UTB eNews AU: Feb 2022

As many schools face greater outbreaks, it’s more important than ever to ask for the support you need. As always, we’re here to help. 

Whether you need advice on how to use technology effectively and efficiently for remote or face to face learning or strategies to help you weather these turbulent times, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Content Overview


1 Tech Tools for Teachers: Student Feedback Made Easy

2 Trainer Tip: 5 Back-to-School Focus Tips
3 Learn on Demand: Get Your Discount Subscription
4 Lesson Planning Made Simple: Make 3D Shapes with Procreate
5 Blog Bites: How to Weather the Season of Change Successfully

6 Events: Data & Security Summit
7 UTB Team Milestones: Celebrating Work Anniversaries

Tech Tools for Teachers

Student Feedback Made Easy
Kick off the new year with Mote, a powerful learning tool that will make sharing feedback so much easier. Being able to add voice comments and audio content to shared documents, assignments, emails and forms means giving timely feedback is easier than ever.

If you haven’t seen Mote before or if it’s been a while since you’ve used it, take a look. You’ll be glad you did.

Click here for your FREE 3 month access to Mote (for the unlimited tier for teachers) or type justmote.me/utb into your browser.
Click here to learn how Mote can empower teachers.

Trainer Tip

 

5 Back-to-School Focus Tips
Getting your head back in the game at the start of a new school year can be a tough gig. However, small tweaks can make all the difference helping you transition effortlessly back in to the school year. 

Use these 5 Back-to-School Focus Tips so you can keep your focus firmly on your students from the get-go.

1. Get Organised 
Spend some time organising your favourite web tools into bookmark folders that will save you a lot of time once the busy day-to-day kicks in. Create bookmark folders according to subject or topic areas so you can find your favourite tools quickly.

2. Set Clear Expectations
Make sure that you set clear expectations around device use in your classroom from the outset. Work through this with your students as part of your class culture setup. If you are all clear from the beginning, then it helps in the long run.

3. Assignment Review Process
Whether you use a shared folder, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, or if you prefer them to email or Airdrop their work, create a system so students know where to save their work for you to review. If using folders, set these up yourself before the students create their first piece of work, then you own the folder and have more control.

4. Outcome Tracking
A great way to keep track of student progress (and create seating plans) is to organise your class using a Google Sheet or Excel spreadsheet. You can even use conditional formatting to customise and highlight the progress of each individual child in different curriculum areas that easily identifies when a particular student needs additional support. 

Click here to watch this short tutorial: How to Use Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets.

5. Third-Party Apps
Adding your favourite third-party apps like Class Dojo, Seesaw, or Google Classroom is quick and easy once you set up your students in a spreadsheet. Instead of wasting time typing out your entire class list over and over, simply copy and paste from your spreadsheet straight into third-party apps.

Click here to watch the Back to School special for more great tips to get your head in the game!

Learn on Demand


Now is the time to arm yourself with the training you need to ace the tools in the classroom. 

Get unfettered access to more than 40 pre-recorded, online courses guaranteed to hone your tech skills in meaningful, practical ways – and a few other extra goodies to help you on your way. 

Delivered by Google, Apple, Microsoft certified trainers, you can get expert training anytime, anywhere you want! 

The only tech training subscription educators ever need. Seriously.

Click here to subscribe to LoD+ for only $14.50 today!

Lesson Planning Made Simple

Make 3D Shapes with Procreate
Dipping your toe into the magical world of 3D can be confronting for many students (and teachers!). But with Procreate, UTB’s Apple guru, Paul Hamilton will show you just how easy is it to apply to colour on 3D shapes in his short tutorial.

In just 10 minutes, you’ll see how Procreate can open up a world of possibilities across the curriculum! We can’t wait to see what you and your students create! 

Watch the video tutorial below to learn how to create 3D dice and apply colour in just 10 minutes!

Blog Bites

 

Get the 5 fundamental functional attributes you need to successfully weather the season of change with confidence in 2022! Arm yourself with the knowledge and a proven framework in this blog by UTB’s General Manager, Adam Miller. 

Click here for How to Successfully Weather the Season of Change with Confidence

Events


Data & Security Summit 


Living in an age where a new variant of malware emerges every 4 seconds, it’s no surprise cybersecurity became the number 1 priority for organisations in 2021. And schools are no exception. 

Schools are just as vulnerable to targeted cyber attacks. In fact, because schools are the gatekeepers of such valuable data it makes you a prime target; vulnerable to hackers holding you to ransom by locking you out of your accounts unless you pay up. 

Don’t be complacent. Your school could be next.

Get all you need to know to protect your school at this year’s online Data & Security Summit in March. You will hear from our stellar lineup of industry experts who will share how hackers are using data to leverage school systems and give you the knowledge you need to inform decision making, get timely feedback, and set up early interventions.

Take this opportunity to examine the way you think about data, how to analyse it, and make decisions that best support your learners and the wider community.

Click here to be the first to get your early bird tickets and bonus kit!
Click here to get your printable Data & Security Summit info. 

UTB Team Milestones


Celebrating Work Anniversaries

As we celebrate our work milestones each month, we’ll be sharing what it means to us to be part of the UTB family.

“Back in the early days when I first started UTB I was just one teacher with the dream of working with a great team. Ten years on it’s fulfilling to see that dream come together and so rewarding to see the global impact we’re able to achieve because of it.”
Mike, UTB Founder, 10 years

“To be surrounded by people who have a heart to help others as their core motivation is what makes UTB such an awesome place to work. After leaving the classroom I was concerned that losing the regular holidays that had been part of my entire life would ruin me! But when you work in a place that energises, challenges and stretches you, your perspective on life changes!”
Adrian, Technology Trainer, 4 years

“Having the opportunity to work with incredible educators both within the UTB team and as part of my day to day work is something I feel really grateful for.”
Karla, Technology Trainer, 3 years

“Supportive workplaces that foster growth are hard to come by. Using Technology Better is such a place. I love how we can pursue our passions within a company that genuinely wants the best for us. We are able to make mistakes without judgement and celebrate new learnings as a collective group. I am super proud to be part of the UTB family.”
Paul, Technology Trainer, 2 years

“Everybody is awesome and super friendly. UTB really feels like a family. I feel I belong and that my efforts are appreciated and encouraged. There’s always enough space to play and grow personally and professionally, which I truly love. I take great pride in being part of this amazing culture and look forward to making it better year after year.”
Jed, Design Lead, 2 years

“Achievement of goal to keep growing professionally and able to reset this goal in a supportive environment that encourages risk-taking and personal growth.”
Phil, Customer Growth Specialist, 1 year

“From day one on the job I knew what an incredible blessing it was to be part of the UTB family. I love the culture here that is built on the same values I personally cherish; integrity, trust, generosity of spirit, and honouring the individual so that we can collectively make a positive impact in people’s lives.”
Majka, Marketing Coordinator, 1 year

Related Post

How well do you use the
Apple Apps Google Workspace Microsoft 365
tools in your workplace?

Find out if you’re working with the tools OR if you’ve got the
tools working for you.

What Industry Are You In?

Using Apple Apps, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?

What Type of user are you?

🫣 Entry User | 🤹 Skilled User | 👑 Elite User

Take the quiz to find out. 

Privacy Policy

Using Technology Better Privacy Commitment

Introduction

We hold the privacy of your personal information in the highest regard.

Using Technology Better regards customer privacy as an important part of our relationship with our customers. The following privacy policy applies to all Using Technology Better users, and conforms to Internet privacy standards.

This policy will be continuously assessed against new technologies, business practices and our customers’ needs.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact the support team on our Contact Us Page.

Collection of Information

In order to use the Using Technology Better website, we may require information from you in order to provide the best service possible.

All correspondence may also be collected and stored, particularly in regard to sales, support and accounts, including Email.

Any information collected by Using Technology Better is collected via correspondence from you or your company. This may be via the telephone, Email, mail, fax or directly through our website.

Visitors and customers of japan.usingtechnologybetter.com will have their information shared back to DAIWABO INFORMATION SYSTEM CO., LTD. and DIS Service & Solution Co., Ltd.

Use of Collection Information

Any details collected from Using Technology Better customers is required in order to provide you with our

products and/or services, and a high level of customer service.

Correspondence is recorded in order to provide service references, and to assist in our staff development.

Web Site Use Information

Similar to other commercial Web sites, our Web sites utilize a standard technology called “cookies” (see explanation below, “What Are Cookies?”) and web server log files to collect information about how our Web site is used.

Information gathered through cookies and Web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our Web site, and the Web sites visited just before and just after our Web site.

Storage of Collected Information

The security of your personal information is important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card numbers) on our website, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL).

When Credit Card details are collected, we simply pass them on in order to be processed as required. We never permanently store complete Credit Card details.

We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it.

If you have any questions about security on our Website, you can email us at <ContactEmail>.

Access to Collected Information

If your personally identifiable information changes, or if you no longer desire our service, you may correct, update, delete or deactivate it by emailing us at <ContactEmail>.

Orders

If you purchase a product or service from us, we may request certain personally identifiable information from you.

You may be required to provide contact information such as:

Name

Email

Postal address

Your school or organisation

Financial information (such as credit card number, expiration date, name on card, card billing address).

We use this information for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we will use this information to contact you.

Communications

Using Technology Better uses personally identifiable information for essential communications, such as

Emails

Accounts information

Critical service details.

We may also use this information for other purposes, including some promotional Emails.

If at any time a customer wishes not to receive such correspondence, they can request to be removed from any mailing lists by contacting support.

You will be notified when your personal information is collected by any third party that is not our agent/service provider, so you can make an informed choice as to whether or not to share your information with that party.

Third Parties

Using Technology Better may at its discretion use other third parties to provide essential services on our site or for our business processes.

We may share your details as necessary for the third party to provide that service.

These third parties are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information for any other purpose.

Using Technology Better does not share any information with third parties for any unknown or unrelated uses.

What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a Web site, that site’s computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies.

Each Web site can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser’s preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a Web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

Browsers are usually set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you may alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies.

If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of our site will not function as effectively when viewed by the users.

A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive or pass on computer viruses.

How Do We Use Information We Collect from Cookies?

As you visit and browse our Web site, the site uses cookies to differentiate you from other users. In some cases, we also use cookies to prevent you from having to log in more than is necessary for security.

Cookies, in conjunction with our Web server’s log files, allow us to calculate the aggregate number of people visiting our Web site and which parts of the site are most popular. This helps us gather feedback to constantly improve our Web site and better serve our clients.

Cookies do not allow us to gather any personal information about you and we do not intentionally store any personal information that your browser provided to us in your cookies.

Legal

We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our Website.

Links

Links on the Using Technology Better site to external entities are not covered within this policy. The terms and conditions set out in this privacy statement only cover the domain name of usingtechnologybetter.com

Changes to Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

We reserve the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it periodically. If we make material changes to this policy, we will not use the personal information you have submitted to us under this Privacy Policy in a manner that is materially inconsistent with this Privacy Policy, without your prior consent

Delivery Policy

Most goods are digitally delivered instantly via email.  Our services may be delivered either via an online medium or live in person.

For our online delivery see below.  For services delivered live onsite, please refer to our speaker agreement form which is emailed to you on confirmation of booking.

Refund Policy

We do not offer refunds or returns unless we cannot supply goods or services or the goods or services are not delivered as promised.

Australian law is the governing body for all work, goods and services supplied by Using Technology Better.

Marketing Release

Using Technology Better (UTB) may film, record, and photograph me (the results of which are the “Recordings”). UTB may also incorporate into any production(s) any separate content (e.g., quotes, testimonials, biographical information, profiles, photos, videos, sound recordings, artwork, etc.) I provide to UTB or approve in writing (“Materials”).

1.License

I grant to UTB an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to, in its sole discretion, (i) edit, translate, and modify the Recordings and the Materials, (ii) attribute the Recordings and Materials to me by my name, age, and city and state of residence, (iii) incorporate the Recordings and the Materials into content to promote UTB, its programs, or products (“Content”), and (iv) publicly use, distribute, reproduce, create derivative works from, and perform/display the Content, and any excerpts thereof, in any language.

2. No Compensation.

I grant this permission without any financial or other obligation of any nature.

 

For any issues or concerns please contact us