I use Google Classroom but I know that some other teachers prefer MS Office 365, Moodle, Fresh Grade and/or other educational tools.
Students have free access to several of these software applications via their Yukon Education Rapid Identity credentials. Many of the tools also have free apps students can access on personal mobile devices.
It is good practice that students get used to using a variety of platforms in their academic work. Many jobs/careers require accessing different sites and software applications in the course of day-to-day tasks; flexibility and adaptability are among the most valued characteristics employers look for in potential employees.
Most students can consistently learn to navigate digital tools for the purposes of entertainment and social interaction. The tools used by Yukon Education are user-friendly, and part of the process of the process of preparing students to be adaptable with technology tools - a valuable workplace skill, regardless of their intended career path.
I always recommend starting by accessing the Yukon Education Digital Services Rapid Identity Portal via the YESNet Website
Below you will find the Digital Tech Survival Kit I created and distributed in my classes. I have included a downloadable PDF (the "download file" link below) in case you'd like to have a hard copy.
Rapid Identity provides a service - think of them as a company that builds digital gated communities - that allows people from different organizations (in our case, a school district) to keep their online services protected. This means two things:
A student isn't just "signing on to Rapid Identity" - they are signing on to Yukon Education's cloud-based educational tools THROUGH the digital gateway and locks built by Rapid Identity. That is why students must go through the Yukon Education Rapid Identity Log-in Portal.
Lots of organizations have Rapid Identity products - just like lots of buildings may have security systems or locks designed and sold by a particular company, but can't just get into other places with their "key".
The programs and services that they access once they have entered into Yukon Education's Rapid Identity Portal cannot effectively communicate with related apps and services outside of Yukon Education's Rapid Identity 'gated community'. A student can't simply sign on to the Google Classroom hosted by a Yukon Teacher by using their personal gmail account. They must use their Yukon Education login credentials.
If a Yukon student is certain that they have NEVER previously logged on to Rapid Identity, they will need to follow these instructions on how to do so, but if a student has forgotten their password they should contact their teacher to have it reset.