Cane Tech Squad

Field Trip Time! — Jonny’s Tech Blog

Our Technology Integration Class evaluated the school district’s new Virtual Reality Goggles last week. If you want to learn more about using the VR equipment let us know. Jonny Fender wrote this review on his findings:

This week in Tech Integration we got the opportunity to go a few virtual field trips. We used a program called Google Expeditions to go on these field trips all over the world. We used a Nokia cellphone that was placed in a Virtual Reality headset to see these amazing places. The places that the […]

via Field Trip Time! — Jonny’s Tech Blog

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UDL through Screencasting

UDL Principles

By creating short informative videos on your chromebook teachers can help students access information in a variety of ways. Whether you are flipping classroom instruction or simply providing students another pathway to content, screencasting is simple and can be reused in the future.

Watch this short video to learn about how to use Nimbus to create screencasts which are videos of what is on your computer screen narrated by you. Screencasts can also be student-created to demonstrate knowledge and understanding and then shared with future classes.

Screencastify is another App that can be used for this purpose as well. Let us know if we can help!

 

Watch CTS Jeopardy LIVE

Watch this replay of our CTS Jeopardy Live Twitter Game Show.  The purpose of this show was to help educate students on the use and care of their chromebooks. We are working on the restricted mode issue so for now students might have to watch from home or another account.

Congrats to Parker on winning our first CTS Jeopardy Game.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter @CaneTechSquad to join us LIVE next time.

Teachers – Would you like CTS members to host a Live Jeopardy event with your class?  Maybe you can challenge another class in your content area?  Let us know!

It’s MyStudyLife! And I can live it how I want to!

Aaron from our CTS Help Desk wrote this App Review of MyStudyLife.

The Cane Tech Squadian

MyStudyLife is a very useful app for those students that like to keep track of what they have going on, on what days and when. For organized students and for the teachers that like to keep their students informed this is a very useful and very easy to use app for your chromebook or even mobile phone. MyStudyLife has the ability to have entire schools join as well at teachers. The app will recognize the time that you spend in each class, which is nice. It has a feed page to tell you what assignments and tests you have coming up. For tasks there are also gauges for how far you are on the assignment percentage wise. However; this app is fairly reminiscent of google classroom, with classroom being able to sync with your google calendar that feature gives classroom an advantage. But all in all, if you like to…

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Working Offline with Chromebooks

There are two ways you can use your Chromebooks offine.  The first is to go in to Google Drive and enable OFFLINE MODE.  The directions for this are here: CTSBasicsOfflineMode

The other way is to download webpages using the Pocket App.  This will allow you to view certain webpages when you dont have wifi.  This app has been installed for you.  It will prompt you to make an account.  If you need to access a webpage while away from wifi make sure you add it to your pocket while you still have wifi.  Give the app time to download the pages and then you should be able to access it through the pocket app later.

Here is a video that explains Pocket App further: Pocket

Let us know how it goes and good luck!

CTS Basics: Progress Book

CTS Basics: Progress Book

It is important to be able to use ProgressBook to keep track of your grades and assignments here at WHS.

To Access Progress Book:

Visit www.wilmingtoncityschools.com and click on student -> Progressbook Student.  Then choose the Wilmington City Schools icon.  If you have set up an account in the past go to A below, otherwise go to B.

A. If you know you have an account but have forgotten your username or password click the forgot your username or password link.  This will email you your username or password.  If you can no longer access the email you used to setup progressbook email steven.reed@wilmington.k12.oh.us and in the subject line type ‘progressbook login help’.

B. If you have never had an account before, first check your email for a message from Don Sutton with the subject “Progress Book Student Reg Key”  

Next visit www.wilmingtoncityschools.com and click on student -> Progressbook Student.  Then choose the Wilmington City Schools icon.  From here you will choose sign up.

Fill in the account information on the Sign Up  screen, entering the  Student Registration Key  from the attachment in the email; your legal first and last name and date of birth.  Make sure you use your school email to register and 00+studentid for your password.

If you do not have an email from Don Sutton with the registration key, email steven.reed@wilmington.k12.oh.us and put ‘need PB key’ in subject line.  Again, this is only if you have never registered a Progress Book account.

 

CTS Basics: Offline Mode

CTS Basics: Google Drive Offline Mode

Using Google Drive, you can read and edit your saved Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings documents when you’re offline.

Turn on Google Drive offline

To save your Google Drive documents for offline use:

  • If you haven’t already, sign in to your Chromebook.

  • Make sure that your Chromebook is connected to the web.
  • Open Chrome .
  • In the upper right corner, click the settings icon > Settings.
  • In the “Offline” area, check the box for Sync Google Docs, Sheets, Slides & Drawings files to this computer so that you can edit offline.
  • Click Done.
  • Wait for a few minutes. DONT CLOSE YOUR CHROMEBOOK.  Your Chromebook will automatically save your Google Drive documents so you can read or edit them when you’re offline. If you have a lot of files, you might see a message that your files are syncing.

IMPORTANT:  To access your files at home click on the FILES button in your dock at the bottom of the chromebook screen.

Turn off Google Drive offline

To turn off Google Drive offline and remove the synced files from your Chromebook:

  • If you haven’t already, sign in to your Chromebook.

  • Make sure that your Chromebook is connected to the web.
  • Open Chrome .
  • In the upper right corner, click the settings icon > Settings.
  • In the “Offline” area, uncheck the box.

  • Click Done.

 

 

CTS Basics: gmail Distribution Groups

CTSBasicsGmailDistributionGroup

CTS Basics: Gmail Distribution Group

You can create and edit groups in gmail by switching from MAIL to CONTACTS at the top left.

Create a Contact Group

  • Go to Google Contacts. In your gmail click Mail in top left and change to Contacts

  • On the left, click Groups New group.
  • Type a new group name.
  • Click Create group.

Add Contacts to a Group

  • Hover your mouse over the contact’s photo or People , then check the box that shows up. If you don’t see a photo or icon next to the contact’s name, go to group contacts in old Contacts.
  • In the top right, click Group .

  • Click the group name you want to add the contact to. A checkmark will show up next to the groups the contact is added to.

 

 

CO:LAB & CTS

The WHS Learning Commons is home to two new spaces this school year.

The Cane Tech Squad Help Desk is located in the SE corner of the library.  In this space you will find help Help Desk students who are taking the Technology Internship class this year.  These students will be on-call throughout the day to help with the technology needs of both staff and students.  More information can be found on the CTS Help Desk here.

The new CO|LAB is located adjacent to the CTS Help Desk area where the in-library lab used to be.  The CoLab is designed to be a space for students to explore and collaborate with technology.  MakerSpace activities from the Technology Club will be available here.  In addition, teachers may book the space to bring down their classes to work with students in a more collaborative way.  CTS Help Desk Gurus will be availale to help students and teachers when they book this space.