will focus on questions and discussions from those sessions. 

Question:  What are the differences between Announcements, Calendar Events, and the In-Box?

1. Announcements: Announcements allow teachers to communicate with students about course activities and post interesting course-related topics. Announcements are designed to allow instructors to broadcast information to all members of a course or to all members of sections within a course. Annoucements provide flexibility becasue teachers can delay the posting of an announcement. Teachers can allow students to reply and/or "like" Announcements. Announcement notifications appear on both the Course Card and in the To-Do List for students.

2. Calendar Events: A Calendar Event is an item that is placed on a class calendar. It provides information to students. They are best used as reminders and non-graded items. Unlike Assignments, Calendar Events do not create a column in the gradebook. Unlike Annoucements, students will not see a Calendar Event notification on their course card; however, the information will appear on the student's course calendar and To-Do list. 

3. In-Box Conversations: In-Box Conversations are Canvas' version of email. Teachers can communicate with an entire Course, an entire Section, or a Group within a course. Teachers (and students) can compose messages from their In-Box found in the green account navigation strip. One of the strongest features of Conversations is that you can send one message to a group of students, but each student gets an individual message.

4. Message Students Who: Teachers can send an In-Box Conversation to students directly from their Canvas gradebooks. Simply click on the triangle to the right of the assignment title and select your  criteria.

Question: How do teachers and students control their notifications on communications in Canvas?

5. Notifications: Each user, regardless of role, can control how and how often Canvas notifies them of activities in their courses. Notification preferences can be defined by going to Account and then Notifications. As a teacher, you likely want to have Conversations set to arrive in your pennridge.org email RIGHT AWAY. Remember, you can reply to a Canvas message directly from your Outlook email. People who use a Canvas App can also set notifications within the App settings. Remember, when using a Canvas App search for Pennridge via pennridge.instructure.com.

Five PTP Tips

This Week Features Five Tips Regarding PowerTeacher Pro. 

Click on any image to see it larger!

1. How do I see averages for assignments in the scoresheet of PowerTeacher Pro? 

To see the Mean, Medium, and Mode of assignments, go into the scoresheet of PowerTeacher Pro by clicking on Grading in your blue navigation strip and then selecting "Scoresheet". Next, click on the gear icon on
the right and select 
"Show Metrics".  The averages will now display. 

2. How can I rearrange the columns in my scoresheet so I see the most recent assignment first?

Follow the same steps as above, but instead of selecting "Show Metrics," select "Show Most Recent Assignment First."

3. Can I hide district created categories if I don't use them?

Yes. You must go to "Grading" in your blue navigation strip and then select "Categories." Next click on the pencil icon next to the category you want to hide. Finally, select Inactive and Save. 

4. How do I weight categories?

Here are directions and below is a video demonstration. 

5. Are the directions different for syncing grades from Canvas to PTP then last year?

Yes, you must follow different steps than ithe past. Here are the directions. 

Back to School Reminders and Updates!

This edition offers five reminders to help you, your students, and your eyes. 

Bonus: Remember the grade pass back process from Canvas to PowerSchool has changed with our switch to PTP. Here are the directions. Check OTS for info on upcoming PLT sessions (District Hour) on this process. 

Outlook

1. Do you need to update your Outlook Signature?

• Open Outlook (make sure you are using the App Version, which is found in your start window and titled "Outlook 2016")

• Choose File in the top Left and Scroll to Options

• Select Mail and Signatures (See image)

• Remember your signature should include your building, your position, your phone number and extension, and any other information you feel would be helpful

• If you use the web version of Outlook, you will also need to change your signature on that version of Outlook

Changes in VPN: Global Connect

2. Students no longer have to initiate VPN to access their U:Drives

With the launch of Global Connect, students, when using a district laptop, are always connected to our network, whether they are in or out of school. This change ends the need for students to set-up aVPN session to access their U:Drive at home. 

3. Benefits of using Global Connect as a Teacher

Unlike students, teachers and other staff members using a district laptop do have to initiate a VPN session when out of the district. Whenever using your laptop outside of the district, please consider connecting to the VPN while working  When you are connected to the VPN, you will be able to use any of the functions of your machine just as if you are at school, such as:

• Accessing the U: Drive
• Using Microsoft Outlook, including sending e-mails, managing your calendar, and viewing your to-do lists.
• Using the Follow Me Printers, including the ability to print the night before and release the document right when you walk in the building the next morning.

To initiate a VPN session,  open Global Connect and simply type in remote.pennridge.org (only the first time). Next, select Connect.  You will be prompted to enter your username and password.  Remember you only need to do this when on an off-campus Wifi network and you want full access to network drives, etc.  This can be helpful at workshops, out of district conferences, etc.

Are your eyes tired???

https://www.publicdomainpictures.net

4. Resize your Display

Since your computer was re-imaged over the summer, you may have noticed that everything seems smaller.  To change this, please follow this 1-2 minute process!  

5. Adjust the Display in your Gradebook

One of the advantages of PowerTeacher Pro is that you can adjust the size of the gradebook display. The image below shows how to resize your gradebook display in your PTP gradebook.

Welcome Back Friday Five!

Start of the Year Edition of the Friday Five

1. Start of the Year Checklists:  Most directions for Canvas Start of the Year can be found on your level's checklist. The middle school checklist is here and the high school checklist can be found here. Of course, email me, Cara Gurysh at cgurysh@pennridge.org with any questions or for assistance.

2. Grade Passback/PTP: With the conversion to PowerTeacher Pro there are new set-up steps that must be followed if you want to utilize grade passback. The directions can be found here. Keep in mind that you must set up your grading Categories in PTP first.

3. PowerSchool/Canvas: Canvas and PowerSchool "speak" to each other each night. If a student's schedule changes, it takes 24 hours for the change to be reflected in Canvas. This means if a student is placed into your period 2 class on Monday during period 1, the student will not have your course until Tuesday. If for some reason the course does not appear the next day, please contact Cara Gurysh at cgurysh@pennridge.org.

4. LockDown Browser: We have the LockDown Browser available for all staff and students 6-12. This browser creates a secure testing environment in Canvas. Using it is simple. Here are the directions. NOTE: The directions reference LockDown Monitor, we do not have this camera feature.  Look for sessions on the browser soon.

5. PUBLISH Your Courses: Don't forget that students will not be able to see your courses until you hit Publish from your course homepage.

Bonus: Parent Observer Account Directions can be found under the Parents Tab on each school's website.  A teacher can generate a pairing code for a parent if needed. Here are directions.

Last month's Friday Five hopefully eased some concerns you had about next year. This edition will assist you in preparing for 19-20 by offering some tips and reminders regarding wrapping up the year in Canvas:

1. You will have editing access to your current (Year Long; Semester 2) courses until June 30th. 

Remember you will NOT lose content, After June 30th, you will need to move it to another course to edit it. 

2. After June 30th, your PowerSchool courses will turn to “read only.” This means all of the content stays, but you won't be able to edit anything in the course. You are able to move content into a new course and regain full editing capabilities in that new course!

3. If you would like to work on your courses prior to the 19-20 PowerSchool roll-over (late July), you may move any of your content into a new course shell (click here for directions on creating a course shell and here for directions on how to copy content from a Canvas Course into that shell). I suggest you select "Remove all Dates" when copying. Once the PowerSchool roll-over occurs, you will have your official courses for the year and can import content into those courses from either a shell course or your 18-19 courses. 

4. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding Canvas year end! Thank you all for your hard work with Canvas this year. 

5. There is a lot of tech information coming out. Below are links to general information that has been sent so far.

1. Single Sign-On Information
2. PowerSchool Roll-Over Info
3. End of Year Tech Annoucement
4. Teacher Laptop Collection Form
5. HS EOY Tech Support
6. MS EOY Tech Support

If you have not done so, please make sure that you have signed up for June PD sessions in OTS by the end of the day Friday, 6/14.

Yes, Your Work WILL NOT Be Lost

This Friday Five helps answer some FAQs from the last few weeks. 

Happy Reading.

Don't forget to look for the Easter Egg.

Questions:

1. "Will I have to re-create everything I have put in Canvas this year, next year?"

NO! You will be able to copy all of the material from your courses this year into the PowerSchool created shells for the 19-20 School Year. The shells will be available once PowerSchool is rolled over from this school year to next school year. This typically happens in mid-July. 


2. "Where did my assignment go? I lost it when I deleted the date from the calendar?"

If you delete an assignment (quiz, discussion, etc.) from the calendar, you are deleting the item. If you just want to remove an item with a due date from the calendar, but preserve the item, edit the item and remove the due date or unpublish it. The item will then be saved, but won't be visible on students' calendars. 

3. "I accidentally deleted a (Quiz, Discussion, Assignment, Page). How do I get it back?"

Go to the home page of the course that you lost the item in. Add /undelete to the URL for the course. A list of deleted items will appear and select "Restore" for the item that you want to recover. (Kudos to Jon Edwards, HS English, for being the first to figure this out!)

4. "I need to give a student another attempt on a quiz. Is there a way to give another chance to just one student?"

The easist way is to go to "Moderate This Quiz" when in the editting area of the quiz.Then click on the Pencil icon next to the student's entry. From here you will be able to add an extra attempt. Here are complete direcitons. 


5. "Why should I go to 21st Century Learning Night?

Because it is the biggest celebration of learning in the district. Each year over 800 people attend to see examples of innovative teaching and learning that happens everyday within our district. With over 50 teacher exhibits, you are sure to be amazed and inspired by what you see. The first five people to email me a smiling emoji will get a Canvas prize. For more information about the event, check out the webiste.  

21stCLN is on Tuesday, May 28 from 6:30-8:30 at Pennridge High School. 

Speed Up Speedgrader with Annotate Pro

Do you every feel like this when providing feedback to your students?

You keep providing the same comment student after student.

This edition of the Friday Five introduces a Google Chrome Extension that allows you to more easily provide meaningful feedback on work collected in Canvas. The extension is called Annotate Pro. (Note: This extension is a "freemium" tool. This means it has a bunch of features that are free and others you can pay for. I am only highlighting free features.)


1. What is Annotate Pro?

Annotate Pro is a free extension that allows users to create comment banks that can be used when providing feedback in Speedgrader, Discussions and on Rubrics in Canvas. It can also be used with Google Docs and Word, but this post will focus on Canvas. 

2. How does it work? 

The 2 minute video below demonstrates the use of Annotate Pro in Speedgrader.

3. Can I create my own comments?

Yes, each user can create their own library of comments. Comments can include text and links to supplemental resources. You can even download your comments so you can share them with a colleague. 

4. Will this tool limit personalization of comments for students?

When providing feedback, you often are providing similar comments to students. Once you place a saved comment on a student's work, you can still edit the comment and add additional, specific information. You do not loose your ability to create custom comments while utilizing Annotate Pro.

5. How do I add an extension to Chrome?

1. Go to the Chrome Store
2. Search for Annotate Pro
3. Click Add to Chrome
4. Accept Permissions
5. The Extension will now run when in Google Docs or Canvas

Please contact me at cgurysh@pennridge.org if you would like help exploring this tool.

Reminder- 21st Century Learning Night is Tuesday, May 28.

More info can be found here.