The Cashless Campus

The Business Services and Student Information Offices are working together to create a "Cashless Campus" for each of our Barrington 220 schools. The goal is to free teachers from the task of collecting cash and obtaining permission for students to attend field trips/events. Transitioning to a Cashless Campus adds improved efficiency and transparency in school fee management and aligns with the district’s commitment to strong accounting practices.

Eliminating cash/checks handling by classroom teachers and school offices reduces paperwork, resulting in increased instructional time in the classroom. Securing parent permission for students to participate eliminates the time consuming task of collecting paper permission slips and allows for automated parent reminders. In short, a Cashless Campus saves teachers time.

What is the plan for achieving a Cashless Campus? In October 2017 the district partnered with RevTrak to transition to a newly designed and expanded web store. Each school office has been trained in adding items to the web store and communicating with parents through Infinite Campus regarding the event/item. Reports are available for monitoring who signed up to attend and/or has paid for an item or event.  School offices and PTO organizations, along with a handful of teachers,  have successfully utilized the new web store to streamline payments and parent permissions. 

Teachers will enjoy the fast and simple method of adding items to the web store for purchase. Parents enjoy the option to make payments for additional school items such as trips, club/athletic fees, spirit wear, and more using their existing online payment account. Parents enjoy the convenient and secure option of paying for school items online using their credit card or checking account anytime 24/7, from any computer or mobile device.

The next time you need to collect money for a student event or product, please consider using the web store. Teachers and sponsors are encouraged to transition to using the web store for all student related purchases. Cashless is the goal!

A variety of training resources exist for staff. Take a moment and review the step-by-step instructions and learn more about using the web store for student purchases. Click here to review sample web store items. When you are ready to create your first item or event you may want to view one or both of the following videos:

How To Build a Web Store Product

Field Trip Tutorial

Building administrative assistants have experience working with the web store. BHS teachers can contact the department administrative assistant or Linda Ryan. Additional questions and feedback can be directed to LeeAnn Taylor and/or June Nilles.

#BSD220TwitterAward for December 2017

Twitter continues to grow as a fantastic tool for teachers to share the exciting events happening in their classrooms and to connect with other educators around the world. This month, we continue a series honoring those who use Twitter to share the tenets of our One to World Vision and Mission.

Each month, we honor four Twitter users:

• One Staff Member, Grades PK–5
• One Staff Member, Grades 6–8
• One Staff Member, Grades 9–12
• One Administrator Grades PK–12

December 2017: Staff Member, Grades PK–5, Twitter Award

Congratulations, @Lines4MG!

December 2017: Staff Member, Grades 6–8, Twitter Award

Congratulations, @BMSHistSchmitt!

December 2017: Staff Member, Grades 9–12, Twitter Award

Congratulations, @Waxler81!

December 2017: Administrator, Grades PK–12, Twitter Award

Congratulations, @MrsKristenPaul!

As always, you can find all of the Barrington 220 accounts by searching the hashtag #bsd220 or searching my Twitter handle, @iJoeRobinson, navigating to Lists, and then following the #bsd220 List.

Learning on the Go with YouTube Subscriptions

YouTube is used to share home videos, opinions on the latest Star Wars movie, highlights from sporting events, and much more. Educators use YouTube to share insights into their teaching strategies, resources they've created, and technology tools. At the same time, many education service providers use YouTube to deliver training, inspire teachers, and introduce new technology.

How can we keep up with it all?

By subscribing to YouTube channels from some of the brightest minds and the most helpful services, teachers can more easily keep up. YouTube subscriptions are easy to access and follow.

Here I demonstrate how to subscribe and share some of my favorite YouTube subscriptions.

Barrington 220 Revamps Printing System

Barrington 220 is bringing a new, fully managed printing system to each school building. Based upon the success of a first-semester pilot program at two of our schools, our fleet of aged printers and copiers is being removed and new "managed" multi-function printing devices are being placed in our buildings.

Changes that affect the completion of daily tasks can be disruptive. Disruption, however, is not necessarily a bad thing if it pays off with some conveniences or other benefits, seen or unseen.

Here are the immediate goals of this new district-wide managed print system:

• Create a district-wide printer/copier solution for all district staff that’s easy to use and greatly reduces (or eliminates) equipment down-time.
• Increase copying/printing services in the district and provide devices that match the volume necessary for teaching, learning, and operations.

Over time, we hope/expect to see:

• A printing/copying system that is easy to use.
• Less printing/copying in buildings (over a period time).
• More large-volume printing/copying in Copy Center.

Advantages for you, the user:

• The ability to print, copy, or scan at any Barrington 220 printer/copier.
• The ability to print a job from your computer and then release the print job at any printer district-wide within 48 hours.
• The ability to review and track your own prints and copies.

Staff members at our two pilot schools returned in August 2017 to the busy start of this school year, and at the same time were asked to adapt to a new way of printing and copying. A few weeks into the pilot, we asked staff a number of questions about the printing system being piloted at their schools.

Here are a few of the results:

Overall, we found these initial results mostly positive. We carefully reviewed any questions and concerns brought forth to us and tweaked the pilot program devices and system to address as many reported concerns as possible.

The rollout is currently in process and will finish in early February. I trust that your building principal and/or building LTAs have been communicating with you regarding our new printing system. 

If you have not installed printer software on your Mac (using the Self Service app) or scanned your employee ID at one of our new printers, please stop by your school library and discuss this with an LTA. They will be glad to answer any questions you may have and assist you in any way they can.

Our tech team is also available to answer your questions! Contact us at x. 1500.

Assistive Technology Supports for Students Who Struggle in Reading & Writing

If you have a student with an IEP or 504 Plan who struggles with reading or writing, we have three excellent tools in district that may help! These are all available as iPad apps or Chrome extensions through our district licenses.

Co:Writer Universal
Co:Writer Universal uses grammar and vocabulary smart word prediction to help students better express their ideas in writing across devices. It is terrific for students who struggle with spelling, idea generation, expanding writing ideas, increasing typing speed, and more!

Click here for more information including video demonstrations.

Snap & Read Universal
Snap & Read Universal will read text aloud, level text to what meets the student’s needs, convert text to make it readable using OCR (optical character recognition), highlight, outline, and create citations!

Click here for more information including video demonstrations.

Learning Ally
Learning Ally is a non-profit organization that produces and maintains a library of accessible audiobooks. Students must have an IEP or 504 Plan and must qualify under the categories of visual impairment, specific learning disability, physical impairment, or reading accommodation.

Click here for more information.

Please contact me (Kelly Key) kkey@barrington220.org to inquire about getting these supports for your students. I am also happy to provide individual or class training to students and staff!

–Kelly Key, Assistive Technology Coordinator