Happy Halloween from NASA

NASA recently posted a picture of the sun that looks like a jack 'o lantern. Visit their Facebook post to download a high resolution version of the picture! Enjoy!
Read more. 

Phishing & Spam reminder

Please see the following message from the FISD Technology Department: 

Just a reminder, as we near the holiday seasons, that we will start to see an up-tick in phishing, email scams, and scam phone calls.

Be mindful not to click on links in emails from people you are not familiar with.  If you have doubt about the legitimacy of the email and the link, please contact that person to verify the email.

Emails from FedEx, Amazon, UPS, and the USPS informing you that a package cannot be delivered and to click on the enclosed link and fill out some information will begin to show up in a few weeks.

E-mails concerning your Amazon account being terminated due to unauthorized activity unless you call this number and verify your account information have been seen last week. 

We have also seen emails, supposedly from banks and insurance companies, about issues with a user account.  The emails look very authentic with logo, address, and email link that do indeed link back to the proper locations.  Again, if you have a question or feel that this might be a scam, please contact the company for verification.

Ransomware attacks are also on the rise.  It is recommended that you do not comply with hackers if you fall victim to a ransomware attack. 

Please make sure your anti-virus software is up to date.

Calls from Microsoft about your operating system needing updates and they can remote in and help with that are scams to access your computer and information.

Please be mindful and if you have any doubt, stop and rethink the situation.

Thank you

~ FISD Technology Department

Undeleting Canvas Items

If you accidentally delete something from a Canvas course (Blueprint, Shell, Sandbox, etc), add "/undelete" to the end of the course URL and you'll see a list of items you deleted! Click "restore" to bring it back! So amazing! You're welcome!

Analytics in Canvas

Did you know that Canvas has a lot of very helpful analytics built inside it? You should take some time to poke around and see what you can find! You can see how active your students are in your course, check on their progress, and if assessments are given and graded through Canvas, the analytics can be very helpful in documenting what's going on! (Think SLO goal.)

Video: Course and Student Analytics Overview (4:08)

Module Tracking

If you set up completion requirements on Modules, click View Progress on top of the Modules list to see what requirements are still required for each student. Read more.

General Analytics

On the Home page in your Shell course, click View Course Analytics on the right side to view general analytics for your course. Read more.

Student Activity

Click on a Student's name (from People, Grades, Analytics, etc) to pop-out a tray on the right with a summary of that student's activity in the course. This view includes: last login, number of missing and late assignments, scores for the most recently graded items, and a link to the student's analytics.

Student Access Report

Click on the student's name from that pop-out tray then select Access Report on the right. You can see when the students was active in your course. 

Analytics Beta

If you activate Analytics Beta in your course, you can see even more helpful data!

• Video: Canvas Analytics Beta (2:53)
• What is Analytics Beta? (Links to an external site.)
• How do I view weekly online activity analytics in an interactive chart graph in Analytics Beta? (Links to an external site.)
• How do I send a message to all students based on specific course criteria in Analytics Beta?

600+ Design Theme Templates for Google Slides

Are you looking for new and different slides templates? Check out Control Alt Archive's post about additional theme templates for Google Slides. 

Google file viewing options

When sharing a Google Doc, Sheet, etc. with others, the ending of the URL matters. Change from the "/" to the end of the URL to be...

/edit
Opens the file with your editing rights.

/copy
Forces users to "Make a Copy" of the file.

/view
Opens the file with View Only rights (unless you have editing rights to the file).

/preview
Opens the file in a preview, without the Google Editing navigation. This is a very "clean" way to view a file. This is a great way to preview a file that was shared with the "/copy" ending before making a copy of it.

For additional Google file tricks, see this site. 

Humor Boosts Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving in the Classroom

TCEA recently shared this on Facebook:
"When we think about creativity and innovation, the words “humor” and “goofiness” don’t typically come to mind. But I’d argue that this is a critical piece of what it means to cultivate a climate of creativity."
It then linked to John Spencer's Five Ways Humor Boosts Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving in the Classroom.

It's worth your time to take a look. 

30 Interactive Google Slides Activities for Classroom Excitement

Matt Miller with Ditch That Textbook made a massive update (went from 8 to 30 ideas) to his post about creative ways to use Google Slides in the classroom. Check it out! You might be inspired. 
Read more.