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.

Happy 2018-2019!

To start of the year, I want to share five reminders about Canvas. 

1. Student Usernames and Passwords: Please remember that Canvas credentials (and Office 365) follow a different naming structure. A reminder on this structure can be found here. (For security, you must be logged into your pennridge.us account to see this!)

2. Publishing Courses: You must Publish your course by clicking on the Green Publish button on

your course's homepage. If you do not Publish your course, students will not be able to see your class in Canvas.

3. Adding Co-Teachers: Please make sure to add any co-teachers to your course. You can do this by going to People in your course navigation and selecting +PEOPLE. Next, enter your co-teacher's email address and select Teacher from the drop-down menu and then press ADD. 

4. Course Navigation: In order to keep your courses clean and to limit student access, make sure to update your course navigation and hide items that you do not use. 

5. Directions for the Start of the Year: The Start of the Year Checklist is a great tool to find directions on how to do everything above and so much more (like how to push grades to PowerSchool). The High School Start of the Year Checklist is here and the Middle School Start of the Year Checklist is here.

I look forward to working with all of you this year. Please email me to set-up an appointment to work on Canvas or other tech integration issues I can help you with.

-Cara

Welcome Back- Year Two of Canvas

Welcome Back!

Just a Five quick pieces of information as we start Year Two of our Canvas implementation.

1. Linked here is the start of the year checklist for Canvas. It is similar to the checklist I provided last year, but includes a few demonstration videos and some information on new features in Canvas.
2. Please remember that there is a Module on Year Two goals in the Professional Learning Course. Many of you completed the module at the end of last year.  If you haven’t competed this, it would be helpful to do so as we begin Year Two with the following Canvas goals:
•       Demonstrate Mastery of the Year One Goals (due dates on calendar, daily agenda,    upload handouts, use syllabus page)
•  Utilize Modules for Course organization.
3. If you are not enrolled in the professional learning course, please email me and I will add you right away!
4. Please remember that student Canvas log-in credential information can be found under the “For Students” tab on the high school homepage and here. Teachers can see student log-in credentials by clicking on the backpack icon in PowerSchool, selecting the student’s last name and then selecting “logins” from the drop down menu.  Canvas usernames are the students’ computer username followed by @psd.pennridge.org and the password is their network password.
5. I will be in the CAP room (307) most periods of the day this year. Feel free to stop on in whenever you need help with Canvas or other tech integration needs. There will be students in the room, but they are working on cyber coursework, so don’t feel like you are disrupting them!

Semester Switch and Canvas Drop-In Sessions

Many of you teach semester courses. Below are some steps you are going to want to take as the first semester ends and the second semester begins.

1. Grades in your First Semester Course-  You will be able to continue to grade work and push those grades to Powerschool (if you are utilizing the grade push) until January 31st. This corresponds with the grading timeline that Alice sent out. After January 31st you will have read-only access to your course material. This means you can see all of your assignments, files, discussions, student work, etc. but you can’t edit within the course. To edit the content you would need to copy it into a new course (see #2)!

2. Copy Course content to New Semester Course- 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.

3. Semester Course Content Next Year-  You will also be able to copy any course content from a semester course (or Year Long Courses, too) into the PowerSchool created courses you will teach next year. Don’t worry- Your work first semester will not disappear!

4. Don’t forget to Publish Your Semester Two Courses-  You must publish your second semester courses just like you did semester one. Here are directions.

5. Semester 2 Try Something New!-  Please stop in and see me in room 307 if you would like to review how you have used Canvas in semester 1 and discuss ways to expand upon your use in Semester 2.  Things to consider: collecting assignments through Canvas, Discussions, Modules, GradeBook Push, Group Assignments. These suggestions will all be explored in the opportunity which follows.

9.30.16- Turnitin, Bookmarks, Student Log-In, Parent Access, Grades

This week’s quick Canvas tips and updates!

1. turnitin.com- Turnitin.com has been activated system wide. You can now collect assignments through Canvas but have them run through Turnitin.com’s plagiarism checker. You can grade the assignment via Turnitin or Canvas’ Speedgrader. The grade can then be pushed to PowerSchool from Canvas. Here are  some basic instructions. I would be happy to help anyone who wants to test out this great integration. If you do not have a Turnitin.com account contact Hilary C.

2. Grades- We all Learn!- On the Beginning of the Year Checklist I suggested hiding grades in your course navigation. Since them I have been able to disable grade totals from that feature. This means students cannot see their current average grade in a course within Canvas- they must do so in PowerSchool, the gradebook of record. What they do get to see, if you give them access, is a clear list of all assignments with due dates, whether they have submitted or not, and any feedback given by the teacher. So in short, it is a good idea to have Grades available in your course navigation!

3. Bookmarks- I have had several students come to me not being able to log-in. The problem has been their bookmarks. It is vital that a Canvas bookmark be made for pennridge.instrucuture.com only. If a student bookmarks with any additional characters after the .com the bookmark will eventually go bad. If a student can’t log in, have them close Chrome, reopen and then type in the address (or use the link on the HS homepage). If they still have problems, send them my way!

4. Canvas Log-in Info for Students- This information has been added to the Student section on the high school website.

5. Parent Access: We are ready to provide parents with directions on how to create observer accounts. By as early as the end of next week your students’ parents will be able to view your course materials, calendars, and announcements. Remember parents have view only status and cannot see Quiz questions, Discussions, or any Student Replies. For a complete list of what observers can and cannot do look  Teachers will be told when the directions are sent to parents.