Three (More) On Phones,One On Canvas, One On PowerPoint

Hopefully these phone tips never stop because being provided with three items by Diane Miller is making the Friday Five so much easier to write. Once again this Friday Five will include three on phones and two other timely tips!

Phones 

1. How do I check voicemail from outside of the district?

1. Dial 215-453-2737
2. Enter your ID Number followed by # (Your ID is your extension [222XXX]
3. Enter you PIN followed by #
4. Follow the prompts to retrieve new or saved messages or to reach set-up options

2. How do parents reach your voicemail box?

1. Call into the main school number (HS: 215-453-6944) -or-
2. Call 215-453-2765 which is the District-wide Faculty Voicemail Call-in Line
3. From Either number, the caller will be prompted to enter your mailbox number or will be directed to search the staff directory

3. What if I want to learn even more about our new phones?

1. Click here for the Cisco Self-Care Portal Quick Reference Guide
2. Use your district username and password to log-in to the portal
3. While much can be done right from your phone, but  the portal gives you a nice interface to accomplish basic phone tasks like:

• Reseting Your Voicemail PIN (once you have gone through the initial set-up)
• Forwarding All Calls
• Setting up Phone Contacts for your personal directory
• Changing Ringtones

The next 2 tips have to do with utilizing touchscreens for faculty and students with touch devices. 

Canvas

4. How can I use my touch-enabled device in Canvas?

SpeedGrader is a huge time-saver and you don't need to have a touch-enabled device to take advantage of it awesome features. However, if you are someone who likes to "write" on student's papers and have a touch device, this beta (meaning Canvas isn't sure that it is perfect yet) feature option may be great for you. Below is a super quick video of my attempts~note I have bad handwriting to begin with and screens do it no favors!

PowerPoint

5. How do I encourage students (9th-11th graders!) to take notes on your PowerPoint Presentations?

Students can "write" directly onto PowerPoint presentations you provide for them via Canvas. This is a great way for students to stay engaged in a presentation and create notes that help them elaborate upon the information you present, record examples you share, and practice steps you model. Below is a super-quick video demonstrating how to utilize the drawing feature in PowerPoint and here is a Microsoft Guide- Check out the shape conversion...awesome! We will explore this further during the October 24th Tuesday Ten!

Upcoming Tuesday Tens:
10/17- Screen Casting Options
10/24- Student Note taking with Touchscreens 
11/14- Skype in The Classroom

Two On Canvas; Three On Phones

This Friday Five includes information on two exciting Canvas updates and a link to a new blog introduced by Erin Reichert for the elementary level called Thursday Three. This week's edition of the Thursday Three contains important information on the new phone system! Make sure to check it out at the end of this post or by clicking here!

We will begin......

1. Canvas Rubrics- We all know rubrics help us to create consistent criteria to evaluate students. Well-crafted rubrics also provide students with clear expectations. Utilizing Canvas Rubrics is a great add-on to SpeedGrader and it is about to get even BETTER! (This change goes into effect on Saturday, 10/7/17!) (click on the images to see enlarged)

Canvas Rubrics Now Allow for Grade-Ranges

When creating a rubric, select Range and you will be prompted to enter the range of scores you will associate with a set of criteria. 

In SpeedGrader, you will see the option to select a range score. The default will be the highest range of the score, but you can override the number. The totals will automatically tally. 

For more information on using Rubrics in Canvas click here!

2. Quiz Moderator- I know many have asked about lock down browsers and these are being investigated, but new features in quiz moderation help teachers watch for cheating and, when shown to students, act a great deterrent. By selecting VIEW LOG from SpeedGrader, a teacher can see if a student stopped viewing the Canvas quiz page and do much more....(click on the images to see enlarged)

1. Indicates the date and time the student took the quiz.
2. Allows you to identify which attempt's log you are viewing
3. Indicates how long it took a student to answer a particular question
4. Lets you know if the student left the Canvas interface. 
5. Allows you to refresh the log. This is helpful if you are viewing the log while the student is working.

For more information on how to MODERATE QUIZZES in Canvas, click here. 

And now for 3, 4, & 5 via The Thursday Three...

3. How to Check Voicemail from a Classroom Phone

4. Directions on How to Retrieve Voice Messages through Email

5. Utilizing the Emergency Button for a Building Emergency

Click here to learn about these great phone features.