Monday, January 25, 2010

Skyward Review

The end of the elementary grading period is rapidly approaching. Here are some reminders/updates to help you have success using Skyward Gradebook this time around:
  • Print Cue - IT has added more servers and more print cues to avoid the delay in printing we had last grading period.
  • Safari - Using Safari instead of Firefox has solved the problem of the rows and columns not lining up on the screen. Safari has also been loading Gradebook more quickly.
  • Guided Reading Levels - In order for your GRL's to appear on the report card, we had to assign each level a percentage. The numbers that are now attached to the GRL's don't mean anything. They are only there so the correct levels will appear on your report cards. The percentages will not show up on the report card.
  • Events - You must enter at least one event in each skill area you would like to have count toward the final grade. If you only enter a final grade for a skill area without any events, the subject area grade will not calculate correctly.
  • Points - Grades are weighted by total points. If you want each skill area weighted equally toward the subject are grade, you must have an equal number of points in each skill area.
Visit the Canyons EMT (Educational and Media Technology) website for Skyward documentation and instructional videos. http://emt.canyonsdistrict.org

Remember to start entering your grades early! Do a test run of your report cards at least a couple of weeks ahead of time to make sure everything is showing up correctly.

Your Educational Technology Specialist will not be in your building on your February 26th EBL day due to the UCET conference. Plan ahead and get help early!
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A few more notes from Help Desk:
  • The explanation of guided reading levels should be correct this term.
  • “M” for modification is an option in all events, skills and subjects.
  • You should also see an option for NA this term.
  • 5th and 6th grade report cards should show the explanation in the number boxes at the top for the letter grades A,B,C, etc.
  • If you have any trouble running reports or with blank fields again, please contact Help Desk or you Ed Tech.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Simple Teacher Websites

There are many options available to teachers who want to create a website for the class/classes. Here are a few options my colleagues and I have tried:

My UEN
  • Free
  • Utah teachers automatically have a my.uen account
  • Pre-set template
  • Fast, easy to use
  • Simple design
  • Content entered into boxes on the page
  • Tabs to navigate to multiple pages
  • Links to lessons on uen.org

Blog (I have always used Blogger, but there are many options for blogging.)
  • Free
  • Linked to your Google account
  • Choice of templates, or create your own if you know html
  • Can edit html
  • Simple, one-page design
  • Content entered in as posts or on side-bar
  • Multi-media

Wiki (I have always used Wikispaces.)
  • Free - educators can get a free account without advertisements
  • Create as many wikis as you want with the same account
  • Choice of templates, or create your own if you know html
  • Can edit html
  • Multiple-page design
  • Content entered onto separate pages that can be linked
  • Navigation bar on each page
  • Multi-media
  • Upload documents
  • Formatting of text can be a little challenging at first

iWeb
  • Pay through MobileMe account
  • Limited amount of space
  • Design your own layout
  • Similar interface to other iLife applications
  • Multiple-page design
  • Content entered like a Pages document - your choice of design/layout
  • Multi-media
  • Quickly draws on items in iPhoto and other iLife applications
  • Upload documents

Google Sites
Google Sites is fairly new, so I haven't actually tried it yet. I have seen it, though, and it looks simple and really great. If you have used Google Sites, please comment and let me know what you think.

Dropbox
I have had several colleagues recently tell me that Dropbox can make a nice, simple website too. Comment if you know more about it!

What have I missed? What are the pros and cons of each of these tools? Are there other ways you are creating quick and easy-to-manage teachers websites? Please comment.

I have decided that each of these tools are useful in their own way. If a teacher is looking for something that is quick and easy, I recomment my.uen. I have loved using a blog to have students contribute with their own posts, pictures, links, and movies. But, my favorite for classroom management has been a wiki. I like that I can have several pages, each for a specific purpose (information about me, parents, homework, students work, calendars, content areas, etc.), and I love that I can upload documents (worksheets, permission slips, donation lists, assignment outlines, class rules, etc.).

Here are examples of my teacher websites:
My UEN: http://my.uen.org/myuen/77889
Blog: http://bluntsixth.blogspot.com/
Wiki: http://bluntclassroom.wikispaces.com/

Friday, January 8, 2010

New NetSafe Videos

UEN has new free online videos and public service announcements available to watch and download to help teach kids safe Internet use. Check it out:

http://www.netsafeutah.org/index.php

Also available on Nut Intuit:

http://www.nutintuit.com/Default/