The Educational Technology Services (ETS) Department appreciates you participating and reading our blog posts. We are not leaving you, we are just moving to a new location. We have decided to begin using Adobe Spark as our blog platform.
We are excited about this new journey and we want you to come along for the ride. Click the picture below to access our new blog.
Our team recently received video equipment to capture innovative instruction and PD occurring throughout the district. Our goal is to create and share engaging high-quality videos that exemplify the great instruction in our district.
Neal Kellogg, our administrator, encourages a growth mindset among our department and pushes us to go beyond our comfort zones. He stumbled upon the Video for Educators Course which emphasized Adobe Premiere. He requested that we complete this 25 hour course as a team. The end goal was to increase our proficiency with the tool.
The Process
This course required us to complete a journal entry after each assignment using Adobe Spark. Each of us had a unique journey, you can follow along by reading our journals below.
Below you will find our final video submissions. We found the editing process to take up most of our time. Many of us had to submit due to the course deadline, not because we felt our videos complete. We still have a lot to learn, but we are happy about our growth.
As the end of the year approaches, it’s time
to start thinking of procedures for shutting down and storing
Chromebooks over the summer. All schools need to be sure Chromebooks are
properly stored and updated for summer.
Step 1: Update
Chromebooks will automatically update when
they are shut down completely and restarted. If a Chromebook is more than three
updates behind, it will need to be manually updated. Here is a link to an
illustrated guide on how to manually update a Chromebook. A Chromebook will
still function for awhile without updating, but will eventually lose
functionality. *It is best practice to have students shut down their Chromebooks
at least every Friday.
Step 2: Ticket Broken and Non-Working Devices
If it hasn’t happened already, teachers need
to do a help ticket for all broken or non-working devices.
The district
purchases a warranty on all devices and it is imperative that all breakage is
reported so that a replacement can be issued if the warranty is current.
*Teachers should do a help
ticket or call 587-HELP immediately when devices stop working, not cumulatively at the end of the year.
Step 3: Locate and Store Carts
All carts should be clearly numbered and all
Chromebooks stowed and charging for summer in a secure location. Check with your building administrator for details on where carts will be stored in your building.
*Changes in the district under P2G will lead
to carts being repurposed and distributed to other
schools. If you have any questions about this process, check with your building administrator.
Making sure today your Chromebooks are ready to use
for the next school year will make the transition much smoother and hassle-free
for everyone.
Google has teamed up with YouTube to make it easier than ever to
infuse the power of video into your teaching!
Videos can be downloaded easily into everything from a Doc to a Form to Google Classroom. This week we feature numerous ways to add clean, adfree video to bring presentations to life, provide tutorials, and get your students creating! Click the link below to dive into Kasey Bell's Shake Up Learning resource and infuse YOUR classroom with the power of YouTube!
We get a lot of questions about manipulating and annotating PDf or Adobe files. Portable Document Files or PDFs are a common file format but are not as easily manipulated as Word or Docs. Many teachers have found that while you can convert a PDF to a DOC file, it will contain errors that will need to be addressed before it can be used.
So what is the best way for teachers and Students to annotate PDF files?
Adobe Reader is free and available through the Symantec portal and will allow users to open, view, print, and annotate PDF files. Adobe Reader will allow users to add text, shapes, highlight, comment, and mark on PDF files. Teachers can also create official signatures that include timestamps. Adobe Acrobat is the paid version of Reader and allows users greater editing tools, but requires a license.For additional information on annotating in Adobe Reader, click here. *If a teacher is required by the district to sign a PDF, it must be done in Adobe reader and the instructions can be found here.
For an in-depth look at the tools and functions of Adobe Reader, check out this Hoonuit Course.
Another option for annotating PDFs is Kami
Kami allows teachers and students to highlight, add shapes, add text, print, and save PDF files. Teachers can annotate and share through Google Classroom or Drive, or students can annotate themselves. While Kami lacks some of the editing functions of Acrobat, there is a paid version of KAMI that has additional tools that are noted with the padlock on the menu screen.
KAMI is available as a chrome extension or as a website that links to Google Drive and Google Classroom. Once Kami is added as an extension, it will be an option to open a PDF file under the “open with” drop down.
Kami’s controls are mostly self-explanatory and bring users many annotating features in a free and easy to use format.
Need help with Kami? This linkwill take users to the Kami Youtube channel for step by step instructions.
*There are several online options that will allow PDF editing/annotating or file conversion, but many lack the function and convenience of Adobe/Kami or are loaded with ads. It is not recommended that teachers use website or downloadable PDF editing options due to malware risks.
The Educational Technology Services (ETS) Department appreciates you participating and reading our blog posts. We are not leaving you, we are just moving to a new location. We have decided to begin using Adobe Spark as our blog platform. 
