Winter Break is zipping towards us, and in our commendable zest to save the district some money and keep the planet greener, we’ve adopted the tradition of unplugging everything before we dash off to enjoy Winter Break. However, the Technology & Innovation Department—in partnership with our Buildings & Grounds Department—asks that you please leave 3 things plugged IN over the break:
PLEASE LEAVE PLUGGED IN
Why?
We have also observed that these devices sometimes do not connect to Wi-Fi flawlessly after being unplugged for long periods of time. Further, our network printer system needs to “check in” with a centralized system several times each day, and prolonged disconnections can delete their settings.
Thus, if these devices are unplugged, future tech support issues are likely to arise and the Tech Department can’t perform maintenance behind the scenes.
Ready for the New Year
By keeping your TVs, Apple TVs, and printers powered on and connected, you’re not generating a huge electrical bill, you’re making a small, vital investment in headache prevention. You'll ensure your technology is updated, configured, and ready to spring into action—no troubleshooting required—the moment you and your students walk back through the doors in January.
And one more thing...
Both Station and Prairie are getting TV upgrades this Winter Break.
Enjoy your well-deserved break!
Several facets are considered when evaluating a potential new app, Google API, or service (resource). The district considers the following factors:
Instructional Alignment
Data Privacy & Security
Technical Compatibility
Cost & Licensing
Vendor Reliability & Support
Implementation & Usability
Other Potential Issues
To answer these questions, members of the Technology & Innovation team, members of the Teaching & Learning team, teachers, and staff are consulted. The process can take about three weeks, depending upon the resource and timing of the receipt of the request.
All of these considerations ensure that every new app, Google API, or service added to our digital ecosystem truly supports high-quality teaching and learning while protecting students, staff, and the district. By carefully examining instructional value, privacy and security, technical compatibility, cost, vendor reliability, and potential impacts on student well-being, we make decisions that are thoughtful, strategic, and sustainable.
This collaborative review process—grounded in district goals like Framework 220, Authentic Learning, and Digital Citizenship—helps us select resources that are safe, effective, developmentally appropriate, and aligned with the needs of our community. In short, these steps allow Barrington 220 to provide innovative tools while maintaining a secure, equitable, and purposeful learning environment for all.
Teachers can use Google Gemini in Schoology to dramatically speed up lesson planning and help students organize access to NotebookLM notebooks and Google Gemini Gems. Staff can find the Google Gemini app within Schoology in the left column.
Google Gemini, like ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, allows you to create text, do research, learn, and more. We use Gemini because it's part of Google for Education, which makes it usable for students and staff of all ages and because we have a SOPPA agreement which means our data is protected.
Recently, Google announced new features in Gemini that can be used to propel creativity: Create Images, Create Video, Learn, and Write.
Create Images
Photoshop is a professional, robust tool for editing images. Gemini 2.5 Flash, the latest free version of Gemini, now performs many tasks normally reserved for tools like Photoshop. For example, I uploaded the Barrington 220 photo of myself, and then asked Gemini to change the background to Bora Bora, give me facial tattoos like Post Malone, and change the color of my shirt from blue to red. Here is the result.
Create Videos
For a Google Veo video example, I wanted to create a video of me running on a track at Barrington High School and suffering a hamstring injury.
Canvas in Gemini is an interactive workspace where you collaborate with the AI to draft, refine, and organize documents, code, or other creative projects. It allows for direct text editing, an advantage over Brisk that does not allow students to make edits inside a Boost experience. Teachers can program Canvas similarly to Brisk by creating a Gem.
Guest Author: Kathrine Clarke, LTA at Barbara Rose Elementary School
Who do I contact for Tech Questions in my building?
Your building LTA, Library Technology Associate, is a great start to answering your tech-related questions. LTAs have a wide range of expertise on the different subscriptions that are available to staff and students. Your LTA can help with:
On October 21, 2025, district leaders presented an implementation progress report regarding this year's new Social Media Awareness & Digital Citizenship Guidelines to the Barrington 220 Board of Education. Early results show positive impacts across staff, student, and parent groups.
We have a number of updates to share about technology tools here in Barrington 220.
Personal Privacy Reminder
First, we wanted to share a reminder that even if an app is approved AND we have a SOPPA agreement, staff and students should NOT be sharing any personal information. For example, students should NOT put their personal information like their address with their first and last name into a book about them on Canva. Similarly, staff should not copy and paste text with student first and last names and home addresses into Google Gemini.
Recently Approved Apps
Now that we are at the very end of our iPad swaps at all our buildings, a few users have asked how to store the Logitech Crayon as securely as possible.
Use these easy steps to secure your Logitech Crayon:
In case your students have not yet discovered this "secret," please download and post this PDF and hang it in a location it will be seen by all users.
Recently, Brisk added a few new features. You can follow all of the newly released updates on the What's New page. This article discusses some updates to the Brisk Button and to Brisk Next.
Brisk Button—Now with Next Level and Bundles
Looking for next-level teaching ideas? The Brisk extension just got a refresh! Now you can chat with Brisk to brainstorm and refine ideas from the content on any web page with Next Level. In this example, I clicked the Brisk Button and selected Next Level from a student essay in Google Docs.
Now that we have finalized our iPad swaps at all buildings, a few users have noted that, depending on how the Logitech Crayon is placed in the compartment in the case, it can have the tendency to fall out.
However, there is an easy way to store the Logitech Crayon so it remains secure at all times:
In case your students have not yet discovered this "secret," please download and post this PDF and hang it in a location it will be seen by students.
YouTube is full of amazing learning videos—but letting students roam unconstrained can lead to distraction or off-topic content. Our Social Media Awareness and Digital Citizenship Guidelines now require the use of Edpuzzle for teachers to assign specific YouTube videos to students.
Edpuzzle provides a simple process: you choose the video, embed checks for understanding, and let students safely explore via Student Projects. Here’s how to do it.
Install and use the Edpuzzle Chrome Extension to make sharing links super easy:
B Here, B Now, B Engaged is Barrington 220's initiative to minimize non-academic device use during class time, promoting engagement, learning, and well-being.
These guidelines were generated by the Social Media & Digital Citizenship (SMADC) Advisory Committee, which represents a cross-functional group of stakeholders in the Barrington 220 community. These guidelines represent a full year of research, community engagement, focus group data analysis, and district and building administrator feedback. With lawmakers in Springfield considering a ban on cellphone usage in classrooms across Illinois, Barrington 220 is ahead of the curve in enacting these guidelines now ahead of the 2025-2026 school year.
Expectations across District 220:
This article was contributed by guest newsletter author Pam Meiser, Teacher Librarian at Rose Elementary School.
Notebook LM. It's a digital notebook that leverages AI to support student learning in transformational ways. Imagine a notebook that doesn’t just store your files and notes, it reads them, makes sense of them, allows you to ask deeper questions. In addition, it produces podcasts, mind maps, study guides, and video summaries, flashcards, quizzes too! Maybe best of all, it only uses content added to the notebook.
Using the example that we're preparing for AP US History, we can upload PDFs, Google Docs, Google Slideshows, links, Edpuzzle videos, and more into our notebook.
Using this notebook, we can ask questions and have them answered with links to the source materials! We can create Audio Overviews, podcast-style reviews with AI-generated voices talking like it's a real podcast to review the materials added to the course. We can study using Mind Maps (interactive visualizations of the information), Study Guides, Flash cards, and Quizzes. We can even create videos summarizing the information. And, these materials are customizable for length, tone, language, format, and accept prompting.
You can even create the notebooks and share them with students.
Please let me know if you're using this amazing tool with students. Email me at jjrobinson@barrington220.org.
Barrington 220 is exploring the power of Apple's Apple Vision Pro device (AVP) to transform teaching and learning. The Apple Vision Pro is Apple’s new spatial computer that blends digital content with the physical world. Unlike traditional screens, it allows users to interact with apps, media, and experiences in a fully immersive, three-dimensional environment.
As part of our Apple Vision Pro investigation, a program officially sponsored by Apple, we’re working to identify educational experiences that are amplified by the use of this technology. One key focus is building a repository of spatial videos that transport learners into historically and culturally significant places.
Here's how you can help!
We’re asking our community to capture spatial video at locations of historical or cultural importance. Imagine students stepping inside places like:
These immersive videos will allow students to experience places they may never physically visit, creating powerful opportunities for authentic learning.
If you are visiting an interesting place that potentially connects with the Barrington 220 curriculum, and if you have an iPhone that can capture Spatial Video, please contact jjrobinson@barrington220.org
iPhones that can capture Spatial video:
Attention BHS Teachers!
We’re also looking for BHS teachers who would like to try an Apple Vision Pro demo firsthand. Experiencing the device is the best way to understand its potential for instruction and student engagement.
If you’re interested in scheduling a demo, please reach out to Joe Robinson, Director of Innovation. jjrobinson@barrington220.org
On Opening Day for 2025–26, we kicked off our journey into Authentic Learning across Barrington 220. Thank you to everyone who brought energy, ideas, and curiosity to the first session!
Participants accessed the Authentic Learning course in Schoology, where they:
In Phase 1, participants demonstrated their understanding of the district’s definition of Authentic Learning by identifying its key components in both hypothetical lesson ideas and actual videos from Barrington 220 classrooms.
If you completed Session 1 on Opening Day, thank you! You’re ready for Phase 2 coming later this Fall.
If you didn’t get the chance, you can access the course using this Join Code: 6FDS-PHDK-SCNMH
As you meet the lesson objectives (outlined in the top right), you will see an increasing amount of green filling the Lesson Objectives progress bar. Once you complete each task, close the window, and your progress will be saved.
The upcoming sessions will build on this foundation and include moving from defining Authentic Learning to applying it in your classrooms and teams.
If you have any questions, please email me, jjrobinson@barrington220.org
