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What assessments does my child need to take?

I am holding off on the rest of the assessments until the first week of school. The purpose of LEAP week was to get as many done as possible because it takes up so much instructional time.

What school supplies does my child need?

• notebook paper
• pencils
• crayons (optional)
• headphones (optional)
• a designated working area that is quiet and free of distractions
• desk or table

*A note about the headphones- If you have more than one child, they will need to be in separate rooms or really far apart. Otherwise we will get feedback.

Can you explain all these usernames, student ID numbers, and passwords?

Every student is issued a username and password for devices. It is tied to their Microsoft Office 365 account. The username will be their last name and their first name and sometimes a number. For example, George Washington could be WashingtonG34. The password is always a combination of 5 letters and/or numbers.

Student ID numbers are what my students typically call their lunchroom numbers because they previously had to type them into the computer to get a lunch. This number is sometimes used in some programs as a username. Mastery Connect is an example. 

Another password that is often used is their 8 digit birthday using the format MMDDYYYY. Clever, Math Inventory (MI) and Reading Inventory (RI) use this as passwords.

What platform is my child using for virtual instruction? 

To (try to) simply things, all Aiken innovate students will use Microsoft Teams and Schoology. There may be a few other programs that teachers use, such as Raz-Kids or Epic! Reading, but all classwork will be submitted through Schoology or Teams.

Do they access the online class from your school website?

No. I am using my school website only as a way to communicate with parents until school starts. After that, all communication will be through Schoology and Microsoft Teams.

Are you using Class Dojo?

No. I don't want it to be "one more app" that parents have to keep up with. I know that a lot of teachers and parents use it at Warrenville, but I wasn't sure if parents from East Aiken were familiar with it.

Does my child need to log into Clever?

Not at this point.

Can you explain what Microsoft Teams and Schoology is? Why do they need both? What are they going to be used for?

I will use Microsoft Teams for live instruction. It is similar to Zoom, but has a lot more capabilities. It's the "camera part" of the instruction. 

Schoology is a learning management system. Students will access their assignments from here. This is also where they will submit all of their assignments. You will receive (or hopefully have already received) parent access codes. You can use this to see all of their coursework and grades.

If you have not already, check out the Aiken Innovate webpage on the district website. It has a video of students and teachers using Teams and Schoology. I think it will give you a better idea of what instruction will look like.