TechBytes

• April 8: Enhanced Teacher Portal in Clever is active for all teachers (see info below)
  
• April 15: Deadline to complete Panorama Survey
• May 31: Deadline to input Physical Fitness Scores

Did you know that you can use the Webex app on your PUSD laptop to call extensions within the District as well as outside phone numbers, such as families?

To get started, place a Service Request for Softphone access. You will need to submit your extension number and the type of device you want your Softphone access granted to (Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, etc.).

From 6 pm - 10 pm on Friday, April 12, we will be performing maintenance on our phone system. During this time, physical phones at sites as well as Webex softphone access may experience interruptions in service.

Updates for educators: More flexibility in Highlights

In April, Hapara will be releasing two updates to the Highlights “Guide browsing” feature for teachers.

Teachers will soon be able to remove a link from an active Focus or Filter Session in Highlights. This will give them more flexibility to provide personalized learning. To remove the link, teachers will visit the active session and click the X next to the link to remove it.

How teachers can use this for learning:

• Remove an assessment website link when a learner, a group or the class is finished with an assessment.
• Some learners may struggle to focus right after lunch or another time of day. Create a guided browsing session for them. Then remove some links if they’re ready for more browsing responsibility before the session is over.

Add up to 50 Highlights Filter Session links

Teachers will also be able to add up to 50 links in a Highlights Filter Session. Previously, teachers could add up to ten links. This increase will allow for a more customized browsing experience to keep students from visiting distracting websites.

How teachers can use this for learning:

• Ask learners for feedback about websites that distract them. This will support student agency, empower them to take responsibility for their digital citizenship choices and help them reflect on their learning.
• Adelee Penner did this in her classroom, and learners created a list of websites they wanted blocked in a Highlights Filter Session.
• Create a Highlights Filter Session template by adding the links the class wants blocked. Then reuse this template day to day.

All teachers’ portals will switch to the Enhanced Teacher Portal by default the week of April 8. Teachers can switch back to the Classic Teacher Portal until July 2024.

To help prepare for the transition to the Enhanced Teacher Portal in July 2024, Clever is making it the default portal so that teachers can get some experience with the improved version before the end of the school year.

Here’s what to expect next:

• Improved navigation for teachers: Over 450,000 teachers are using the Enhanced Teacher Portal and saving time finding and using their resources!
• Teacher guide to the Enhanced Teacher Portal: The day the new portal surfaces for teachers, they will receive an in-product message with resources to help them learn about the new portal. We recommend you also proactively reach out to them to share the Teacher Guide to the Enhanced Teacher Portal.
• Additional resources: Follow along and discover more tools and resources to support your teachers through the transition: clever.com/enhanced-teacher-portal

Please reach out to EdTech with any questions.

For staff members who are leaving the District (now or at the end of the school year), they need to make sure they've followed the steps below before their last day of employment.

1. Return all devices (laptop, cell phone, hotspot). Workstations stay installed at the work location.
2. Download or Transfer all files and export Canvas content (if applicable).

These steps should be started a few weeks before the last day of employment to ensure everything has been completed before then and so they can reach out for assistance if needed.

Please review the detailed steps linked below and reach out to ITS with any questions.

Due to changes in budget for the 2024-25 school year, the following applications will no longer be paid for by the District:

• Nearpod
• Paper Tutoring
• Learning A-Z/Raz+
• Edulastic/Pear Assessment
• Newsela
• Scholastic (print and digital)
• Avanza Level Learning (Spanish ONLY)

For alternatives to some of these applications, please check out the resources linked in the Smore below.

Are you a classroom teacher who still has a Lenovo Thinkpad checked out to you in addition to your PUSD issued Dell Precision or MacBook laptop? If so, we need your device! All PUSD staff members should have turned in their Thinkpads when they received their new PUSD laptop last school year. If you did not turn in your device then, please submit a ticket so our team can pick it up. We need these devices to redistribute to support staff (Instructional Aides, Long Term Substitutes, etc.) who are using 3189 Chromebooks.

Questions? Contact EdTech.

3189/Loaner Chromebooks assigned to students at all grade levels have now been deactivated. If one of your students is still in possession of a 3189/loaner Chromebook, please have them turn it in to your librarian or site Chromebook contact. The deactivation only affects devices assigned to students, not staff. 3189s should be collected, stacked, and stored in a secure location for pick-up. Your school site technician will be in contact with your librarian/Destiny contact as to when these devices will be removed from your campus. We appreciate your patience.

We want to know what you think! To gain insight into your perception of our school and district and ensure that we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners, PUSD invites you to take the annual School Climate Survey. We have partnered with Panorama Education to conduct surveys of students (grades 3-12), families/caregivers, staff, and community members. The online survey asks questions about social-emotional learning, growth mindset, sense of belonging, safety, and more. It takes only a few minutes. You may complete the survey through April 15, 2024. Students will take the survey at school, and we ask that staff and families/caregivers take the survey too.

Survey links for staff, teachers, and students can be found in Clever. Links to share with families are listed below.

Family (English): surveys.panoramaed.com/pusd/spring24family

Family (Spanish): surveys.panoramaed.com/pusd/spring24family/surveys?language=es