iOS 7 Update

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There is a very important update for iOS devices. The update (iOS 7.0.6) updates a SSL script that is very important to keeping your device safe. However, after updating, some may notice their Google Calendar not syncing all events. We believe that we have a fix.

After updating your iOS device, please do the following:

  1. Open your Settings.
  2. Open the Mail, Contacts and Calendars.
  3. Scroll down to “Fetch New Data”. (This should be set to “Push”). Open the Fetch New Data setting.
  4. Scroll down the last section “Fetch”.  Select “Hourly” (or Every 15 minutes or Every 30 minutes). This was probably set to Manually. 

 

That’s it. This means that your calendar may be up to an hour behind changes made on other devices. However, this is generally preferable to syncing taking days and days.

Feedback

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The Technology Department is committed to providing terrific service. We are very pleased when we receive positive feedback. Here is one example of an email that I received about a member of the technology department:

He came by during class, discretely asked if it was a good time and because we were doing bell work and it was my smallest class, and I really wanted the problem fixed I said sure.  He came in, fixed the problem quietly and departed.  I appreciated getting my Promethean remote back in working order.

Thank you to the teacher for letting me know that the hard work of the Technology department is appreciated.

Google Apps Email

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Google Apps provides for a lot of power for users.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Recently it has become apparent that some users may have changed some settings.

This can be very powerful if you are aware of what you are doing. However, if you aren’t, this can cause confusion.

One example of this is the Priority Inbox. This can be extremely powerful. Many people receive a huge amount of email every day (several hundreds to thousands). Unfortunately, not everyone agrees on proper email etiquette and SPAM does exist. Thus, for power users, Priority Inbox can be very powerful by presenting important email in a separate inbox. This does take some training, but can make individuals much more efficient.

Problems can occur though if the Priority Inbox is turned on (each user has to take specific actions to turn it on) and then don’t do anything with it. Email will be delivered to that inbox and the user may never check it. Thus, something that can be powerfully useful and make people more efficient can lead to frustration.

Please take advantage of some of the powerful features that are available for you when you are ready. In the meantime, grow as many dendrites as possible with the current settings.

New iLearn Feature – Badges

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Who doesn’t like getting a sticker or stamp of approval?  Now you can award students digital “Badges” in iLearn.  This new feature is great at motivating students as they appear in their profile and can be seen by others.

Teacher Robert Harrison at Edsel Ford High School has been using Badges with his students.  Badges can automatically be awarded to students based on completion of an assignment or grade on a test.  They can also be given out by the teacher to individual students as needed.

Here is what a student profile looks like after being awarded badges.  Click to enlarge photo.

badges

Moodle Quick Grade Performance Issue

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We just updated iLearn to Moodle 2.6.1 last week and some teachers were complaining about slow load times when trying to use Quickgrading when looking at Assignments.  The issue stems from the way Moodle wants to build the table with all the student data.

It is a bug with Moodle 2.6.
As soon as a fix is available we will apply it.  Thank you for your patience.

iLearn Update Complete

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We have completed an update of iLearn. This was an extensive update. However, it is now complete. Here are some of the features that the update brings:

Improved grading features

  • Easily review and provide in-line feedback by annotating on PDF files directly within browser.
  • Conveniently allocate student assignments to different markers, and control when marks are released to individual students.
  • Certainty-based marking in Quizzes now provides improved feedback for learners.

Dynamic and streamlined course management

  • Quickly edit course activities and resources across all devices.
  • Easily add a Single activity course format.

Annotate uploaded PDF files in browser

Provide feedback directly within PDF file submissions by using a variety of annotating tools available, including stamps and phrases from a comment bank. (Requires ghostscript on server.)

 

Enhanced marking workflow and allocation

Control when marks are released for viewing, for example, when they have been reviewed and moderated. Individual markers can also be allocated assignments and these allocations will show up clearly in the gradebook.

 

Enhanced feedback in Certainty-based marking

Quizzes using Certainty-based marking now provide better feedback for learners.

 

Easily edit course activities and resources

Editing tools have been grouped together to in a simple drop down menu for easy accessibility across desktop and mobile devices.

 

Add a Single activity course format

Simply select and add any one activity as a standard course format which is displayed directed on the course page (This feature supersedes the old SCORM course format).

 

Experience a better learning platform

  • A more user-friendly TinyMCE editor
  • Easily access files from Microsoft Skydrive.
  • Improved calendar handling with multiple calendar support
  • Simplified username and password recovery
  • Improved file management in TinyMCE editor
  • Better responsive design across devices

 

A more user-friendly TinyMCE editor

The improved TinyMCE editor can be resized to suit various browser widths, and features user-friendly icons and a collapsible toolbar menu.

 

Improved calendar handling with multiple calendar support

Moodle 2.6 supports and displays the same date in multiple calendar system, including Gregorian, Hebrew, Islamic and more, so you can select a preferred calendar system.

 

Improve file management in TinyMCE editor

Add and manage files previously embedded in a text area with the new TinyMCE Manage Embedded files plugin and Embedded files repository.

 

Better responsive design

Moodle works and looks better across all devices, including desktops, tablets and phones.

Google Apps Sign in Page

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New Google Sign in page:

The new sign-in page began rolling out to select Google domains in January 2014.

The new sign-in page provides a streamlined and cohesive sign-in experience for all users, an account chooser that makes it easy to switch between Google accounts, and security enhancements, including advanced bot detection and improved account hijacking protection.

Important:

  • The new sign-in page requires users to sign in with their full email address (example: joe@company.com). (The old sign-in pages only required users to enter their username, but that convenience was offset by the complex URLs users needed to access those sign-in pages.)
  • The Stay signed in checkbox is selected by default. Users who want to sign out of Google Apps automatically when they close their browser should deselect this checkbox. Users who leave this checkbox selected when they sign in will remain signed in for two weeks or until they click the Sign out button that appears when they click their photo in the upper right corner.

Technology Tidbits

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Technology Tidbits – The Tech News Roundup

Note:  To get all the technology updates please subscribe to the technology blog:  https://iblog.dearbornschools.org/technology/

If you have any questions or want to explore using district blending learning tools please contact me.

Chris Kenniburg

Webmaster, Dearborn Public Schools
313-827-3084

Digital Book Reviews – Using Moodle (iLearn)

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Have you ever wanted to do a school-wide or classroom book review?  Moodle is a powerful tool that allows a teacher to do many types of projects with students.  A good example of how you can use Moodle for a project is doing Book Reviews.  With Moodle you can have a central location for book reviews written by your students.  Ratings, genres, comments and many other features can be added to create the ultimate book review.  You can totally customize the forms and look of the book review too!

Dearborn High School has been working on a book review project in the library.  Lets take a look at what they have done.  Click on the images below to enlarge.

Students must first find and enter the DHS Book Review course.  This is a simple course with only the Book Review Activity.

Database Activity Book Review

 

When they click on the Book Review activity they are shown a list of book reviews written by classmates.

list view

 

When a student clicks on title of a book they are taken to the review .

single view

 

They can also search for titles of interest using the search feature.

search

 

And finally, the student can add to the Book Review by using a simple form.   They upload cover art and their review in one easy-to-use form.

Add Book

 

Guess what?  If you are reading this from another school district and would like to be able to start your own book review you can download our template and customize it to your liking.  This is a preset for the Database Activity in Moodle.

Here is the download: Book Review-preset

If you are a teacher in Dearborn Public Schools and would like to have a book review for your classroom please contact Chris Kenniburg for help.  kennibc@dearbornschools.org

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