Helpdesk™

Please follow these steps to set up your new Porter-Gaud iPad:

~6th Grade~

Create Apple ID by following the email instructions sent to parents on August 11, 2015. This email was from Apple.

Go to helpdesk.portergaud.edu to watch the video instructions for iPad set up.

A prompt will appear to automatically download Apple apps. Please download Pages, Numbers, and Keynote from this list.

~7th and 8th Grade~

Create Apple ID without a credit card  (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204034)

This should be first initial, last name, then graduation year @portergaud.edu

Example: [email protected]

Go to helpdesk.portergaud.edu to watch the video instructions for iPad set up.

A prompt will appear to automatically download Apple apps. Please download Pages, Numbers, and Keynote from this list. Do not download any others at this time.

~Notes of Importance~

Apps for school will be ‘automagically’ pushed to your iPad.  Please do not download other Apps at this time.

Please bring your iPad to the first day of school fully charged.

You will review the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) the first week of school.

A Simple Guide to Setting Up Your P-G iPad.

Type this URL into Safari on your iPad to enable wireless iPad printing.

Once again it is time for our school-owned iPads to return to their home-base for a little clean-up and updating.

As in the past, we will take the time to address any hardware issues and update the iPads with the latest IOS, device management software, and educational apps for the upcoming school year.

Since we will be re-vamping the iPads, please download / save / export any files that are worth keeping.

To address a common question: we do not need the chargers and/or USB connection cords.  However, it is expected that students will still have these required accessories when their iPads are returned to them.

As a final note, we continue to evolve our 1-to-1 iPad program; as such, we expect our students to be more and more involved users of the device:

Upon return, students will be given their device and a checklist of iPad “to-dos”.  Items like “connect your @portergaud.edu Apple Student ID” and “install Printing Services” will be assigned.  To be sure, we will provide instruction on these items, but mention it here as friendly heads-up.

“Though EdTech seems like it’s here to stay, I think that technology in the classroom has a long way to go before being used effectively. The issues that plague EdTech are major — cheating, distraction, privacy concerns, inconsistency in implementation, inequality in access, and price.

I truly believe that the most memorable parts of my education have come when a teacher has taken the time to sit down and talk me through an equation, or given an impassioned speech on how sodium and chlorine become salt.”

With two modules, a Pond and Forest, EcoMUVE is a “two-week inquiry-based ecosystems curriculum built around a virtual ecosystem.”

The software, which is freely available from the developers at Harvard University, is intended to bring students a “deeper understanding of ecosystems and causal patterns with a curriculum that uses Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs).”

While this is no substitute from engaging in real-world inquiries (we can walk across campus to our own unique eco-system) it does provide students the quick overview of environmental sampling and data collect information, along with promoting the “what caused this?” mindset of a true scientist.

This 5-minute video gives a brief demonstration:

Sessions include two keynote presentations, a demo slam competition, and a closing capstone session - plus two full days of informative breakouts, cutting-edge demonstrations, and hands-on workshops led by experienced and knowledgeable professional developers.

Deployment & Management of Google Apps

Google Apps Scripts

Google Apps for Education Certification

Chromebooks in Education

Android and Google Play in Education

Google Maps and Earth Across The Curriculum

YouTube for Schools

Google Glass for Learning

Google Plus for Personal Learning Networks

20% Time for Students and Educators

Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Calendar, Gmail power tips, and… even more!

All presenters are Google Certified Teachers, Google Apps for Education Certified Trainers, Google Employees, or teachers with local success stories!

To run the ERB testing iPad app, Guided Access is required.  This video details enabling and disabling this feature.

As part of our on-going mission to enhance the technology engagement in the classroom, we purchased a relevent resource: the Teacher’s Guide to Tech 2015.

Above is a “Personal Tour” from the Author, providing insight into the features, functions, and layout of the book.

In short, this digital book is divided into three segments: getting up-and-running, getting the right tools, getting the lingo.

It has barely been a week since the departure of the lovely Mrs. Laura Page.  We already miss her dearly.  But just in case you have already forgotten her, here is her picture:

She said that everything is going well as they transition into their mountain home.  Here is a picture she sent of their new house (I think Mike had just finished mowing the front lawn):

Anyway, while we cannot begin to parallel her experience, rapport, knitting ability, etc., we have made a few minor adjustments to help cover some of the responsibilities.  

In other words, here are a few comments about how we will move forward:

Please send all technology requests to [email protected].  (It is just easier for us to manage the requests that way.)

Please add any technology related events (ipad testing, end of term projects, guest presenters, etc.) to the LS Technology Calendar.  It has been shared with you and can be found under “Other Calendars”.

At this point, we will not hold regular Office Hours (see the previous point), but we are not ruling it out.  Please let us know if you or your students are not getting the support you need and we will adjust accordingly.

If you have input / insight about what the future of Technology in the LS should look / taste / smell like, please send a thoughtful message to Phil.

SAMR, which is an educational technology touchstone, is experiencing a revival.  The above image does a nice job of putting SAMR into a coffee-themed explanation.

With an emphasis on engaging students with higher order thinking, the SAMR model moves the bar from enhancement to transforming; here is a link with more details: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/introduction-to-the-samr-model

For the merits of SAMR, there is one subtle drawback: it is implied (as you move from left to right across the scale) that furthering the evolution of technology is better.  In other words, the more transformed from the analog days of the whiteboard (or heaven forbid, the chalkboard) the higher you stand on the evolutionary scale.