Winter Break

 

Video Making

 

Parent Pointer: Kami

Kami is a digital annotation tool that helps students (and teachers) interact and collaborate with pdf documents. All students have the Kami extension pre-installed on their Parkway-issued Chromebooks. Kami has a Read Aloud feature that allows learners to hear the text to be read aloud. (Remember, this feature is also available with Chromebook Accessibility.) Kami also has a Dictionary feature, which gives the definition of the highlighted text. Finally, a tool that both students and teachers enjoy is the colorful stickers rewarded after a job well done. Go ahead, have your child test out Kami’s features with this fun Kami Geography Scavenger Hunt Activity (you must use the Parkway-issued Chromebooks and open the PDF with Kami).

Parent Pointer: Keyboard Shortcuts

 

Teacher Tip: Kami

Kami is a digital annotation tool that helps students and teachers interact with pdf documents. All students have the Kami extension pre-installed on their Parkway-issued Chromebooks. Teachers need to install the Kami extension in Chrome. 

Some features unique to Kami include:

• Read Aloud - This allows learners to hear the text to be read aloud. Read Alouds are especially helpful for students learning to read.

• Dictionary - When the text is highlighted, it gives the definition of the vocabulary word.

• Stickers - These colorful stickers can be rewarded after a job well done.

Go ahead, test out some of Kami’s features with this fun Kami Geography Scavenger Hunt Activity. Make sure you have the Kami extension installed and turned on in Chrome in order to open the PDF with Kami. If you did it correctly you should see the Kami (K) near the top of the web address in Chrome. If not, you may need to go to Google Extensions to make it appear.

Stay tuned for more Kami features in the future!

Chromebook Accessibility: Hear text read aloud

You can hear full pages read aloud with Chromebook’s built-in screen reader or hear parts of a page read aloud with Select-to-Speak. This feature is especially helpful for those learning to read.

To have pages read aloud to you:

1. On your Chromebook, at the bottom right, select the time. Or press Alt + Shift + s

2. Select Settings (gear icon).

3. On the left, select Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features.

4. To listen to all text - Under “Text-to-Speech,” turn on Enable ChromeVox (spoken feedback).
   To listen to part of a page - Under “Text-to-Speech,” turn on Enable select-to-speak.

Be sure to also check out other Chromebook accessibility features!

Embed an Interactive Image into Schoology

 

Parent Pointer: Better Google Search

 

Schoology Tip: Hiding Students’ Overall Grades

If you are using the Schoology Gradebook, your students may start to notice a different overall grade in Schoology than IC because Schoology will start calculating the semester grade by averaging Q1 and Q2 by default. Please remind and reiterate to the students that their actual grade is in IC.

To avoid confusion, you can hide the student's overall grade in Schoology. In each Schoology course, go to Grade Setup. Under Visibility Settings, check Hide overall grade and Hide grading period grades.

If you are using the Schoology to IC Grade Passback, it will not impact the accuracy of grades in IC. This is because IC is not set up as a quarter system. You should notice that as you pass back the assignments, you have to do an additional step in IC of selecting Semester for the Standard/Grading Task (slide 5).

 

If you need help or support with this process please email the Help Desk at helpdesk@parkwayschools.net. Please include whether you are having trouble with Schoology or Infinite Campus and a screenshot of the issue.

Emphasize words in a Google document’s comments

Last week, Kristen highlighted using the Mote extension to give audio feedback or directions to students. To continue with the topic of feedback, did you know that you do NOT have to use ALL CAPS to emphasize words in a Google document’s comments? You can style text by enclosing within *, _, or - for *bold*, _italic_, and -strikethrough-. Check out @TonyVincent’s image on Twitter below. 

If you find yourself making the same comments repeatedly, consider setting up canned feedback in Google Docs or Slides.

Mote

 

Verbal feedback is powerful, effective, and efficient.  Research has shown that students are three times more likely to implement verbal feedback rather than written.
Mote is a Chrome extension that lets you easily add voice comments and feedback to shared documents and assignments. 

Mote is integrated into Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, as well as Google Classroom, for easy recording and playback. You can create voice notes for any website or application using the 'motepad' within the mote Chrome extension menu - simply click on the browser icon to access.

In Docs: Insert a comment, click the Mote icon and record!  Students see a message with a clickable link to hear your voice note.

In Slides: Click the Mote icon in the menu bar and follow the prompts.  When finished, place the icon where you’d like and use the format options to set how you would like it to play.  You can also change the image to something more appropriate for the slide deck. (right click-replace image)

In Forms: Click on the Mote icon in any question to create a recording of the question.  Currently, there is one Mote per question.  

Parent Pointer: Taking a Screenshot with the Chromebook

Throughout the semester your child(ren) may be required to capture the Chromebook screen (take a picture) to show evidence for the assignment. Here is a video of both methods.

To take a screenshot of the full screen with a Chromebook, hold down the Ctrl + Switch Window keys: 

Chromebook Keys:

Full Screenshot:

To take a screenshot with part of your full screen with a Chromebook, hold down the Ctrl + Shift + Switch Window keys. Highlight what you want to capture.

Chromebook Keys

Partial Screenshot:

All files are saved to your Downloads folder.

Parent Pointer: Grouping Tabs

 

Flippity.net

Are you interested in creating a virtual escape room but perhaps daunted with setting up response validation in Google Forms? Start small with Flippity’s Scavenger Hunt! Enter the questions and answers (‘locks’ and ‘keys’) into a Google Sheets template and follow the detailed instructions to transform your spreadsheet into an escape room!

→

Flippity.net has other templates to turn a Google Sheet into a board game, crossword puzzle, Mad Libs, and more. Some instructions are simple enough that you can even have students create their own! In each case, check out the demo, and then use the templates and detailed instructions provided to transform your spreadsheet. Happy creating!

Annotate in Schoology

 

Parent Pointer: Reading Digitally vs. Print

“As we saw in this pandemic, reading digitally is not going anywhere… and, in fact, is what made learning even a possibility the past year and a half.” ~ Dr. Lauren Trakhman

If reading digitally is not going anywhere, how can we help our kids learn to read digitally?

1. Encourage them to slow down while reading. Digital texts encourage behaviors such as skimming and keyword seeking. We also assume that reading faster means that it is better understood. Encourage your child to take deliberate moments to stop, think, and reflect on what he/she is reading - Do you agree with the author? Why or why not? You can also balance digital reading with writing key points on paper.

2. Be familiar with the digital environment and environment. Not knowing how to use digital tools to annotate adds another complexity to the task of reading. By the time the student has figured out how to use the tools, he/she may have forgotten what the text was about. Take some time to use the digital tools with simple, familiar text before complex reading. For example, enroll in Parent University to be familiar with the digital tools in Schoology to help your child.

3. Minimize online distractions. It is easy to get distracted when reading online, with having multiple tabs opened and notifications set. Minimize those distractions by muting notifications while reading.

4. If possible, change the view of the document. Most readers retain and comprehend the digital text better when it is in a page view, as opposed to scrolling. One of the reasons why is because we associate the text and ideas with their placement on the ‘paper.’ When reading for knowledge and comprehension, try to change to page view to simulate page-turning, as opposed to scrolling.

These are some of the tips summarized from The Science of Reading’s podcast interview with Dr. Trakman and Dr. Alexander. For more, listen to The Science of Reading: The Podcast - Season 4, Episode 4: Learning to Read Digitally vs. in Print.

And for more tips about reading online, check out last year’s parent pointer about reading online!

Schoology LockDown Browser - updated and now possible while video conferencing!

LockDown Browser locks down the testing environment within Schoology until the test is submitted for grading. It blocks access to other applications and websites during exams. Students cannot copy, print, or take screen captures with LockDown Browser. This feature works for both Test/Quiz (green puzzle piece) and Assessment (blue puzzle piece) in Schoology. It updated this 21-22 school year. Here is documentation on how to set up and implement Schoology LockDown Browser while testing.

New this school year - and what many of you have been requesting - LockDown Browser in Schoology is now possible during video conferencing! (For both, Zoom and Google Meet.) Be sure to read through the entire document thoroughly. It is highly recommended to practice these procedures with your virtual students before the real exam. As with any new updates, you may encounter some live troubleshooting issues that you will need to problem-solve.

Ester Park - Follow on Twitter @MrsParkShine

Google Slides are not just for presentations; they can be used for interactive notebooks, choice boards, games, and breakout rooms. We’ve mentioned before how Slidesmania and SlidesCarnival have free templates and how to's for Google Slides. 

Another similar, great resource is from Ester Park. Ester Park is an instructional designer that creates amazing digital materials. You can access anything from graphic organizers to Bitmoji stickers with videos. Most of her materials are free on her website. Check them out today!

Iorad Extension

 

Parent Pointer: Creating Bookmarks on the Chromebooks (really in Chrome)

This post was originally posted on December 9, 2020, and has been updated as a reminder or a tech tip for Virtual Campus parents.

Help your child navigate to a video conferencing room with just a click of a button! To do this on the Parkway-issued student Chromebooks:

1. Click on the teacher’s video conferencing link to get the web address. 

2. Highlight the star at the end of the web address to add it as a bookmark. 

3. Change the name of the bookmark to the teacher’s name or the subject.

4. The icon with its name will appear below the web address. 

Now all the student has to do is to click on the icon or name and he/she will go directly to the video conference. You can also create bookmarks with shared Google Docs/Slides agendas. No need to click and search for the link in Schoology. Here’s a short video (less than a minute) to help guide you through the process. Good luck!

Helpful Google Extensions

Extensity

If you have many tabs open (even if you group your tabs), all of your extensions will run on those tabs which slows down your Chrome web browser and computer. Check out Extensity for quickly enabling and disabling all of your extensions for Google Chrome. It keeps your toolbar clean and you can quickly turn all extensions off (and back on) with a single click.

Teacher Tip Dualless

Having a second monitor is extremely productive for virtual teaching. If you do not have a second monitor, check out the Dualless extension. It splits your browser window two by just 2 clicks. You can choose one of the preset ratios according to your needs. This will be helpful when you are sharing your screen at the next virtual faculty meeting with only your laptop :)

Commit to Learning

This school year we will focus on care for students and their emotional well-being.  We will continue to focus on relationships while growing as learners. Students are able to anchor themselves with their virtual classmates and teachers as part of Parkway Virtual Campus.

Take inventory of what is working for your child in the virtual classroom and what they still need to make this as successful as it can be.

What can you do at home to support your child?

• Reevaluate your child’s learning environment at home.

• Is the learning area free from distractions?

• Is your child able to be proactive, present, and purposeful in their virtual classroom?

• Maintain a daily or weekly task list to stay organized and on track.

What are we continuing to work on as a district?

• Parkway Virtual Campus teachers will be working together as Collaborative Learning Teams and with curriculum coordinators to design and deliver engaging learning experiences for students.

• Developing connections between students and teachers.

Digital Citizenship Activities

 

Digital Citizenship

 

Technology has greatly changed but one thing has remained constant: the importance of teaching students how to respect and protect themselves and others online.  Digital Citizenship is more than just online safety.  More than creating a strong password.

ISTE website reads, “Digital citizenship shouldn’t be a long list of don’ts. It should be about the do’s that help create thoughtful, empathetic digital citizens who can wrestle with the important ethical questions at the intersection of technology and humanity.” 

Those do’s include:

• Using technology to make your community better.

• Engaging respectfully online with people who have different beliefs than you.

• Using technology to make your voice heard by public leaders and shape public policy.

• Determining the validity of online sources of information.

Schoology Images, Tutorials, and Gifs

Take out the guesswork for students - include images, tutorials, and/or gifs of how to submit materials in Schoology from this new shared folder of Schoology Images, Tutorials, and Gifs. These are student-centered instructions and views to help them navigate through Schoology.

Above is a gif for students on how to submit/import a Google Doc created in Drive. This is found in the new shared folder.

Do you need other student instructions in a tech gif, image, or video? Submit your request through the Google Form.

Website Availability Check

You’ve found a wonderful, new website or video to share with your students tomorrow and are so excited for the lesson. Then when you start the lesson the next day, you realize that it is blocked and students can’t use it during class.

Does this sound familiar? Good news! Parkway now has a new filter that allows you to check the website's availability. Follow these instructions to check for website availability. Please be aware with this new filter, we have had to reset some allowances. Contact your building Technology Specialist or the Technology Help Desk for these allowances.

Grouping Tabs

 

Grouping Tabs Teacher Tip

Are you a tab minimalist or a tab extremist?

This Google update will help both groups.

Watch tutorial video here.