AISD Technology Bits & Bytes

10/23/2025

Peggy Reimers, of TCEA fame, shared an entire Google Slide deck of SEL Check-ins! Fun ideas to use at the beginning of class!
Here's a quick-link for ya: aisd.me/checkin

10/23/2025

Fun Fact:
In 2026 there will be THREE Friday the 13ths!!! 😨👻😅

10/23/2025

Our new favorite game! You have to be quick on this one or you might lose a brain cell!

Think fast. Choose 6 or 7 for each expression. Score points and earn a brain cell every time you hit a 7-streak. Lose a brain cell for each wrong or unanswered expression.

10/23/2025

This is a helpful graphic to recognize an email with bad intentions.
The more you know!💪💥

10/10/2025

The long weekend calls for Cool Veggie Pizza Bytes!
Easy and YOM!

Ingredients:
2 -8 ounce cans of crescent roll dough
1 -8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
1/2 cup sour cream or 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt
1/2 ranch dressing packet
Finely chopped veggies (I chop the veggies pretty finely. I won't get mathematical here, but it really does keep everything on the crescent pieces when cut into portions):
1 head of broccoli (more or less)
1 red bell pepper (want more color? Add some yellow and orange bell pepper - why not?)
2 diced or shredded carrots
1/4 - 1/2 diced red onion
Finely shredded Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven according to crescent roll package directions (typically 375 degrees)
Unroll both packages of crescent dough and place side by side onto a large sheet pan to make one whole crust. Press/pinch the dough seams together along with the perforated seams (the dough has perforated seams for easy separation for actual crescent roll making) so that it becomes one solid sheet.
I've seen crescent dough that actually comes in a whole sheet. Either type will work. 😊

Place sheet pan in the oven and cook 13 - 17 minutes until it is golden brown. Let it cool completely before adding any of the toppings.

Mix softened cream cheese, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), and ranch packet until well blended.

As your crust is cooling, chop your veggies - again, a very fine chop works better for this recipe.

When crust has cooled completely, spread cream cheese topping evenly over the entire crust.

Sprinkle the chopped veggies on top. Hint - to help them keep their hold, lightly press into the cream cheese mixture.

Sprinkle the top of your creation with finely shredded Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese.

Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 8 rows by 4 rows (around 32 pieces).

Helpful Hint:
Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate 1 - 2 hours before serving to prevent the crust from becoming soggy. If you are wanting to pre-make before an event, it is highly suggested to cook the crust, mix the cream cheese mixture, chop the veggies, and store separately until ready to serve.

👨🏻‍🍳👨🏻‍🍳Enjoy!

10/10/2025

Lori Gracey, TCEA's executive director, includes useful resource links for teens, their parents, & their educators while speaking to the importance of raising kids responsibly through the age of AI in her latest blogpost.

Teaching AI safety for grades 7-12 isn't just a good idea—it's vital to the health of our pre-teen and teenage students. Explore this and more at TCEA TechNotes Blog, your go-to source for educational technology and teaching innovation.

10/07/2025

10/06/2025

It's Week 2 of Cybersecurity Month! 🙌
Protect your digital data by using strong passwords. Need some help thinking of a good password that you'll remember? Use a passphrase instead! You can easily create a memorable phrase of 4-7 unrelated words & incorporate capital letters, numbers, and symbols from your keyboard. Or, come up with a phrase and then code it by using uppercase & lowercase letters, and then substitute numbers for a letter (for example: an 'E' becomes a '3' or the letter 'o' becomes a '0')! GAME OVER, Hackers!!! 😈

10/01/2025

Happy 1st Day of October!!! 🤩🎃

Today is also the kick off of Cybersecurity Awareness Month so buckle down on those passwords and make sure that they're not vulnerable to hackers! 👊 Then, test out your passwords in Bitwarden to see how safe they really are:
https://bitwarden.com/password-strength/

09/30/2025

Word Lab is an online game created by We Are Teachers. Use as the day's warm up activity or maybe as a brain break.

You can choose from a 3, 5, or 7 letter word every day. If you get the correct letter in the right spot, the letter will turn blue. If you get the correct letter, but have placed it in the wrong spot, it will turn yellow. If the letter that you guess is not in the word, it will turn red.

Use an optional timer or just wing it at your own pace or even as a whole class activity.🤩 Can you guess today's word? 🧐

Get fresh word puzzles every day! Choose from the three, five, or seven letter challenge.

09/30/2025

Had to throw in a little 'Byte' for October-Eve! ☕🍂
Hot or over ice, this hits the spot! 🤎

DIY Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer. YOM! 🤤

Ingredients:
*Half and Half or Whipping Cream
*Canned pumpkin
*Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
*Pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (or both!)
*Your favorite sweetener (I like Torani's Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup) or make your own simple syrup (equal parts water & either sugar, brown sugar, or Splenda - bring water to a boil, then add your sugar of choice, stir, let cool)
*Brewed coffee
*Splash of vanilla

Directions:
Start with 1.5 cups of half and half, 2 tablespoons of pumpkin, 2 tablespoons of the sweetened condensed milk, and top it off with the simple syrup of choice & a pinch of cinnamon. Stir or shake to mix it until it looks well distributed. Add to your hot cup or iced glass of coffee and ENJOY!

09/30/2025

There are times during the workday that we step away from our classroom or desk. A great rule of thumb is - if you cannot see your monitor, lock it down.

By using the quicklock method on your keyboard, you're not signing completely out of your computer, you're just locking everyone else out. All that is needed to open your computer back up is to put in your password.

No one else can access your account and all of the tabs or pages stay open for you. It is quick, it is easy, and it protects YOU!

Just press the Windows icon key + the L key and you are protected. When you return, simply enter your network/AD password and you are back in business!! 💥

Easy peasy and SAFE!