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Use the technology resources on this page to guide and plan for Fall Distance Learning.
This page will continue to be updated and organized for key Distance Learning tutorials and technology support.
Step 1: Account Check
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Wifi
Staff: Updated
Staff are strongly encouraged to utilize their home or local Wifi. As we are prioritizing hotspots for students, for any staff that do not have WiFi:
- Comcast has two offers: Internet Essentials and Educator discounts
- An employee who has a documented ADA accommodation to work remotely due to COVID may be assigned a hotspot as part of their accommodation. Requests should be made using the service ticket process or calling 651-603-4357.
- All other staff should request a reservation at a centralized staff support hub via the Building Access Request Form. Please note that access generally will not be granted to a staff member’s specific building
Students
- Preferred: Families connect to Comcast Essentials, information here. Free through December 2020
- Schools contact Families to determine Wifi / SPPS hotspot needs and complete Request Spreadsheet.
- Hotspots to be delivered based on site identified needs.
- Families can contact the Family Support line to request hotspots.
- Hotspots needed after Sept. 8 will go through the ticket system,service ticket, through curbside or delivery.
- Data limits are not capped.
- Assistance with hotspots is available at iPad Help
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Make Sure Your Active Directory Password is Current.
Review the steps for changing or resetting your Active Directory Password.
Contact the Service Desk (651) 603 - HELP
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Forward Google Apps Email to Outlook
Saint Paul staff and students are provided with a user ID that is also a gmail address.
- For staff: firstname.lastname@stpaul.k12.mn.us
- For students: firstinitial.lastname001@stpaul.k12.mn.us
Staff: set your SPPS Apps email account to forward any mail to the Outlook email account, firstname.lastname@spps.org.
Click here for directions on how to forward Google Apps email (@stpaul.k12.mn.us) to your Outlook Email (@spps.org)
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Sign in to Clever Portal
Clever is a single - sign tool that streamlines the log in experience for students and staff to many core SPPS apps and accounts. All instructional staff that are listed as teachers or co-teachers in Campus are able to log in to Clever. If you can't log in to Clever and NEED access to a tool like Seesaw, ST Math, etc, please put in a ticket!
Clever is automatically installed on student and staff iPads and can be accessed on any device via the URL clever.com/in/spps
Instructional Staff:
- Log in to Clever to review your connected applications and accounts.
- Review the SPPS Clever help page and consider how you could use Clever with students.
Key Features for Educators Include:
- Create pages for bookmarks and other links
- Student/staff messages
- Clever "Badges" for easy student access
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Sign in to your Schoology Account (3 - 12)
Schoology classes will appear in Schoology on August 21st and are subject to change.
- Login to Schoology with your Active Directory account (e123456, #####) and begin creating resources to import to your courses once finalized.
- If you are unable to sign in to Schoology or have issues with your account, submit a ticket.
- Review the Schoology Skill Guides:
- Level 1
- Level 2
Visit the Schoology help page for more information.
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Sign in to your Seesaw Account (PreK - 3)
Seesaw classes will appear in Seesaw on August 21st and are subject to change.
Log in to your Seesaw Account through the Clever Portal.
Review the Seesaw help page and the fall Seesaw Checklist
Step 2: Distance Learning Apps & Tools
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Google Voice for Licensed Staff + EA's/TA's
Google Voice is now available to licensed staff and EA's/TA's. Google Voice is a service from Google that assigns a phone number to your Google account and enables users to make and receive calls, send text messages, customize their voicemail, read voicemail text transcript, and more.
You will soon receive a “Welcome to Google Voice” email in your SPPS apps email. Once that message is received you can go to voice.google.com or install and launch the Google Voice app on your iPad to set up your Google Voice account.
Use the following resources if needing assistance setting up your Google Voice account. -
Google Meet
Google Meet is the synchronous video conferencing tool used for student / staff interaction.
Google Meet is unveiling many new features this fall that may not be available for the first weeks of school.
Review the Google Meet Resources on this page before connecting with SPPS Students.
Key information includes:
- Teacher directions & video;
- student directions, video & poster (Hmong, Karen, Somali, Spanish)
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Video Closed Captions
This page is being updated.
Consider adding captions to recorded videos and presentations. Two options include:
- Use Automatic Captions in Youtube Videos.
- SPPS staff can sign in to Youtube with their school Google Accounts (@stpaul.k12.mn.us) to upload their own videos, create playlists and more. YouTube automatically generates captions for most videos when they’re uploaded using speech recognition technology. These machine-generated captions are seldom 100% accurate. However, captions can be altered directly in YouTube. For instructions see the Edit Captions help page on YouTube.
- Use Captions in Google Slides
- Google Slides now offers closed caption abilities for live transcribing. This feature can be useful for synchronous learning sessions or could be combined with screencasting on the laptop. Google Slides Caption tutorial here.
- Use Automatic Captions in Youtube Videos.
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Review Core Apps Guides
Review the resources below. These apps and tools are helpful in creating an engaging and rigorous Distance Learning environment.
Step 3: iPad Help & Tech Support
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Troubleshooting Tips
Review the 'quick fixes' for many common technology problems on your Macbook and / or iPad. Try these tips before you put in a ticket if possible!
- Clear cookies/history in the browser.
- Macbook: Update the browser using Self Service on your laptop.
- Open the Self Service App by navigating to Applications > Utilities
- Log in to Self Service using your Active Directory Credentials
- Search for Google Chrome and install the latest version. You may need to quit Google Chrome first.
- Restart your Computer and / or iPad.
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iPad Help Resources
If your iPad is damaged or needs to be replaced please report the issue by emailing or calling Saint Paul Public Schools Technology Services:
- Email: familysupport@spps.org
- Call: 651-603-4348 from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.. Please leave a detailed voicemail and your call will be returned as soon as possible.
View the 'iPad Help' page here:https://www.spps.org/Page/38790
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How to: Maximize Bandwidth
Distance Learning can take a lot of bandwidth! Follow these tips to keep your bandwidth strong!
- Restart your device every day.
- Unplug/Restart router if slow WiFi
- Only necessary devices connected
- Close extra tabs
- Close unused apps
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How to: Look up Student Accounts & Passwords
Teacher Activities is a web tool for staff to assist students who have forgotten Active Directory account credentials.
Follow the steps linked here to identify and/or reset student passwords. Staff can ALSO use Teacher Activities to generate a list of student email addresses.
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How to: Update Apps on your iPad
Most Self Service apps on the iPad do not update automatically. However, the following iPad apps are installed and updated automatically on all student and staff iPads.
- Schoology
- Seesaw
- Notability
- Clever
- Google Docs
- Google Drive
- Google Slides
- Google Jamboard
- Google Meet
- Flipgrid
- Keynote
- Pages
- Clips
To update an iPad app, simply open the Self Service app store, search for the app, then tap 'reinstall'. Try updating the app yourself!