TechBytes

• November 18 - December 20: STEMscopes Beginning of Year Assessment (K-1)
• December 16 - January 31: i-Ready Diagnostic 2 Window
• January 2025: LearnPlatform Launch

The new year will come with many updates for different platforms and policies. Please read everything below, as some changes will be major.

• YouTube - YouTube will become an 18 and over application.
• What does this mean for you/your students? Students will only be able to access educational YouTube videos posted by their teachers in Canvas. There will be no other method to access YouTube videos.
• Promethean Boards and Voice Amplification devices - Promethean boards and voice amplification devices will deployed to all classrooms with rostered teachers before the end of the school year.
• Student Chromebook Refresh - all student Chromebooks will be updated summer of 2025.
• App request policy changes - all applications and URLs will need to go through the App Review process to ensure the apps/sites meet our privacy standards. Applications that do the same thing as curriculum applications or applications that the District pays for will no longer be approved for use. Apps that were on timelines for review will also no longer be approved for use.
• Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) updates for students and staff - Updates will be made to the student AUP to reflect use of AI, appropriate device usage, and more. Updates to the staff AUP will be made to reflect use of personal devices, use of AI, and more
• Hapara Chat - The Chat feature in Hāpara Highlights will be enabled to allow teachers and students to build supportive and collaborative relationships. With the Chat feature, teachers can initiate 1:1 conversations with students during instructional time.

Celebrate the holiday season with 12 Days of Paper—a fun and easy way to finish the year strong! From December 5th to 20th, we’re offering daily, ready-to-use activities that reinforce key skills, save you time, and keep students engaged. Check out the grade-specific calendars below for each day's activity.

But wait, there's more! Fill out this Google Form each day you use an activity to enter for a chance to win exciting prizes! 🎉 The more days you participate, the better your chances are to win—so don’t miss out!

Please be aware: Per secondary teacher feedback, the i-Ready diagnostic window will be opening early on 12/16 for high school students to complete during finals week.

Because it is opening before winter break, if students do not finish it before the end of day on 12/20, it will reset over the break. This means, if students begin the diagnostic before break, they need to complete it before they leave on 12/20. Otherwise it will be reset before they return to school on 1/6. The diagnostic window closes for elementary & secondary on 1/31.

*Elementary teachers should not administer the diagnostic until after break.

Our new App Library and App/URL requesting platform is coming soon and will be launching January 2025!

As PUSD teachers and staff members, you will now be able to access this database from anywhere and identify the tools approved, pending approval, denied, as well as, see which ones are intended for elementary and secondary schools. As shared above, this library will allow you access to our curated district library, as well as explore the larger LearnCommunity library where you can search for new tools and view feedback from other educators. Lastly, in our district library, you will be able to find resources attached to these tools, such as PD videos or login information.