Start with this welcome video and then ALSO read the FAQs below, please.
If you still have questions after reading everything you can email me – info@brittanywashburn.com
Common Questions about Student Access
There are 2 options for students to log in. They can use the Auto Login URL or they can type the username and password. See the details below for each option.
Option 1: Auto Login URL, which works like a single-sign-on link. Generate your Auto Login URL for Students from your My Account page.
YOU MAY
- Share the auto login URL with students in a protected way such as Clever, Seesaw, Google Classroom, Schoology, or other learning management system, via email, or as a desktop shortcut.
- Provide a substitute teacher with the auto login URL to facilitate your classes.
YOU MAY NOT
- Put the auto login URL anywhere public, such as your school website, class website, social media, etc.
- Share the auto login URL with others who are not licensed to use the curriculum with your students.
- *If we notice an unusually large amount of traffic coming from your auto login link we will ask you to purchase an additional license.
TROUBLESHOOTING the Auto Login URL: If the students URL is still asking you to sign in then that means you have cookies disabled in your browser. Try this to enable them: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/61416?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
If you purchased the curriculum prior to June 2019 the Auto Login Links can be purchased as an add-on here.
Option 2: Students type in the username and password. The account you made when you put through your order is the same username and password that your students will use to access their lessons. *If you already had an account on the site then that account is now your class account. See “Can I change my username?” FAQ if needed.
*Choose “remember me” in the login box the first time so that the browser will remember the login credentials and your students don’t have to type them every time.
A note about option 2: If the school secretary or someone else purchased the subscription for you, you’ll receive 2 emails with information about your account and with the teacher downloads. Please find those emails and follow the instructions in them for access. The account connected to the subscription is the class account, not the one connected to the order.
URL not Logging in automatically:
- Check browser settings to allow cookies. The URL works with a cookie to communicate with the browser and is required in order for this feature to work.
- The very first login may require students to manually type the username and password (some systems require it and there is nothing I can do about it). Instruct students to click the “remember me” box so that future logins are as easy as pressing the login button (the username and password will already be filled in if the browser allows for it to be saved). If you need your username changed to something kid-friendly, please follow the “Can I change my username?” instructions on this FAQ page.
- Check on how often your browser clears cookies to be prepared for how often students will need to manually log in again.
There is a firewall set up on the site to protect bots from using up server resources. Occasionally the website mistakes humans for robots for the following reasons:
- Multiple failed login attempts within a very short period of time. Consider using the Auto Login URL or have students double check their info before submitting.
- Trying to directly access a protected page. Always have your students start at the Homepage (https://k5technologycurriculum.com/homepage) and then log in and find a lesson from the dropdown menu. You’re more likely to get a 503 error when the site needs to redirect students to a login page as this seems like suspicious activity.
If you continue to get 503 errors even after putting in effort to stop the 2 scenarios above you can email me. In the email let me know your username and IP address. I can whitelist IP addresses for 90 days so that the server knows you’re humans. 🙂
No. The teacher has full control over which lesson students should access and collecting finished projects. The site doesn’t keep track of anything. This enables us to use it with students under the age of 13.
This means you’ll need a way for your students to share their finished files with you. A Learning Management System like Google Classroom makes it really easy to collect files from students.
You can also keep your own anecdotal records of student progress. Click here to read a blog post about grading in the computer lab.
Some of the optional early finisher activities on the site require an account on the external websites.
An example of this is MobyMax and Discovery Education from the Sponge Activities. If your students don’t have accounts for these sites then have them skip these activities.
Q: How can I get my students onto the website quickly?
A: Options-
- Have the page linked to your school website (or whatever website is the home page when your students open the browser).
- Make a desktop shortcut on each computer that goes directly to k5technologycurriculum.com/homepage.
- Use a software like Lanschool to push the link out to your students.
- Bookmark the URL on the browser. *See info on the Auto Login URL option
ALWAYS send students to the homepage https://www.k5technologycurriculum.com/homepage and then have students choose their lesson from the menu. Trying to send students directly to a lesson page will give an error message because they won’t be logged in.
Common Questions about your Account
- Start at your My Account page.
- Click My Subscriptions on the left menu.
- Click View next to this subscription.
- Click Renew or Resubscribe and add the product to your cart.
- If you do not see a Renew or Resubscribe button, click Cancel (I know that sounds counter-intuitive but I promise that the active dates of the subscription will still work correctly). After you’ve cancelled you should then see the Resubscribe button. Follow the Resubscribe directions from Step 4.
- Email me if you’re stuck – info@brittanywashburn.com
- Search your inbox for emails from info@brittanywashburn.com. There will be one email with your account setup. You need to set your password first before trying to download the order files.
- Once you’ve set your password and you’re logged in to the site you’ll be able to click the links in the order email for your downloads. If you see an error message when trying to download it means you’re not logged in.
- That’s it! You now have your class account and downloads and you can proceed with the normal teacher instructions.
- Start at your My Account page.
- Click My Subscriptions on the left menu.
- Click View next to this subscription.
- Toggle off Auto Renew
- Click Cancel to put the subscription into “Pending Cancellation” and make note of your expiration date.
- Email me if you get stuck – info@brittanywashburn.com and ask me to cancel for you. Waiting until after renewal and then asking for a refund will result in a $10 processing fee.
On the checkout page, just sign in and go through the checkout process.
If you need to change your username, see the answer below.
I have to manually change the username for you, so please email me info@brittanywashburn.com and let me know what your first and second choice username is. If your first choice is already taken, I’ll try the second choice.
Most people choose their school name or mascot so that it is easy for students to remember. You may want to add a number to the end to make it unique.
You can change your own password at any time using the Password Reset link under the login box.
- Check your confirmation email for the download links.
- Click Teachers on the Header and then click the Yellow button.
- If you have subscriptions then their associated files will be under the My Subscriptions tab.
Many people sign up for the monthly subscription to test it out and then change to Yearly later.
Visit your My Account page and click on the Subscriptions tab.
Click View next to this subscription.
Look for the button that says Change Billing Term and click on it.
Follow the instructions to switch your billing term. You will be billed on the day that your subscription was supposed to renew.
Common Questions about the Lessons
For Grades K-2 I recommend a whole group game on your Whiteboard if you have one, or a tech themed book. Click here to make a copy of my Book List recommendations. This list contains links to be able to purchase the books on Amazon and links to about 40 of the books on YouTube being read either by an author or teacher.
For grades 3-5 please use the Keyboarding link under the EXTRAS menu tab for 10 minutes of keyboarding at the beginning of every class. Don’t start this with 3rd grade until after their keyboarding unit.
There are eBooks in many of the lessons. They are supplemental and meant to be read whole-group to the class.
Use them as discussion starters and to provide background knowledge to students.
If you’re not able to read to the class, you can have students use a screen reader extension on their browser to read the text, but it won’t be as nice an experience as the teacher reading.
If students do not have a Google Account, have them change the end of the URL from the word “copy” to “edit” to open the file. Then they will need to click File-> Make a Copy in order for the file to be interactive.
For example:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AnVeCXPzXYpfd2fjAouVIYKi2cAdeNcA-QUgYMyAsc0/copy
- https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AnVeCXPzXYpfd2fjAouVIYKi2cAdeNcA-QUgYMyAsc0/edit
If your students don’t have google accounts then don’t use the Google Apps units. Use the MS Office units instead.
These file types will download to the device in protected mode.
Click on the button “Enable Editing” to start using the files.
*Even if you have a different version of these programs at your school, all of the activities are generic enough to still work. You may have to point out where different icons are in your version for your students.
Depending on your browser settings, the downloads may end up in weird places. Be sure that students know how to get to their downloads folder to retrieve the files.
There are several Padlet pages linked in the lessons. You have 2 choices for using them with students.
- Students enter their answers right into the padlets provided. I clear out the responses daily, so be sure to watch your students input their answers in real-time so you don’t miss anything.
- You (the teacher) make a copy of the padlet and provide a link to it to your students.
The benefit of making your own copy is that your students can put more identifying information (like their first name and last initial) and that you can moderate content.
I set aside time every Tuesday to fix broken links/images/files, etc. Please fill out a the bug report form and I’ll get to it that week.
Occasionally, a link to an external site shows us that the activity has been removed. I reserve the right to change the activity completely without notice in this situation. I will always do my best to make sure the replacement activity meets the same standard(s).
*The bug report form is on the TEACHERS page. Look for the Blue Button.
This form is meant to be filled out by students who haven’t followed expectations.
Once submitted, the form goes to a filtered folder in my inbox. I don’t look at them, so if you need a record of the students’ answers then you’ll need to create your own form that goes directly to you.
I recommend using the form as a way to hold students accountable for their actions.
There are 4 sites that I use to embed content into the lesson pages. If any part of a lesson page appears blank or gives an error message, you can have your IT person whitelist them if possible so that your students can see everything.
- book.designrr.co
- thegameshost.com
- vimeo.com
- educaplay.com
Chromebooks can be finicky with with making a connection to the server. It is usually the school firewall.
Here is a website with steps to troubleshoot https://www.webnots.com/how-to-fix-err_connection_reset-error-in-google-chrome/
Other Misc. Questions
The question comes up every once in a while about students being able to access the “teacher side” of the site.
1. The site was built for students in the first place. Only later did I add the Teacher page with links to my blog and shop. I built the pages with intention so that students wouldn’t have any reason to access the other areas of the site.
2. Even if students do find their way to the teacher page, there isn’t anything there that should interest them.
3. If by chance a student accesses your order downloads, then they get to play teacher for a day. No harm done. If a student sends a password reset link, it will go to the email address on file. The password won’t be changed unless you access the link from the email and change it. A student can’t make a purchase from your account unless they enter their own payment info. No payment information is stored on my site. If you see payment info populated it is being done by your browser.
4. If it makes you uncomfortable to have students see your home address, change it to your school address.
5. After you’ve downloaded all of your purchased files, you may email me to request that I remove the download links from your account. If you need them back in the future it is just another email (but please don’t abuse this because it takes me a few minutes to do and we are all busy).
NEW FOR 2021 and Beyond
- Auto Login Links. The Teacher link contains special code that allows for access to the My Account page.
- The Student link is blocked from accessing the My Account page. Load the Student Link once on each student device and then they won’t be able to get to the My Account page.
- If you purchased the curriculum prior to June 2019 the Auto Login Links can be purchased as an add-on here.
Can students use the site at home during distance learning? YES!
Please share the class username and password or the auto-login URL with parents in a secure way so that the info doesn’t end up public on the internet.
You may need to record some of your own screencast videos since you won’t be in person to do a mini lesson. Or you can only assign the pages that have a video or full text instructions. Up to you!
Every year I have at least one teacher reach out to me to ask me if there is a way to prevent a student from working ahead. There isn’t.
One of the skills in the ISTE Standards for Students is the ability to navigate a website. Students need access to everything in order to learn this skill. Plus it enables you (the teacher) to be able to pick and choose lessons in any order you want.
It is almost guaranteed that you’ll have an eager student each year that works on lessons at home on his/her own time. This doesn’t bother me a bit! I love the enthusiasm. I just let students in this situation know that during class time they’ll still be expected to work on that day’s assignment.
Other Resources for New Tech Teachers
Blog Posts I recommend reading:
- Giving Grades in the Tech Lab
- Teaching Primary Students How to Use a Mouse and Keyboard
- Tech Tips and Tricks for Teachers
- Creating Stations in the Tech Lab
- Tech Lab Essential Supplies
Check out these blog posts for a lot more information. The question is on the left and then there is hyperlinked text on the right.
Some questions you probably have that I figured out along the way…
- Oh no, I have to track data and give grades?! Let me help you get organized
- What in the world do I do if my students don’t work at the same pace? Early finisher activities
- How do I make sure all of my students are learning the standards? Take my free email course
- How do I plan for 6+ grade levels each week? Save yourself the headache!
- I’m brand new at teaching tech. How do I even get started?
- The classroom teachers want me to do what? Online Research Skills for Students
- What do I do when the technology isn’t working? Unplugged Technology Stations
- I know how to teach, but I have no idea how to be a technology teacher. Here are 7 tips for transitioning