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