THE BLOG

Back to School - FREE SVGs, plus inside tips from a school tech aide

craft business free svg svg cut files Jul 16, 2021

Among the school community, talking about back to school during July is kinda frowned upon. Teachers and staff are still recovering from what might have been the most wild ride in education. But, my crafty friends have, again, gathered up some amazing SVG cut files and they all happen to be FREE. (Yay!) So while you're starting your back to school shopping list, you can also start planning out some super cute crafts for your kiddos and their educators.

But before we get to those cut files, did you all know I'm a part-time tech aide at my kids' elementary school? My free SVG cut file reads "The future of the world is IN my classroom" and we all hope and pray that students are IN THE CLASSROOM all year. However, now that we live in a pandemic world, where computers have become so critical to education, and we never know what the year will bring - I thought I would share some of my top troubleshooting tips for when your kids' computer isn't working quite right.

1. Shut it down, like ALL THE WAY DOWN.

The #1 tech tip in IT departments around the world, also rings true for our kids' chromebooks - restart. That means don't just close the lid each night, if possible actually power it off. This allows the machines to close down programs and start them fresh each day. But even when a mid-day hiccup happens, it's good practice to first restart before looking for other tech solutions. This resolves majority of computer problems.

2. Check for updates.

All computers occasionally need updates. For student chromebooks this happens often. Every few weeks small fixes can be issued and every 6 weeks or so more significant revisions are put out. So if something is acting funny with your students device (and a restart didn't fix it), check for an update on the operating system. In the settings, search "About OS" and a box that says "Check for updates" should be there.

3. Uninstall and reinstall a program

If a particular application is giving you trouble (ahem...ZOOM), sometimes a communication link within the program can't connect. Uninstalling the application and then reinstalling it from the google web store can restore normal use of the application. If you've done all 3 steps here, and you're still having issues it's probably time for a call to IT.

4. Check what your student has on there

A big reason for Chromebooks not operating at peak performance is it's overloaded with too many unnecessary extensions or applications. Think snow falling down over the screen, blinking cursers or cats popping up in the corner. :) The kids find these super fun to have, but the reality is they slow down the Chromebook's ability to perform. Delete any unnecessary extension and talk to your student about why we shouldn't have those on a school issued device.

5. Check your students email

This one doesn't have anything to do with performance, and may be a little controversial, but last year we handed devices out to kids who maybe didn't have free access to the internet and email before. We gave them a powerful tool and because we were all scrambling, maybe they didn't get all the lessons they needed on internet safety, appropriate use and digital footprints. My experience comes from elementary school, and I highly suggest parents check their students email, particularly their deleted folder and sent folder. You'd be surprised the information their friends can expose them to and while you may think you're child would never do something questionable, you might be surprised and you can then have a teachable moment before things go any further.

Okay, okay....enough of the serious talk. What about those FREE SVGS?

Download "The Future of the World is in my classroom" by getting access to my FREE SVG Library here.

Let's get to crafting for those students and teachers and let's get ready for a school year that is *back to normal* (fingers crossed).