Rico Tan

TECH UPDATES

Rico Tan September 14, 2020

Chrome crashing (4/17/20)

If Chrome is crashing on your Apple computer after a minute or so of use, this is what you will need to do on your Apple Computer:

On your desktop/finder:
• Click GO in the menu bar
• Click GO TO FOLDER…

• Enter the following in the window that opens:~/Library
•Click GO

• Open the following folders:
Application Support > Google > Chrome

• Inside the Chrome folder, you will see a DEFAULT folder. Move the DEFAULT folder to your desktop.
If you do not see the Default folder, move the PROFILE 1 & PROFILE 2 folders to your desktop.

Then try opening Chrome again. It should work now! No more crashing! Make sure you log into Chrome so you have your bookmarks repopulate.

Please note: There are two ways for students to log-into Epic!: 1. using a class code provided by a teacher; this only allows students access M-F, 8a-4p.

2. logging into a free family account set-up by a family after receiving an email from Epic!, initiated by a teacher; this allows student 24/7 access

It may help make sense of this minor complexity by considering: Option 1 is how students would normally login during the day when AT A SCHOOL school; in the past, Option 2 offered families unlimited access with a PAID home subscription (now free to all families thru June 2020).

Zoom Security & Privacy (4/1/20)

To address the privacy and security with Zoom, we now added these changes to our Zoom meeting settings:

Permanently enabled “Waiting Room” for all of our zoom meetings
Password protect all of our Zoom meetings
Mute participants upon entry
Prevent participants from screen sharing, only host/co-host can screen share
Enable the ability for teachers to lock the meeting

We will keep monitoring and improving the security settings for our Zoom meetings.

RESOLVED ISSUES BELOW

03/30/2020 – Seesaw Error 500 / Internal Error

Investigating – Seesaw currently investigating issues loading Seesaw and 500 errors across the site. Mar 30, 08:30 PDT
RESOLVED AS OF 10:30 PDT

03/26/2020 – Seesaw Video Processing Delay (Resolved)

Seesaw are investigating a delay in processing videos created in Seesaw on the web (using webcam, upload or Draw+Record) for playback on other platforms. Users will see a “Video Not Ready for Playback” message when trying to play a video on iOS, Android, mobile Safari or Firefox that was created originally on the web. No video data has been lost. Some improvement are made, and they’re still monitoring the issue.

03/27/2020 – Zoom on CDS Middle Schooler iPad (Resolved – see below)

ISSUE: While using Zoom on CDS Middle Schooler’s iPad, the Zoom app will unexpectedly quit when joining a meeting.

UPDATE (3/27): Zoom has pushed out an updated version of the Zoom app for iPads that should resolve the problem!

If you are using a CDS Middle School Student iPad, you may need to reinstall the Zoom app. Go to Self Service app and locate Zoom and click REINSTALL (sometimes you need to click on it a couple of times then it will reinstall).

Newsela

Rico Tan April 16, 2020

Newsela takes authentic content from the world’s most trusted providers and turn it into learning materials that are classroom-ready.

INSTALLATION:

On CDS iPads, if not already installed:
• Go to the SELF SERVICE app

• Click INSTALL/REINSTALL for the Newsela Student app
You may need to click install a couple of times if it does not install the first time.

On personal/family devices and laptops,
go to one of the following links :

iOS (iPad) (free)
Android (free)
And via w eb browser
like Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.

ACCESS:

LOWER SCHOOL STUDENTS

Your teacher will send you a special code to enter to get to your class in Newsela. Make sure you have that code handy when you are setting up the Newsela app for the very first time!

Already have a Newsela Account:

Click SIGN IN
Sign in with your username and password.
Click SIGN IN

For New Accounts:

Click JOIN
Click NEWSELA
Select YES for “Are you joining a teacher’s class?”
Enter the code your teacher sent to you and your family
The name of your class will appear above the NEXT button
Click NEXT
At the bottom of the page, enter your:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Username
  Suggestion: first name+last name
  Example: Jane Doe would have the username of: janedoe
- Password
  Write down your username & password you decide to use and/or take a screenshot (press the power button and home at the same time quickly, it will save a picture in your Photos app)
Click GET STARTED
Click on ASSIGNMENTS (bottom) to see assigned readings.

Check Seesaw for instructions from your teacher as well.

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

Click SIGN IN
Click GOOGLE
Click CONTINUE
Login win your CDS Google Account
Click on ASSIGNMENTS (bottom) to see assigned readings.

All article links for Newsela will be also posted in your Google Classroom.

PhET Interactive Simulations

Rico Tan April 16, 2020

How it works: Students can try various simulations of math and science concepts.

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/teaching-resources/browse-activities?sims=all&types=all&subjects=all&levels=K_5&locales=all&query=

Epic!

Rico Tan September 30, 2020

…for reading.

Epic! offers unlimited free access to books during the school day plus LIMITED after hour and weekend access through the end of the 2021 school year. During school hours Epic! is accessed with a teacher-generated classroom code. For at home after hours access families must sign-up for a free account (no credit card required) after receiving an invitation from their child’s teacher. Students can access the full Epic library via a website or app.

FAMILY TIPS:

There are two ways for students to log-into Epic!: (a) by using a class code provided by a teacher, and (b) by logging into a free family account.
Option A above allows students free unlimited access M-F, 7a-4p
Option B gives students up to 2 additional hours per week of free reading, M-F after 4p, and all day Sa/Su. Teachers will invite you via email to connect w.your child’s classroom account if they haven’t already.
Paid family accounts are also available from Epic! to those interested for approx. $8 per month.
For the latest from Epic! about at-home access visit: https://www.getepic.com/learn/introducing-epic-free/

Epic help: https://getepic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

Privacy Policy: https://www.getepic.com/privacy

ChessKid

Rico Tan April 2, 2020

The CDS Community Chess Club uses chesskid.com for CDS kids and families to challenge each other, solve chess position puzzles, and learn chess skills, terms and obscure concepts such as “gaining a tempo” and “skewering.”

ChessKid: click here for more details.

ParentSquare Forums

Rico Tan April 1, 2020

See below for the list of opt-in forums that you can join:

Community Resources/Forum:

CDS Community Bulletin Board (opt-in)
Join this group to communicate with other parents across the school. This is a forum for the members of the school community to share information about life inside CDS, such as events, school information, etc.
CDS Parent Community Support Group for Tech Use at Home (opt-in)
This group is created for CDS parents to support each other on the use of technology at home.
Parenting Survival Guide: Parenting Support for These Stressful Times (opt-in)
A group intended for any CDS adult who would like to receive support and information, share resources, and connects with others about parenting during this challenging time.

Technology Requirements

Rico Tan March 22, 2020

There are TWO essential technology requirements to prepare for Online/Home Learning:

1. DEVICE/HARDWARE: for learning consistencies, we recommend the student to use a dedicated iPad or any Apple Computers (MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini) as what the student uses at school.See below on managing your student devices at home:

Review the CDS Online/Home Learning Guide HERE.
Parents should have access to purchase/download apps on the device (if using iPads).
- CDS iPad: All Online/Home Learning apps should be available on CDS assigned iPads. If you can’t find the apps, need to install/re-install, please follow the instruction HERE to install from the Self Service app. (Document example is how to install/re-install the Seesaw app. All of the core apps for OHL are available to install/re-install on Self Service App).
- Personal iPad: Please install the core apps below for your student/s to use.
  - Seesaw (ECP/LS)
    - Student App
    - Parent App
  - Google Classroom (MS)
  - Gmail App (MS)
  - Google Drive (MS)
  - Google Docs (MS)
  - Google Slides (MS)
  - Google Sheets (MS)

2. INTERNET CONNECTIVITY:

A shared internet connection with a minimum speed of 15mbps.
Please contact CDS’ Tech Department at if you have questions or need assistance with the internet access.

Home Learning Expectations By Division

Rico Tan April 3, 2020

Campus Closure Timeline: We are aware of the State Superintendent communication notifying districts in California that many schools will not open for the remainder of this year. We are extending our shelter-in-place until May 1 in alignment with San Francisco Public Schools and the directives from Governor Newsom. We are not ready to officially close school for the year and we remain optimistic about being together again in person. We will continue to plan for a variety of scenarios while adhering to health and safety guidelines.

ECP (Preschool, TK, K)
In the Early Childhood Program we offer connections and assignments augmented by opportunities for video or face-to-face interactions with classmates and teachers. Homeroom teachers post an overview of their online learning plan on ParentSquare by each Sunday evening so that parents know what is expected in the coming week.

Activities are posted in Seesaw by homeroom teachers. A Seesaw QR login code is provided for students to access their “classroom” and a different QR login code for parent/guardians to view student Journals.

Lower School (Grades 1-4)

We know each of you is doing the best you can to make remote learning work in your homes! With that in mind, we strongly encourage each family to make daily decisions about online learning that work best for you. We support you to make these adjustments as needed and just ask that you message your teacher with a quick note about your decisions.

Here are answers to some of the common questions that are coming up about home learning for Lower School students. Please let Rebecca know if you have questions about these:

2nd – 8th grade students will receive an estimated 3.5 hours of learning activities from teachers each school day. 1st graders will receive 2-3 hours. This includes assignments from Specialist Teachers on days they typically see students, as well as independent reading time and assignments completed offline. **Please see a note on this below.
Most learning activities are designed to be asynchronous (students work through them at their own pace). At this point, each Lower School classroom has at least 3 synchronous Zoom experiences each week. These will continue to evolve and change over time.
Parents, please keep setting up social Zooms for your children! We know they love them and it is so important for their well-being to connect with their classmates in unstructured ways.
Student Activities are posted in SeeSaw by 8:30 a.m. . Teachers will comment/provide feedback on student work as soon as possible.
Students are expected to complete their Activities that day (unless sick or otherwise excused) by 3 p.m. , for longer-term assignments, by the specified due date.
Students may respond to assignments in a format that works best for them. While some Activities may require a certain textbook (like Spelling Connections), on others, they have a choice of how to deliver their work. They may record their voices, take pictures, write on paper and photograph to upload, type or write directly on the iPad, build an example using things from around the house, or other creative ideas.
When your tech isn’t working, please close the application and relaunch it or restart your device entirely. These steps many tech problems! If your individual problem persists, please email . Known tech issues (like SeeSaw going down) will be posted on our OHL wiki as soon as we are aware of them. Please wait a few minutes there before emailing your teachers.

**Two notes to lower school families:

If on some days the assignment load feels like too much and if your child is experiencing fatigue and anxiety, it’s a good sign that you need to exempt your child from an assignment or postpone it until another time. Some families are replacing assigned activities with others that feel easier for their individual child or family situation.

If on some days the assignment load seems light, please check our Extended Care activities or other resources on our OHL wiki for additional activities.

Middle School (Grades 5 – 8)
Most home learning experiences in Middle School will be asynchronous. Middle School students will rely primarily upon Google Classroom, a platform familiar to students and faculty. This will be augmented by teacher’s created Zoom “meetings” and videos. All students should expect to communicate with teachers and classmates through Classroom, Google Drive and email. Some teachers may supplement these platforms with additional apps such as IXL, Flipgrid or Kahoot which students have used this year at school. All faculty will be available for individual or group check-ins via email and Zoom.

Core and specialist teachers will post assignments on Google Classroom daily and students will be expected to complete these assignments by 3:30 p.m. or, for longer-term assignments, by the specified due date. Students can expect to receive regular teacher feedback on assignments and are encouraged to contact teachers with questions or concerns. Our expectation is that students will spend a minimum of 3.5 hours each day on schoolwork, including 30-minutes of independent reading.

The middle school faculty will also maintain an online “community-building” forum on Google Classroom, allowing us to continue some of our in-school traditions such as the weekly caption contest and assembly “shout-outs.”

Supplementary School-wide Activities
In addition to the 3.5 (average) daily hours of instructional activities, CDS faculty and staff are available to support students remotely in additional ways. These may include:

Learning Specialist video check-ins and/or assignments for students who have Learning Specialist support
School Counselor/MFT intern video check-ins for students who have weekly sessions
Extended Care enrichment activity ideas (to be posted on ParentSquare)

Who to contact?