The Skokie Technology Edge

With all the e-Learning happening, you are also probably downloading and creating a lot of things. This can eat up alot of space on your laptop. Here are a few tips to clean up some space. First, how do you check. Click on the apple () on the very upper left of your screen. Then select "About this Mac". In the window the open select storage and it will show you all the info you need. If you click "Manage" It will break it down a little more and also give you recommendations. But here are my recommendations.  Empty your download folder from things you don't need anymore. (Do I need 3 copies of the student export???)  Consider moving things you want to keep out of your downloads and into a folder.  Also think about creating folders in Documents instead of Desktop. This will help keep desktops clean and computer processing information faster.  Move completed videos to Google Drive You can always download them again later if need t...

As we are all in the full swing of things, we are discovering the nuances of our new laptops. One that I have heard about is the printing. We are all greatly thankful that the copiers have been automatically added to our new machines, but many are finding troubles getting use to the printer features. Below are some pictures that will help you navigate and utilize the copiers to their full ability. Renaming the Printers - The Workroom name is eazy, but what is the difference between SKOffice 1 and SKOffice 2?  You can fix this. Office 2 is the color copier. In the details you will also notice that the MOdel has a "C" to start... C= Color. To rename, 2 finger click/ right click the name and a rename option will appear. Printer Features - In efforts to be mindful about our paper consumption the default print feature is to print 2-sided.  You can also have the copier hole punch and staple for you as well by using the "Printer Features" dropdown. There are man...

The previous week I was able to join a few CLT's to talk about IAR. As most meetings do, the subject shifts to a topic that is relevant to classroom happenings. This time it was screen time.  I know screen time is on a lot of people's minds and like most things in this world there are 2 sides. In our 1:1 environment, the screen is there. At home guess what, more screens. So what can we do? Like we do with any other subject... we educate.  So I pulled some articles about the subject. 1 from my goto source for age appropriate media topics (Common Sense Media), 1 positive screen time, and 1 negative screen time. I will also add my 2 cents on the matter.  I tend to land on the side of what the screen is being used for, purpose vs play. I strongly believe we need to limit the play time on screen... which is what most students are doing at home.  But when being used for a purpose, it can be extremely powerful. Also, as I have done with m...

It has been to long between these posts, but I will do a better job of creating more. THis weeks Tech Tip is PuzzleMaker through Discovery Education. ( http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/index.cfm?campaign=footer_teacher_puzzle ) There are lots of custom, easy to create puzzles that you, or students can create for fun, or review. I hope you enjoy this sample puzzle about me! Feel free to share with students. Fun for everyone!

CODING with SWIFT PLAYGROUNDS I am loving all the conversations that I am having with all of you about your curriculum and the different ideas that you have to interest and challenge your students. Many of you are seeking a coding option for your students. while there are many different and good options the one I am advising right now id Swift Playgrounds. This is a free iPad App offered by Apple that teaches students Swift, the coding language that most, if not all, iPad apps are created with. It also offers different levels of learning. Students would start with Learn to Code 1 and if they feel the desire to the can be guided all the way through Learn to Code 3. There are also many more things to learn in the app as well. The Martinsen/Hoyt team has started on this adventure, as well as the Goldberg/Erickson team. If your are looking for more info, let me know! I would love to sit with you and/or your class and talk about Swift Playgrounds more. Here is some more info. htt...

As you may or will notice there has been some changes to your Power Teacher Gradebook. This change is a good change and a long time coming. PowerTeacher Pro is web-based and offers many upgrades compared to the old version. One example is a cleaner look and the gradebook and reports. I tried this upgrade out last year for my classes and loved it. There will be some training opportunities and feature overviews in coming institute days, and as report cards get closer I will also offer some learning experiences in house. If you have questions let me know. One question that may be at to top of your mind is if our report card changed with the upgrade? The answer is no, only the way it looks while inputting your information. Here are some resources the Beth Migalla created for us. PowerTeacher Pro Resources Scoring Assignments Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=COnxzXxiG38 Quick Reference guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RNUT3nARbgD7GnONBKDpV...