The EdTech Connection

If you're anything like me, you've received so many reminder emails that you need an index just to keep track of them all! Here are just a few of the ones that I feel might be most handy as we are just days away from students entering our classrooms.

• Course merges in itslearning: All of your courses should be merged in itslearning thanks to the ITS Team (you can see the updates HERE), but let Angela or your school ITS know if something doesn't look right (if you filled out the form, I'll be taking care of those before I walk out this evening, whenever that is)
• Friendly course names in itslearning: We all know that course names in itslearning aren't the "friendliest." Teachers have until Labor Day 2022 to update their course name to a more student-friendly name by following THESE DIRECTIONS.
• Course update notifications: If you're tired of receiving those itslearning messages with updates about your course activity, you can turn it off by going to 360 Reports and turning off Notifications (unfortunately, you'll have to do that for each course you have).
• Creating Section Groups in IC: Unlike course merges, this is something that can only be done by the you, the teacher. If you would like section groups in IC so that you have both of your 1st period rosters together (instead of 30305 and 32305 separately), you can follow THESE DIRECTIONS to create "section groups" in IC

Google has made some awesome updates since the last time I sent this newsletter out and now seems like a perfect time to share them!

• Make a Doc "pageless": If you've got a Google Doc that you know will never be printed and you're tired of worrying about margins and page breaks, make it pageless! INFO & DIRECTIONS HERE
• Mix page orientations in a single Google Doc: If you've ever been frustrated that you couldn't change the orientation of a section of a Google Doc from portrait to landscape and then back again for the next section, your days of frustration are over! INFO AND DIRECTIONS HERE (scroll down to Mix page orientations)
• Create in-cell dropdown lists: These are perfect for those shared Google Docs where you're keeping track of project updates or to-do lists! INFO AND DIRECTIONS HERE

The secret's out: itslearning is leaving at the end of this school year and the focus of the vast majority of the PL that I will be leading this year will be on our new online platform, which is called Canvas. Throughout the year, I (or someone from the District ITS Team) will come out to every school four times to help staff learn how to use Canvas. In between those sessions, school-based ITSs will also have time to work with teachers and provide additional learning opportunities so that all FCS educators are prepared to teach with Canvas when we begin the 2023-2024 school year.

Shortly before my first visit to your school, I will send out information about enrolling in the online resource course, but feel free to send me an email if you'd like early access, even if you're not one of our pilot teachers! I am super-excited about this change and the opportunities it brings us for new ways to think about the way we do things. I hope that you will join me in approaching this journey with an open mind into discovering how we can continue to grow and become even better!