Bits and Bytes Ed Tech eNewsletter

• PowerSchool Maintenance Dec 16th-Dec 18th
• Semester 1 Archive Dates & Semester 2 Availability Dates
  
• S2 Setups - PowerTeacher Pro and Schoology
  
• Blocksi S2 Setups

• Sat. Dec. 16th 4:00 AM - Mon. Dec 18th 1:00 PM

• PowerSchool will be down due to server maintenance starting at 4:00 AM on Saturday, 12/16 services will be restored on Monday, 12/18 at 1:00 PM

• Schoology will be available for use; you will be unable to synch grades back to PowerTeacher Pro during the downtime

• IETS will send an update once each maintenance window is complete
  

Important Dates

7th-12th Grades:

• • 
    
  • 12/11 - Semester 2 for Teachers available to view in Schoology (S2 Schoology Setup Video)
  • 12/15-1/5 - My Backpack will be off for students
  • 1/2 - Semester 2 adopted Digital Curriculum will be available for Teachers to see the course materials (Note: if you were already teaching using this curriculum in S1 it will continue to be available)
  • 1/2 - 1/5 - Winter Intersession
  • 1/5 - Semester 2 for Students and Parent/Guardians available in PowerSchool and Schoology after 4pm
  • 1/5 - Semester 2 adopted Digital Curriculum will be rostered with students
  • 1/8 - Semester 2 adopted Digital Curriculum will be available for Students
  • 1/10- Semester 1 Final Grades Due (PowerSchool PowerTeacher Final Grades Videos)
  • 1/10 - Note: Semester 1 adopted Digital Curriculum Savvas and Ramsey courses will no longer be visible after grades are due on 1/10. Please save grades in PowerSchool. (Math Teachers: Reminder get grades in before you return)
  • 1/11 - Semester 1 Archived in Schoology (S1 courses are not deleted, videos how-to find and use S1 Archive Schoology Courses for Teachers and Students)

• No change, but reminder to follow same steps with incomplete grades if not completed by end of Semester 1 Final Grades are Due:
• Incomplete Grade
• Grade work and update grades
• Complete grade change request through your school site process

• For the start of Semester 2, you need to make sure that your categories and grade calculations are the same as Semester 1. As such, it is a good idea to verify that you have your gradebook setup correctly.
• Fortunately, you can easily copy any categories you created for your classes in Semester 1 to your classes in Semester 2. You can also copy grade calculations to other reporting terms (i.e., Q3 to P3) and to other courses.
• Setup your grade scales and category weighting in PowerTeacher Pro then when you enter grades or sync the grades over from Schoology they will be calculated correctly in the gradebook in PowerTeacher.

• How-to Videos:
• Setup Category Weights in PowerTeacher Pro
  
• Setup Individual Student Grade Scale in PowerTeacher Pro
• Quick Guide Grade Scales in PowerTeacher Pro
• Additional PowerTeacher Pro How-To Videos

• Update your Semester 2 course photos in Schoology: Click the Edit Picture button when you move your mouse over the book image in the top left corner of each of your courses. Use images of numbers that represent the class period to make it easy for both you and your students to identify the course.
• Create your categories in Schoology and map them with the ones in PowerSchool. Yes, all the category creation and matching you did for Semester 1 needs to be re-done for Semester 2. Fortunately, you can use the Copy Settings button in the Schoology Grade setup tab on the left side of your course to copy over your categories.
• In Schoology on left side is the PowerSchool tab, you’ll need to check the top box on the Configuration page and re-map your categories. If you set up grade scales and category weighting in PowerTeacher Pro then you will only need to sync grades over from Schoology to PowerTeacher and it will be calculated correctly in the PowerTeacher grade book. You do not have to set up grade scales or category weighting in Schoology.

• How-to Videos:
• Setup Schoology with PowerTeacher Pro for Gradebook Sync
• Using Resources from Archived Schoology Courses
  
• Additional Schoology How-To Videos
  

Anytime you get new courses in PowerSchool, you will need to take action in Blocksi. This is because Blocksi was connected to previous classes, which will be ending. You have several options on how to move forward.

Who will this affect: All 7-12 teachers

When: At the end of S1

What can I do: Choose one of the following

1. Create new classes in Blocksi via Classlink. This tutorial is a quick reminder.
2. Manually update your existing classes in Blocksi. NOTE - if your courses came from Classlink, any manually changes will be lost in the nightly sync. This handout reviews the steps.

You have two choices when dealing with S1 courses in Blocksi.

1. Keep your old courses - just drag and drop your old courses behind your new courses for ease of access.
2. Delete your old courses - this will make it so you just see your new courses. Word of caution - all class histories and data will be deleted along with the course! If you want to keep that data, please do option 1.

New to Blocksi? Here are some handy resources to get you started!

• MCS Blocksi Tech Help Center Page
• Blocksi Teacher Handout
• PDF Cheat Sheet

Bits and Bytes published five times a year: August 1st (Back to School Edition), October 10th (Fall Edition), January 9th (Winter Edition), March 12th (Spring Edition), and May 14th (Summer Edition)