IT News and Notes

February 2024
Tech Sessions
We have had close to 100 MS and HS teachers sign up for Voluntary Tech sessions that have happened in February and will continue into March. The topics have included WeVideo, Canva, Explain Everything, Notability, and Nearpod. Teachers have been able to learn about and explore these great educational tools. If you could not attend and would like to learn more about using one of these tools, contact your building's instructional coach.

Each Tech day concludes with a "Put AI to Work for You" session led by two of our HS instructional coaches. Teachers have an opportunity to decide the place generative AI may or may not hold for them in their personal and professional work.  Each teacher can explore articles, watch videos, or learn from infographics on a wide range of topics around AI. Here are a few resources shared if you want to dig deeper into AI. Again, please get in touch with your instructional coach if you need any support around AI.
A Few More AI Resources
Sticking with the AI theme, down at the Ohio Educational Technology Conference (OETC) this year, the most presented topic (19 total sessions) was AI. Here are a few resources shared at some of these sessions that we thought you may be interested in:
  • What is Generative AI? (See image to the right)
  • Goblin.tools - This is a fun site to createTo Do lists, Estimation or Chef (put in five items from your pantry and it will give you a recipe)
  • Conker.ai - Conker.ai allows you to create short assessments/quizzes from text.
  • Magic School - Magic School offers an AI tool for almost any area of education. Some favorites are AI-Resistant Assignment Suggestions, Make it Relevant!, and Rubric Generator.
IT Tips and Tricks
Clever has been a key resource for our district that has allowed us to automate the process of rostering for over 50 programs that teachder's and students use in our district. In this month's  IT Tips and Tricks Todd shares with you a a couple of key features around the district page.
Many staff members continue to use Zoom in creative ways. This month's GIF is a reminder of the steps you need to take when first logging into your Zoom call. Sometimes we all need a refresher after not using a tool for a while.
A Little IT Humor
Today's IT Funny will hopefully make you think in one of three ways:
  1. Even with advances in technology, sometimes the way we have done things may just feel right or what is needed.
  2. Even the best tools are no good if you don't at least try to find a way to use them.
  3. Your own thoughts around tech advancement and this image.
Approved / Non Approved Programs
(In addition to District Purchased / Approved Programs)
District Approved / Non-Supported "FREE" Programs where a SDPA has been SECURED
While we prefer district-approved programs, we've also secured agreements for specific "FREE" programs. We currently have secured 51 Student Data Privacy Agreements (SDPA) for district-purchased / approved programs along with 34 "Free" programs (This increased by 10 since last month) where we have also secured SDPAs. The list of these district-approved / non-supported "FREE" programs is below. This month, we are also publishing a list of programs where they have DECLINED a SDPA. These programs should NOT be used in any way in our classrooms. The main reason is a vendor that has yet to respond after multiple attempts or is unwilling to sign a SDPA.
APPROVED "FREE" Programs
  • Actively Learn
  • Blooket
  • Code.org
  • Common Lit
  • Conjuguemos
  • Delta Math
  • DESMOS
  • Edpuzzle
  • Eduflow
  • Explain Everything
  • Floop
  • Formative
  • GeoGebra
  • Gimkit
  • iXL math
  • KHAN ACADEMY
  • Lucid Chart
  • Mathigon
  • No Red Ink
  • Noodletools
  • Padlet
  • Peardeck
  • Quill
  • Quizizz
  • Readworks
  • Reflex Math
  • Sight Reading Factory
  • Starfall
  • Story Board
  • Teambuildr
  • Tinkercad
  • Tynker
  • Verso
  • Whiteboard.fi
NON -APPROVED Programs for students
  • Github
  • Loom
  • Lyricstraining
  • Mentimeter
  • Photopea
  • Physics Classroom
  • Physics in Motion
  • Quizlet
  • Toy Theater
  • TryHackMe
  • Wix
Failure to protect student and staff information can result in financial and reputational loss, including significant costs for resolving a data breach or cybersecurity attacks and loss of confidence in the district by the public. Our district will continue to focus on maintaining the highest system and data security level!
Mentor Schools | Adapting, Balancing, Collaborating