What a great time to be an educator! We have so many tools to help us be successful. As you plan please be aware of the services available at CUESby visiting mycues.org CUESoffers several endorsements that are graduate-level courses through SUU and UVU. They include ESL, STEM, Reading Level 1 and 2, Elementary Math, and Educational Technology. We also offer specific personal or group computer security and technology training with Gavin Anderson and Brandon Harrison. Thanks to all that each of you does for students in your districts and schools and please visit us at www.mycues.org

 

CUES is participating with the Utah Heritage Program to get information out to schools on the better Days2020 program. The goal of this program is to help inform students about the Utah and/or national women's suffrage movement and is offering lesson materials and resources from the better Days2020 curriculum. The year 2020 is the 150th anniversary of the first women in our nation (who were from Utah)to cast ballots under a women's suffrage law,the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment,which extended women voting rights across the country,and the 55th anniversary of the voting rights act,which prohibited racial discrimination in voting laws. CUESisplanning to host 2 professional learning opportunities in the region and will be inviting teachers from throughout the region to attend and receive more knowledge and ideas for application in the classroom focused on Utah women's history. More information will be sent to school as soon as the dates and locations are confirmed. Visit www.BetterDays2020.org or utahwomenshistory.org for more information.

 

Did you know you can use your Google Drive to turn a photo of text into editable text? Well, you can by following these simple steps: Step 1: Take a photo of a page of text with your phone or camera. Step 2: Drag the photo into your Google Drive. Then right mouse button click on the photo and choose "Open with - Google Docs". Step 3: Google Docs will open your image, and also do OCR(optical character recognition) on the photo and put editable text below the image. It'snot always 100% accurate, but it's pretty darn good! Check out this UCET Newsletter link for other technology tips and tricks.

 

Lauren Ezzell is the Behavior Analyst at Central Utah Education Services (CUES). She has a Master's degree in Psychology, Specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis. Prior to working for CUESLauren was the behavior specialist for a local school district. There she created and implemented a variety of behavior interventions, trained teachers and staff, and collected and analyzed data. Lauren was raised in Ephraim and currently lives there with her husband and twins, who will be two in January. Lauren and her husband met while attending Snow College and they recently celebrated their sixth anniversary. She enjoys going on adventures with her little family, going to the movies, and a nice cold Diet Coke. Lauren is excited to be a part of the CUESteam and looks forward to becoming familiar with the seven districts.

 

Self-care has three components; mental, emotional and physical health. Self-care is something we deliberately do to improve our health. Self-care is key in improving mood and reducing anxiety and it is as easy as doing a self-inventory. We can have the most influence in helping our students or staff take care of themselves when we are good examples of self-care. So, here is a "self-care goal setting worksheet" that can help you improve your own self-care. Click on the link and see what you are doing/not doing, and set some goals to help you improve your own personal care.

 

Have you ever found a thumb drive or a memory card on the ground and thought "score!" or "I wonder what'son this?" Chances are, you have, but a little known fact is that hackers use this technique to deliver all sorts of malware that can lead to data breaches, ransomware, spyware, and other attacks. Be cautious of what you plug into your machines! This isn't just limited to thumb drives, either. Hackers are using almost any kind of peripheral. Even smartphone charging cables! Bring any such device to your tech before use. Stay safe!