PPS Instructional Technology

Perhaps you have seen the “New” button appear magically next to a student’s name. Wait...perhaps that student is new to your class or maybe they've transferred from your class in another hour. By clicking on the “New” button next to the student’s name, you will be provided with five options. (Not all options will be available for your use.) Option #1 - Auto-Transfer Scores from Dropped Section of this Course Option #2 - Transfer Assignment/Term Scores From a Dropped Class Option #3 - Manually Enter Term Scores Option #4 - One-Click Transfer Term Percents from Dropped Section of this Course Option #5 - Enter a Starting Grade Percentage for the Current Term Should you wish not to make use of any of these options, but would like to no longer see the “New” button displayed next to the student’s name, then you may check the box for “Do not display NEW by this student’s name”. For further explanation and instructions about how you might use the New Button, please...

It is no secret that I love Google Forms.   Paul Murray and I frequently share our love of this easy to use data collection tool with our teachers and others around the state, like in this presentation from miGoogle 2013.  One of the problems I have with data collection, however, is what to do with all the information, and make it manageable, once you have it collected.  I often look at spreadsheets full of Form responses and wonder, "There are 200 responses here!  How am I going to make sense of all this?"  Thankfully, there are some really amazing add-ons and tools that, with little effort on the users part, can make the data come alive. Tool #1: Add-on - autoCrat As a teacher, I collect information from my students/families every year.  Information such as names, parents/guardians names, preferred email address, preferred phone number, best way to contact parents/guardians, etc.  This information can be easily collected with a Form at open...

November has two very special holidays, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.  It is important that we, as educators, help our students to understand the significance of these days and help foster an appreciation for the things we have and the people who help protect us and our nation.  In honor of these two very special holidays, here are a few resources highlighted this month on the FreeTech4Teachers blog. To all the Vets out there, our family, our colleagues, our friends....Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Veterans Day: Bet You Didn't Know Here is a short 2 minute video that does a great job highlighting what Veterans day is and why we celebrate it each November 11th.  To learn more about the video and to check out other lesson resources check out this blog post:  http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/11/bet-you-didnt-know-short-lesson-on.html Thanksgiving: 5 Great ideas for teaching about Thanksgiving You Are the Historian: Investigating the Firs...

Back in March of 2014, I shared with you that Google expanded the functionality of docs and spreadsheets with the addition of Add Ons ( Google Docs just got better! Google Docs introduces Add ons ).  At the time, there were only a couple of Add Ons for each program since it was so new.  There are now numerous Add Ons and they have expanded it to Google Forms as well.  Over the next couple weeks,  I will be sharing with you some of my favorite Add Ons, along with how they can be used in the classroom. Let's collaborate!   Is there a add on that you can't live without?  Share your ideas and how you use it in the classroom and I will share it out for everyone! Getting Started Haven't checked out add ons yet?  Open a Google doc or sheet.  Click on the Add-ons menu and select Get add-ons.

This week Paul Murray ( @Paul_Murray6 ) and I had the pleasure of attending the 2014 miGoogle Summit in Brighton, MI.  This was a great opportunity for us to learn some new tips and tricks from our fellow educators, as well as share some of our own as speakers at the conference.  There's nothing quite like a good learning opportunity to renew your enthusiasm for education and the great tools out there to enhance teaching and learning. Over the next month, my goal is to share some of the tips, tricks, and tools from miGoogle and open the door for discussion on the ways you all are using these tools in your classrooms. Let's get started: Going Google #1: Search Directly in your Google Docs This first tip comes from my presentation on Doing More with Google Docs .  One of my favorite features natively found in Google Docs in the Research Tool.  This great tool allows you to do a general Google search, or search specifically for images, videos, scholarly arti...

Keeping the confidentiality of your student information is important, especially, when checking in with students during class or meeting with parents during conferences. Well, this quick Skyward tip will truly put your mind at ease. Viewing Individual Student Grades/Assignments From within the gradebook, click on a student's name and a screen tailored to each student appears. There are tabs for Assignments, Missing Assignments, Report Card Grades, and Comments. See the animated image below.

PPS Elementary Teaching Staff: We have received a number of questions the last few days regarding how the Skyward gradebook calculates the M, P, and L proficiency levels. This, admittedly long, yet important read, addresses these questions. The Skyward gradebook uses trend-based calculations when determining the M, P, or L for a student's level on any given skill in the gradebook. The theory is, we want to report out where a student is on a skill today, and not a simple average of their scores over time. However, there are cases where a trend calculation can produce a proficiency level that, while correct from a mathematical perspective, does not seem to make sense. ​As with any automatic grade calculation, we recommend you spot check gradebook. Overriding a Trend Calculation This is a simple process - if you click on a skill's title in the gradebook, you will see a view which shows all of the scores incorporated into the skill, the trend score the gradebook is rep...