AACPS OIT Byte

     In 2020 we were all introduced to video conferencing tools to keep connected personally and professionally while meeting in person was discouraged. Because everyone relied so heavily on our video conferencing tools, we saw rapid, extensive growth in the capabilities of the video conferencing applications. In AACPS, we used Google Meet for virtual instruction. If/when schools shift to virtual for inclement weather or other emergency closures in the future, Google Meet will remain our go-to application for students and teachers to connect. Are you familiar with the awesome instructional tools built into this application? Screen sharing options When you click to present your screen, you will have 3 options to choose from. You can choose to share a Chrome tab, a Window, or your Entire Screen. But WHAT are you actually sharing with each choice?      Chrome tab - this option shares a single application on your screen meaning one program or one tab in your ...

by Tracey Brown Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist Last weekend you attended a teacher technology conference and you learned about an amazing new website promising to transform learning in your classroom. What’s the first thing you should do? Surprisingly, this blog post is not about completing an MOI (materials of instruction approval). It is actually about what you need to do before you even know if you are ready to complete an MOI. Step 1 Explore the site - the WHOLE site This might sound dumb, like, “ of course I was going to visit the website!” But how many times have we seen just a snapshot of something and found ourselves recommending it to a friend. This happens in education too. We let a presenter show us the parts of their site they want us to see, we get excited by their high energy presentation, and we forget that we only explored about half of the resource, and didn’t explore freely on our own. Evaluating the quality of a resource is time-consuming and there is n...

 by Tracey Brown, Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist Issuing laptops to every teacher had additional awesome results. You now have a docking station that simplifies connecting to multiple other devices including, not only your SMART board and Document Camera, but also an extra monitor. That means many teachers now have a total of 3 screens available in their classroom. Are you making the most of your screens? Extend or Duplicate your screen The first choice you have is whether you want to extend or duplicate your screen. This means you can see the same application on both screens, or different windows on each. For example, you could be projecting your lesson onto your SMART board from your laptop screen and have PowerSchool open on the second monitor to mark attendance or keep grades up-to-date. To choose between Extend and Duplicate you will use the shortcut Windows + P. Getting Different Apps on Different Screens If you choose to Extend your monitors, you need the next s...

by Tracey Brown, Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist Have you ever tried to access a website on your AACPS laptop to find that it is blocked and then wondered, "why would anyone block this website?" Or maybe you have tried to share one with students only to have a similar frustrating result and thought? If the answer is yes, this blog post will help you understand how our filter system works and why so many sites that don't seem the least bit nefarious are blocked for staff, students, and sometimes both. How we filter web content AACPS uses a network filtering system that works on categories. When website creators publish their site, they select applicable categories. The category system relies on them to accurately categorize their sites, which most of them do since a website publisher usually wants their intended audience to easily find and utilize their site and possibly purchase their products. How the categories work Website categories include things like ...

by Debbie Ray, Office of Instructional Technology Teacher  Specialist Many of you may remember the Office of Instructional Technologies’, Splash Page. This was great as it helped users access approved applications in one place. The problem was that users had to sign-in to all those applications which took up very valuable instructional time, and you could not customize your page. So the county needed a customizable application that would provide a way for all users to access applications without having to login multiple times. ClassLink provides that single sign-on solution that enables teachers and students to access web-based applications on any device. There may be some applications that need a login, but ClassLink is the portal that opens the door to all of the applications in AACPS.  Believe it or not, we have had ClassLink for about five years now. What an asset it has become for teachers and students! I know as I accessed ClassLink each day, I wondered if I could change...

By Kerri Lambert, Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist Sub plans. A necessary evil in the world of teachers. How many of us have gone to work sick simply because we dreaded having to write up lessons for the day? And when you find a good sub, you cross your fingers they never stop subbing! Adding to the stress of writing sub plans is the ever growing number of digital resources that substitutes need to access in order to fill in for the day. What can they access? What can’t they access something? How can they get all the links and videos needed? To help plan for those inevitable absences, here are some FAQs about substitute teachers and technology: Do I need to leave my log in for the sub? NO!!! Please don’t give your AACPS login information to ANYONE. This is a major security risk both for your personal information and that of your students.   Then how do subs login? All AACPS substitutes have their own AACPS username and password to get them into the system. This is what t...