NP What the Tech? 21-24

Currently only Available for NPHS (Middle Schools coming soon!)

How to embed Gale Resources or link to Gale Resources in a Canvas assignment

1. Create a new Assignment 2. Enter Assignment content 3. On the Assignments toolbar navigate to the icon that looks like a plug 4. In the dropdown, click “View All.” This is where you can choose the resource you want to pull content from by selecting the appropriate Gale App. 5. Find the article that you wish to reference in the assignment. You have to fully open the article to see the options for “Link to Document” or “Embed in Document.” (This means if you see “Read More" at the end of an article, you have to click to fully open it.) 6. Choose Embed to show the content directly in the Assignment 7. Choose Link to link to the content from the Assignment.

Gale Canvas Integration

Add Gale Resources to the side navigation bar of your class.

1. Open a Canvas class 2. On the left navigation select Settings, and then select Navigation 3. Scroll to the bottom and select the Gale Resource that you would like to include in the navigation. Drag the Resource and drop it in the top menu to enable it. 4. When you are finished selecting menu items, scroll to the very bottom and select SAVE. 5. This populates the content in the left menu. You and your students can click on the resource link to go directly to it.

Gale's K-12 mission is to help students succeed in school and in life by connecting them to the curriculum-aligned digital content they need to become lifelong learners. Through an integral pairing of research and technology, Gale helps schools bridge the digital gap between the library, classroom, and home with trusted, accessible library and classroom resources to support English language arts, social studies, and so much more. Because student success begins with educator success, we provide digital instructional materials that make it easier for educators to meet students where they are, while educators themselves prioritize their own professional growth and self-care. Today, this includes classroom products supporting everything from unfinished learning and social and emotional learning (SEL) to supporting a wide variety of educational areas, like social studies and English language arts. Digital resources are just one part of our story. Gale offers engaging learning content like webinars, white papers, best practices guides, and more to inspire educators as they work to achieve their goals.

What is Gale?

Why AI Detectors Are Problematic and What To Do Instead

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has permeated almost every aspect of our daily lives, from the way we communicate to how we shop, work, and even entertain ourselves. As AI continues to advance, it is safe to assume that in the near future, AI will have influenced almost all writing tasks, from drafting emails to generating reports and creating content. Educational institutions are losing faith in AI detection software, and instead we should provide alternative approaches and guidelines for educators and students to navigate this new information age.. High Frequency of False Positives: AI detection software is highly unreliable and often produces false positives. Research found that over half of the essays written by humans were incorrectly identified as AI-generated. This lack of accuracy undermines the credibility and usefulness of such tools, as it suggests that a significant proportion of genuine, human-created content is being wrongly flagged. Lack of Transparency: There is a significant lack of transparency in how AI detection tools operate. For example, OpenAI, which discontinued its own AI detector due to unsatisfactory results. And Turnitin has been vague about the tool's functioning, stating only that it searches for patterns typical in AI writing without specifying what those patterns are. This lack of clarity makes it difficult for users to trust or understand the results generated by the tool. Higher Institutions of Learning Are Losing Faith and Turning Them Off: The unreliability and lack of transparency of AI detection software have led to a loss of faith in these tools by educational institutions. For example, Vanderbilt University decided to disable AI detection software, expressing doubts about its effectiveness and suitability for academic use. Many other Universities are doing the same. Implicit Bias Against AI Writing: The use of AI detection software implies that all AI-generated writing is inherently negative or undesirable. This assumption fails to consider the potential benefits and legitimate uses of AI-generated content, such as aiding in the creation of draft materials, generating ideas, or assisting with language translation. Discrimination Against Non-Native English Speakers: Research indicates that AI detection software can unfairly discriminate against non-native English speakers (Sample, 2023). According to this research, LLMs like ChatGPT are trained to produce text with low perplexity, meaning the text is highly probable and uses common words in familiar patterns. As a result, non-native English speakers, who are more likely to use simpler language and common words, face a higher risk of having their work misclassified as AI-generated. This raises serious concerns about the fairness and ethical implications of using AI detection software in a diverse, globalized world. What Can Teachers Do Instead? Have Conversations About Appropriate Use of AI: It is crucial for teachers to have open and honest conversations with their students about the appropriate use of AI as accepted by their class. This includes discussing the potential benefits and drawbacks of using AI, setting clear guidelines on when and how it is acceptable to use AI in their work, and encouraging critical thinking about the implications of AI-generated content. Collect Writing Samples Throughout the Year: Teachers should periodically collect small writing samples from their students throughout the year. These samples can serve as a benchmark to compare against any questionable responses. If a piece of work significantly deviates from a student's usual style or quality, it may warrant a conversation with the student about their use of AI or other resources in their work. View Collaboration with AI as Similar to Working with a Tutor: It is important to remember that collaborating with AI should be viewed similarly to working with a tutor or asking for parental help. Just as students may seek assistance from tutors or parents to understand a concept better or to improve their work, AI can serve as another tool to aid in their learning and development. Capture Student Reflections on the AI Process: When allowing the use of AI, teachers should make sure to capture student reflections on the process. This can include asking students to document their thoughts on how using AI impacted their work, what they learned from the experience, and how they might use AI differently in the future. This reflective process can help students develop a more thoughtful and critical approach to using AI in their work. Allow Idea Generation and Feedback: Teachers should encourage students to use AI for idea generation and then offer feedback on the AI-generated content. This approach allows students to leverage the creative potential of AI while also encouraging them to think critically about the content generated and to make necessary revisions to ensure the final work is of high quality and originality.

AI in Seesaw

Teachers have the option to create their own questions or toleverage the power of AI in Seesaw by clicking 'Find Questions.' The auto-grading feature in Seesaw also saves teachers time!

• multiple choice questions

• true/false questions

• poll style questions

North Penn educators and students in grades Kindergarten through Sixth grade have access to Seesaw for Schools. A few of the premium features in Seesaw include: multipage assignments, scheduling activities, Seesaw supplemental curriculum, schoolwide messages, and integration with Canvas LMS. Students and teachers can navigate to Seesaw from the North Penn Desktop or from Canvas.

You can create formative assessment activities for students that include~

Control Shift T

What does this handy shortcut do? It re-opens the last closed tab. We’ve all been there: Accidently closing a browser tab that you meant to keep open. Hit Ctrl-Shift-T and your tab will come back. Hit it multiple times to bring back the last several closed tabs in your history.

Christmas, or “mass on Christ’s day”, is an international phenomenon. It’s been recognized as a federal American holiday since 1870. Christians honor Christmas Day on December 25th as the anniversary of Jesus Christ’s birth, whom they believe is the son of God. His spiritual teachings form the foundation of their religion. Despite the holiday’s religious roots, secular families and individuals often engage in Christmas festivities due to their strong popularity. These include decorating indoor trees with ornaments and star-shaped toppers, feasting with loved ones, exchanging gifts, caroling or listening to holiday-themed music, and for Christians, attending church. Western children in participating families fall asleep on Christmas Eve with the anticipation that they will wake to presents and toys beneath their Christmas tree, left by the mythical, white-bearded icon Santa Claus… or their less magical parent(s). The common celebration of Christmas originated in the 9th century, and has evolved into the contemporary, capitalized holiday it is today. Before the widespread acceptance of the date December 25th, Christ’s birthday was rarely celebrated. Many Christian leaders of the time actually held strong opposition to this act, firmly believing that a martyr should only be honored on their day of martyrdom. Others denounced it as a pagan practice.

Christmas

Capabilities:

• Generating text: Create different creative text formats of text content, like poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc.
• Translation: Translate between 46 different languages, making communication and understanding across cultures easier.
• Answering questions: Can access and process information from the real world through Google Search to answer your questions in a comprehensive and informative way.

Limitations:

• Physical actions: It cannot perform actions in the real world such as setting timers, making calls, or controlling devices.
• Deep understanding: While it can process information and respond in a way that may seem intelligent, it does not have the same level of understanding as a human and cannot reason or form its own opinions.
• Bias: As a language model trained on a massive dataset of text, I may reflect biases present in that data. I am constantly being updated and improved to mitigate these biases, but it is important to be aware of them.

Create Rubrics Create a rubric for an 8th grade creative writing project in table format with 4 levels and 5 categories. Writing Email Write an email to school parents with suggestions to encourage student reading at home.

Generating Assessment Questions Create DOK Level 1 (2, 3 or 4) questions about the book "Charlotte's Web" Writing Starters Generate 10 writing prompts for a 5th grade essay on the topic of vacations.

Just like other generative AI chatbots, Google Bard can be used in many ways to support teaching and learning.

🎓 Bard Examples for Educators

To use Bard, simply type in your request in the prompt box at the bottom. Note that you can also click the microphone icon if you want to speak your prompt instead of typing it. For example we could enter "Explain what a metaphor is and give some examples." Bard will then generate a response for your prompt. A nice feature of Bard is that you will actually get multiple versions of the response. If you click on the option for "View other drafts" you can now select from three different versions to find the response that best meets your needs.

💬 Using Google Bard

You can access Google Bard at the website https://bard.google.com/

🔑 Accessing Google Bard:

Google Bard is a large language model chatbot developed by Google AI. It has been trained on a massive dataset of text and code, allowing it to generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way. Here are some key things to know:

Google Bard

Kwanzaa is a secular, predominantly African American holiday that honors African cultural, familial, and ancestral values. It is also celebrated by some countries in the Caribbean. The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza”, which translates to “first fruits”. The extra a was added to ensure a letter of the word was allocated to every child who attended an early Kwanzaa celebration. Festivities start on December 26th and conclude on January 1st, with each day dedicated to discussing one of the Nguzo Zaba (seven Swahili principles): Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). A candle is illuminated nightly in the seven-branched kinara, named after the Swahili word for “candle holder”. Customs are unique to all participating families, but they frequently include traditional African songs, dances, storytelling, and attire. Typically, on December 31st, a feast called the Karamu is hosted. Kwanzaa is a relatively modern holiday. It was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an activist, professor, and chairman of Black Studies at California State University in Long Beach. Through studying several different African harvest celebrations, like those of the Ashanti and Zulu, Dr. Karenga established the foundational principles and practices of his original holiday. This invention was a response to the 1965 Los Angeles Watts riots, which began as a drunk driving arrest and degenerated into nearly a week of race-fueled mob violence. The crisis resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and extensive building damage worth $40 million. Kwanzaa was a subsequent attempt on Dr. Karenga’s behalf to unite the African American community; one that has proven effective since its fruition.

Kwanzaa

Tell us which app or apps you are most thankful for this year in the Padlet below. Use the plus to add your contribution. Click here to launch the Padlet in another tab.

Techsgiving Padlet

Diffit

Option 3 - "Any Text or Excerpt"

• If you have the original text for your students to read, here you can paste the actual text from any source, article, document, or such.
• Alternately you can also upload a PDF file with the text.
• With this option Diffit will use the text you are providing to generate the resources.
• Next choose the grade level and language.
• Click "Generate Resources" when ready.

Option 2 - "An Article or Video"

• Here you can paste the URL of an article, online PDF, or YouTube video to get differentiated resources.
• With this option Diffit will read in the content from the article, PDF, or video.
• Next choose the grade level and language.
• Click "Generate Resources" when ready.

Option 1 - "Literally Anything"

• Here you can enter a topic, term, or question that you want to use for your students.
• With this option Diffit will generate the text to go along with your topic.
• Next choose the grade level and language.
• Click "Generate Resources" when ready.

Exporting When you are finished reviewing and adjusting the resources, you can export and use the content in several ways:

• For each item you can simply click the "Copy" button to copy those resources.
• Alternatively you can click the "Export and Share" button at the top.
• Free users can choose the option here to print the resources or save them as a PDF.
• Paid users have a wide range of additional export options including Google Doc, Google Forms, and many Google Slides templates.

Diffit is an AI-powered tool that helps created differentiated reading and resources for students. This includes:

• Adapting any reading, excerpt, article or video for any reading level
• Generating short informational or narrative texts on any topic, for any reading level.
• Creating an automatically generated summary, comprehension checks, vocabulary words, and more to go with whatever text you’re working with

Kwanzaa is a secular, predominantly African American holiday that honors African cultural, familial, and ancestral values. It is also celebrated by some countries in the Caribbean. The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza”, which translates to “first fruits”. The extra a was added to ensure a letter of the word was allocated to every child who attended an early Kwanzaa celebration. Festivities start on December 26th and conclude on January 1st, with each day dedicated to discussing one of the Nguzo Zaba (seven Swahili principles): Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). A candle is illuminated nightly in the seven-branched kinara, named after the Swahili word for “candle holder”. Customs are unique to all participating families, but they frequently include traditional African songs, dances, storytelling, and attire. Typically, on December 31st, a feast called the Karamu is hosted. Kwanzaa is a relatively modern holiday. It was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an activist, professor, and chairman of Black Studies at California State University in Long Beach. Through studying several different African harvest celebrations, like those of the Ashanti and Zulu, Dr. Karenga established the foundational principles and practices of his original holiday. This invention was a response to the 1965 Los Angeles Watts riots, which began as a drunk driving arrest and degenerated into nearly a week of race-fueled mob violence. The crisis resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and extensive building damage worth $40 million. Kwanzaa was a subsequent attempt on Dr. Karenga’s behalf to unite the African American community; one that has proven effective since its fruition.

Kwanzaa

Click the above image to access the Book Creator Resource Library for Be An Author Month 2024.

Remix the March Journal to use with your students!

Participate in #TWIMA collaborative book project.

Click above to watch the kickoff webinar.

Be an Author Month

We are all authors. But maybe you have students who don't think they can write. This month is all about addressing that. This year Be and Author Month is all about Finding, Refining, and Recording your VOICE to share amazing stories. Their are many research-based benefits of students reading, writing, or telling their stories. "Voice" Doesn't Mean Your Actual Speaking Voice With Book Creator we can embrace diverse modes of communication to ensure an inclusive learning environment for all. This can be shared through visual storytelling, digital tools and multimedia, collaborative writing, video sign-language, and interactive discussion.

What is Be an Author Month?

is dedicated to inspiring every student to embrace their creativity, articulate their thoughts, and harness the strength of their voice.

Export Content to various Google Templates that can be assigned for second chance learning opportunities for students.

Diffit

Edpuzzle

Pear Deck

Diffit is an artificial intelligence tool designed to assist educators in tailoring their teaching methods to accommodate students at various reading levels. This user-friendly platform offers a plethora of features, making it a favorite among teachers striving to provide a personalized and enriching educational experience. Generate Content that is leveled appropriately and includes the following:

• A Summary of Content
• Key Vocabulary Words
• Multiple Choice Questions
• Open Ended Questions
• Extended Thinking Questions

Second Chance Learning Ideas

Assign Edpuzzle Videos to for students who wish to have a second chance learning opportunity, or edit existing Edpuzzle Assignments to allow multiple attempts.

Pear Deck Takeaways™ are individualized editable Google Docs that contain the Slides from your Session and the students' responses. Utilize the Takeaways feature within Pear Deck to provide students with a comprehensive overview of each session, showcasing all slides and their interactive question responses. This feature facilitates reflective practices, as students can integrate their answers and lesson content into evidence supporting potential re-test opportunities. Assign "Takeaways" as homework, prompting students to thoughtfully express their learning experiences in designated areas. Encourage reflection on acquired knowledge and the articulation of thought processes, particularly when addressing specific questions. This activity promotes a metacognitive approach, empowering students to gain valuable insights into their individual learning processes.

Techuity: Tech Tips for Inclusive Classrooms to Ensure Belonging for All

In this hands-on session, join us as we explore how technology can be a powerful tool in building inclusive classrooms where all students feel they belong. Aligned with our district's goal of "Ensuring Belonging," we'll dive into practical tips and techniques for integrating effective tech tools into your daily teaching practice. You'll discover: Innovative tech solutions to differentiate instruction, support diverse learning styles, and facilitate active participation for all students. Real-world applications and classroom strategies for seamless tech integration that enhances learning and engagement. Together, let's harness the power of technology to create inclusive learning environments where every student thrives.

https://poe.com/Iudia

ENGAGING WITH LUDIA THROUGH THE 4 T's Tell- Tell LUDIA about the learners in your care, your learning plans and challenges. The more thorough you are, the better. Tinker- Continue your chat with LUDIA. Ask for clarification, examples, developments, and materials... and, of course, explore the options and strategies they share with you! Tweak- Consider the provisional outcomes of your chats with LUDIA. Adapt as you see fit, and as you go. Transfer- Reflect on the impact that identifying and reducing barriers brings to learners and the learning environment. Connect, consolidate, and deepen your learning through Visible Thinking Routines, such as "I Used to Think, but Now I Think", "Connect Extend Challenge", or "321 Bridge".

Meet Beth Stark, co-creator of LUDIA, your AI-Powered UDL Partner. In this video, She'll walk you through the basics of getting started. Whether you scan the QR code or click on the hot link, you'll be directed to LUDIA through the Platform for Open Exploration (Poe). Once you're on LUDIA's landing page, you can find helpful guidance and choose what to share with LUDIA. She'll show you how to navigate the conversation.

LUDIA was created as a new kind of entry point and scaffold for developing a Universal Design for Learning mindset, intentionally designing to reduce learning barriers, and discovering the power of Artificial Intelligence. LUDIA does not just give strategies; they provide context specific and culturally relevant options for instructional design that take all three principles of UDL into account. LUDIA gives guidance about barriers that have not been considered and minimizes threats to unlearning that can lead to shifts in mindsets.

Mindsets To learn with LUDIA, there's no need to develop your technical skill set. Developing the following mindsets, though, will make a big difference for you and your learners: 1. Barriers do not originate in the learner. When we focus on strengths and embrace learner variability, we create space to identify and reduce barriers in the learning design and environment. 2. Problems of practice are in our sphere of influence as learning designers, or rather, in our play area. They are puzzles to solve; tentatively, iteratively, and creatively. 3. AI is a fantastic tool, but just a tool. The richest learning happens when LUDIA's responses serve as scaffolds and entry points. Analysing, adapting, and reflecting on the provisional options LUDIA offers for reducing barriers is essential.

LUDIA was created as a new kind of entry point and scaffold for developing a Universal Design for Learning mindset, intentionally designing to reduce learning barriers, and discovering the power of Artificial Intelligence. LUDIA does not just give strategies; they provide context specific and culturally relevant options for instructional design that take all three principles of UDL into account. LUDIA gives guidance about barriers that have not been considered and minimizes threats to unlearning that can lead to shifts in mindsets.

LUDIA

Unlock the Power of AI in Education: Elevate Learning with Innovative Tools!

Join us for an exciting professional development session where teachers can dive into the world of Artificial Intelligence and discover how cutting-edge tools can elevate learning experiences for students. In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore a curated selection of AI tools, including: ChatGPT, Canva, Diffit and School.AI. This session is a unique opportunity for educators to gain practical insights and hands-on experience with these AI tools. Elevate your teaching strategies, foster innovation, and make a lasting impact on student achievement. You definitely won't want to miss the spotlight on School.AI – The all-in-one AI platform for your classroom designed to transform education through AI-driven insights and personalized learning experiences for students.

Have a template you are ready to share with students? Place the template in the library where you want the students' books. Then on the template, click the 'Share' icon---- Assign book---Select the students and a copy of your book will be made for whichever students you chose to assign it to. Note - these books will appear in your library straight away if your student is already logged in. Otherwise they will appear once the student next joins the library.

Ready to Assign a New Module 2 Template? It just got easier!

Book Creator: Module 2 Digital Notebooks

Exciting news! Module 2 Digital Notebooks are now in production. You can access draft notebook pages from the 'Notebook Guidance' page in the ELA Hub on Canvas. We'll be completing the content for grades 3-6 in stages based upon the focusing arc questions. Currently, grades 5 and 6 have the first set of lesson pages ready. Grade 4 is in production, and we're soon starting work on Grade 3. Once the initial set of Grade 3 lessons is complete, we'll continue creating lessons, starting with sixth grade and moving down to third grade.

Welcome to GuardRailz, the ultimate tool for parents and educators looking to provide a safe and secure educational experience for children. Our AI research tool is designed to filter and analyze content based on age and grade level, as well as other proprietary considerations, to ensure that children receive trustworthy and relevant resources to support their learning and development. The vast amount of information available online can be overwhelming, confusing, and even dangerous, which is why our tool provides a safer educational resource tailored to the needs of children. Our algorithms use a unique and proprietary combination of generative AI language models, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, custom-coded by our product team to deliver a personalized experience to parents and educators. At GuardRailz, we prioritize safety and privacy, and we do not use data sent via our tool for model training or part of OpenAI's dataset. You can learn more about this on the OpenAI website. GuardRailz is currently in an invite-only alpha stage, and we invite you to register to join our waitlist. Thank you for your interest in GuardRailz, and we look forward to helping create a safe and secure educational environment for children.

Note: Ideas shared were adapted from the article with the help of ChatGPT 4.

Looking for more ideas? Click the image to read the full article.

Interactive storytelling: As a class, create a story collaboratively, with each student adding a sentence or paragraph using the microphone. Gemini can weave individual contributions into a cohesive narrative, promoting creativity and teamwork.

Voice acting workshop: Facilitate a workshop where your students select scripts or poems to perform. Have them record their performances using a microphone, then use Gemini (or an equivalent tool if Gemini's capabilities are limited to image and text analysis) to analyze aspects like pronunciation, rhythm, and tone.

Microphone This multimodal feature allows students to talk to Gemini. Just click on the microphone icon in the prompt box.

Poetry prompts: Encourage your students to select images that evoke strong emotions or represent specific themes. Upload these images to Gemini, which will generate poems inspired by the visuals. Share these poems with your students as a basis for creative writing exercises or for analyzing figurative language and poetic techniques. Geometric creations: Collect images of abstract shapes from your students or create your own, and upload them to Gemini, asking it to generate geometric figures that fit within these shapes. Share the generated geometric figures with your students, challenging them to understand how these figures integrate with the original shapes.

Imagineering the future: Initiate a project by collecting images of historical inventions from your students or other sources. Upload these images to Gemini to generate visual representations of their futuristic counterparts. Share these futuristic images with your students to spark discussions about technological advancements and their potential impacts on society. Cellular close-ups: Gather questions from your students about cells or microorganisms they're curious about. Use Gemini to generate magnified views depicting their internal structures. Share these detailed images with your students to aid in visualizing complex scientific concepts.

Generate Images You can also have Gemini create images on the fly. The better description you give of the image you want, the better the product Gemini will create.

Animal Adaptations: Gather photos of various animals and upload them with class questions about their adaptations. Use the responses from Gemini as a starting point for a class discussion. Creating stories: Collect diverse and inspiring images, then upload these to Gemini to generate narrative prompts. Share these prompts with your students as inspiration for them to write their own creative stories. Character Analysis: Collect images of fictional characters from literature, films, or other media, and upload them to Gemini to get descriptions of their personalities and motivations. Present these descriptions to your students and use them as a basis for in-depth discussions or assignments focused on character development and literary analysis.

Mystery artifacts: As a teacher, select and upload images of historical objects (such as paintings, tools, clothing) to Gemini on behalf of your class. Once Gemini provides descriptions based on its knowledge, share these descriptions with your students. Students then conduct research on the actual history of these artifacts and compare their findings with the descriptions provided by Gemini. Data Visualization: Collect or create images representing various data sets, such as bar graphs and pie charts. Upload these images to Gemini for interpretation, and then share both the images and Gemini's interpretations with your students. Use this as a basis for discussion or assignments to enhance their data analysis skills and deepen their understanding of visual representations of data.

Upload Images You can upload various image file types (JPG, JPEG, PNG, and WEBP). Gemini can understand and describe images, generate text based on images, answer questions about images, classify images, and compare and contrast images. Here are just a few ideas for what you and your students can do using this feature.

Gemini Features to Explore in the Classroom

• Writing & Planning: Get help with brainstorming, outlines, and summarizing information.

• Learning Activities: Explore diverse topics through image & text prompts, voice interaction, and more.

• Accessibility: Support students with various learning styles through multimedia tools.

Gemini, powered by Google AI, offers features to help teachers save time and engage students:

Ways to Use Gemini Across the Curriculum

Kwanzaa is a secular, predominantly African American holiday that honors African cultural, familial, and ancestral values. It is also celebrated by some countries in the Caribbean. The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza”, which translates to “first fruits”. The extra a was added to ensure a letter of the word was allocated to every child who attended an early Kwanzaa celebration. Festivities start on December 26th and conclude on January 1st, with each day dedicated to discussing one of the Nguzo Zaba (seven Swahili principles): Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). A candle is illuminated nightly in the seven-branched kinara, named after the Swahili word for “candle holder”. Customs are unique to all participating families, but they frequently include traditional African songs, dances, storytelling, and attire. Typically, on December 31st, a feast called the Karamu is hosted. Kwanzaa is a relatively modern holiday. It was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an activist, professor, and chairman of Black Studies at California State University in Long Beach. Through studying several different African harvest celebrations, like those of the Ashanti and Zulu, Dr. Karenga established the foundational principles and practices of his original holiday. This invention was a response to the 1965 Los Angeles Watts riots, which began as a drunk driving arrest and degenerated into nearly a week of race-fueled mob violence. The crisis resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and extensive building damage worth $40 million. Kwanzaa was a subsequent attempt on Dr. Karenga’s behalf to unite the African American community; one that has proven effective since its fruition.

Kwanzaa

Engage with our AI Chatbot to brainstorm ideas to help support your work in the classroom while gaining some experience with School.AI to spark ideas for how you may use it with students.

• Use the bot on the right, or click here to open School.AI

• Enter your school email for your name.

• Engage with the bot.

• End the conversation with the bot to receive the code to enter in the Google Form for a chance to win a prize. Click here to open up the form.

Knight Vision AI Chat Bot

A new Quizizz tab will be automatically opened in your browser. In case you’re not currently signed into your Quizizz account, you will be prompted to do so. 👆🏼Click to learn more on the Quizizz site!

Now, you’re all set to create a quiz from any webpage or YouTube video that contains a transcript! Here’s how you can go about it.

1. Open the webpage or YouTube video that you would like to convert into a quiz. 2. Click on the Quizizz AI extension at the top of your Chrome Browser window. 3. Click on 'Generate Quiz.'

How to Use the Quizizz AI Extension

Quizizz AI will now be available in the Extensions bar at the top of your browser. If the extension is not visible to you, click on the Extensions icon and click on the pin icon next to Quizizz AI. This will pin the extension to the top of your browser for easy access.

Here are the steps you can follow to install the Quizizz AI Chrome extension:1. Visit this Chrome Web Store link in your Chrome browser 2. Search for ‘Quizizz AI’ in the search bar 3. Select ‘Quizizz AI’ from the search results and click on ‘Add to Chrome’ 4. Click on ‘Add extension’ in the pop-up box

How to Install the Quizizz AI Extension

Creating quizzes has never been easier or quicker! With the Quizizz AI Chrome extension, you can transform a website into a quiz in just one click. All you need to do is install the Quizizz AI extension on your Chrome browser and use it on any publicly accessible webpage. And voila! A quiz will be automatically generated for you. Learn how you can install and use the Quizizz AI Chrome extension to generate a quiz in seconds. Also, tap into Quizizz AI Enhance to customize your auto-generated quiz before you publish it.

Quizizz AI Extension

Christmas, or “mass on Christ’s day”, is an international phenomenon. It’s been recognized as a federal American holiday since 1870. Christians honor Christmas Day on December 25th as the anniversary of Jesus Christ’s birth, whom they believe is the son of God. His spiritual teachings form the foundation of their religion. Despite the holiday’s religious roots, secular families and individuals often engage in Christmas festivities due to their strong popularity. These include decorating indoor trees with ornaments and star-shaped toppers, feasting with loved ones, exchanging gifts, caroling or listening to holiday-themed music, and for Christians, attending church. Western children in participating families fall asleep on Christmas Eve with the anticipation that they will wake to presents and toys beneath their Christmas tree, left by the mythical, white-bearded icon Santa Claus… or their less magical parent(s). The common celebration of Christmas originated in the 9th century, and has evolved into the contemporary, capitalized holiday it is today. Before the widespread acceptance of the date December 25th, Christ’s birthday was rarely celebrated. Many Christian leaders of the time actually held strong opposition to this act, firmly believing that a martyr should only be honored on their day of martyrdom. Others denounced it as a pagan practice.

Christmas

What can I use Magic Design for Presentations for? Magic Design lets you generate a presentation from a text prompt in seconds. Type what you’re looking for and watch as a selection of templates appear for you to choose from. It lets you move straight from an idea to editing in no time. Using Magic Design to create a presentation Start your presentation with an outline, slides, and content. Simply describe your idea in a few words, and watch as it smartly fills out your story. With your first draft in the bag, you’re ready to add your details and give it a personal touch. You can access Magic Design from the homepage or inside the editor. To access it from the homepage, click the search toolbar. You’ll be directed to the Templates tab. To access it from the editor, open any design template and click on Design. On a Computer:

1. On the Search Bar, describe the presentation you would like to create.
2. CLick Media to add images
3. Select an image from your uploads. You may also click Choose Files if you would like to upload a new image from your device.
4. Click See Results

To see a sample prompt, select Try an example. This will add a good sample description in the text box that you can use as a guide. The search results will give you a maximum of 6 slides. Select to incorporate your brand’s styles. If you’re using Magic Design from the homepage, you may preview a result by clicking the that appears. Then, select Preview this template. Click Customize this template to get to the editor.

Using Magic Write to generate text Learn about Magic Write and how to use it as a writing assistant and tool. What is Magic Write? Magic Write is an AI-enabled writing assistant that empowers anyone to effortlessly and quickly create written content. You can use it for social posts, business plans, websites, blogs, poems, journaling, creative writing, and so much more. It can generate sentences, paragraphs, lists, outlines, and more based on the text prompt you enter. How do I use Magic Write? You can use Magic Write to generate copy from a text prompt or by using existing text in your document. Generate from a text prompt

1. Create or open an existing design.
2. Select the Magic button on the bottom-right of the page. You can also type / to open the Canva Assistant shortcut.
3. Select Magic Write from the list.
4. Enter or describe the text you want to generate.
5. Press Enter.

Generate from existing text

1. Select the text you want to generate from and click the Magic Write button on the toolbar that appears.
2. Select what you’d like to do to your text from the dropdown options and wait for your text to be processed. You can choose from the following:

• Continue writing
• Summarize text
• Rewrite
• More fun
• More Formal
• Sprinkle Fairy dust
• Fix Spelling

What can I use Magic Write for? Magic Write lets you write content from a simple text prompt in seconds. Type what you're looking for and watch as a blog post or cover letter appears on the page. It lets you move straight from an idea to editing which cuts down your writing time. Brainstorm new ideas Know what you want to write about but struggling to get started? Use Magic Write to write a blog, brainstorm ideas, outline a business strategy, start a marketing plan, write a social media post, an email, or anything in between. Why not try these examples?

• "Brainstorm ideas for marketing a new running shoe and explain the benefit of each idea"
• "Twitter posts announcing a product launch for a new alarm clock phone app"
• "List of 20 interview questions for a social media marketer"
• "Write a witty tagline for a company that sells sustainable furniture"
• "Step by step, explain how to grow a lemon tree"

Write anything in secondsCut down on time spent typing and skip straight to editing. Magic Write generates personalized text based on your prompts so all you have to do is proof and edit the result. Try these examples.

• "Social media strategy for next quarter"
• "Fun Twitter post announcing a new range of smoothies"
• "A blog about the benefits of Canva"

Resources: Printable Quick Start Guide for Families Video- Get Families Started Seesaw Messages Quick Start for Teachers

Translation to 100+ languages: If a note, caption, comment, announcement, or message is written in a language that is different from the language of a family's or teacher's device, a “See Translation” option appears below the post. Tap “See Translation” and Seesaw automatically translates any text into your native language. As a measure of student safety, students can only participate in conversations started by teachers and school leaders.

For both announcements and conversations, message creators can use one of the six Seesaw tools and upload additional content. Want to control when you get notifications? Set your 'Office Hours' in your Account settings. From there you can also choose whether or not to appear in the Seesaw School directory.

• Announcements allow teachers to broadcast messages where recipients can reply privately.
• Conversations are 1-on-1 or group messages with shared replies.

Seesaw Messaging is Now Active!

With Seesaw Messaging, teachers can create and share announcements with students and families.

North Penn educators and students in grades Kindergarten through Sixth grade have access to Seesaw for Schools. A few of the premium features in Seesaw include: multipage assignments, scheduling activities, Seesaw supplemental curriculum, schoolwide messages, and integration with Canvas LMS. Students and teachers can navigate to Seesaw from the North Penn Desktop or from Canvas.

💡Podcasting Ideas (Click Below)

How podcasting helps students discover their voiceOffering podcasting instruction not only imparts digital literacy and media skills, but it can open doors for students to explore cross-curricular interests.

• Podcasting engages students in writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills, aligning with learning standards and extending learning beyond the classroom.

• It fosters media and digital literacy while empowering students to find their voice and create entertaining, informative content.

• Through podcasting, students learn technical skills, creativity, and storytelling, amplifying their voices on a global platform beyond classroom boundaries.

Why should Students Create Podcasts?

Adobe Podcast AI leverages the power of artificial intelligence to revolutionize podcasting. With its cutting-edge technology, it provides voiceovers and audio editing tools that can enhance podcast content. This platform stands out from other AI audio tools as it can analyze podcast audio content and generate accurate transcripts, captions, keywords, and summaries. Moreover, it can help reduce noise, eliminate echoes, improve vocals, and even automate editing tasks. The cloud-based service is easily accessible as a web application and is included in the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.

🧭 How to Create a Podcast

💬 Features of Adobe Podcast:

You can access from: https://podcast.adobe.com/

🔑 Accessing Adobe Podcast:

Creating Podcasts with Adobe Podcast

High-Quality Audio Recording and Enhancement – Adobe Podcast AI allows for high-quality podcast recording, no matter the equipment. It enhances the sound by removing background noise, reducing echo, and sharpening vocal clarity, providing a polished auditory experience for your listeners.Simplified Editing Tasks – The platform streamlines tedious editing tasks like trimming clips, integrating music and sound effects, and adjusting audio levels. This simplification is especially helpful for those new to the podcasting world. Automatic Transcription – An automatic transcription feature in Adobe Podcast AI makes the creation of episode notes or transcripts a breeze, adding another layer of accessibility. Custom Music Generation for Podcasts – Adobe Podcast AI goes beyond typical features by generating custom intro and outro music. This adds a unique sonic identity to each podcast, allowing you to stand out from the crowd.

New to Wixie? Reach out to your building TSS or Wendy Stover.

January 2024 Update-- New content for February, including new resource guides!

Fall 2023 Update-- New project options, brush styles, Magic Stickers and more!

Magic Math Stickers

Creating with 'Talkies'

Wixie- Did You Know? Video Series

Asynchronous Learning Day

(Click to open in a new window)

Interested in learning more from Scott? Sign up for Scott's February 16th NPSD Professional Development virtual session--'Wixie: Empowering Every Voice in the Classroom.'

Wixie Content Updates

Follow Scott Loomis, Account Specialist for Wixie, and his video series where he shares Wixie tips and tricks!

3. Open the Pear Deck Add-on. ( Go to Extensions Menu, Get Add-Ons, search for Pear Deck and install.)

2. Open any presentation, new or old, in either Google Slides

5. When you're ready, click the green Start Lesson/Present button in the Pear Deck sidebar:

4. Now add the prompts, questions, images, etc. you want students to see, using the editing tools in either program to fully customize the slides.You can add pre-made Slide Templates and/or make custom Interactive Slides.

• Keep students engaged.
• Provide feedback to students
• Immersive Reader is available to help make content more accessible. Text can be read aloud or translated.

Benefits of Pear Deck

7. Students must join the Session to participate by going to joinpd.com and enter the code:

Getting Started with Pear Deck:

What is Pear Deck?

6. Select your Mode:Instructor-Paced Mode is synchronous. Student-Paced- is asynchronous

1. Create your Pear Deck account with your npenn.org Google Email Account. Go to peardeck.com

Pear Deck Slides help you engage every student in every seat and give formative assessments, no matter what grade or subject you teach. Pear Deck supports an interactive and community-focused classroom that helps students build confidence and comprehension.

High-Quality, Abundant Choices The latest Wixie update integrates over 2 million high-quality, professional images from Pixabay directly into the Wixie platform. This vast collection continually grows thanks to a community of creatives contributing daily. Safety First Worried about age-appropriate content? Wixie has you covered. The platform uses Pixabay's Safe Search feature, ensuring that only school-friendly images appear in search results. Wixie adds an extra layer of filtering to limit results further, ensuring you get the most appropriate images for student projects.

Easily add talking stickers to a Wixie project. 1. Select the Widgets button on the toolbar. 2. Click on the 'Talkies' folder. 3. Select a Talkie to add to the page. 4. Click on the Talkie and enter text or record audio. 5. Use the Try It button to test out your talkie while you are editing. 6. When you show or share your project, users simply click the talkie to hear it speak.

Millions of Images

Talkies

Explore the Playlist

Updates

New to Wixie? Wixie is a cloud-based creativity tool tailored for K-6 learning environments. Unlike Seesaw, which focuses mainly on portfolio-building and parent communication, Wixie offers an expansive suite of creative tools and templates that empower students to communicate their ideas through a mix of text, voice, and artwork. It provides a unique space for students and teachers to create, collaborate, and express themselves in a multitude of ways.

• Personalized file and folder suggestions with machine learning algorithms that can help you get started quickly. These suggestions utilize a variety of signals, such as what files or folders you’ve recently opened, shared or edited, or what documents are attached to upcoming Calendar events.

• Filter chips to narrow down your search and find relevant files faster across Drive, making it easy to find suggested files by type, people, modified date or the location.

• A more modern design inline with Google Material Design 3 guidelines that helps you navigate across Drive much more efficiently.

Introducing a new homepage view in Google Drive

What’s changing Over the years, we’ve added features to Google Drive that help you more efficiently find files and folders. In October, we launched a new view in Google Drive that shows all pending access requests, recent comments, and approvals for files to help you quickly see recent activity and take action, all in one place. Today, we’re excited to introduce the latest series of changes that accelerate user productivity across new views in Drive. A new streamlined homepage for Drive called Home makes it easier and faster for you to find files that matter most. Specifically, you’ll notice:

Tip: If you’re on a touchscreen, tap a line of text or drag your finger over an area of the screen. Your Chromebook reads the section aloud and each word is highlighted. To stop Select-to-Speak while it’s reading, press Ctrl or the Search key . You can also select Stop .

Hear text read aloud. You can hear full pages read aloud with Chromebook’s built-in screen reader. You can hear parts of a page, including specific words, read aloud with Select-to-speak.

Getting Started with Select to Speak

Step 1: Turn on Select-to-speak At the bottom right, select the time. Or press Alt + Shift + s. Select Settings and then Accessibility. Under "Text-to-Speech," turn on Select-to-speak. Step 2: Select & hear text Important: Depending on your keyboard, you can press the Search key or the Launcher key for some shortcuts. Both keys work the same. Option 1 1. Press and hold the Search key . 2. Drag the pointer over an area of text. Option 2 1. Highlight the text to be read. 2. Press the Search key + s. Option 3 1. At the bottom right, near the time, select Select-to-Speak . 2. Drag the pointer over an area of text.

Enabling "Select to Speak" on Chromebooks promotes inclusivity by offering:

• Accessibility: Supports diverse learners, including those with reading difficulties or visual impairments.

• Personalization: Allows students to customize their learning experience based on individual preferences.

• Language Support: Benefits English language learners by aiding language comprehension.

• Reducing Barriers: Breaks down accessibility barriers, fostering an inclusive classroom environment.

• Independence: Encourages students to be independent learners, navigating content on their own.

• Technology Integration: Aligns with the goal of enhancing digital literacy and meaningful technology use in the classroom.

Inclusive Thoughts:

Description:

Chrome Select to Speak

Each year on December 8th, Buddhists celebrate the day that Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment through meditation. The word Bodhi means awakening or enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is popularly known as the Buddha. Siddhartha, once an Indian Prince, eventually abandoned his life of luxury for a much simpler one. Many believe that Siddhartha resolved to sit underneath a Bodhi tree and meditate until he found the root of suffering and how to free himself from it. It took 49 days of unbroken meditation. After becoming enlightened and experiencing Nirvana, Siddhartha became a Buddha, or “Awakened One.” For 2,500 years, Buddha's enlightenment has served as the central tenant of the Buddhist faith. The Bodhi tree grows near the banks of the Falgu River in Gaya, India. Also located there is a Buddhist temple. Buddhists consider it their most sacred site of pilgrimage. HOW TO OBSERVE #BodhiDay While the day celebrates the founder of the Buddhist faith, the day quietly reflects the ways of enlightenment. No parades or fanfare herald the name of the Buddha through city streets. Some eat tea and cookies. Others decorate a Bodhi tree. For most, it’s a day of meditation. Even if you’re not Buddhist, you can still participate in this day.

Bodhi Day

Staff and students will have free access to Power Kids and the four sites shown above while on school grounds.

There's a new icon coming soon to the NP Desktop!

Once available, you'll click on the Power Kids icon to access Book Flix .

Christmas, or “mass on Christ’s day”, is an international phenomenon. It’s been recognized as a federal American holiday since 1870. Christians honor Christmas Day on December 25th as the anniversary of Jesus Christ’s birth, whom they believe is the son of God. His spiritual teachings form the foundation of their religion. Despite the holiday’s religious roots, secular families and individuals often engage in Christmas festivities due to their strong popularity. These include decorating indoor trees with ornaments and star-shaped toppers, feasting with loved ones, exchanging gifts, caroling or listening to holiday-themed music, and for Christians, attending church. Western children in participating families fall asleep on Christmas Eve with the anticipation that they will wake to presents and toys beneath their Christmas tree, left by the mythical, white-bearded icon Santa Claus… or their less magical parent(s). The common celebration of Christmas originated in the 9th century, and has evolved into the contemporary, capitalized holiday it is today. Before the widespread acceptance of the date December 25th, Christ’s birthday was rarely celebrated. Many Christian leaders of the time actually held strong opposition to this act, firmly believing that a martyr should only be honored on their day of martyrdom. Others denounced it as a pagan practice.

Christmas

Multiple Means of Engagement: Padlet's interactive features sustain effort and motivation by allowing students to engage in a way that's meaningful to them—be it through text, images, or even video responses.Multiple Means of Representation: Educators can use Padlet to present information in various formats, catering to different learning preferences and ensuring that all students can access the material. Multiple Means of Action & Expression: With options to post text, images, links, and more, Padlet empowers students to express their understanding and knowledge in a variety of ways, thus providing diverse avenues for assessment.

1. Sign Up: Visit Padlet's website and sign up for a free account. 2. Create a Padlet: Once logged in, click on 'Make a Padlet' and choose a template or start from scratch. 3. Customize: Name your Padlet and adjust settings like privacy, layout, and appearance. 4. Add Content: Click anywhere on the board to add text, links, images, and more. 5. Invite Participants: Share your Padlet by clicking on the 'Share' button and choosing an option like link sharing or QR code. 6. Moderate: If enabled, review and approve posts from participants for a moderated discussion. 7. Collaborate: Engage with students or colleagues by commenting on or liking their posts.

Getting Started with Padlet:

1. Turn your Padlet into a slide show 2. Group posts by sections 3. Search and filter posts 4. Google Drive integration 5. Schedule posts 6. Save posts as drafts 7. Create polls 8. Add tags and mentions

8 NEW Padlet Updates

Padlet's intuitive design and array of posting formats open up a world of accessibility, aligning strongly with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Here's how:

Inclusive Thoughts:

Padlet is an interactive digital bulletin board that enhances student engagement by offering a versatile space for posts, discussions, and collaborations.

Description:

Padlet

Canva for Beginners Micro-Course

Design School

How to Get Started with Canva?

Login through NP DesktopBe sure to use login with Google Option.

Help students build critical skills Students can use Canva to demonstrate learning through different formats — group projects, videos, posters, and more.

Deliver impactful feedback in one place. Reach and motivate students wherever they are with real-time feedback. Share work as assignments directly through Canvas.

Increase engagement with original contentChoose from a library of resources, from lesson plans to reports and posters. Spark engagement with gifs, videos, animations, and music.

Visual communication and collaboration is an important tool for learning.

Benefits of Canva

What is Canva for Education?

Launched in 2013, Canva is an online design and visual communication platform with a mission to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere. Create and personalize lesson plans, infographics, posters, video, and more. 100% free for teachers and students at eligible schools.

September Joke Challenge

Unleash your inner comedian with MagicSchool.ai's Teacher Joke Generator! 🎉 Share your favorite chucklers on our special Padlet. Go ahead, make us laugh—then 'like' the jokes that get you giggling. 🤣 Awesome swag and prizes are up for grabs for the jokesters among us. Get ready to LOL and spread some joy across the district! 🌟

• Make captioning optional in multimedia lesson to cater to different student needs.

• Challenge students to step out of comfort zones for deeper understanding and improved learning outcomes.

Do Subtitles Help Learning?

🔹Aids language Learners: - Essential for students learning English, as it helps in understanding and language acquisition. - Allows students to see the spelling and structure of new words as they hear them.

🔹Supports Diverse Learning Styles: - Visual learners can benefit from reading captions while listening to the video. - Helps students who process information better when they read and hear it simultaneously.

🔹Facilitates Better Focus and Retention: - Students can focus better on the content with visual reinforcement. - Enhances memory retention by engaging more senses in the learning process.

TopTips:

• The quality of closed captions can vary for several reasons. These can include a poor microphone, a room with an echo or if the presenter has a strong accent.

• Take time to try the closed captions feature – speak clearly and confidently. This will help the accuracy of the captions.

Presenting information in multiple ways can help address the diverse needs of learners in the classroom and engage students on multiple levels. The use of captioned or subtitled media can be a great tool for teachers looking to differentiate classroom instruction. Consider using captioned or subtitled media whenever and wherever you use video in your teaching; turning on captions during class has considerable benefits.

Using Google Slides Live Closed Captions

• Your Microphone: To use captions with Google Slides, your computer microphone needs to be on and working. Google Slides can use the computer’s microphone or an external microphone paired with the computer.

• Open your presentation in Google Slides.

• To start presenting, go to ‘View’ and click ‘Present’.

• To turn on captions, click CC (this is found in the menu at the bottom of your slide when you are in Presenter mode). If this menu disappears just roll you mouse over the bottom of your Slide.

• As you speak, captions appear at the bottom of the screen. Captions don't include punctuation.

• To change text position or size, next to “CC” click the drop-down menu.

• Captions are not stored.

🔹Promotes Inclusivity: - Ensures no student feels isolated or singled out due to their learning needs. - Encourages a sense of belonging among all students, regardless of their hearing abilities or language.

Inclusive Thoughts:

Benefits of Captioning

Embark on the “Plus One” Challenge: by pledging your one edTech move to Elevate Learning, Ensure Belonging and Exceed Expectations in 2024. Be sure to sign in to access the padlet and Click here to launch the Padlet in another tab.

Byte-Size Resolutions

🔮Giving Effective Feedback in Online Spaces

📰Learn more about how to add comments in Book Creator.

🎯Importance of Feedback

Students and teachers can use the Commenting and Feedback feature. Simply click on the + icon in the bottom right of the screen when on a page in Book Creator. Choose from a range of multimedia to comment and to provide feedback.

When using the Wit & Wisdom Book Creator Digital Notebooks, how do teachers easily review student work?

👉🏼How does this save teachers time? Teach students how to use the commenting feature on a Book Creator page that you want to review. When students add a comment, teachers receive an alert at the 🔔Notification Center located in the library view next to your profile picture. Click on the comment to jump straight to the relevant page in the book.

📚Digital Notebook Tip of the Month

Kwanzaa is a secular, predominantly African American holiday that honors African cultural, familial, and ancestral values. It is also celebrated by some countries in the Caribbean. The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza”, which translates to “first fruits”. The extra a was added to ensure a letter of the word was allocated to every child who attended an early Kwanzaa celebration. Festivities start on December 26th and conclude on January 1st, with each day dedicated to discussing one of the Nguzo Zaba (seven Swahili principles): Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). A candle is illuminated nightly in the seven-branched kinara, named after the Swahili word for “candle holder”. Customs are unique to all participating families, but they frequently include traditional African songs, dances, storytelling, and attire. Typically, on December 31st, a feast called the Karamu is hosted. Kwanzaa is a relatively modern holiday. It was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an activist, professor, and chairman of Black Studies at California State University in Long Beach. Through studying several different African harvest celebrations, like those of the Ashanti and Zulu, Dr. Karenga established the foundational principles and practices of his original holiday. This invention was a response to the 1965 Los Angeles Watts riots, which began as a drunk driving arrest and degenerated into nearly a week of race-fueled mob violence. The crisis resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and extensive building damage worth $40 million. Kwanzaa was a subsequent attempt on Dr. Karenga’s behalf to unite the African American community; one that has proven effective since its fruition.

Kwanzaa

Join us for an enlightening journey through Wixie, where every student has a platform to shine! In this dynamic session, we'll explore Wixie's innovative tools with Scott Loomis, former educator and Tech4Learning specialist. He'll share how to leverage Wixie to foster a sense of belonging and understanding among ALL students, including our multilingual learners. You'll discover how Wixie's inclusive design supports diverse learning styles across K-6 curriculums, making it a powerful tool for both expression and assessment. Additionally, we'll delve into the extensive features that make Wixie a haven for cross-curricular creativity. So, get ready to be inspired by student samples, innovative lesson ideas, and yes, a sprinkle of dad jokes! This session is your gateway to a classroom where every student, regardless of their language proficiency, can showcase their understanding and feel a sense of belonging.

Hanukkah (meaning “dedication” in Hebrew) is an eight-day long Jewish festival commemorating the second century B.C. rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the overall beliefs of Judaism. It begins on the Hebrew calendar’s 25th of Kislev, which falls in November or December of the Gregorian calendar. Hanukkah 2022 runs from December 18th until December 26th. The most significant Hanukkah custom is the lighting of a nine-branched menorah, or “Hanukiah” in Hebrew. Each day of the celebration is represented by a candle and lit in chronological order; the center candle, called the Shamash or “helper”, is used to ignite the others. Other traditions include playing with Dreidels (four-sided spinning tops), eating food such as Latkes (potato pancakes) and Sufganiyot (jam-filled doughnuts), and–in the United States–exchanging gifts. On an international level, Hanukkah is actually not a particularly major holiday for many Jews; Hanukkah became more prominent in the United States due to its proximity to Christmas, when Jewish children are habitually alienated from their Christmas-observing peers. Around 200 B.C., Jews in Judea (modern day Palestine and Israel) suffered under the tyrannical rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Epiphanes outlawed Jewish worship, and in 168 B.C., his soldiers massacred thousands of people in Jerusalem while defiling the city’s holy Second Temple. Jewish priest Matthias and his five sons protested the brutal Seleucid monarchy by leading the Maccabean Revolt. The Maccabee rebels predominantly utilized guerilla warfare, which brought them to victory in merely two years. The champions then rededicated the Second Temple, during which the acclaimed Hanukkah Miracle occurred. Though the Jews only had enough olive oil to light the temple’s menorah for one day, the flames burned on for eight, granting them time to retrieve more. This inexplicable event inspired the eight-day festival that has repeated yearly ever since.

Hanukkah

This feature provides real-time, corrective feedback as students read aloud, serving as an excellent resource for literacy development. It's like having a personalized tutor in the classroom, accessible to anyone at any time.

American Sign Language (ASL) inclusion just got easier. The Learn ASL lens offers real-time signing assistance, making communication and expression more accessible for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

Students can include their own transcripts as an attachment link. The final step before submitting their video they can edit their display name, add a Title, and attach a Link. They just need a URL to a document with their transcript (Google Doc, Word Online, or something similar).

The Teleprompter feature allows teachers and students to read a script while recording, enhancing focus and delivery. This is especially useful for students who may struggle with verbal expression or have memory constraints.

Closed captions aren't just for students with hearing impairments; they can assist English Language Learners (ELLs) and others who benefit from visual cues by changing the captions language. Flip automatically generates captions or students can add or edit their own captions, ensuring that all students can follow along.

Immersive Reader makes it easy for students with varying reading abilities to engage with Flipgrid content. The feature allows for text-to-speech, customized text display, picture dictionary support and translation options, making it highly versatile for diverse classrooms.

Reading Coach

Student-generated Transcripts

Learn ASL Lens

Teleprompter

Closed Captions

Features to Build an Inclusive Classroom with Microsoft Flip~

Immersive Reader

Microsoft Flip

Each year on December 8th, Buddhists celebrate the day that Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment through meditation. The word Bodhi means awakening or enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is popularly known as the Buddha. Siddhartha, once an Indian Prince, eventually abandoned his life of luxury for a much simpler one. Many believe that Siddhartha resolved to sit underneath a Bodhi tree and meditate until he found the root of suffering and how to free himself from it. It took 49 days of unbroken meditation. After becoming enlightened and experiencing Nirvana, Siddhartha became a Buddha, or “Awakened One.” For 2,500 years, Buddha's enlightenment has served as the central tenant of the Buddhist faith. The Bodhi tree grows near the banks of the Falgu River in Gaya, India. Also located there is a Buddhist temple. Buddhists consider it their most sacred site of pilgrimage. HOW TO OBSERVE #BodhiDay While the day celebrates the founder of the Buddhist faith, the day quietly reflects the ways of enlightenment. No parades or fanfare herald the name of the Buddha through city streets. Some eat tea and cookies. Others decorate a Bodhi tree. For most, it’s a day of meditation. Even if you’re not Buddhist, you can still participate in this day.

Bodhi Day

2. Powerwash the Chromebook. As you continue to use Chromebooks, just like any device you use, they tend to accumulate a large number of files that tend to slow the device down. From time to time, it is a good idea to get rid of all of these files.

1. Sign out of your Chromebook.
2. Press and hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift + r.
3. Select Restart.
4. In the box that appears, select Powerwash and then Continue.
5. Follow the steps that appear and sign in with your Google Account.
6. Once you've reset your Chromebook:

1. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your Chromebook.
2. Check if the problem is fixed.

Troubleshooting Issues with a Chromebook

1. Clear your cache. When you use a browser, like Chrome, it saves some information from websites in its cache and cookies. Clearing them fixes certain problems, like loading or formatting issues on sites. 👆🏼Click here for step by step directions.

Classwize Training Video

Sending an Announcement

Starting Class

Focus Session

Open Site

Overview

NPSD Created Interactive Tutorials

Video Timestamps

• 4:17 Creating Classes
• 10:50 Student Tiles
• 15:50 Class Tools
• 20:15 Rules
• 23:15 Reports
• 25:45 Ending Class
• 26:04 The Dashboard

Each year on December 8th, Buddhists celebrate the day that Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment through meditation. The word Bodhi means awakening or enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is popularly known as the Buddha. Siddhartha, once an Indian Prince, eventually abandoned his life of luxury for a much simpler one. Many believe that Siddhartha resolved to sit underneath a Bodhi tree and meditate until he found the root of suffering and how to free himself from it. It took 49 days of unbroken meditation. After becoming enlightened and experiencing Nirvana, Siddhartha became a Buddha, or “Awakened One.” For 2,500 years, Buddha's enlightenment has served as the central tenant of the Buddhist faith. The Bodhi tree grows near the banks of the Falgu River in Gaya, India. Also located there is a Buddhist temple. Buddhists consider it their most sacred site of pilgrimage. HOW TO OBSERVE #BodhiDay While the day celebrates the founder of the Buddhist faith, the day quietly reflects the ways of enlightenment. No parades or fanfare herald the name of the Buddha through city streets. Some eat tea and cookies. Others decorate a Bodhi tree. For most, it’s a day of meditation. Even if you’re not Buddhist, you can still participate in this day.

Bodhi Day

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Seesaw’s PreK-5 supplemental curriculum meaningfully balances online and offline learning while saving teachers time with ready-to-teach, standards-aligned lessons designed by curriculum experts.Numerous lessons are also available in Spanish. Are your students new to Seesaw? Use the ready made Seesaw Tools 101 lessons located in the Seesaw Essentials curriculum. These 10 lessons teach and provide practice for K-2 students with each of the tools.

North Penn educators and students in grades Kindergarten through Sixth grade have access to Seesaw for Schools. A few of the premium features in Seesaw include: multipage assignments, scheduling activities, Seesaw supplemental curriculum, schoolwide messages, and integration with Canvas LMS. Students and teachers can navigate to Seesaw from the North Penn Desktop or from Canvas.

Each year on December 8th, Buddhists celebrate the day that Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment through meditation. The word Bodhi means awakening or enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is popularly known as the Buddha. Siddhartha, once an Indian Prince, eventually abandoned his life of luxury for a much simpler one. Many believe that Siddhartha resolved to sit underneath a Bodhi tree and meditate until he found the root of suffering and how to free himself from it. It took 49 days of unbroken meditation. After becoming enlightened and experiencing Nirvana, Siddhartha became a Buddha, or “Awakened One.” For 2,500 years, Buddha's enlightenment has served as the central tenant of the Buddhist faith. The Bodhi tree grows near the banks of the Falgu River in Gaya, India. Also located there is a Buddhist temple. Buddhists consider it their most sacred site of pilgrimage. HOW TO OBSERVE #BodhiDay While the day celebrates the founder of the Buddhist faith, the day quietly reflects the ways of enlightenment. No parades or fanfare herald the name of the Buddha through city streets. Some eat tea and cookies. Others decorate a Bodhi tree. For most, it’s a day of meditation. Even if you’re not Buddhist, you can still participate in this day.

Bodhi Day

Oak Park Walton Farm York Avenue

Knapp Kulp Montgomery Nash North Wales

📊 23-24 North Penn Fall EdTech Survey As part of our ongoing commitment to create the best possible learning environment, we invite you to take part in the Year Two edTech survey. Your insights will directly contribute to our district goals: 📚 Elevate Learning: Help us fine-tune technology integration to amplify classroom experiences. 💕 Ensure Belonging: Share your thoughts on how interactive and accessible tools can create an inclusive atmosphere for all students. 🌟 Exceed Expectations: Your expertise can guide us in implementing cutting-edge edTech tools effectively. We appreciate your time and effort. Please complete the survey by October 31st to make sure your voice is heard! 👇 Your School's Survey Link: Click the your school name to open the survey in a new tab.

Bridle Path Gwyn Nor Gwynedd Square Hatfield Inglewood

Christmas, or “mass on Christ’s day”, is an international phenomenon. It’s been recognized as a federal American holiday since 1870. Christians honor Christmas Day on December 25th as the anniversary of Jesus Christ’s birth, whom they believe is the son of God. His spiritual teachings form the foundation of their religion. Despite the holiday’s religious roots, secular families and individuals often engage in Christmas festivities due to their strong popularity. These include decorating indoor trees with ornaments and star-shaped toppers, feasting with loved ones, exchanging gifts, caroling or listening to holiday-themed music, and for Christians, attending church. Western children in participating families fall asleep on Christmas Eve with the anticipation that they will wake to presents and toys beneath their Christmas tree, left by the mythical, white-bearded icon Santa Claus… or their less magical parent(s). The common celebration of Christmas originated in the 9th century, and has evolved into the contemporary, capitalized holiday it is today. Before the widespread acceptance of the date December 25th, Christ’s birthday was rarely celebrated. Many Christian leaders of the time actually held strong opposition to this act, firmly believing that a martyr should only be honored on their day of martyrdom. Others denounced it as a pagan practice.

Christmas

How to use teacher Assist

🔹Empowerment and Representation:- Equal access to information and opportunities.- Sends a message of inclusivity and respect.- Supports diversity within educational and professional settings.

🔹Reduced Barriers to Understanding:- Clear, legible text promotes effective communication.- Increases engagement, comprehension, and retention.- Helps diverse audiences understand information.

🔹Accessability- Supports a wider range of users.- Benefits individuals with visual impairments or learning disabilities.- Aligns with universal design principles.

A variable font empirically shown to significantly improve reading-proficiency. Dr. Bonnie Shaver-Troup, utilizing her theory and the LEXEND beta font designs, worked with Google to formulate an advanced set of typographic variables to coordinate with one simple idea: A font, much like the prescription in a pair of eyeglasses, should change based on the reader’s unique needs. Combining some of the newest technology in font software and an educated history in professional type design, Lexend pulls the most important typographic factors in reading-proficiency into a variable font that was designed specifically to fluctuate based on a reader’s Words Correct per Minute score — a typographic system that could be changed to make the words more readable, based on who’s reading them.

The Demonstration of Effectiveness

• 20 third graders, eight males and twelve females, read for one minute in five fonts.

• All text was set at 16pt and the reading materials were two grade levels above the participants current grade level to ensure the typography was being measured, rather than reading competency.

• Each student read out loud a passage set in a control of Times New Roman, then four of the Lexend Series — Deca, Exa, Giga, and Mega.

• As the study demonstrates, while the Lexend series were beneficial to a large sample of students, no one setting worked best for all students. Diverse readers call for diverse axis settings just like every individual person requires their own individual eyeglass prescription.

• Eyeglass prescriptions are not six strict settings. There are more granular settings possible.

• Variable font technology allows for continuous selection of the Lexend Series to find the specific setting for an individual student.

🔹Enhanced Readability- Designed for improved readability.- Optimal spacing, letter shapes, and proportions.- Eases reading for individuals with visual impairments or dyslexia.

Inclusive Thoughts:

The Lexend Font

Printable Documentation

Family Information

Getting Started with My Geodes

My Geodes Welcome Video

Overview Video from NP Literacy Coaches

Resources for Implementation:

You can access your Geodes digital library directly from the NP Desktop. If you experience any difficulties with sign-on access, please submit a ticket to _admintech@npenn.org.

How to Access:

Digital Access for Grades K-2

In addition to the print versions of Geodes classroom resources, teachers and students in grades K-2 now have access to My Geodes digital library. Through the My Geodes digital library, teachers can electronically distribute the same Geodes titles that students are reading in class, so they can practice their skills independently- both at school and at home.

Hanukkah (meaning “dedication” in Hebrew) is an eight-day long Jewish festival commemorating the second century B.C. rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the overall beliefs of Judaism. It begins on the Hebrew calendar’s 25th of Kislev, which falls in November or December of the Gregorian calendar. Hanukkah 2022 runs from December 18th until December 26th. The most significant Hanukkah custom is the lighting of a nine-branched menorah, or “Hanukiah” in Hebrew. Each day of the celebration is represented by a candle and lit in chronological order; the center candle, called the Shamash or “helper”, is used to ignite the others. Other traditions include playing with Dreidels (four-sided spinning tops), eating food such as Latkes (potato pancakes) and Sufganiyot (jam-filled doughnuts), and–in the United States–exchanging gifts. On an international level, Hanukkah is actually not a particularly major holiday for many Jews; Hanukkah became more prominent in the United States due to its proximity to Christmas, when Jewish children are habitually alienated from their Christmas-observing peers. Around 200 B.C., Jews in Judea (modern day Palestine and Israel) suffered under the tyrannical rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Epiphanes outlawed Jewish worship, and in 168 B.C., his soldiers massacred thousands of people in Jerusalem while defiling the city’s holy Second Temple. Jewish priest Matthias and his five sons protested the brutal Seleucid monarchy by leading the Maccabean Revolt. The Maccabee rebels predominantly utilized guerilla warfare, which brought them to victory in merely two years. The champions then rededicated the Second Temple, during which the acclaimed Hanukkah Miracle occurred. Though the Jews only had enough olive oil to light the temple’s menorah for one day, the flames burned on for eight, granting them time to retrieve more. This inexplicable event inspired the eight-day festival that has repeated yearly ever since.

Hanukkah

Transcript

Info

Immersive Reader is available in Canvas (Pages & Assignments), Pear Deck and Flip. Be sure to model and remind students of the accessibility features as you create resources.

Implementation:

Empower students and other users to utilize these accessibility features as they wish. This feature allows for read-aloud, translations, and tools for the student to help make content more accesssible.

Inclusive Thoughts:

A free, easy to use tool that is designed to improve reading comprehension and fluency for students of all abilities.

Description:

Immersive Reader

Book Creator: Archive Previous Years' Libraries

If you no longer need libraries from previous years, you can archive both the library and its books. Doing so will not only declutter your Teacher Dashboard but also reduce the number of libraries accessible to students.

Note: Similar to Securly, cross-listed classes will show individually as sections.

1. Click the icon on your NP Desktop. 2. Click 'Sign in with Google' 3. Select your NP Google account. Your Classwize dashboard is now open. You should see a tile for each of your rostered courses, just like in Canvas.

Getting Started with Classwize

Seesaw February Featured Collections

Seesaw Classroom Dailies

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3-5 February Calendar

K-2 February Calendar

Seesaw Content Updates

Check out the calendars below to discover a ready-to-teach activity that's a perfect fit for every day this February!

Hanukkah (meaning “dedication” in Hebrew) is an eight-day long Jewish festival commemorating the second century B.C. rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the overall beliefs of Judaism. It begins on the Hebrew calendar’s 25th of Kislev, which falls in November or December of the Gregorian calendar. Hanukkah 2022 runs from December 18th until December 26th. The most significant Hanukkah custom is the lighting of a nine-branched menorah, or “Hanukiah” in Hebrew. Each day of the celebration is represented by a candle and lit in chronological order; the center candle, called the Shamash or “helper”, is used to ignite the others. Other traditions include playing with Dreidels (four-sided spinning tops), eating food such as Latkes (potato pancakes) and Sufganiyot (jam-filled doughnuts), and–in the United States–exchanging gifts. On an international level, Hanukkah is actually not a particularly major holiday for many Jews; Hanukkah became more prominent in the United States due to its proximity to Christmas, when Jewish children are habitually alienated from their Christmas-observing peers. Around 200 B.C., Jews in Judea (modern day Palestine and Israel) suffered under the tyrannical rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Epiphanes outlawed Jewish worship, and in 168 B.C., his soldiers massacred thousands of people in Jerusalem while defiling the city’s holy Second Temple. Jewish priest Matthias and his five sons protested the brutal Seleucid monarchy by leading the Maccabean Revolt. The Maccabee rebels predominantly utilized guerilla warfare, which brought them to victory in merely two years. The champions then rededicated the Second Temple, during which the acclaimed Hanukkah Miracle occurred. Though the Jews only had enough olive oil to light the temple’s menorah for one day, the flames burned on for eight, granting them time to retrieve more. This inexplicable event inspired the eight-day festival that has repeated yearly ever since.

Hanukkah