Tech-focused PD opportunity

I wanted to pass on information about the MERIT program through Foothill College. This is a technology-focused professional development program intended to support teachers in using technology to improve student learning outcomes.

If you are interested in:

•         Improving your technical skills,
•         Learning to use technology in a way that truly impacts student learning,
•         Earning units through Foothill College, AND
•         Getting PAID for all of this

Please check out the website here: https://sites.google.com/site/kcimeritprogram/ to learn more about the program and the time commitment and requirements.

Using GradeCam to grade multiple-choice assessments

With finals coming, many teachers have been interested in using GradeCam, which lets you create, print and grade scantron-like multiple-choice assessments using a webcam or document camera.

Everyone at Homestead already has an account established, with your classes and students already entered. Go to https://insight.gradecam.com to log in (if you don't remember your password, choose "reset password" and await an email, or contact Amity if you are still unsure).

Select the camera you plan to use, then try scanning a form. Your classes and students should already be there. You will need to set the GradeCam ID to 7 digits to match our student ID numbers, which you can either have students fill in manually or you can print as a pre-filled sheet.

To create an assessment, click on “forms” and “exam” to choose the number of questions and the style of questions. You can click on “advanced options” to change the answer format. You can create an answer key by either scanning a completed (correct) form or by clicking on the correct answers when you create the exam. You can also share assessments with other teachers.

When you initially go to scan a student, it will ask you to select a camera. Use your document camera or the webcam on your laptop. After that, you can scan a form yourself or even have students scan their own.

NOTE: some teachers have had difficulty getting this to work with their document cameras. Because this is a web-based tool, you can use it on any computer (so if a colleague has it working well, you can log in to GradeCam from their machine). We will have a GradeCam scanning station with document camera set up in the library for teachers who would like to use it there during finals week.

Visit http://goo.gl/ouk3ws for easy GradeCam tutorials on various features.

Making friends between Google Apps and MS Office

Since most of us still use Microsoft Office for a variety of things, here are a few ways to work with MS Office documents in Google Drive.

Friends foreveer

First, you can convert Office files to Google very easily -- now with one click from a Gmail attachment, or with one click from Google Drive. This gives you the additional benefit of just one document to manage and access from anywhere. Google has upgraded the supported Office formats, so most documents can convert easily (not just MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel).

But sometimes, you want to be able to edit an Office file from within Google Drive without converting it. In order to do this, you'll need to install the Google Office Editor Chrome extension, which you can find here, and be using the new Drive. Once you have this extension, you can double-click on any MS Office document and open it in Office Compatibility Mode to make and save edits in MS Office format.

Of course, you can convert it to Google format at any time as well.

Here's a brief video tutorial of the process, and a link to Google's help page about Office Compatibility Mode as well.

Tips for your LCD projector

Keep your projector happy and strong with these tips from the Tech Team: We’d like to add one more item to this list. Please be mindful when plugging in the VGA (video) cable into your computers and devices.


1.       Do not leave your projectors on during times when not in use. This includes lunchtime and ERAP periods, because these times can really add up.

2.       Turn off your projectors when you leave for the day, especially weekends. There is nothing worse for a projector than running it for an entire weekend.

3.       Secure your remotes in a hidden or locked location during weekends. Many classrooms are used during the weekends, so we don’t want the remotes going missing as they are very difficult to replace.

Notify Nancy and Denae (or Chris until December 8th) if you believe your projectors are being used over the weekend.

4.       Try carefully tightening the A/V cable if you are experiencing discoloration. Many people put in help tickets about odd blue or reddish hues, but this is usually an easily amended loose cable issue. This can also happen when a cable is plugged in lopsided or carelessly, which causes the pins to be bent and requires the cable to be replaced (not repaired). These cables run from $7 for a short cable to $45 for a long one.

5.       Put in a help ticket for any projector issues you may be having, including filter cleaning or bad lamps. We will clean the projector or replace the lamp as soon as we can.