TECHknowledgy

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Be sure to open MagicSchool from your ClassLink LaunchPad. Do not use your Google email to login to MagicSchool - you will not have access to all of the features, like saving to Google Docs.

Watch this video for directions.

If you are launching a Student Room, you can generate a QR code for students to scan or share a link in Seesaw. Troubleshooting: Students need to be logged into ClassLink.

Informational Texts: Create text for your students about a specific subject or standard. Try prompting AI to write it from the perspective of a 10-yr-old!

Text Dependent Questions: Generate questions about any text. Upload content or ask about a book your class is reading. Use the questions as discussion starters or checks for understanding.

Character Chatbot is a student tool (toggle to MagicStudent to view student tools) you can customize. Students can generate questions for a whole-class interview of a historical figure or literary character, or carry on a conversation in a student room.

5th Grade teachers have been using Character Chatbot for Shakopee students to "converse with" a student living in Mesoamerica. They customized the chatbot so students can ask additional questions about living in a particular region... "Students are engaged and love it!"

Standards Based Chatbot is another student tool you can launch for your class or for individual students who need extra support and practice. Just copy/paste your standards!

Want to share a tip with your colleagues? Try something cool with your students? Drop us a quick email and we'll share in our next newsletter! 😀 blc@shakopee.k12.mn.us

Lesson Hook: Give information about your current topic and get three creative ideas for engaging students.

Role Play is a new student tool you can customize for students to practice conversations or interviews.

Podcast Outline is another MagicStudent tool. Launch in a student room or walk through it together on the big screen. Try creating a podcast with literary or historical characters!

When you click on Launch to Students you can customize any MagicStudent tool and share it with students. Now you can duplicate a room or share a template for a student room with your colleagues.

Watch this video to learn how: Sharing Student Rooms

You can create a follow-up prompt specific to your classroom needs then save it to reuse without retyping. Try generating versions of MagicSchool outputs to different reading levels or differentiating for your unique student population.

Watch this video to learn more.

Here we are at the end of Q1 and it seems like a good time to revisit the digital learning goals we introduced in the back to school course in August. Goal #1 is using your iPad as a teaching tool. Quick self-check: How is it going? How can we help?

Check out the video below for complete step-by-step directions for using Apple Classroom. If you need to manually create a classroom, watch this video.

Teachers will continue to use Seesaw for communication with parents/guardians and introduce activities and assignments, providing that window into your classroom.

97.5% of our K-5 students have families connected with Seesaw!

Use of Seesaw Messages for communication still varies greatly between buildings and among teachers, so that's a good area to focus on improving! Translation is available for Seesaw users in over 100 languages. That's why it's the tool Shakopee Communications is asking you to use for family communication.

From the Seesaw Blog: How Seesaw Keeps Families in the Loop and Fosters Inclusivity

Did You Know? Students have higher test scores when they complete activities that include voice, video, or family visits.

8108 Shakopee Seesaw posts in October included student voice or video, that was 32% of the student posts made in October. 31% had family visits. That's a great statistic, and another focus area for some teachers. 😀 Let's keep engaging our students!

Reading Fluency allows you to track key metrics like percent words correct, words correct per minute, word additions and word removals. Reading Fluency uses AI transcription to automatically analyze student recordings. Watch the video below or read more about How to Use the Reading Fluency Assessment Tool

Literacy Bites are quick pre-made activities you can assign to deepen student understanding and foster a love of reading. Here is an example of the ready-to-use one-page activities:

• Draw a Character
• My Favorite Reading Spot
• Read with a Partner
• Create a New Cover
• How Will it End?

Social Thinking is a brand new K-5 collection focused on developing crucial character-building competencies for social awareness, self-awareness, and relationship skills. These research-based lessons empower learners to observe and interpret social situations, recognize emotions and thoughts in themselves and others, and identify their unique strengths and intelligences.

Using Focus Mode, teachers can choose which tools are available on each page or opt for no tools - students can still answer assessment questions and complete Frames when no additional tools are available. Watch the video below or read more about How to Use the Focus Mode Tool

Classroom Dailies are ready-to-go lessons from the Seesaw and Community Libraries that are organized on a monthly calendar with one activity listed each day. Dailies are timely and thematic, standards-aligned, flexible, fun, and engaging. The lessons are drawn from different Resource Library themes including Seesaw Essentials, Daily Routines, Community Builders, Digital Citizenship, and monthly Special Days.

Activities for November Special Days include Native American Heritage Month, Election Day, Veteran's Day, National Author's Day, National Young Reader's Day, National STEAM Day, and Giving Thanks. Seesaw is also providing tools for building quarterly portfolios. Lots to check out!

The Highlights Collection allows students to capture their work inside Seesaw across core subject areas to create a digital portfolio that students, teachers, and families can use to see growth over time. Click here to view the Fall Highlights Portfolio for Grades 3-4

Check out these Reading Highlights Pages. These are one-page, quick activities you can use with students to establish reflective routines. Students might write responses to a question then read their thoughts in Seesaw or take a photo of a book page and read it aloud in Seesaw. Remember the power of student voice and video!

• Audio Playback Enhancements - You can now change playback speed and skip forward or backwards 5 seconds to quickly listen to student recordings.
• Time Limits on Audio and Video Recordings - You can apply time limits to video and audio recordings in Frames.

Calendar Math is a fun and interactive way for K-2 students to practice foundational math skills each and every day throughout the school year. These activities can also be used for students who need to practice or catch up with specific math skills. Calendar Math activities have now been updated through Spring 2025. Check out this Teacher Implementation Guide for more information.

You can save Seesaw Activities to My Library for quick access, then organize your Activities into Collections. Collections can me modified to include descriptions, custom colors, Sections, etc.

Did you miss our All About Seesaw newsletter last fall? Catch up by clicking the button below. Use the Table of Contents to jump straight to the topic that most interests you.

• Formative Assessment: Create auto-graded questions
• Seesaw Frames: Automatically opens the selected tool
• Grammar Detectives: New Seesaw content for Grades 3-5
• Take Seesaw Up a Notch: Extend your Seesaw learning

The Present to Class feature allows you to make a lesson interactive during guided practice or whole group instruction. Use Present to Class to model instruction by marking up the lesson using your iPad or invite students to the whiteboard to engage in a lesson by sorting, drawing, or recording! Read more here, watch this video, or check out the article below to learn more.

Put our highly searchable Tech Tools website on your go-to list! We work hard to document frequently asked questions and new resources.

Please let us know! We welcome suggestions and want to be in touch with your needs. blc@shakopee.k12.mn.us

Be sure to check out our Tech Tools pages highlighting language and reading supports including translation, text-to-speech, website readability, and dictation.

• Tech Tools: Accessibility for iPad
  
• Tech Tools: Accessibility for MacBook

To read more about staff who may assist with technology and implementation questions, please refer to this webpage: Technology Help Resources.

Email: helpdesk@shakopee.k12.mn.us
Website: https://shakopee.incidentiq.com

Email: blc@shakopee.k12.mn.us

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