Canvas LMS: PUSD’s learning management system. All students and teachers use Canvas in the 2020-21 school year with a course in Canvas for students to access during distance learning days and in-person learning days, whenever this is possible.

Cisco Webex:  System of tools used for communication and synchronous instruction. Students have access to join Webex Meetings, Classrooms and Teams, but cannot create one themselves.

• Webex Meetings: Used to host online meetings with HD video, audio and screen sharing.  
• Webex Teams: Used for keeping your teams connected through messaging, file sharing, whiteboard and calling.
• Webex Classrooms: Available when logged into Canvas LMS. Used for conducting virtual classrooms. There are three components:
  • Classroom Collaboration - Used to organize students in groups. Members can chat, meet and share files securely.
  • Virtual Meetings - Used for scheduling recurring virtual classes. Sessions can be recorded for later viewing. Classes can be synced with your Canvas calendar.
  • Office Hours - Used to set up time slots ranging from 15 to 60-minute increments. Notifications for scheduled meetings are directly to you via email.

Cohorts: Students are divided into A/B groups to reduce the number of students in the classroom for in-person instruction, when PUSD is cleared to do so.

Educational Content 2020-21:

• PUSD Curriculum - Establishes consistent learning expectations and instructional guidelines for K-12 courses. Modified for 2020-21 to take into account unfinished learning and acceleration with appropriate focus standards, and re-sequenced units. Available at gopusd.com/curriculum.
• ASU Prep Digital - Program resource that is native to online instruction, purchased by PUSD for use with distance learning in 2020-21. Content will be adjusted to align with PUSD Curriculum.

Educational Structures 2020-21:

• Emergency remote learning - During stay-at-home orders enacted due to COVID-19 health regulations, PUSD would enter a phase of remote learning for all, which would mean learning will occur remotely. It has been determined that the 2020-21 school year will begin remotely when PUSD is under Phases 1 & 2 of Public Health Guidelines.
• Hybrid model - PUSD’s 2020-21 structure of learning wherein students attend school with a combination of in-person and distance learning environments. This would be enacted once conditions are deemed safe for in-person instruction in Phase 3.
  • In-person learning environment - Learning that occurs in the classroom on campus
  • Distance learning environment - Learning that occurs from a remote location, not on campus. 
• Online model - PUSD’s 2020-21 structure of learning wherein students attend school in an entirely online environment while remaining enrolled at their current school. This would be enacted in Phase 3, as an alternative to the hybrid model.    

Google Hangouts: Used for chat/messaging check-ins. Accessible in PUSD email accounts. Students have access to chat/message with this feature, but no video or voice calling available.

Google Meet: (temporarily available in 2020-21 as we transition to a more robust web conferencing tool, see “Webex”)          

Independent Study: Short-term contract for a student to work remotely and independently on teacher-assigned content and tasks. Must be applied for and approved by the school principal.

In-person instruction: Learning that occurs in the classroom on campus.

Online instruction:

• Asynchronous learning: Learning that does not require all students to access content at the same time. Examples might include: posted videos of lessons that can be watched anytime; discussion forums that are ongoing; posted documents that can be accessed anytime, etc.
• Synchronous learning: Learning that occurs together, at the same time. Examples might include: live streamed lessons, video calls, etc.

Online School: Fully operational online school with separate CDS code,  enrollment, registration, administration, faculty and staff. Expected to be established for 2021-22 school year.

Paper (formerly known as “GradeSlam”): Educational Support System (ESS) that provides access to live tutors and writing support, available 24/7 via digital app. Equitable access for all 6th-12th grade students to professional support outside of the school setting which also provides insight data to teachers on “frequently asked” needs of students. https://paper.co/