Access your email via the web...a solution

Currently there has been a change made at the district level to the online email client, which is requires certification verification to access the site. Follow the steps below to get access to your email via the web client.

Go to https://mail.wgmail.org/owa or access it from the dock on the Hixson Network

 

Once you've access the page it should look like this



Enter in your username and password and click sign in.

This will direct you to a page that has this error message on it



Simply click the link on the error page that says: Continue to this website



Clicking this will not cause any issue while accessing  your web mail, this is a normal process that occurs every year since we have had access to outlook via the web. The certification should be renewed soon and this process should not have to be followed at that point. When this occurs, I will share that information.

 

Happy emailing.

Technology Sign out procedures for 2011

This year the technology sign out procedure will work as such:

On the Media Center door you will find the sheet to sign up for a time for us to check your equipment back in to the tech department for summer storage, as well as check your laptop and power cords out to you for the summer. The dates available are May 19, 20, and the 23. If you are ready to turn in all the technology equipment checked out to you on one of those days, please sign up for a time on the sheet posted on the media center door. (All equipment must be checked in and returned to the technology department to complete sign out process) (laptops will not be required to check in unless it is not in full working condition then it will be kept this summer for repairs) After signing up on the sheet, the tech department will come to your class to collect your equipment.

If you do not choose or are not able to check out on the above mentioned dates the technology department will be stationed in the media center for technology equipment sign out on Tuesday and Wednesday , May 24 and May 25. On this day, you will be required to bring your equipment to the media center to check in equipment, and check out your laptops for the summer. If you are located upstairs and need to use the elevator to bring your equipment downstairs, you will need to bring your equipment to the elevator and come to the media center, where one of us will assist you in getting the equipment in and down the elevator to complete your checkout.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of your friendly neighborhood techs.

Things to come in 2011

As you wrap up another year I thought it would be time to share with you some of the new things to look forward to for the next school year.

(Blog post contains information on: Office 2010, Light Speed, Wireless Network, Phone System, Software/Hardware Evaluation.)

Next year we will be getting the 2010 Office suite on all of our PC's in the district.

• TLC will begin pushing the software out to all of the computers this summer, after the licenses are purchased. This means that the student computers should have the 2010 Office suite installed on it before you and your students return. Once school is in session TLC will push the software onto your teacher computers. (This may require your computers to stay over night one night to complete the installation process) The time line for all this to happen has yet to be announced but the plan is in place.


• There are several nuances that the 2010 Office Suite that differ from the 2003 version we've been using for many years. We will address these changes with two forms of PD. One is a self guided set of files and tools that will walk you through the changes to aid you in locating the tools you need while using the software. The other will be on request PD to have one on one or group sessions to familiarize yourselves with the software and it's differences. If you have been using or have used Windows Live at all this year, you many already be accustomed to the changes as Live runs a web version of the 2010 Office suite. (the software offers more options than Live)


• Benefits: Live is meant to be run along side of Office 2010 and we will hopefully see a greater ease of "saving to the cloud" so that students who choose to continue to work at home will have easy access to all of their work. Students who work in/on something within Live can then load their work onto a local machine for continue and expansive editing.


• Drawback: There will be a learning curve for all of us as we learn the new look, style and feel of  Office 2010

Next year Lightspeed will be replaced with a new filter called Sonic Wall. For those of you who have cursed the name Lightspeed, you will no longer have to next year, that is not to say that you will not curse the name Sonic Wall, but it is different and new and will hopefully run better than Light Speed.

• Biggest change with Sonic Wall is the method in which you will request a site be opened.  Currently when a blocked site is found, that you wish opened, it only takes a few clicks to request that the site be opened. With Sonic Wall you are required to fill out a digital form and paste the URL you desire unblocked into the field. In this act it will be crucial that you choose the exact link you want opened. (For example: If you click a link on NPR and the "Site blocked" message appears, you will have to actively copy the link address that the link goes to instead of just requesting NPR site be unblocked.)


• If you've added any videos to the Educational Video Library (E.V.L.) site then you will need to copy down the URL to those videos from their original site because EVL will no longer exist without Light Speed.


• Possible replacement for EVL is WebsterTube. Similar interface, with the addition of adding your own content as well as feeding from multiple video web page sources (i.e. YouTube, Hulu, etc)

To help speed things up a bit we are upgrading to wireless N as well as increasing our bandwidth. This does not mean YouTube will be open, but it should hopefully increase speed while searching the web and accessing same sites within a class. As we gain more access to computers in the district we max out our bandwidth levels, so each year we request more.

The Phone System will be getting updated this summer, some of it's new features include faster and smother transferring/processing calls, and the ability to have your messages emailed to yourself. With this upgrade, all messages that are currently saved will be lost. You will also have to redo your greeting when you return in the fall.

Software/Hardware evaluation request is now all online. This form is used to identify whether or not a piece of equipment or software is already available in the district before a purchase be made. It also ensures that the software/hardware you desire will work within our system and can be supported. The form itself has been modified to stream.

This summer will be a busy one with all the new updates, so stay tuned for more information here as the summer goes on.

Tech Team Track day plans

While you and the students are out testing your stamina at Track day, the tech team will be busy inside creating data backups of your computers. Every year we do a data backup before you head out for the summer, just incase something happens to your computers data.

The plan: Turn in your computer on Wednesday afternoon( if you can) so that the tech department can begin the backup process, if not then please turn your laptop in the morning of Track day. We will begin the backups in the order we receive them.

We will do as many backups as we can, in hopes of completing backups of all of them before you return in from the track day activities.

Once we have backed up your work materials from your computers we will return the computer back to your class. If we have not completed your backup before the end of the track day activities student computers will be available for use for the afternoon PD sessions. Please note that we will not be backing up personal files/images/music etc.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask any of the tech department members.

Modified Web Wednesday 2.0

Want to start a blog? Interested in social media? Want to create and use the various web based tools that you've been hearing about? Come to Web Wednesday next week and bring your questions, ideas, and laptop.

With the recent explosion of web tools available to us in the building such as: Glogster, Edmodo, Windows Live, etc. Web Wednesday (which will be held next Wednesday April 19, 2010) has been expanded to not just website work. Web Tools 2.0 can be a valuable tool to you and your students. Please let me know via the many outlets available if you will be interested in joining me in the media center to discuss and learn more about any Web 2.0 tools. Send your questions ahead of time if you have them.

On the subject of: Edmodo and Microsoft Live

After last Friday's  PD sessions I heard a lot of postive feedback but I also heard several people say

"I think I am going to use Edmodo instead of Live" and

"Why do we have to use all of these different things?"

I thought I would take a moment to explain a bit further. There is no choosing of one or the other,the tools are meant to be used collaboratively. They both have different purposes but they also have some commonalities.Though neither may be a tool you choose to use in your class you may find that there are great benefits from using one or both.  I created this Venn diagram to help explain the differences betweenthe two services and where they overlap:

The collaboration  that both of these resources offer is vast and as creative as you make it:

The main note I want you to take away from this message is this: Live is orignally deisgned to be another tool for the student to use for creation, file storage, and ease of  accessiblity (vs our server). Edmodo offers a user friendly interface that allows for the managment of files, live interactions in the class, and creates a space for you to allow your students to submit work as well as recieve digital feedback on the work.Though some of these options can be found it Live it may not be the tool for you to carry this out, so choose the tool that works best for you, ask loads of questions, and collaborate.

A SMART request

We currently have one SMART board on wheels available for classroom use. If ever you want a SMART board in your room here is the check out procedure:

 

Send in a Technology Request . Please be as specific as you can for the date you would like the SMART board in your classroom.

The SMART board will then be collected on the following Monday from what ever classroom it is residing in. Your request will guarantee that you have it in your classroom for one week. If no requests for the board come in, then it will stay in your classroom for another week. When the next request for the SMART board comes in we will notify the person who has the SMART board of the request and the date in which we will collect it. (This date will always be a Monday unless school is not in session on particular Monday.)

Before the Board is delivered a member of the Tech Team will install the SMART software on your computer (this can take upwards of 2 hours or more to fully install).

 

Requests for the SMART board are on a “first come first serve” basis.