TechBytes

• May 21: Secondary Grading Window Opens
• May 31: Secondary Grades Due
  
• May 31: Deadline to input Physical Fitness Scores
  
• July 15: Final 3189 Chromebook Deactivation

• Create Year-Specific Folders: archive files into one main folder labeled with the academic year.

• Name Files Consistently in a way that includes the date, type of content, and a brief description (e.g., “2024-05-03_Chemistry_LectureNotes_AcidsBases”).

• Assign colors to different types of folders to quickly identify them.

• Clean out your documents: Sort through the documents you collected this year and get rid of those you don’t need anymore. If you hate throwing old files away, create an ‘Old’ folder, toss them all in it, and save that to a flash drive or in the cloud.
  

• Unsubscribe from Unnecessary Emails, such as newsletters, updates, and advertisements that no longer serve your needs. Gmail typically offers an “Unsubscribe” link at the top of promotional emails, making this process straightforward.

• Organize your emails by creating labels (basically folders) that correspond to different classes, subjects, administrative communications, and personal messages. You can automate this by setting up filters to direct incoming emails into these labels automatically.

• Set up filters to archive, delete, label, or forward emails based on criteria like sender, subject keywords, or other content. For example, all emails from the school administration can be tagged automatically or important parent communications can be starred automatically.

• Instead of letting old emails clog your inbox, archive them. Archiving removes emails from your inbox but keeps them in your account so you can access them later if needed. It’s useful for clearing out messages you don’t need immediately but might want to refer back to. Find one email and use the 3 dots in the toolbar to “Filter messages like these.” Archive them all at once or set a filter to automatically filter emails like these in the future.

• Back up your files to an external drive or cloud storage.

• Empty the trash. Don’t even look in it. If you haven’t missed a file by now, it won’t matter if you throw it out.

• Learn to use programs or get rid of them.

• Turn in old technology to your site (document cameras, projectors, and other site-based tech) or to ITS (laptops, Chromebooks).

• Choose Student Exemplars: Before deleting student documents, choose to move or download some student exemplars that you want to use as examples into an Exemplars folder you create.

• Plan out next year’s Canvas course(s) in a Sandbox while your ideas from this year are fresh

• Research and schedule any professional development activities you’d like to attend over the summer. This could be online courses, webinars, conferences, or workshops. Investing in your professional growth during the break can help you start the new school year feeling refreshed and inspired.

• Use your calendar to set goals for the next school year, both personal and professional. You can also create reminders for important tasks like ordering supplies or updating your curriculum. This proactive approach can help you start the new year with a clear vision and a plan for success.

If you are a teacher who is still using a Chromebook and/or a Lenovo ThinkPad in addition to your new PUSD laptop, we need your old devices. The 3189 Chromebooks will be deactivated as of July 15th and need to be collected. The Lenovo ThinkPads need to be refurbished to go to other staff members who do not have a device. If you have one of these devices, please turn it in (with the charger) to your site tech or a centralized location, such as your library or front office, for collection.

The remaining 3189s in circulation will be deactivated as of July 15th. At the end of the 2023-24 school year, please turn in all 3189 Chromebooks to your front office or library for collection by your site ITS technician.

At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, staff members in need of a device can put in tickets for a replacement.

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.

Graduating seniors can transfer their content in a similar way. Please see the information linked below for detailed steps 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
• 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.