Create Seating Charts for Subs in Infinite Campus

Welcome back to the 2022–23 school year and welcome to a new Blog post from your Infinite Campus Team! Can you believe we are already into the tenth week of school? 

If there is a time that you need to be out of your class during a regular school day and you have a Substitute in your place—did you know that you can not only print seating charts out for your Sub, but you can add some much-needed information to that chart for the sub to help the students feel more comfortable with them teaching the class? 

Creating printable seating charts is very easy. Below is the process to do this. The information I wanted to highlight while printing out seating charts is that you can make sure that both Pictures and the preferred Nicknames the students have chosen to go by are available to the Sub, instead of only going by first and last name.  This will help the Sub to #SeeTheStudent!

PATH: Campus Instruction > Seating Charts

To print a seating chart, select the Section and Seating Chart and click Open Chart. From the chart, click Report Options to open the print options window:

Report Options for Printing a Seating Chart

Indicate the Orientation in which you'd like to print the chart, Portrait or Landscape.

Select Nickname and/or Picture to show that information in the printed chart. The student's first and last names are selected by default. These values are entered on the Demographics tab.

Click Generate Report to view the printable seating chart.

Seated, Unseated students, and total Desks are printed at the top of the report. Student names print in 9 pt font with pictures, and in 12 pt font without pictures.  If a student has a Nickname, it will be printed in parenthesis next to the student's name.

Example of a Printed Chart

If the seating chart is larger than the printable area of the page, anything extra is cut off. Campus recommends first downloading your chart as a PDF and then using Adobe's Page Sizing and Handling options to ensure the entire chart prints correctly. 

For complete instructions on how to create Seating Charts that will help to effectively capture your classroom setup, please watch this video:

I hope these Infinite Campus Instruction tips will help you in your classroom and help your classroom "helpers" #SeeTheStudent!

Faster Internet in Barrington 220!

On October 17, 2022, Barrington 220 took another step forward with the State of Illinois E-Rate consortium program. We switched our Internet service “last mile” from Comcast to one managed by the State of Illinois. This change provides us with a 250% increase in Barrington 220's Internet bandwidth, while reducing our cost to the district.

In November, we will be switching our building-to-building network connections, increasing most of our connection bandwidths tenfold. In addition, a new high-speed service will be provided to our Barrington Transition Program building. This project is also mostly funded by the State of Illinois.

Your patience during October 17's evening scheduled network outage was much appreciated, as this allowed us the time to reconfigure our connections.

Technology Department Bits and Bytes

Bit: Freeing Up Space on the M1 MacBook Air Laptop

Are you running out of space on the M1 MacBook Air laptop that you use? When we first assigned MacBook Air laptops, we copied all of your data from the Home folder from the previous laptop to the Desktop on the new laptop. We asked you to drag items from that old folder that you need—and then delete the old folder from the desktop to reclaim space. If you’re running low on space, check to see if your old home folder is still on your desktop. 

Bit: Cracked Laptop Screens

We’ve had several instances of cracked screens on the M1 MacBook Airs laptops. When you place something on your laptop’s keyboard and then close the lid, there’s a chance you could break the screen's glass layer. If two pieces of STAPLED paper are placed under the laptop lid and it's closed, a cracked screen often results! Apple has engineered the space between keyboard and screen to be very tight to make the laptop thin; thus, there just isn’t room for anything else in there. Do not put anything on your laptop’s keyboard before closing it.

Byte: New Versions of macOS and iPadOS

Apple recently released macOS Ventura (version 13) and iPadOS 16—upgrades to the operating systems we use everyday here in Barrington 220. If you’re like me and like to run the latest and greatest software on your devices, you may be wondering, "Why can’t I upgrade the district MacBook Air or iPad?" The Tech Team likes to do additional internal testing before rolling out major upgrades until we know that most issues are resolved and all our systems function on the new operating systems. As we have done in the past, we usually wait and conduct our internal testing for 30–60 days before we release major updates in the district. 

New iPad 9 Features for the Classroom

In early October 2022, the Barrington 220 Tech Team completed our device upgrade from the iPad Generation 6 to the iPad Generation 9. This upgrade brings several learning and teaching options that are new to our students and staff. Ty Gorman (Barrington 220’s Director of Instructional Technology) and I, Matt Fuller (Assistant Superintendent for Technology and Innovation), are visiting schools to share some of the iPad features that are new to us. 

Several new learning and teaching opportunities built into the iPad Generation 9 include:

• Front Camera (Center Stage)
• Live Text (Speak, Translate, and Copy text)
• Visual Look Up (Camera and Photos apps)

New General Features

In general, the iPad 9 includes the following features updated from our previous iPad 6 model:

• Internal iPad storage doubled to 64GB (iPad 6: 32GB)
• Faster A13 chip (iPad 6: A10 chip)
• Neural Engine with machine learning capabilities (iPad 6: none)
• 10.2-inch screen (iPad 6: 9.7-inch screen)

Screen Size on the iPad 9 is slightly larger and offers more work area than the iPad 6.

Also, the iPad 9 now offers machine learning capabilities. Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses data and algorithms to imitate the way that humans learn. Some machine learning examples on the iPad are shown below.

Front Camera

The new front camera is greatly enhanced from the iPad 6 camera. A new feature added to the camera is called Center Stage. Using videoconferencing software such as Zoom, Center Stage will focus on faces and keep them in the video. As you move on screen or when a new face enters the video, you will see the camera pan to center and/or include new faces.

Live Text

Live Text uses machine learning to allow the iPad to interpret images or text captured by the Camera to allow various features. 

Speak Text Setup

Open Settings and follow the directions to turn on Speak Selection. You only need to turn this on once.

Capture a photo of a passage of printed text and try the Speak feature. 

Capture a photo of a passage of printed text and try the Translate feature. Make sure to scroll down in the Translate window to show the blue Play button (to hear the translation read), and/or change the language.

Capture a photo of a passage of printed text and try the Copy feature. Use the Notes app (in Split Screen) and Paste the text in a Note.

Visual Look Up

Visual Look Up is a feature that allows you to capture a photo and the machine learning built into the iPad can recognize various features in the photo and then provide additional information. Visual Look Up works with photos of plants/flowers, famous landmarks, pets, famous art, books, and other subjects. 

Capture a photo of a plant in the room (or use a plant photo already in Photos). Notice the “sparkling i” icon. Tap the “sparkling i” to see more information. 

After tapping the “sparkling i” you will see an Info window. The iPad has identified this as a Plant. Tap Look Up to see more information.

The Look Up shows Results, in this case, two links to Wikipedia.

More Resources

Apple. (2022). Learn advanced gestures to interact with iPad. Retrieved from https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/learn-advanced-gestures-ipadab6772b8/ipados 

Apple. (2022). Machine Learning Research at Apple. Retrieved from https://machinelearning.apple.com

IBM Cloud Education. (2022). Machine Learning. Retrieved from www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/machine-learning 

iPad Feature Review (Split View, Slide Over, Scribble, Quick Note, Focus, and Swipe Gestures)

In early October 2022, the Barrington 220 Tech Team completed our upgrades to the iPad Generation 9. While the iPad 9 has several new features, now is a great time to review a few important iPad features available from previous software updates including:

• Split View and Slide Over
• Scribble
• Quick Note
• Focus
• Swipe Gestures

Split View and Slide Over

Split View allows you to have two apps open at the same time on the same screen on an iPad. For this example, begin by launching the Keynote presentation app in full screen. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the Dock. Tap and hold the Safari app in the Dock and slide it up to add the Safari app in split screen. 

You can also add a third app by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the Dock, tap to hold the Notes app, and slide up to add Notes as a Slide Over app. 

An app displayed in Slide Over (the Notes app in this example) can slide to either side of the screen. Slide an app by tapping and sliding the top of the open window from one side of the screen to the other.

Use the “three dots” in the top-center of an open window to switch among the three viewing options (Full Screen, Split Screen, Slide Over).

Search

On the Home screen, swipe down from center to open the Search field. Use the Logitech Crayon (or Apple Pencil) to write a search term in the Search field. A written term will convert to typed text, then follow a link below.

Quick Note

Navigate to an informational webpage in the Safari web browser. Swipe up from bottom-right to create a Quick Note. Write or type in the Quick Note. Tap Done. 

Quick Notes are stored in the Notes app.

Focus

One of the most frequent topics we hear from parents and teachers is that some students have issues with distractions on their devices. Even adults sometimes deal with device distractions. Apple has the Focus feature built into all their devices to allow users to set up customized options to reduce distractions from alerts, apps, and other possible disturbances. 

On iPad, open the Focus section in Settings. Many features are available, such as turning on Do Not Disturb and setting a timeframe, e.g., 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. Learn more about Focus here.

Swipe Gestures

Here are three Swipe gestures used in this review and commonly used in the classroom. 

There are many more Swipe gestures available.

Resources & Professional Development

Two great opportunities we have to access high-quality professional development include the newly launched Apple Education Community and the Barrington 220 Digital Learning Hub. 

Apple Education Community

Visit the new Apple Education Community, visit the Forum, tap Teaching and Learning, and check out some examples posted by other educators using Apple devices.

View a version of this article on the Apple Education Community Forum.

Barrington 220 Digital Learning Hub

You may also visit the Barrington 220 Digital Learning Hub.

More Resources

Apple. (2022). Learn advanced gestures to interact with iPad. Retrieved from https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/learn-advanced-gestures-ipadab6772b8/ipados

Apple. (2022). Use Focus on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Retrieved from https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212608

Apple Support. (2022). Use an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch connected to your Mac. Retrieved from https://support.apple.com/guide/quicktime-player/record-a-movie-qtp356b55534/10.5/mac/12.0#apd86177808b0da4

Parent Tech Nights in Spanish

After a brief hiatus for the last couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic—and as part of our initiative to continue to provide a tech learning opportunity for our Spanish-speaking community—we have re-launched our Parent Tech Night events in-person!

Parent Tech Nights are a resource for our Spanish-speaking community. Although we met a few times through Zoom during the pandemic, we would much rather provide 1:1 in-person support. At these events, a combination of our Tech and Interpretation teams provide a brief presentation of instructional-technology-related information, followed by hands-on application, and time for Q&A from those in attendance.

While these events currently take place at Sunny Hill, we are looking to expand our on-site locations as the 2022–23 school year progresses. Our most recent event took place in early October at Sunny Hill where parents had the opportunity to learn more about Meet The Teacher and how to schedule a Parent Teacher Conference using our online scheduling platform.

Our next event is scheduled for Friday, November 11, 2022, at Sunny Hill starting at 6:30 PM. The team will be presenting about Schoology and Seesaw. This is an excellent opportunity for our Spanish-speaking parents to learn more about these important learning management systems which are used by teachers and students throughout the school year.

Please remember to share this information with your staff and students!

Barrington 220 Expands Blended Learning Opportunities

As a result of feedback from staff and students, as well as the district priorities that emerged from the strategic planning process, Barrington 220 is exploring avenues to expand the blended learning program.

Blended learning is an instructional strategy in which instruction takes place partly in-person and partly online while giving students some control over the time, pace, path, and/or place of their learning. Barrington 220 has had a formal blended learning program since 2015. At Barrington High School, over 70 teachers have completed training in blended strategies and about 1,800 students experience blended learning daily. Blended strategies used in Barrington 220 generally include the station rotation, flipped, and flex models. Blended learning is a program that touches high school, middle school, and elementary school.

When students returned from remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, administrators interviewed staff and students to find out what strategies they would like to continue. One theme that emerged was the positive experience many students had with increased personalization and agency. In addition, the strategic planning process identified Personalized Learning and Future-Ready Learning as two of the six strategic priorities to guide the district as we move forward.

It has always been the mission of the One to World program to provide real-world learning experiences and facilitate personalized learning. To support these goals, Barrington 220 is expanding blended learning in the following ways:

High School

Starting in the 2022–23 school year, Barrington High School teachers who have completed blended learning certification will be able to use station rotation, flipped, and flex models in their classes with or without a blended designation. Teachers who have completed the training will decide when and if each strategy is appropriate for any given lesson. Teachers who completed the training more than three years ago will be "re-certified" in the use of blended strategies at one of the many inservice sessions available. We consider this type of blended learning as an instructional strategy.

Some courses lend themselves to a more holistic blended experience. A new cohort will examine potential course offerings that would prominently feature blended strategies and expanded student agency. These courses might feature options such as online curricula and self-paced learning. These courses will consider blended learning not just as an instructional strategy, but embedded into the design of the course.

A flexible learning cohort of administrators, teachers, and students has begun exploring potential programmatic offerings to increase student agency and blended experiences further. One step beyond courses designed around blended, this program could benefit students seeking even greater voice and choice in their learning. While this cohort is in its infancy, the ideas beginning to emerge are promising.

Middle School

With the recently completed flexible learning spaces, middle school teachers are expanding opportunities for flexible grouping and personalized learning. In both middle schools, teachers are teaming up to deliver more targeted instruction to students as needed. For example, in Grade 6 English, three teachers might decide to regroup students on a given day. Groups would be determined by evidence from formative feedback rather than who your scheduled teacher happens to be. Teacher A might exchange some students with Teacher B for the day, while each teacher plans more personalized activities based on student readiness.

Elementary School

Elementary teachers continue to refine and perfect their use of station rotation and flipped models. Throughout remote learning, many elementary teachers created and shared online curriculum for their students to access when and where they most needed it. Now that we are back in person, many of these resources are being used to further refine differentiated learning opportunities for all students. Teachers are using stations to work with small groups of students while other students access online curriculum tailored to their current ability and understanding.