I’m sure many of us have seen our fair share of sticky keypads, misplaced chargers, and cracked screens. Considering this, It’s important to help our students develop the skills necessary to be responsible users of their devices. Common Sense Education…

Category: New Staff Essentials
Clever Teacher Checklist
The new school year has begun and like in previous years Clever will be a powerful single sign-on tool to enable your students to access a host of digital tools like, Seesaw, IXL, HMH, and Wit and Wisdom, just to…
Seesaw Tips & Tricks
Seesaw is a fantastic tool for capturing learning in the classroom. Teachers can empower students to create, reflect, share, and collaborate. Students “show what they know” using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. It’s simple to get student work…
Get to Know Your Students with Keynote
Looking for a great activity to both better know your students, and introduce a great technology tool? This activity does both! Using Keynote, their iPad, and their camera, students will get to know their peers, and you! Activity: Keynote FIle:
Getting Started with Google Classroom – 2023
Google Classroom is the Westside-approved learning management system for grades 3-12. Looking to get started setting up your class? Check out the slide show below created by Kate Carlson! As always, if you’d like personalized help, please reach out to…
Apple Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are a powerful tool that can help you to save time and improve your productivity! They are a set of keys that you can press to perform a task quickly and easily. Keyboard shortcuts can be used in…
Notability 11.0
You may already be familiar with the power of Notability to transform note-taking for your students, but I would encourage you to take a second look and discover how Notability can also make it easy to present lessons, create screen…
Digital Flashcards in GoodNotes
Named the Apple iPad App of the year, GoodNotes is a great tool to engage your students in limitless digital note-taking. This App is equipped with a variety of digital papers, handwriting recognition, drawing tools, and easy organization via folders.…
Movies in the Classroom…Is it Legal?
Sharing a documentary, TV show, or movie can be a great way to engage students, drive deeper learning, and boost critical thinking. But doing so requires us as educators to first be well-informed about copyright laws, and aware of school…
Grammarly for Education
Westside students (Grades 5-12) and all staff have access to Grammarly for Education! If you aren’t familiar with Grammarly, it’s a tool to help improve your writing by checking for spelling, grammar, word choice, sentence structure, tone, and more! Great…