FTT - Adobe Acrobat: Edit your PDFs like a PRO!

 Adobe Creative Cloud

Using Adobe Acrobat Pro for PDFs

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

Why PDFs? 

I suppose PDFs have become so ubiquitous in our digital worlds that most of us probably don't wonder at the rise of Portable Document Formats and how they became one of the standard electronic methods of conserving and sharing data online. It was initially a proprietary format created by Adobe in the early 1990s and is now THE dominant electronic writing document. We rely so heavily upon it because PDFs typically guarantee reliability. Once created, PDFs can lock in the formatting and size of whatever images or text in the exact manner of its inception. Once you save a Word doc into a PDF, there is some sense of permanence or finality associated with its creation.

But that benefit cuts both ways. Things change and so should our PDFs. Have you ever languished at your inability to "edit" a PDF? Well now that staff have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro at District 113, your PDFs should be as malleable to your fingertips as Word Docs or Google Docs (sort of).

Installing Adobe Acrobat

• Depending on whether or not you have a Mac or PC, your process might be slightly different, but generally the same. It begins with Adobe Creative Cloud. Search for the Adobe Creative Cloud icon. It is a rainbow-colored icon that MacOS users can find by opening their "Launch Pad" and Dell users can find the icon on their desktop. 
• Open Creative Cloud. It may ask you to log in. Here are the simple steps to do so. Once you log in, you will find "Acrobat DC" under "Available in your plan." Click "Install." Disclaimer, this may take 5-10 minutes to complete. 

Opening Adobe Acrobat DC

• Find a PDF on your computer and open it with Adobe Acrobat. You can right-click on it and choose the "open with" option:
  
  
  

Option 1: Edit PDF

• Assuming you've made it thus far and were successfully able to open a PDF with Adobe Acrobat, you should now see an updated list of functions on the right. One such function is labeled, "Edit PDF" and should be a fan favorite. Click on "Edit PDF" and you will be able to make changes to your PDF much like you would a Word document.
  
  
• Double click on whatever text or image you are interested in editing and you can now rewrite PDF text.  (If this is not immediately available, you may have to OCR the text first. See below) You can click and drag, resize, change the font, etc. 
  
  

  

Option 2: Organize Pages

• Clicking on the "Organize Pages" function allows you to change the layout AND order of your PDF pages. Additionally, you can add and remove pages of your PDF, or even split a PDF into mulitple files.
  
  
  
  
  

Option 3: Scan & OCR

• If you want screen-readers to be able to access your content, scanning and OCR'ing your files are critical for ADA compliance (and best practice). Click on the "Scan & OCR" option to begin.
• For simple OCR you can click on "Recognize Text" at the top and choose your file. It will then convert all of your block images into readable (and searchable) text.
  
  
  
  
  
• MAKE SURE YOU SAVE. Unlike Google Docs, any and all changes to your PDF must be saved.

Conclusion

This is just an introduction to Adobe Acrobat Reader Pro. Some of you may have had difficulties even installing Adobe Reader on to your computer. Please know that this blog is just an introduction, letting you know that this capacity exists. If you need any additional assistance installing and utilizing Adobe Reader, PLEASE let us know! 

FTT - What's in the Toolbox?

What's In The Toolbox?

Quick Guide To Online Learning Tools

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

Now that our school year is under way and we've settled in as much as we possibly can given all of the excitement of working in a high school, it's a good time to think about our use of technology in our classrooms and to take an inventory of the tools we have at our disposal. The goal of any learning tool, digital or not, is to support learning. Sometimes it's a matter of increasing student engagement. Other times it could be a need to make materials more accessible. I recently came across this article that lists 5 Questions To Help You Make EdTech Decisions. Of course, your content and the needs of your specific students may lead you to add to this list, but these 5 questions are a nice place to start:

• Is there a tool to help check for understanding so that all students can share their learning?
• Have I identified open-ended creation tools that give students a space to create a product that demonstrates their learning?
• Will students be able to collaborate with their peers and work toward a common goal?
• Do these tools help students build transferable skills they can apply in a variety of contexts?
• Will these apps or websites work in the environment my students currently use (home, school, hybrid), and do they take connectivity, accessibility, and hardware into account?

Keeping the learning goals in mind, here is a quick and easy guide to what we have as a district for use in our learning spaces. 

Here is a rundown of the online products we pay for, along with a brief explanation of what they do. Feel free to book a time with me to explore more!

1. Edpuzzle

2. Hapara

3. Padlet (at HP)

4. Pear Deck

5. Schoology

6. Screencastify

7. Turnitin

8. Texthelp: Read&Write and Equatio

We also have premium (free to all educators) access to:

Canva

Flip (formerly Flipgrid)

There are MANY other online tools that offer fremium and/or free limited versions. 

A quick reminder about SOPPA:

The Student Online Personal Protection Act is a "digital privacy law that provides safeguards to protect the privacy and security of data about students when it is collected by educational technology companies. The Act is intended to ensure that sudent data will be protected when it is collected by edtech companies."   

We as a district need to account for the agreements we have with edtech companies and how data is collected and how it is protected. Any online tool that is used in our classrooms that utilizes the single sign-on ( Sign on with Google), falls under SOPPA.

Not sure if a tool you are using is SOPPA compliant? You can always go to LearnPlatform to check. If you are using something new, you can also request that it gets in the cue to be approved.

FTT - Updated Remind Instructions for 2022

Remind: THE Communication Tool for School

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

This is an updated blog from 2019 when we first got a district license for Remind. It has been a point of emphasis that any communication between staff, students, athletes, or parent/guardians should only be through district-approved formats (Gmail, Schoology, Remind). Luckily, remind is just as simple and easy to use as it was in 2019 with a few minor changes.

1. Logging On

To enjoy the premium features through our district license, log in here using your Google sign in. 

If you've been previously using a personal account, you'll have to switch over to your district email.

2. Student Onboarding (It's already done....sort of)

Once logged in you'll see that through some Infinite Campus - Remind integration magic, all of your courses have automatically been uploaded to your Remind site. Not only are your courses already created, but your students have also been directly added using their IC data. Two caveats:

• Parents and Guardian information was also added to your Remind classes. In order to send a message to JUST your students, you can filter just the students
  
  
  

  
  
  
• And if you have students that are missing, it means that they do not have a cellphone registered with the school.

 To add missing or new students to your remind class, give them the Class Code that begins with an "@" sign, and is directly under your course name. Or you can manually add them using the "Add People" option on the top right corner of your page.

3. Sending Messages

Remember, whether you're sending a direct message to a few students/athletes, or an announcement to the whole class/team, make sure you are filtering your intended audience. You can type in an individual student, or filter a group. (Ignore SIS Link and Grade)

This is also where Remind has made some strides in the messaging department. In addition to text messaging, Remind has teamed up with Google Drive, Quizlet, OneDrive, Flipgrid, and a few other apps to beef up your messaging ability. Now you can attach different varieties of files and videos with your Remind message.

Also find that Remind can translate your message into over 50 different languages! 

As usual, you can schedule your messages ahead of time to help with organization and planning.

Questions? Comment below!  

FTT - Those Little Things That Make a Big Difference! Schoology Edition

Those Little Things That Make A Big Difference!

Schoology Edition

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

Sometimes as teachers we do a peculiar thing. We ask our students if there are any questions and then when there are none, we assume everyone has the knowledge they need to move on. Why is this peculiar? Because we know from our own learning experiences that just because there are no questions it doesn't mean we necessarily know it all. Often we don't ask because we simply don't know what we don't know. Also, we might not be ready for more until we really need it. 

I have found this to be true over the past few weeks of working with our staff. I have looked at a lot of grade books and grade book setups and have had wonderful conversations about your use of technology in the classroom. Along the way, I have dropped some tidbits of Schoology information that has been pretty mind blowing for many of you.  As you know, my office is a no judgement zone. You can ask me anything. It occurred to me that you may not know what to ask, or you might not really need the information until you really do need the information. 

Here are a few of those little things that can make a massive difference for you and your students.

1. Have content automatically open in a new window.

When you add a piece of content in Schoology, the default is for it to open within Schoology. Sometimes it is better for that content to be accessed in a new window. Videos and images, for example, can be better viewed in a larger window. At times Google products will give you the discouraging frownie face within Schoology. Yes, most students know that the workaround is to click the icon to open in a new window. Why not just do it for them? 

Here's how:

Simply click to uncheck the little ABC icon when adding content.

2. Make sure students' "overdue" work list is accurate.

When adding an assignment in Schoology, the default is that there will be something turned in digitally, within the Schoology environment, by students clicking the Submit button. Since we are a blended learning environment not everything is turned in digitally. If you are giving an assignment that does not require students to submit something digitally you should disable submissions. That way, when students, parents, and case managers look at what is overdue, your paper and pencil assignment won't be on that list. 

Here's how:

Simply click the icon that looks like a file folder with a green arrow
to disable submissions. It is at the bottom of the assignment editing window.

3. Place content on your materials page where YOU want it.

When you click to add materials, you know that your content will automatically appear at the bottom of the page. Sure, you can click and drag it or click the gear and choose Move. But why not just have it appear where you want it initially? 

Here's how:

Notice the gray lines above and below your content on the materials page. As you hover over those gray lines they turn green. 

When it is green, click to add materials to that location. 

4. Show students how to reorder their course tiles.

As students join activities and sports and those rosters get added to Infinite Campus, Schoology tiles will be generated. Student course tiles can become jumbled or even seem like they are missing. Showing students how to reorder their tiles not only helps make sure their most needed tiles are front and center, it also give students control over their own view in Schoology. 

Here's how:

Have the students click Courses and then My Courses and click the reorder courses button. They can click and drag their course tiles so their most important are on top.

5. Show students how to adjust their notifications.

We are often reassured that students receive an email notification from us when we add something to Schoology. We are also often annoyed that students don't check their email. 

Have you seen our students' email inboxes? They are inundated with messages and many of them are Schoology notifications. Let's teach them how to get the ones they really need by adjusting their notification preferences. 

Here's how:

Have students click on their profile in the upper right corner and go to Settings. When they click the Notifications tab they have the ability to adjust both email and phone notifications (if they are using the Schoology app on their phone. At first glance it looks like you can turn notifications On or Off. However, if you choose Custom you can choose that specific notification by class. Students can always go back and adjust these as needed. 

What are some of the little things that you have learned? Feel free to reach out and share them with us!

 

FTT - Schoology and Infinite Campus FAQs

Schoology and Infinite Campus FAQ

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

IC/Schoology Frequently Asked Questions

As I am sure you are all aware by now, students and parents/guardians are now accessing composite/cumulative/final grades on Infinite Campus instead of the Schoology gradebook. We hope the transition has been smooth and everyone's gradebooks have been quietly syncing along these past two weeks. We have found out a few things about this new world order so here are answers to a few frequently asked questions:

• Why won't my sync work? If you attempting to sync and are receiving the dreaded red error message, there are a few easy fixes to look out for.
• Make sure that each section in IC has been set up for grade calcs (even cross-linked sections.
• Slide 6 on the Schoology/IC Gradebook Setup instructions

• Make sure your categories are configured in the new Infinite Campus tab on Schoology. 
• Slide 16 on the Schoology/IC Gradebook Setup instructions
  
  
  
  
  

• What actually syncs over? Comments? Grade exceptions?
• Here's what gets sent over:
• Assignment details (name, grade, due date, category)
• Comments (as long as there is a grade or exception (i.e., missing/exempt) entered)
• Grade Exceptions - Only missing and exempt
• Here's what DOES NOT get sent over:
• Factor 0 - if you want to add a gradebook entry that doesn't calculate into the composite, we suggest manually adding it into IC and changing the multiplier to 0, or create a category that does not calculate.
• Grade Exceptions - Submitted and Incomplete (but note that IC has many more options)
  
  
• What do my students and parents/guardians see?
• Students/Parents/Guardians can see individual assignment grades and comments on Schoology. They can no longer see the composite score on Schoology. Direct them to IC to access both.
  
  
• How often should I sync my gradebooks?
• The technical answer? Once a week for eligibility's sake. But you should ideally be syncing far more often than that. Think of the sync button as a save button that you press anytime you enter new gradebook data and you'll never have to worry about updated grades in IC.
  
  
• (Not IC/Schoology specific but....) When will the Okta pushes end?!
• Due to new security updates, you will be prompted once a day, everyday on your 2FA device. To limit it to *just* once a day, you NEED to click the "Keep me sign in" option. Sorry :(

Got something else that needs to get answered? Write something below!

FTT - Schoology/IC End of Year Checklist

Closing The Door On 2021/2022 School Year 

(And Making Next Fall Just A Little Bit Easier )

Schoology End Of Year Checklist

@LisaBerghoff?@MrKimDHS

The intention of this post is to give you a step-by-step guide to ending the year as it pertains to entering grades and managing your Schoology content. Follow these steps in order and you will be able to walk into summer knowing that you've checked everything off the list and confident that you're setting yourself up for success when we return in August. 

1. Double-Check Your Grade Setup

You may not have looked at your grade setup since August and that's totally fine. It's a good time to just go in and check that everything is calculating the way you want it. You must click save after making changes in grade setup. 

• Check your category weights, make sure your categories are calculating by total points and not by percentage, even if you weight your categories. Hopefully, you have already done this.

• Make sure your final grade settings grade book scale is not numeric. 
• If you plan on overriding grade calculations in Schoology, you can check the box to add an override column.
• Consider if you want your grades to be rounded.
• THSD 113 Rounded .5 - this method is what is most familiar to our staff. A student receiving an 89.5% will earn an "A" for the course, but the value will stay an 89.5%
• Round Period/Final Grades - this is Schoology's native method. Every final value is rounded to the nearest percent. A student receiving an 89.5% will get a 90%, and a student receiving an 89.4% will get an 89%.
• If you are giving a final, make sure it is entered correctly.

2. Click Bulk Edit In Your Gradebook

Do a sweep of all of your assignments and grades by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the gradebook. You must click save after making changes in bulk edit.

• Make sure everything with a grade has been published. You will see a little green circle next to it if you have linked classes. If your classes are not linked, you will see a checkbox under the green circle at the top. 
• Make sure everything is in the appropriate category.
• If you would like to save a hard copy of your gradebook because that's how you roll, you can click "export" and you will get a CSV file. 

3. Transfer Overall Grade To IC (when final)

You must click save after making changes in Infinite Campus.

• Go into Infinite Campus and click post grades.
• Make sure the term is S2 and the grading task is S2-Semester.
• You only need to enter a letter grade for the semester.
• After you enter and click save, go back in one more time and make sure it's all looking good.

4. Save Courses To Resources

• On the materials page, click the button that says Options and click save course to resources. 
• Your "home" collection is just for you. It's a good idea to save it here.
• You can, but don't need to, create a new folder. There is a box you can check that says "save as folder with resources" it's a good idea to choose this one.
• Something to be aware of: if you have assignments with a google doc that made a copy for each student, that will not save to resources because it relies on the student roster. You can enter the link to your original document in the assignment description so you will have it ready for next year. 
• If you are not teaching the same course next year and want to hand it over to another teacher, you can do that in Resources. Just create a new collection and share it with them. 

If after reading this you are feeling uncertain about what to do or not sure if you have everything done correctly, please reach out! I am happy to help. 

FTT - Skills for the Future!

Skills For The Future

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

As we get ready to send the class of 2022 on their way, it seems like an appropriate time  to take a look at the skills that will be needed by our students in the not so distant future. The World Economic Forum's future of jobs report  indicates the top ten skills of 2025. They are divided into four categories: Problem-Solving, Self-Management, Working With People, and Technology Use And Development.  Here is the full list, color coded by category. 

 Fortunately for us, we have the ability to craft learning experiences for our students that will enable them to hone these skills.  As you can see, five of the ten skills involve problem-solving, which can easily apply to any content area. 

Now, here is a list of five tools/activities that you are probably already familiar with,that you can utilize in your classroom to maximize these skills.

Breakout Edu: This is a popular activity because it is so much fun. It's also really challenging and can be brought into any class. We own several breakout edu physical boxes and locks but you can also do this entirely digitally. Yes, you can make your own breakout games but there are also many many open source breakout edu games that you can grab and make your own.

Schoology: Varying Assessment Types Did you know that there are 18 different types of questions that you can create in Schoology assessments? Go beyond multiple choice and rote memorization and get into more reasoning, critical thinking and analysis by using these different options. You can ask students to manipulate graphs,  generate video responses, interact with images, and more. 

Canva To Synthesize and Create: You can ask students to answer questions or you can ask students to create an infographic explaining their understanding; which would be more engaging and memorable? Tap into students' creativity by having them create a video. In case you missed the announcement, our district now has a Canva Pro account! Just sign in with your school Google credentials. 

Pear Deck: Go beyond students watching slides presentations and have them interact with Pear Deck interactive questions but also leverage the ability to embed websites into Pear Deck and ask students to think critically about what they notice. Remember that Pear Deck now has a reflect and review feature which allows you to give feedback to students. Also, if you have not tried flashcard factory I highly recommend it! 

Schoology: Discussion Questions: Have students interact with one another outside of class by creating discussion questions. This helps ensure that every student participates and it also helps keep students engaged when they are not physically in class. This is a very real and practical way for our students to interact and you can provide opportunities for them to practice doing this beyond social media.

Did any of your favorites not make this list? Let us know what you use for maximum engagement and problem-solving.