It Takes a Village: Barrington 220 Staff and Families Work Together During Distance Learning

With the move to distance learning this year, students are spending more time with their devices than ever. With that comes an increased possibility of students stumbling across content that may be distracting or inappropriate for them. The term “inappropriate” means different things to different people and will likely be defined depending on variables such as household rules or the age of the child.

We hear from parents who are concerned about adult content, social media, advertising, and online gaming that may be distracting their child from learning or, even worse, exposing children inappropriate or dangerous content. Parents and caregivers may find it difficult to stay on top of what children are doing while online and may not know what steps they can take to prevent students from viewing inappropriate content.

With a little knowledge, Barrington 220 staff members and parents can work together to help students navigate the difficulties of digital learning at home. Here are a few things all of us should know as we work together to keep our students safe and engaged.

Network Filters

Our district Internet content filters function on the Barrington 220 network and do not extend to devices when they are not connected to a district Wi-Fi access point. In other words, when students are in a school, our network filters block inappropriate content, but these filters do not follow the student home. When a student is using a district device at home, whatever filters the family has established through their home Internet provider are used. If a family has not established Internet filters at home, the student would be able to access potentially inappropriate content on their device while at home. 

Most Internet providers allow parents to easily establish and maintain filters and restrictions. Parents are encouraged to contact their home Internet provider(s) to find out how to set up filters on their home network. This may include contacting not provider(s) of the Internet delivered through Wi-Fi systems, but also mobile phone and "hotspot" Internet providers.  

Screen Time

Even with network filters set up at home, some parents may find that their student continues to be distracted by other things. After all, some online games, YouTube videos, or social media platforms may be deemed appropriate, but may cause issues because of the time of day or amount of time students are choosing to access them. In this case, parents may use the Screen Time feature available on the iPad. 

Screen Time allows parents to set restrictions, impose time limits, and establish rules for when and how long a student can use specific apps. Screen Time is completely customizable to a parent’s household rules. Parents can set time limits for specific apps and websites, or they can set downtime to shut down access at certain times of day. 

Parents can also use Screen Time to establish filters and restrictions that reflect the desired level of protection for each child. Older students may be given more access and freedom than younger ones. Any Screen Time rules that a parent establishes are protected by a passcode so students can’t change the settings once they are in place. Step-by step instructions on how to set up and use Screen Time can be found on the One to World page of the District website.

Self Service App

Barrington 220 offers over 300 apps and subscriptions to students. These apps have been vetted for compatibility, privacy, security, and instruction. All apps that have been approved for use by Barrington 220 are available in a Self Service app on the district iPad. Think of the Self Service app as a district-approved app store. 

Students in Grades PreK–8 only have access to apps in Self Service and do not have access to Apple’s App Store. However, high school students have access to the Apple App Store and may download apps in addition to the approved apps in Self Service. 

Parents can use Screen Time to limit access to the App Store app and/or place guidelines on the types of apps that can be downloaded.

More Resources

Barrington 220 offers resources and information to help parents navigate student device use. Parent will find step-by-step guides to set up Screen Time, connect to Schoology and Seesaw, and recordings of webinars on a variety of technology-related topics. Parents are encouraged to contact teachers, Library/Technology Assistants (LTAs) in building libraries, or other trusted staff members if they need more information on how to keep their student safe and engaged while in distance learning mode.

One to World iPad Program: Parent Information—The official District home for information about the One to World program, parents can access this page for resources related to Internet safety, Barrington 220 digital tools, cyberbullying, and more.

A Parent’s Guide to Distance Learning—Here parents will find a collection of webinars, resources, and Internet content related to device distraction and other important topics.

Local Districts Deal with Cybersecurity Attacks

You may have heard on the news that several local school districts have recently experienced cybersecurity attacks affecting different systems. So far the districts have included 219, 207, 211, 214, and 113. The Barrington 220 tech team and administration have been in communication with these districts and others, and we are working together to prevent future cybersecurity attacks.

Although Barrington 220 has not been affected at this time, these attacks on our neighbors are a reminder to us to continue to be aware of potential phishing attacks and report them immediately. 

As a reminder, here are some of the things to remember that may indicate you have a phishing email:

• Is it a legitimate message? 
• Were you expecting the message?
• Is the message from who you think it is? 
• Does the message convey a sense of urgency? 
• Was the message sent to a group of people, including some you do not know? 
• Was the message sent at an odd time of day? 
• Does the message make you uneasy?

If you encounter a phishing message, please submit it to Google so we can act upon it. Click the three vertical dots (the “snowman” as some call it) in the upper-right corner of your Gmail browser window and click Report phishing.

Meanwhile, the Barrington 220 tech team is actively reviewing our systems based upon the information we are learning from affected districts. If additional mitigation efforts are required, we will apply them to our systems and contact staff if necessary.

Tech & Innovation Welcomes Leslie Seelye & Jake Benz!

Please join the Department of Technology & Innovation in welcoming our two newest members to the team, Leslie Seelye and Jake Benz!

Prior to joining the team as a Technology Support Associate, Leslie Seelye was a Software Requisition and Fulfillment Analyst at Discover Financial in the Technology department. Before Discover, she spent a couple of decades at Siemens in the Accounting and Technology departments.

Leslie has three children and enjoys outdoor activities including kayaking, bicycling, fitness, and long walks with her dogs Puck, Bailey, and Lola.

Jake Benz came from Apple where he served as a Genius at the Deer Park store. He spent three years in various roles from sales, to administration, to warehouse. Jake was also a Mac Technician and trained new hires.

Outside of Apple, Jake spent 15 years playing hockey and still loves to watch and play the sport. One day he hopes to get his coaching license. Jake spends a great deal of time programming and learning about technology, even when not at work. Technology has always been his passion along with the rest of the science field.

Key's Quick Tips: Share Only a Portion of Your Screen in Zoom's Advanced Settings

Key's Quick Tips are provided by Kelly Key, Assistive Technology Coordinator for Barrington 220. Each month, Kelly Key features a tool to support our students.

Hot off the press...Share Only a Portion of your screen in Zoom's Advanced Settings!

When teaching in Zoom:

• Do you have more than one window open, but just want to show a portion of your screen to students? 
• Do you have an interactive slides presentation that needs to stay out of presentation mode to make interactive, but you only want your students to see the slide you are on? 
• Do you want to zoom in on a math problem?
• Show students specific text in a book?
• Support a student with a vision impairment by only showing the content you are talking about at the time? 

...Then use the advanced Portion of a Screen feature in Zoom!

This is also a great way to support students with vision impairments, or students with attention difficulties. It allows you to target specific areas on your screen that the students will only see!

Directions

Screen Share
 

Advanced

Portion of Screen

Adjust the Green Box to show only what you would like. While you are adjusting, it will not show what is on the screen.

Students will now only see what is inside the green box.


This is very easy to do throughout your lesson!

Help Parents Help Students with Distance Learning

As Barrington 220 and other districts continue in distance learning mode as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, teachers may be getting new requests from parents about ways to assist their children in distance learning.

At the beginning of the school year, Barrington 220 offered several sessions in each of five learning modules in our Distance Learning Resources for Parents series. Those resources are still available on a dedicated website for access any time.

Distance Learning Resources for Parents full website

Module One: Preparing for Distance Learning

Module Two: Introduction to Schoology

Module Three: Seesaw for Families

Module Four: Managing Technology at Home

Module Five: Navigating Social & Emotional Needs (includes K-5 and 6-12 versions)

Barrington 220’s Blended Learning Program Turns 5!

The 2020–21 school year marks the five-year program anniversary of the Barrington 220 Blended Learning program. Ty Gorman, Director of Instructional Technology, has produced a short video featuring a few teachers and students to commemorate this milestone.

Using our district’s adopted blended learning definition, blended courses include both online and face-to-face learning opportunities with teachers that include student choice of time, pace, path, and/or place for learning experiences. Barrington 220 teachers use blended learning strategies to personalize the learning experiences for students based upon individual needs. 

The Blended Learning program in Barrington 220 continues to grow. Barrington High School currently offers 135 sections of blended learning courses taught by 82 teachers who have completed blended learning cohort training. Seventeen new blended teachers completed the cohort in 2020. During the past five years of the Blended Learning program, over 5,000 students have participated in blended learning courses and activities. During the 2020–21 school year, approximately 1,800 BHS students are currently enrolled in a blended course. 

Previous blended learning experience among Barrington 220 teachers at elementary, middle, and high school levels had a positive impact on both distance and hybrid learning since blended strategies are well suited for distance and hybrid learning modes. New formal blended learning teacher cohorts have paused since most Barrington 220 teachers are learning to use blended learning strategies as part of our distance learning professional development. Barrington High School currently offers over 80 blended learning courses. 

Moving forward, Barrington 220 will continue to offer formal blended learning teacher cohorts after the pandemic—enhanced by what we learned using blended learning strategies in distance and hybrid learning modes. We will continue to add high school blended courses (and sections) and expand blended modes at middle and elementary levels.

Catch Up on Learning NOW in Barrington 220 One-Minute Spotlights

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Technology & Innovation has continued to produce our web series Learning NOW in Barrington 220 at www.youtube.com/learningnow220. Each episode highlights some of the ways Barrington 220 students are learning in one-minute stories about a particular lesson or activity. The series aims to create a better understanding in the Barrington community about how students learn and how the classroom environment has changed with the addition of a technology device in the hands of every student. 

If you have not seen them already, please take this opportunity to catch upon our One-Minute Spotlight videos that showcase distance, hybrid, and concurrent learning across the district:

Hybrid Learning: Barrington Middle School–Prairie - Ms. Giordano - Social Studies—BMS–Prairie teacher Katelynn Giordano uses station rotation to address the issue of divided attention while teaching in a concurrent classroom.

Hybrid Learning: Barrington High School - Mr. Kaiser - Woods—BHS Woods Teacher Jason Kaiser spent the beginning of the school year in distance learning while he taught his students about safety and planned projects. Later in the quarter, small groups of his advanced woods students visited the wood shop and used tools and materials to create projects.

Distance Learning: Countryside Elementary - Ms. Juengling—Countryside teacher Marie Juengling uses the Jamboard online interactive whiteboard and Zoom Breakout Rooms during distance learning to allow her students to think, debate, and develop ideas.

Distance Learning: Lines Elementary - Ms. Dowdy—Lines Grade 3 teacher Sarah Dowdy works with her class using Zoom video conferencing to teach a math lesson about parallel lines.

Concurrent Learning: Barrington High School - Mr. Pemberton - Choir—BHS Director of Choirs Brandon Pemberton conducts a choir rehearsal with some students live on the BHS outdoor stage and some students attending on Zoom in a concurrent classroom mode. 

Concurrent Learning: Barrington Middle School–Prairie - Ms. Canace & Ms. Aliperta—Students in Ms. Canace’s and Ms. Aliperta’s classes at BMS–Prairie learn in a concurrent classroom environment—where some students are in-person in a socially distanced classroom and some students are learning from home on Zoom.

Finally, if you or one of your peers would like to be featured on a future One-Minute Spotlight, please contact Ty Gorman at tgorman@barrington220.org and/or Matt Fuller at mfuller@barrington220.org.