Letclips

In August Infinite Campus released significant improvements to Campus Instruction incorporating both responsive design and a simplified way for teachers to report attendance and manage grading assignments. Today Infinite Campus is continuing to invest heavily in increasing the power and ease of use provided in Campus Instruction. To provide the best possible user experience, Infinite Campus is looking for teachers who would like to participate in usability testing. Infinite Campus views teacher involvement in usability testing as a chance for the company's Teaching and Learning development team to better understand the teacher's experience using Campus Instruction and to receive feedback direct from classroom teachers. Usability testing is done outside the school day via an online meeting and takes 30-45 minutes. Infinite Campus will be compensating teachers for this time. An Internet connection and phone with handset or speakerphone is needed to participate. Teachers intereste

Cooler temperatures and the return to reaching for a jacket before leaving the house remind us that inclement weather may not be far away. This is the time of year the district encourages all district employees to log into Infinite Campus and review personal contact information. District staff and parents have the option of designating which phone number(s) to call and/or text in the event of school closings due to inclement weather. Requests for data changes will be processed within 72 hours. The data available for viewing does not change until processed by the Infinite Campus staff.  Please take time to review your information prior to the Thanksgiving break.  This short video  provides instructions on how to review your contact information and request data changes, if needed.

Recently, members of the Barrington 220 District Technology Committee shared several tips, tricks, apps, and systems that helped them improve teaching, learning, or professional practice in their classrooms or buildings. The Google Drive Assignments App built into Schoology enables teachers to assign Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Slideshows, and Drawings from directly within the Schoology platform. Once assigned, students can make their own copies of the content to work on and submit, and the teacher can provide feedback and grade the assignment, all without leaving Schoology (description adapted from Schoology ). Learn more on the Schoology website. Ben Rodriguez , BHS iDAL Coach, discovered Google Drive Assignments and shared it with Mitch Beck , BHS English Department Chair, who described Google Drive Assignments as a �game changer� and �life saver.� Mary Marks , Hough School Teacher Librarian, recently began using Tweetdeck , a part of Twitter that allows users to set up a customiz

When a new app or system update or upgrade is released, students and staff should install it. These updates and upgrades allow better user experiences, increased functionality, and/or increased security. On rare occasions, an updated or upgraded app will not function properly, or at all. That can be very frustrating as often it leaves teachers and students without a tool instrumental in their learning experience. I'd like to explain some reasons how and why this might happen. With Apple operating systems (iOS on iPad devices and macOS on MacBook Air devices), an announcement occurs and outlines some of the exciting new features in the soon-to-be-released operating system. For software developers, these announcements begin a timeline to prepare apps for the release of an upcoming operating system. Typically, Apple announces major changes 5�7 months before an operating system is upgraded. Soon thereafter, a new operating system is released as a "Public Beta" through a progr

"I heard about a browser that allows me to maintain the integrity of my summative assessment questions. Where do I sign up?" According to Respondus , "LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks down the testing environment within a learning management system. Used at over 1,000 higher ed and K�12 institutions, LockDown Browser is the top choice of educators for securing online exams in classrooms or proctored environments." Many teachers at BHS and throughout Barrington 220 value these and many other functions embedded in the Respondus LockDown Browser. LockDown Browser connects with Schoology and offers apps for both iOS 11 on iPad devices and macOS High Sierra on MacBook Air devices and brings added functionality to any type of assessment. However, it is important to understand a few issues inherent when using Respondus LockDown Browser. Several teachers, Teacher Librarians, LTAs, iDAL coaches, and others have combined forces to share some of the minor issues

Do you need a Spanish or Polish interpreter? I would like to remind everyone that we have a new process in place for those staff members who may be in need of Spanish/Polish document translations or meeting/event interpretations. As a part of coordinating technology and innovation within Barrington 220, we have made it easy to schedule all of your translating needs through a simple Google Form. The updated form can be accessed by either  clicking here  or by visiting barrington220.org , clicking the  Staff  tab (login required), and clicking the  Request Translation link. The form will allow us to receive and confirm appointment requests, as well as manage uploads of documents that you need translated into Spanish and/or Polish. This simple and effective process allows the translating team here at Barrington 220 to collaborate much more efficiently when it comes to meeting/document requests across our district. We ask that you keep the following in mind before submitting your request:

I would like to take just a minute or two of your time to tell you about the Google file sharing system called "Team Drive." Google Team Drive provides staff and students with some truly great group file sharing capabilities. Why use Team Drive?  Do you need to share a group of files that share a common theme with more than a few users? Do you want to take the worry out of file and folder ownership (i.e., what will happen to shared files when a staff member retires or leaves the district)? Do you want to provide access to files that specific groups of staff or students can access anytime from anywhere? If so, please consider Google Team Drive. Here are a few Team Drive advantages over Google Docs file sharing: Files in a Team Drive are owned by the "team" and not by an individual. Files are not deleted when the staff member or student who created the file leaves the district. Google Groups can be used to automatically provide shared content to new staff members. For