Technology Tips

Backing Up Your Google Granitesd.org Account Data: a notice for graduating students and others leaving Granite School District

May 2020Josh Whiting

Please read the following important instructions for graduating students, employees leaving the district, and others leaving Granite District. You will not have access to your @granitesd.org account, including your Google Drive or its contents when your time as a student or employee has ended. Granite will not be able to recover the content in your Google Drive after you leave. This year, an extension of accounts will be given to seniors. They will have until the end of first quarter in fall 2020 to access their district accounts. Please work with the STS or LMETS at your school if you have questions about this process.

Backing Up Your Granitesd.org Data - Infographic

Instructions for Backing Up Your Google Data (PDF)

Highlights and Resources from GSD Tech Meet, May 12, 2020

May 2020Josh Whiting

Celebrating Students

Granite teachers joined in a video and chat meet to share ideas and learn from one another in the final session of our Spring 2020 GSD Tech Meet series. This meet focused on ways to celebrate students and provide closure at the end of the year in a distance learning environment. Below we share a recording of the live meet, as well as ideas, links, and resources shared by participants in the session.

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Highlights and Resources from GSD Tech Meet, May 5, 2020

May 2020Josh Whiting

Student Choice

In our third GSD Tech Meet, held on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, Granite teachers joined up in a video and chat meet to share ideas and learn from one another. This week’s discussion focused on providing student choice and personalization during distance and face-to-face learning. Below we share a recording of the live meet, as well as ideas, links, and resources shared by participants in the session.

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Highlights and Resources from GSD Tech Meet, April 28, 2020

April 2020Josh Whiting

Ways to Increase Student Participation in Distance Learning

We held our second GSD Tech Meet on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, with more great discussions and sharing of ideas between Granite teachers. The discussion focused on techniques and ideas for increasing students’ engagement and participation in distance learning.

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Aaron Kammerman’s Video Ideas

April 2020Josh Whiting

Aaron Kammerman, School Technology Specialist at Hartvigsen School and The Jones Center, has been busy these last few weeks creating instructional videos for his teachers, as well as encouraging his teachers to make videos for their students. He recently compiled this inspiring list of ideas and reasons for teachers to make videos, and we are excited to share it with you!

Yesterday, I created a selfie video for my teachers, praising them for their efforts and encouraging them to reach out to me for continued support. In that video I made a passionate plea that they make MORE VIDEOS. I explained that kids are not missing out on the CONTENT as much as they are missing the CONTACT.

I followed up with this list of video ideas. My list of ideas is geared toward special ed students, but you get the idea. In case this is helpful, I pass it along to you!

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Highlights from the First GSD Tech Meet, April 21, 2020

April 2020Josh Whiting

Over 100 Granite educators joined us for our first GSD Tech Meet, a live virtual meeting for teachers held in Google Meet on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. The meet was facilitated by Kacie O’Maley, School Technology Specialist at Upland Terrace Elementary and an incoming Team Leader for our department next year. In this first session, Kacie introduced the meet as a collaborative space for teachers to connect and share with one another, putting forth discussion questions that encouraged participants to share successes, ideas, and solutions they have developed during the distance learning period.

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Distance Learning Resources in Granite School District

March 2020Josh Whiting

During school dismissal and this period of distance learning, Granite School District and the Educational Technology Department have created two centralized resources to provide students, families, and teachers with access to essential digital tools, best practices, and resources for distance teaching and learning.

distancelearning.graniteschools.org

This website is intended to help students and families access digital tools that Granite teachers may be using during school dismissal. Your student’s teacher will provide you with detailed information about accessing learning during this time. Please reach out to individual teachers with questions.

distanceteaching.graniteschools.org

You can find all updates from Granite School District on school dismissal and COVID-19 at this link: https://www.graniteschools.org/blog/category/covid-19/

Featured Resource: Windows 10 Video Editor

November 2019Josh Whiting

Did you know that there is a video editor already installed and available on all PCs with the Windows 10 operating system? It is found in the Photos app, and although a slightly hidden feature it is very functional and simple to use. It includes all the video editing basics you would expect, as well as inking and animated special effect options that students and teachers can use to quickly polish or spice up a video. [Read more…] about Featured Resource: Windows 10 Video Editor

Featured Resource: Creating Student Portfolios Using Google Sites

May 2019Josh Whiting

Post by Teresa Bruin, originally published in our monthly Ed Tech Newsletter for teachers.

We often get asked to recommend a way for students to create digital portfolios. There are several online tools for creating portfolios, but Google Sites is free and easily started straight from their granitesd.org Google Drive.

To start a new Google Site in Google Drive, click the **+ New** button, click **More >**, and choose **Google Sites**.

The new Google Sites has been completely made over. You can create a new Google Site in a short time with its intuitive design.

Creating and Editing in Google Sites – Screenshot

Students will enjoy creating a place to showcase their best work and have an easy way to share it with family and their teacher(s).

Additional Resources

Student Portfolios (Granite Ed Tech TIP Resource Page)

Getting Started with Sites (G Suite Learning Center)

Student E-Portfolios in Google Sites – A Tutorial (Boulder Valley School District)

How to Create Powerful Student ePortfolios with Google Sites (Shake Up Learning)

Take Portfolios with You When You Leave the District (Technology Tip: Backing Up Your @granitesd.org Data with Google Takeout)

Technology Tip: Backing Up Your @granitesd.org Data with Google Takeout

April 2019Josh Whiting

About @granitesd.org Google Accounts

All students and staff in Granite School District are provided with @granitesd.org Google accounts that include unlimited storage space in Google Drive as well as access to numerous other Google tools and services. However, these accounts are only active and accessible while you are a student or employee in Granite School District. When a student graduates from high school, an employee retires, or a student or staff member otherwise leaves the district, they will no longer have access to their @granitesd.org account, and any content that was in that account cannot be recovered.