Apps and Subscriptions in Barrington 220 Q & A

Barrington 220 manages well over 1.3 million app licenses and software subscriptions for our staff and students as of May 2017. We have made it easy for teachers to:

• discover which apps and subscriptions we have (by grade level and topic).
• learn about app and subscription options and access.
• request new apps and subscriptions.

Please use this handy Q & A to learn more.

Q: How can I see which apps my students can download from Self-Service?

A: bit.ly/220apps is a complete list of apps available in Self Service (an app on Mac and iPad Barrington 220 uses to make most apps available to students and staff). The list includes a brief description of each app. Apps can be sorted by categories such as grade level, video creation, science, ELL support, and more. This document is open for anyone in Barrington 220 to access and sort. Updates are made every two weeks when apps are approved to be "scoped" (made available for a specific group of users to download).

Q: How can I see which subscriptions we have access to?

A: bit.ly/220subscriptions is a complete list of subscriptions available in Barrington 220. The subscriptions listed include a brief description of each service, information about which grade levels have access, and teacher/student username/password information. This document is open to anyone in Barrington 220 to access and sort. Updates are made every two weeks when the subscriptions are approved.

Q: I see an app that I like, but it's not available for my grade level. How can I get access for my students?

A: It's easy. Complete this Google Form: bit.ly/220SARF. Every two weeks, Becky Wiegel, the Director of Elementary Teaching and Learning, Kelly Hansen, the Director of Secondary Teaching and Learning, consider all requests. Our review includes input from the Instructional Digital Age Learning coaches (iDALs) and is completed with follow-up either with our Technology and Innovation Department (for apps that need to be scoped) or with the appropriate vendor (for subscriptions).

You can review the entire Subscription and App Request process by reviewing our previous blog post, Apps for Everyone, and by watching this presentation:

Barrington 220 "Storyboard That" Pilot

Have you been searching for an exciting new option to re-enforce English, history, special ed, STEM, ELL, & foreign languages; create graphic organizers; or create and deliver presentations? Storyboard That may have what you’re looking for. It’s a comic book, it’s a graphic organizer, it’s a versatile tool. Students can unleash their creativity, tell a story, create a visual representation, and model their thinking. Storyboard That is web-based, iPad-friendly, and great fun for teachers and students. 

Barrington 220 has been invited to participate in a pilot program that includes access to countless lesson plans and teacher guides for Grades K–12. Many of these have been created and shared by teachers just like you. Some examples include:

• assess student understanding of concepts and vocabulary in the book, Sarah Plain and Tall
• create a visual explaining math concepts

The user-friendly interface of Storyboard That makes it easy for students and teachers to get going immediately with virtually no learning curve. Every aspect of the pre-created scenes, characters, shapes, and text is fully editable and customizable to meet the needs of each individual. Click here for a sneak peek at the features available for teachers from Storyboard That.

Storyboard That has offered Barrington 220 an all-inclusive, 6-week trial. Once your account has been created, feel free to jump right in. Create classes, add students, create assignments, pull activity reports, access teacher guides and lesson plans or make a storyboard of your own, let your imagination guide you. 

If you are interested in joining the Barrington 220 trial of Storyboard That, please click here to complete a short form. This is a pilot program for the purpose of testing this service. Participation in the pilot program does not guarantee that Barrington 220 will use this service beyond the trial and/or pilot period.

Still Time to Complete Apple Teacher for PDH Credit

Barrington 220's Apple Teacher for PDH Credit program has been very well-received this year! We have had around 100 teachers participate in Apple Teacher for PDH Credit—but many, many more who completed the Apple Teacher program on their own or as part of a school-based initiative.

The Apple Teacher program includes excellent online, self-paced training that is specifically geared to classroom use for both iPad and Mac:

iPad

• Pages for iPad
• Keynote for iPad
• Numbers for iPad
• iMovie for iPad
• GarageBand for iPad
• Productivity with iPad
• Creativity with iPad
• Mac Online Activities

Mac

• Pages for Mac
• Keynote for Mac
• Numbers for Mac
• iMovie for Mac
• GarageBand for Mac
• Productivity with Mac
• Creativity with Mac

There is still time to complete the Barrington 220 program for PDH Credit!

If you are finished with your Apple Teacher badges...

We have added an extra date in the summer for the final meeting; thus, you may select one of two remaining options:

• Thursday, May 25, 2017, 7:30–8:30 AM, James Street Main Conference Room
• Thursday, June 15, 2017, 1:00–2:00 PM, James Street Main Conference Room

If you have not completed your Apple Teacher badges...

There is still time! Please review the process here. To record your badge completion and/or to sign up for a final meeting, please visit Barrington 220’s system for recording Apple Teacher participation.


Finally, we plan to continue our Barrington 220 program as long as Apple continues Apple Teacher. If you cannot finish this year, you will likely have an opportunity in the future.

Online Registration is Open

It is the time of year parents of students planning to return to Barrington 220 schools are asked to complete the annual registration process and update student and family information, while reviewing and accepting annual requests for parent permission.

Barrington 220 transitioned to online registration at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year and has continued to incorporate additional data collection into one single step for district parents. Parents have expressed appreciation for bringing everything to one source for their review and input. Online registration also increases efficiency by automatically bringing student and family data into Infinite Campus. This eliminates not only reams and reams of paper, but also many hours of data entry.

We are happy to report registration was processed for 978 students during the first 48 hours of online registration this year. You might find it informative to consider the different data collected and available for reporting from Infinite Campus.

All Grade Levels

• Updated parent contact information
• Updated emergency contact information
• Initial data entry for under-school-age children in the family
• Parent permission to provide emergency medical treatment (Grades PK-12)
• Annual Emergency Health Update (Grades PK-12)
• Parent review of the Student Handbook
• Parent review and acceptance of district Technology Agreements
• Parent request for Alternate Transportation Form
• Annual Emergency Health Update (Grades PK-12)
• Parent permission to participate in athletics (Grades 4-12)
• Health History for students new to Barrington 220 and Grades 1, 6, and 9

Grade 5

• Parent permission to attend Camp Timber-Lee and administer medications listed

Grades 6-8

• Parent permission for student to participate in sex education (Grades 7-8)
• Parent permission to provide emergency medical treatment
• Parent permission to administer Tylenol or Ibuprofen
• Opportunity to volunteer for middle school PTO
• Permission for staff and/or coaches to communicate electronically with student
• Parent permission to participate in Co-Curricular Activities (Grades 4-12)
• Parent permission to participate in athletics (Grades 4-12)

Grades 9-12

• Request Senior Parking (Grade 12)
• Parent permission for participating in the Harper College Promise Program (Grade 9)
• Parent permission to administer Tylenol or Ibuprofen
• Parent review and acceptance of the district FERPA policy
• Opportunity to volunteer for BHS PTO
• Opportunity to request a senior t-shirt
• Parent permission for BHS students to participate in Community Service
• Permission to share student data with the military or higher education institutions
• Permission for staff and/or coaches to communicate electronically with student
• Parent permission to participate in Co-Curricular Activities (Grades 4-12)
• Parent permission to participate in athletics (Grades 4-12)

In addition to the annual enrollment process, online registration serves as the tool for collecting initial family and student information when a new family moves into the community.

Now that online registration is "live" for the 2017-18 school year, join us in exploring additional data collection tasks suitable for incorporating into online registration for 2018-19. Planning for 2018-19 begins now!

New Staff MacBook Air Laptops Have Arrived!

As mentioned in a previous post by Dr. Matt Fuller, staff members who currently have a MacBook Air laptop will be switching to a new MacBook Air laptop prior to the close of the school year.  These new MacBook Air laptops have an Intel I5 processor, 8MB RAM, and 120GB solid state drives. That's plenty of "horsepower" for any apps that come our way! The best news is that we can now spec apps and systems based on one MacBook Air model that is used by all staff members.

The exchange process is already underway and is nearly complete at several of our schools including Countryside, Hough, and Barrington High School. With the help of building LTAs and district Techs, the transition has been quite smooth so far. Laptops are exchanged, data is moved, and the older laptops are placed in storage for several weeks for any “just in case” circumstances.

Your MacBook Air swap will take place within your building and your email inbox contains an email message from Mark Polzin asking you to schedule an appointment. If you have not yet scheduled your exchange, I am including the appointment links so that you might take just a minute out of your schedule now and complete the request.

Did we already swap laptops at your building and somehow missed you?! No worries, call our tech support hotline at ext 1500 and we will schedule some time to make the switch.

Still hesitant about the exchange? Read these kind words from one of our staff members:

Hi Mark,
I wanted to send a quick email of appreciation to the team who worked on the MacBook Air swaps! They made the transfer so quick and painless. Please pass along my gratitude to the awesome team who helped all of the teachers at Countryside!
THANK YOU! 😀

Schedule your appointment now!

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