Gmail-Calendar Migration Tip of the Day #1

Welcome to Google Tasks

With Gmail going live for ALL District Staff starting Monday, January 7th, it's a perfect time to do a little clean up in advance.  Any emails that you flagged in Outlook, purposefully or accidentally, transfer over to Google Tasks.
Today's tip will introduce you to Google Tasks and walk you through some clean-up (if needed) to start the new year fresh!  
Note: These steps described below are also available via video tutorial on the WUSD Tech YouTube Channel Gmail Migration Playlist.

1. Visit mail.google.com.  Your email address and password will not change.
2. On the right side, pop-up out menu, locate and click the Google Tasks icon.  If this is your first visit to Google Tasks, you may have to scroll to the bottom and click Get Started
3. If you flagged emails in Outlook, you'll see them in a list, along with a date.  In my case, I no longer needed the flagged emails from 252 weeks ago!  
4. If you no longer want those emails on your task list, mark them as done by clicking the circle.
5. You can delete all these completed actions by clicking the meatballs and choosing Delete all Completed Tasks.  NOTE: This only deletes the emails from your task list.  It won't delete them from your inbox.

Now you have a fresh task list!  Starting January 2, as emails dated after 11/1/18 begin transferring over your district Gmail account, additional more recent tasks may appear if you are someone who regularly flags their Outlook emails.  

Curious to learn more about Google Tasks?  Check out this guide from the GSuite Learning Center.

Illuminate - "Testing Window Closed" Error?

Getting “Testing Window Closed” when trying to give an assessment in Illuminate?

It could be that the Administration window has expired. This can happen if you assigned an assessment before the Thanksgiving Break and your students didn't get a chance to complete it.  Illuminate sets an end date on tests once they are opened.

You can check this by viewing the assessment details. Edit this by clicking on the roster ID # and entering a new ending date.

Thank you to superstar Monique Judge for figuring this out for us!

Screen Shot of Illuminate showing testing window.

Screen Shot of Illuminate showing how to change testing window.

Portal: Not Connected Message Quick Fix!

Have you seen this Not Connected Message when logging into the portal?

This means you need to connect your Google Account in order to use the Sign in with Google Button.  All portal users, staff and students, need to complete this one-time action if they wish to use the Sign-in with Google Button to access the portal.

Here's how to connect your Google Account.

1. Return to portal login 
2. Login using your regular computer credentials and password and Click Sign-in
   
3. Once inside the portal, visit My Profile > Sign-in Options > Connect Google Account
4. Done!  Now you can access the portal on Chromebooks and other devices where you are signed into Chrome using the Sign in with Google Button.

This short screencast also describes the process of connecting your Google Account.

Reminder: This is a one-time action required of all staff and students who wish to access the portal using the Sign-in with Google Button. 

Manage your Lexia/PowerUp Roster

Teachers! You can manage your Lexia Rosters following these simple steps.

1. Login to myLexia.com and click the Manage tab.
2. Make sure you are on the Classes list.
3. Find the class you want to edit and click the pencil icon in the class's row.
4. Click the Modify Students button to add or remove students. 
1. Looking to Add Students?  Search for them > Add to Selected Students. If a student doesn't appear in your search the day after first day of enrollment, please complete a helpdesk ticket letting us know.
2. Looking to Remove Students? On the list of selected students, Click the x next to the name of students no longer in your class.
5. When you are finished editing the class, click the Done > Save button.

Once your roster is complete and current, you'll be able to see how students are progressing through the program, access Skill Builder lessons, and see the individualized small group lessons for students struggling and requiring additional instruction.

Chromebook Updates

Fun Fact:  Did you know that Chrome is updated about every 6 weeks?  

When you see this little arrow icon near your account photo in the shelf, that means there is an update available.  FINISH THAT UPDATE by clicking on the arrow icon to restart.

If you have Chromebooks that aren't used regularly, they may need a little nudge to run an update by following these instructions:

• Log into your Chromebook (if you aren't on campus, make sure you are connected to WiFi)
• Click your account photo.
• Click the SETTINGS icon that looks like a flower.
• Click the SETTINGS MENU icon, aka "the hot dog,".
• Click "About Chrome OS" on the bottom of that menu
• Under "Google Chrome OS," you'll see which version of the Chrome operating system your Chromebook is using. 
• Click Check for Updates. 

If your Chromebook finds a software update, it will start to download automatically. You may be asked to restart your Chromebook to complete the update.

 

Chromebook Log-In Error: BYPASS the "unlock and restore local data" error message

THE PROBLEM.

When logging into a Chromebook, Chrome asks for an old password. 

"To unlock and restore your local data, please enter your old Chromebook password."

HOORAY! A SIMPLE SOLUTION!

There is a simple workaround. Just click "Forgot your old password,"  then click "proceed anyway." The student will then be able to log on and access all of their cloud-based resources.

Select" Forgot your old password?"

Success! You may proceed!

 BUT WHY?

This happens when a student uses the Chromebook, modifies their profile settings or changes their password at a different device - may be it was on a different Chromebook in another class, or working from home - then comes back to your class to log in again. The Chromebook recognizes that the user has logged into this device before, but doesn't recognize the (new) password. Chrome thinks it's being helpful by asking for the old password to sync any data that may have been stored locally on the device.


This is only an issue for data stored on the local machine. It does NOT affect the user's ability to access data stored in the cloud (Drive, Docs, Mail, etc).  At WUSD, students are not downloading content or storing data on the local machine. All files should be stored in the student's Google Drive account.

New Chromebook Landing Page!

Staff and Students logging into a Chromebook will notice a new landing page when you begin using Chrome.  This is our district portal page, powered by ClassLink.

If you or your students have never logged into the portal before enter your username (@wusd.k12.ca.us or @wusdstudents.org is not needed) and your password and click Sign In.

Next, you'll want to Connect your Google Account so you'll be able to use the Sign in with Google Button next time without needing your username and password.

To connect your Google Account, visit My Profile > Sign-in Options > Connect Google Account.

For Staff and MS/HS Students, this is also a great opportunity to set up your Password Recovery Options. Once set up, this will allow you and MS/HS students to manage their own passwords.

Starting this Fall, the portal will be the only way to access different programs and curriculum programs with automated rostering and single sign-on.

Archiving Google Classroom

WUSD Technology is busy getting things ready for the new school year! One of our many preparations includes archiving any active Google Classrooms with students enrolled in them. This bulk archive action will take place  over the next couple weeks in July.

No action is required by teachers. This is purely an informational item to explain any classes that seem to be missing from your dashboard.  The archive action does not delete classes.  It merely moves them to an archive folder so they no longer appear on teacher and students main classroom dashboard. Teachers and students are still be able to access and view archived classes by visiting Archived Classes under the main Classroom menu.

Reminder: Archiving does not delete classes or data from your Classroom or Drive.  If a class is archived that you wish to remain active on your dashboard as well as for ALL students enrolled in that class, you can easily restore classes by following these steps.

Google announced some exciting changes coming to Classroom this Fall and completing this bulk archive process will help ensure a fresh start for teachers and students in August.

If you have any questions, please let us know. We are here to help!

Illuminate 11.0 is Here! New Look with Improved Navigation

Illuminate released version 11.0 on June 29 with a brand new look that you'll notice right away on this sign-in screen.  Even though the sign-in screen looks different, you can still sign in using the Sign in with Google Button.

Next, you'll be prompted to take a tour through the new navigation.  I highly suggest you take the tour and learn more.

This biggest change you'll notice is that the Navigation Bar is now on your left!

You'll also notice that you can see where and the timing of the data you're at right up at the top.  This is great for specialists and administrators who might have access to multiple sites.  Classroom Teachers will appreciate this if you want to go back in time to see how your previous students did on state-wide assessments.

All your account information is now easily accessed in the navigation bar.  No need to visit the control panel anymore to change sites, turn back time, or log out.

Need help or have questions?  Visit the help center, conveniently located at the bottom of the navigation bar.

Don't worry.  The control panel hasn't disappeared.  You can still do everything you used to do in previous Illuminate versions by visiting the control panel in the top right corner.

And finally the search menu is also located in the left navigation bar.

Besides these improvements in the look and navigation of Illuminate, there is also a new way to create assessments, called FLEX assessments.  More on that in a future blog post.  If you can't wait to check it out for yourself, here's a short FLEX assessment help guide from Illuminate.

2017-2018 End of Year Procedures for Technology

CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY

The technology equipment at your school is district-owned and has been assigned to your site and to each room. Do NOT move technology (desktops, monitors, Elmos, projectors, or laptops) from the present location as it has been inventoried and assigned to the room.

The Technology Team will check all classroom equipment against the current inventory as part of our summer preparation for the next school year.

• All SMART Boards - including cables, pens and power supplies - are to remain in their current location within the room.
• Laptops will be checked in by the site administrator as part of the checkout procedure. Leave the laptop in your classroom with the power supply.
• If you are moving sites or classrooms, do not move the equipment.
• Leave networked computers (desktops) and printers plugged in. Computers must be plugged in and turned on in order to receive updates and monitors should be turned off.
• All personal devices must be removed during summer break.
• District issued teacher Chromebooks can be taken home for the summer and do not need to be checked out - they are assigned to you, not the room or site. If you are moving sites or classrooms, take your Chromebook with you.
• Chromebook and Windows carts are to be left in the classroom - locked and plugged in. Do not remove any equipment from a cart of mobile devices (laptop, Chromebook or tablet).

FILES

Computers are re-imaged and repaired over the summer and in some cases, replaced.  All user data should be backed up on storage devices (such as a USB drive), to your H-Drive, or to your Google Drive.  If you save files to the desktop on your classroom computer, you must move them to your H-Drive or Google Drive as they will be deleted during the re-imaging process. It is recommended that you store all of your documents in Google Drive in order to have access throughout the summer. Everything you store on your H-Drive will be available when you log on in August. If you need assistance, please submit a ticket at http://helpdesk.wusd.k12.ca.us/.

SUMMER EQUIPMENT CHECKOUT

PC laptops and other devices will not be available for checkout this summer. Every teacher has been issued a Chromebook for use in classrooms, professional learning, and planning. If you are a certificated employee who works directly with students and you do not have a district issued Chromebook, please complete this form: https://goo.gl/U2Nvpr

Digital Citizenship Lessons and Technology Survey

Just a reminder that you will need to teach your grade level digital citizenship lesson from Common Sense Media prior to the end of the school year. Visit the WUSD Digital Citizenship website for quick access to the Common Sense Media lessons on digital citizenship. The website contains lessons that must be taught at each grade level to comply with the Internet safety mandate linked to E-Rate funding. Once finished with the lesson, you will want to complete the embedded Digital Citizenships Teacher Verification form.

E-Rate is a federally funded program that provides discounts to assist schools to obtain affordable Internet access and telecommunications services. A requirement of E-Rate is that students are taught Internet Safety Education Requirements outlined in the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Over the past three years, the district has applied for and started receiving over $700,000 in discounts on data transmission and Internet access and upgrades to cabling and equipment.  Failing to teach the required Digital Citizenship lesson could jeopardize funding yet to be received and future access to our 80% discount.

Common Sense Media is the district adopted curriculum to teach our students about Digital Citizenship. It is a free site that requires teachers to create an account in order to download the materials. The lessons also include information that can be sent home to families about the topics discussed in class. Most lessons do not require technology, so access to devices should not be a barrier for classrooms.

Finally, if you did not have an opportunity to provide feedback to the Technology Department survey a couple of weeks ago, please do so this week. We value your feedback and will use your data to inform future decision making on classroom technology needs.

Reset Chromebook Resolution

Testing? 

Not seeing everything on your Chromebook Screen? 

Reset your Chromebook Resolution with Control + Shift + 0

Spring BrightBytes Survey Collection is Underway!

Washington Unified has partnered with BrightBytes, an educational research and analytics organization, to survey students, teachers, and administrators to learn more about our technology use for student learning. The data being collected is part of Goal 1 of the Local Control and Accountability Plan that is focused on the 21st century skills of critical thinking, communication, collaboration and citizenship.

The survey opened on March 5 and will remain open until March 23. The Brightbytes survey can be completed by visiting http://bbyt.es/start/8722C. Students and Teachers can also find a link to the survey by logging into the Apps Portal.

All students in grades 3-12 and all teachers and administrators are required to take this 5-10 minute, anonymous, and adaptive survey.

Be the first school to have 100% completion and win a special prize from the Technology department! The survey is open now and will close on Friday, March 23.

Finding CAASPP Resources is as easy as 1, 2, 3....

The next time you login to our Apps Portal, you'll notice a new CAASPP Resources Folder.  The resources in the folder are numbered for easy access and reference

01 - Test Administrator Interface.  The go-to place to administer interim and summative assessments.

02 - Interim Assessment Reporting System.  If you have already administered interim assessments, you can go here to view results.

03 - Interim Assessment Viewing System.  Go here to preview any Interim Assessments

04 - TOMS. (Test Operations Management System).

05 - PRACTICE & TRAINING TESTS.  (Not to be confused with Interim or Summative Assessments.) This is the test administrator site for any practice or training tests. 
Note: Students in grades 3-8, 11-12 have an SBAC Practice icon also available within their portal.

06 - TIDE Completion Status. Allows site level CAASPP administrators to manage successful completion of Summative Assessments.

Digital Library - contains instructional resources and more.

We will be adding additonal How To resources to this portal over time. 

Check out our Apps Portal Playlist if you need help setting up your portal account.

If you have any questions about utilizing these resources, please contact your Assistant Principal, your Site CAASPP Coordinator.  If you have any difficulties accessing any of the CAASPP sites, please complete a helpdesk ticket.

Technology Update: STUCON 2018!

STUCON 2018 is just around the corner and sign-ups for your class start today!  

STUCON 2018 will be held on Thursday, March 22, from 5 - 7 pm at the West Sacramento Community Center.  

The format will be different than last year in that we are expanding to 4 separate rooms and each class will sign up for a table for the entire time, not 30-minute time slots. Each room will have a theme:

• Robotics Rodeo - a space dedicated to K- 12 robotics and programming
• Kidflix - student-created videos on the big screen in an actual theater
• Innovator’s Space - student shared projects on all things tech

In addition to these three areas, we will be introducing the Student Spotlight Speaker Salon which will feature one student from each school site to perform a 3-5 minute talk using the stem: “My name is ____ from (school) and I am a 21st Century Learner”  

The spotlight speaker salon will showcase students speaking about 21st-century learning and how they use technology in their academic and personal lives. Students will submit their auditions to represent their site using the online tool Flipgrid.  They do not have to do it during the school day or at school, but we do ask that they work with a teacher to get feedback on their talks. The STUCON Steering Committee will select one student from each school site to perform their talk twice at STUCON2018.  If you know of students that would be interested in participating, then please share their name on the STUCON 2018 sign-up form. We will have swag for our final site winners.

Sound like a fun evening of technology?  We think so and are hoping you can help make it happen!  By signing up on the STUCON 2018 form,  you will be committing to sending students for one or more projects in any or all of the categories above – whichever fits best within any projects you have already done or are planning to do in the next couple of weeks. Your only role during the event is that you support your students and be their biggest cheerleader – you are not presenting, they are!  You will be paid for the two hours that you are at STUCON 2018 with your students.

Not sure what you might have your students share?  There is space on the STUCON 2018 sign-up form for a “Technology Consult” and one of our technology team members will work with you on putting something together for the event.  

We’ve already secured door prizes donated by the different vendors the Technology department works with and will be raffling off at least one Chromebook to participating students!

Questions?  Need more information? Please reach out to Christy Jourdan (cjourdan@wusd.k12.ca.us) or Kim Harrison (kharrison@wusd.k12.ca.us).

Technology Update: New Calling Process, STUCON 2018, and more! 02082018

Greetings WUSD Staff,

Changes in Phone Calling Procedure

The California Public Utilities Commission has made a change to the 916 area code for residents, businesses, and other entities - including Washington Unified schools and offices. Beginning Saturday (Feb. 10), anyone calling within the 916 area code must dial 1 + area code + telephone number. If this new procedure is not followed, calls will not get through.

For our school sites, you will need to dial 9 for an outside line followed by 1 + area code + telephone number.

This change is a result of the public utilities commission decision to overlay a new area code, 279, within the geographic area currently served by 916.  Calls to 911, 311, and several other special services will not be affected.  For more information, visit the public utilities website.

STUCON 2018 is Coming March 22!

Start gathering together students to share their knowledge at the Washington Unified STUCON 2018 event to be held at the West Sacramento Community Center on March 22. Christy Jourdan, from the Technology Department, is leading a Steering Committee of students, teachers, and staff to help make this event bigger and better than last year. If you would like to be on the STUCON 2018 Steering Committee, CLICK HERE to sign up.  

Help Desk Ticket Reminder

If you are having technology related issues with your classroom equipment or need student accounts created or changed, please be sure to submit a Help Desk Ticket. The Help Desk Ticket system automatically creates a record of your request and ensures that we don’t miss assisting you with your needs.  We especially need you to use the Help Desk Ticket system for making requests regarding Scholastic and Lexia.

1.     Go to https://helpdesk.wusd.k12.ca.us/

2.     Log in with the same credentials you use to log into your computer and email.

3.     Click on New Incident and complete all of the information.

4.     You will automatically receive a confirmation email that your ticket was created and Technology Department personnel will follow up with you if they need additional information.

Illuminate Resources from 1/31/18

At District Collaboration on 1/31/18, several different Illuminate sessions were offered that focused on leveraging Illuminate for assessments in the classroom. Links to all Illuminate session materials are included below.

Single Sign On (SSO) Apps Portal Update

Happy New Year!

TK-8 Teachers! You will notice when students login to their Chromebooks that the WUSD Apps Portal Page will begin to automatically appear over the next few days. For those who have already set-up Single Sign On with your students, they will be able to just click Sign On with Google to gain access to the portal.

If you or your students have not set up Single Sign On yet and would like to get started with our Apps Portal, you can reach out to Edmund Lynch or Melissa Oliver and we will arrange a time to come and set up your class. Alternatively, we have a WUSD Apps Portal Playlist available on our YouTube Channel that you can also walk you through the process.

The Apps Portal will remain available on our District Webpage via the Portal Icon for easy access from Home and for our High School Students using our Single Sign On Apps Portal.

Our Apps Portal is also now available on Mobile Devices! Download the ClassLink Launchpad App from Google Play Store or iTunes, search for Washington Unified School District, login, and enjoy mobile access to our apps portal.