WWPS Technology

How to Get Around the Loss of Shift-Ctrl-P in Google Cloud Printing I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but Google has eliminated the Shift-Ctrl-P option with their latest update in Chrome  Version 40.0.2214.114 (64-bit). This isn't a big deal for 90% of what our teachers print for their students. However our teachers use PDF versions of Reading AtoZ books with their students. There are times when teachers for good purpose want to be able to print out a book, and give it to their students in a hard copy format. In the past they would use the Shift-Ctrl-P option to change the preferences of the printer. The picture below illustrates some of the preferences that can be changed using the Google Cloud Print beta options. These options are not available when you use the Ctrl-P process in Google Chrome or with your Chromebook. With the upgrade to ChromeOS 40 this functionality was lost. However there is a way to work around the problem with little or no fuss. You ca...

Just-in-Time Support: We often try to provide teachers, and staff members an opportunity for structured professional development. Although this serves a very important purpose in our district it also means that there are times in which someone doesn't get the help they need when they need it. We often talk about "just-in-time support" as being the most effective form of learning and engagement. We see this play out in the classroom when a teacher provides their student with the very next thing they need to support their learning. Sometimes we describe this phenomena as when the light bulb goes off. We have the tools to provide our educators, administrators and support staff with the same opportunity to provide the just-in-time resources to support their efforts. We can use Google Hangouts to support our "just-in-time" professional development opportunities.  Below you will find a series of short video clips explaining how to initiate a call, or answer a cal...

Phase 1 Nearly Complete Now that we're almost finished getting 3,800 Acer 710 & 720 Chromebooks into production I can take a minute and reflect on the first 5 weeks of our 1:1 Chromebook  - One Classroom at a Time  Initiative . Our district made the switch to Google Apps for Education in the middle of the 2008-2009 school year during the winter holiday. We haven't looked back since, and that one singular move has allowed us to implement a 1:1 initiative today. In fact, moving to Google Apps for Education has made us (the leadership team) look a lot smarter than we actually are! Our district, like many school districts, has a small staff. We have one technician,  +Les Petrarca  , that handles all of our machine break/fix helpdesk tickets, and production rollouts. Lester had the help of many teachers, custodians, secretaries and administrators across the district that rolled up their sleeves and helped us get machines into production within the first two wee...

Week 5 - September 29 - October 3, 2014 I'd like to take the opportunity to update the WWPS community on what we've accomplished, and our plans for the next week. Week 5, is in the books. It's amazing that we're almost finished getting Chromebooks out to all of our students in grades K-12.  Towards the end of the post I've taken the opportunity answer some of the frequently asked questions submitted by administrators, teachers, students and parents. Chromebook Distribution Chromebooks have been distributed to all 1-12 graders across the district, and to kindergarten students at John F. Horgan Elementary School, and Greenbush Elementary School. We only have to distribute approximately 82 machines to kindergartners at Wakefield Hills Elementary School. Professional Development Update Teachers across the district have taken upon themselves to share tips and tools about their Chromebooks. I have spent a lot of time at Deering Middle School this week, and it...

Week 3 & 4 - September 8 - September 19, 2014 I'd like to take the opportunity to update the WWPS community on what we've accomplished, and our plans for the next week. Week 3, is in the books. It's amazing that we're almost finished getting Chromebooks out to all of our students in grades 1-12.  Towards the end of the post I've taken the opportunity answer some of the frequently asked questions submitted by administrators, teachers, students and parents. Chromebook Distribution Chromebooks have been distributed to nearly all 1-12 graders across the district, and to all first through 4th graders at Wakefield Hills Elementary School. In essence we have rolled out over 3200 Chromebooks to students across the district in 12 days. We have completed Wakefield Hills (except for K), Deering Middle School, West Warwick High School, and most of Quinn School. That's quite remarkable, and it has taken a collaborative effort between administrators, teachers, custo...

gScholar & Google Drive gScholar is a fantastic tool for the 1:1 classroom. It provides teachers and students and easy, convenient mechanism to share Google docs. gScholar is connected directly to Google Drive, and it's important that teachers and students learn how to maneuver in Google Drive. I find the new look in Google Drive the easiest way to manage documents in Google Drive & gScholar. The short video below explains how to switch Google Drive to the "New Drive". Once teachers and students switch over to the "New Drive" they can begin to make changes to their gScholar folders to better suit their needs. First let's take a look at gScholar and Google Drive from the teacher's perspective. The video clip below illustrates where teachers can find their gScholar folders, and how to change each folder to meet their needs. Teachers can make changes to ensure that gScholar is easier for them to use, and accessible in their Google...

Week 2 - September 2 - September 5, 2014 I'd like to take the opportunity to update the WWPS community on what we've accomplished, and our plans for the next week. Week 2, is in the books. It's amazing that we've almost equalled the output of machines into classrooms as our first week's push.  Towards the end of the post I've taken the opportunity answer some of the frequently asked questions submitted by administrators, teachers, students and parents. Chromebook Distribution Chromebooks have been distributed to nearly all 3-12 graders across the district, and to all first through 4th graders at Wakefield Hills Elementary School. In essence we have rolled out 2600 Chromebooks to students across the district in 8 days. That's quite remarkable, and it has taken a collaborative effort between administrators, teachers, custodial staff & my department. On behalf of the students I would like to take the opportunity to thank them all for their efforts. ...