BLS EdTech Bytes for the week of 3.5.21

Welcome to the first edition of the NEW Bi-Monthly Newsletter from your Bend-La Pine Ed Tech Team; EdTech Bytes. Use the comments for feedback, or to let us know what you find useful. We’d love to see examples of these ideas in your classrooms!

Tip of the Week

Outlook has a great notes feature that you might find useful. Here’s a quick video on how to get started:

Elementary Update

Be in the know! Check status pages.

When a digital program isn’t working as expected due to a systemwide error, our team will email all schools to announce the problem. Lexia experienced several issues this week. When programs like Lexia encounter technical issues that impact schools, there are teams of experts working quickly to restore services. If you ever suspect that a digital program isn’t functioning as it should, you can look in the following places for status updates: 

Secondary Update

Worldbook Online is now available within Canvas!

Teachers can now add the Worldbook Online Encyclopedia to any of their Canvas courses.  This comprehensive  research and reference tool is easy for students to access and will not require opening an app, or entering usernames, or passwords.  Additionally, the teacher has the choice to determine whether or not Worldbook is available in the course.  The integration of Worldbook Online is easy. 

 Click here  for instructions on how to get started.

Teacher Feature

Teachers at MVHS have been encouraged to create a short promotional video telling about their courses. Sharon Sieveking, a math teacher at MVHS, asked a couple of her students if they would be willing to create her videos. She thought future students would appreciate it from a student’s perspective. They nailed it! They’re informative, creative and engaging. Here is one by Gabe Gonzalez:

Lesson Ideas of the Week

Grades K-2: Find shapes in nature

Take a photo outdoors, then use Markup to trace all the shapes you can find in the photo. Get started: Open your photo, tap Edit, then tap the three dots in the top-right to use Markup. 

Grades 3-12: Make a tourist map 

Map out your hometown’s hidden gems in 3D. Take a screenshot of the area where you live, then label your favorite spots to go. Get started: In Maps, tap the Maps Settings button ⓘ, then tap Satellite. Tap 3D on the map. Take a screenshot, and use Markup in Photos to point places out.