PDF Candy - Convert PDF's to Word

If you want to easily convert or edit PDF files, there's no reason to install sophisticated software like Adobe. PDF Candy (https://pdfcandy.com/) is a fantastic free online tool that edits, converts, rotates, splits pages, and so much more!

Powering Up Your Canvas Course

Whether you are a beginner Canvas user, intermediate, or an advanced user, we have ideas and guides just for you! If you're wondering what else you can do with Canvas, look no further!

Powering Up Guides

What's that you Sway? Digital Storytelling with Microsoft Sway

Sway is a design and publishing tool that allows students to share professionally designed work, while focusing on the content, not the design.  Sway has a built-in design engine and adaptive layout that enables students to add content, and Sway will make sure it looks good.

Learn more by completing the Digital Storytelling with Microsoft Sway course on the Microsoft Educator Community.

Objectives of the Course:

• Learn how Sway works to share text, images, video, and dynamic content to tell a rich story
• See examples of Sway's impact in the classroom
• Practice creating a Sway
• Understand how Sway can be used in a variety of ways

If you don't already have an account on the Microsoft Educator Community, be sure to choose the option to log in with your O365 account.


How are you using Sway? Tweet out your learning - @Sway and @kisdsectech

YouTube Approval Form

Flipping your classroom? Want students to be able to watch your videos? Whether or not you are uploading your own videos or sharing something already on YouTube, make sure your video is approved for student viewing. Click here to access the form.

Discovery Education SOS - Paper Chat

Discovery Education - Spotlight on Strategies

Spotlight on Strategies (SOS) is a series of over 100 creative, research-based instructional strategies, presented by teachers for teachers. These strategies incorporate digital media in meaningful, effective, and practical ways.

Every strategy has a written guide and a short video (usually 2-3 minutes) summary describing the research, process, and materials.

Featured SOS: Paper Chat

This is one of our favorite strategies because it's easy to implement in any class with any content.  Once you pose the question all students in the group participate silently, so even reluctant students add their thoughts, too.  We recommend that each student use a different color when they are writing, that way you can assess each individual student's contribution.  Post the completed papers in your room and refer back to them throughout the lesson or unit.

Tweet your students in action (no faces) or your final products and use the hashtag #SpotlightOnStrategies and #kisdsectech.

How to Find More Strategies

Pear Deck Flashcard Factory

You may have heard of (and used) Pear Deck in the past (as a presentation tool), but there is a feature called Flashcard Factory that is pretty awesome! ( It has been out for a while, but I think they’ve refined it a bit)

#KISDSecTech Technology Spotlight - February 11, 2019

KISD Technology Spotlight Around the District
Week of February 11, 2019

Include #KISDSecTech in your tweets to share the amazing things that are happening in your classroom and on your campus.

6th grade writers enjoy setting up and designing their first writing portfolios through bulb. The students will be using bulb as a blog to share their writing with authentic audiences. #7LJHpride #kisdela #7lspartanpride pic.twitter.com/UVYYY7Hir7

— candice dubey (@dubeywriting6) February 13, 2019

Virtual field trip through the world biomes. 5E Explore lessons gives every kid an experience before the teaching begins. #nearpod #wchowlout @karneto3 @MelStone1971 @charter2005 pic.twitter.com/RrmM7k1oil

— Courtney Lewis (@clewis_wcjh) February 12, 2019

Find the missing angle with @nearpod. Students loved seeing there work displayed on the SMARTboard. #mdjh6math #MDJH_Panthers pic.twitter.com/bO4k4Kc2iu

— Jill Hobbs (@jillmhobbs) February 12, 2019

TCEA 2019 Resources

TCEA 2019 Special Edition Newsletter

This past week the JH Classroom Technology Designers attended the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) Convention.  We're excited to share with you some of the new things that we learned!

For a full session list (which includes links to handouts and presentations) click here.



Did you know you could automatically identify the parts of speech in an online Word document? You can also have Word show just one line at a time with Line Focus and also read to you. These are just a few of the amazing features within Office 365. To use, open a document in Office 365 and click on View-Immersive Reader.

Click here to learn how to use this feature.

Ready to learn more?
Click here to learn about all of the Learning Tools in Word Online.

Check out these courses on the Microsoft Educator Community (sign-in with your O365 account).

• Accessibility tools:  Meeting the needs of diverse learners
• Empower every student with an inclusive classroom

You don't need an elaborate setup to let your kids create green screen video in any content area with fabulous backgrounds to set the stage. Check out this cool presentation from TCEA to see how a cut-out, a pizza box and an iPad is all it takes.

Click here for the Green Screen presentation from TCEA.




Want to make learning or reviewing content fun and engaging? Use OneNote to create a digital escape room. Students will read content, watch videos, or look at images to solve the clues. Sections are locked with a passcode, but the correct answer will "unlock" the next section.


Click Here for an Example: The last section will give you the passwords to all sections - the password to this section is OneNoteAvenger.
Click here for directions on how to setup a OneNote Notebook for a Digital Breakout.

#KISDSecTech Technology Spotlight - February 4, 2019

KISD Technology Spotlight Around the District
Week of February 4, 2019

#KISDSecTech

• Please be sure to include #KISDSecTech in your tweets to share the amazing things that are happening in your classroom and on your campus.
• Follow #KISDSecTech on Twitter to see all of the great things happening across KISD.

@fuller06 students practicing their sentence correction skills using their Chromebook DeviceToGo. Dropping their completed work in the "Fuller Folder". Way to go Ms. Fuller! @CardiffColts @CJHIC27 @JaySonnenburg @darlenerankin pic.twitter.com/8k04KTYGas

— Scott Rounds (@ScottRounds4) February 6, 2019

Commitment to customer feedback is a big priority at @bulbapp ! Thank you @katyisdtech team for your valuable input! #TCEA #measurewhatmatters #digitalportfios pic.twitter.com/Do8Ven6JHZ

— janice bowen (@janicebowen1) February 6, 2019

So much going on in science @MPJHEagles Word walls, cubes to identify organisms, foldables, Nearpod, completing AND submitting labs using google and canvas, dichotomous keys with food and small group teaching! @bwilliams6160 @ccg2911 #kisdscience #mpjheagles pic.twitter.com/ONTGisArJr

— Kimberly Hunter (@khunterscience) February 5, 2019

Since we were using Nearpod all day in math class, we decided to use it for our Character Strong lesson today! 👌🏼 #MPJH #characterstrong pic.twitter.com/sHVYDXdRCI

— Rose Shockey (@rose_shockeyy) February 4, 2019

Nearpod Integrates with Canvas

Teachers can use Nearpod effectively in the classroom to support student learning in a variety of ways. Students are given opportunities for interaction and immediate feedback, while teachers receive reports on student responses. Nearpod now integrates with Canvas, allowing for a ease of use for everyone. With this integration a code is no longer necessary for students to connect. Individual student responses are displayed within SpeedGrader when a Nearpod lesson is added as an assignment within Canvas. Sounds like a win-win for both teachers and students.

Watch this video for step-by-step instructions.



Speedgrader Screen shot.

Classroomscreen.com, the Swiss-Army Classroom Management Tool

Tech guru's and tech beginners alike can appreciate this simple to use, yet extremely useful classroom management tool. Classroomscreen.com combines widgets typically found on their own pages, all on the same screen. No more tab hopping. Set a timer. Display a QR code. Random generate student names or roll a dice. You can load as many widgets as you need!