Welcome NE Digital Teaching and Learning Consultant, Amy Bennett

Amy Bennett joins NCDPI from Beaufort County Schools where she served as the Director of Instructional Technology.  She is defined by her passion of increasing student engagement and achievement by integrating technology in all subjects and grade levels.

Mrs. Bennett began her career in education as a PE teacher in Martin County.  Upon entering Beaufort County Schools, she joined the Accountability Department as a testing technician supporting principals in data analysis and test scheduling. Mrs. Bennett continued her career at the Alternative School in Beaufort County where she realized the positive impacts digital teaching and learning have on all students. Seeking to broaden her scope of influence, she served as the Instructional Design Specialist and most recently as the Director of Instructional Technology supporting teachers in building teacher efficacy around the integration of technology in their content. 

Mrs. Bennett earned her Bachelor's Degree in Exercise and Sport Science and later her Masters in Instructional Technology from ECU. In 2018, she was awarded the N.C. Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center Outstanding 9-16 Educator in STEM Award for her work at the alternative school. She became a Google Certified Trainer in 2019 and added the CETL certification in February 2022.

Please help us welcome Mrs. Amy Bennett! 

Home Base is Hiring!

The NCDPI Home Base Team is seeking to fill the following position.  If you are interested, please apply by the deadline.  If you know of someone that may be interested, please share this posting. 

Click on the title for a full description.

Job Title and Description: 

Staff Development Specialist II - Trainer for Home Base applications and product manager for the Instructional Improvement System (IIS) (Schoolnet).

Closing:
4/1/2022 5:00 PM EST

​​2022-23 Canvas Admin Survey

As we begin planning for our meetings next year, we would like to get your feedback about our meeting schedule/frequency and any other information you would like to share. Please consider filling out the survey below.

2022-23 Canvas Admin Survey Link

InstructureCon 2022

Canvas has announced that InstructureCon 2022 will be an online and FREE event again this year. The one day conference will be held on Thursday, July 14, 2022. Check out this page to learn more and sign up to receive updates for registration.

Reminder:  New NCDPI Course Code Manual

The NCDPI Course Code Committee, which comprises staff from across the agency, has developed a new comprehensive resource for the field, the NCDPI Course Code Manual. This manual, loaded with detailed course information, combines the Course Code Guidance document with many of the other available resources regarding course codes. 

The NCDPI Course Code Manual includes guidance on the following topics:

• Course Code Related Policies
• Course Code Digits 
• Accountability 
• Advanced Placement (AP)
• Arts Education Course Manual
• Cambridge Assessment International Education (CIE) 
• Career and College Promise (CCP) Course Code Guidance
• Career and College Ready Graduate (CCRG)
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) Course Coding
• Course Code Master List 
• Generic Course Code Scheduling
• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• Local Course Titles and Identifying Exceptional Children
• Math Options Charts 
• Occupational Course of Study (OCS) Guidelines & Resources
• SBE Policies for Course Coding

The NCDPI Course Code Manual has been published to the NCDPI website for your convenience at https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/homebase/course-code-manual.  If you have questions or comments regarding any information in the NCDPI Course Code Manual, please contact the Home Base Team at home_base@dpi.nc.gov.

Reminder:  Early Check Out Attendance Code 

Early Check Out (1P) is used to track students who are present for the day and then checked out early by a parent or guardian. Time should be entered for the duration the student was present for the day.

Example: Time in: 8:15 a.m. Time Out: 2:30 p.m.

For further questions, please contact studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov.

Reminder: PowerSchool Years and Terms at the LEA Office

At the LEA Office level in PowerSchool, the Years and Terms start and end dates MUST encompass the start date of the PSU’s earliest starting school and the end date of the PSU’s latest ending school. This also includes all Program Schools. The start date for Years and Terms at the LEA level should be 7/1 and the end date should be 6/30.

This information has been updated in the PS User Guide: End-of-Year Processing and can be found under Creating Years and Terms in the user guide.

Reminder:  Attendance During Exam Week(s)

To be considered in attendance, a student (except for hospital/homebound or staggered kindergarten) must be present in the school for the school day or at a place other than the school with the approval of the appropriate school official for the purpose of attending an authorized school activity. Such activities may include field trips, athletic contests, student conventions, musical festivals, or any similar approved activity.

Except as noted above, a student must be present at least one-half of the school's instructional day in order to be recorded present for that day.

NC General Statute 115C-378 states in part that no person shall encourage, entice, or counsel any child of compulsory school age to be unlawfully absent from school.

If a student is exempted from an exam and is not present in the school for the school day or not at a place other than the school with the approval of the appropriate school official for the purpose of attending an authorized school activity, the student is absent.

For questions or concerns, contact Student Accounting at studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov.

Reminder:  Learning.com Keyboarding Contest

Want to help your students earn special recognition for practicing essential keyboarding skills while having fun? Learning.com will be having a Keyboard contest that is open to students in grades 3-8 beginning April 4, 2022, through May 2, 2022. 

Keyboarding skills are essential in all learning environments, prepping for online assessments, and investing in future careers. This contest will be a fun way to promote ongoing keyboarding practice with your students to develop fluency and accuracy. 

Tips for the contest: 

• Encourage students to practice their keyboarding skills at least 2-3 times per week for 15-20 minutes per session. 

Recommended practices: 

• Bell ringer activity
• Early completer activity
• Independent practice during center time and at home 

Please share your district’s participation on Twitter and mention @learningdotcom! If you have any questions reach out to Tiffany Kinney at tkinney@learning.com.  Have fun! 

Learning.com Keyboarding Contest Flyer 

New Home Base Admin Course 

Feedback from PSUs identified a need for resource hubs for the Home Base products. The product managers have created Admin Resource Courses for each area. These resource courses are located in the NCDPI Canvas instance.

Please visit these courses.  Below are the steps to enroll in these courses:

How to access these resources:

• Sign in to the Blue Canvas icon within NCEdCloud
• Using the Global Navigation (on the left), click the Home Base Resources button
• On the menu that opens, select the course(s) you would like to enroll into
• After enrolling, the course will appear on your Canvas Dashboard

Other Information:

• Feel free to provide feedback on these courses. They all contain a feedback button on their homepage.
• We will continue to update these courses as more product information becomes available

Canvas Teacher Webinar

Our next Canvas Teacher Webinar will be held on Thursday, April 7, 2022, from 7-8 p.m. The topic of discussion will be, "Using Mastery Paths for Differentiation in Canvas". Those who attend will receive 0.1 DLC CEU.

Please use this link to register for the webinar. If you have any questions, contact Corey McNeill.

April Statewide Call

The Canvas admin call for April will be on Monday, April 4, 2022, at 2 PM EST. Use this link to register for the call.

Transcend Webinar Recording

In case you missed the informational webinars for Transcend, the recording is now available on the NCDPI YouTube Channel.

Transcend is a computer-adaptive interim assessment add-on for Schoolnet that will be available as part of the Home Base opt-in process for the 2022-2023 school year. Transcend provides tests for grades 3-8 ELA and Math and will be priced at $4 per 3rd-8th grade ADM. 

If you have any questions about Transcend or would like to learn more prior to the Home Base opt-in period, please contact john.mairs@dpi.nc.gov or jeffrey.hauger@pearson.com.

Follow Us on Social Media!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and begin receiving "Did You Know" tips featuring each Home Base product. 

These messages will include upcoming changes, tips, and even hidden treasures within each product to make your job easier.  If you are not following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, click on the links below and begin today!  Make sure you share this information with other staff within your school.

Instagram:  @nchomebase         Facebook:  @nchomebase       Twitter:  @nchomebase