Welcome back! Hope everyone had a wonderful start to their year. I am still have some equipment to deliver which will be my focus at the beginning of the week. If you have any technology questions, issues or needs. Please let me know, Joe is scheduled to be at HH weekly - Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons.
Tech Help - All technology requests, should either come to me or be entered in IT Direct. Several of you are familiar with IT Direct and have filled out the online help form. If you need a refresher, here is a link to the Quick Step Guide on how to complete an IT Direct Tech Request. Remember you can still see me directly for tech help.
Hallway Lab - The hallway lab is just about ready to go. There are 24 computers with working headphone jacks!! Yes, we were able to replace the couple of broken computers where the sound was not working due to broken headphones. Please remind your students to bring their headphones to the hallway lab. They should carefully be plugging and unplugging their headphones into the headphone cable attached to each computer. Also please clean up the lab after you leave. Jaclyn has volunteered her class to do an end of the day clean up. She made it a classroom job. Thank you Jaclyn!
If you are interested in signing-up for a permanent weekly lab time outside of computer class and/or skills class, please come to the lab to sign-up. I am trying to get the weekly lab calendar schedules solidified.
Printers - All of the printers are up and running in the building. If you have any trouble printing, please let me know. Just a reminder that you are able to print directly to all copiers in the building. This is a much cheaper printing solution. Also remember to change your printing options - if you don’t need color printing then PLEASE choose a black and white printer.
Software - Eva is diligently working on getting our curriculum software up and running for the school year. At this point in time, Lexia is the only piece that is ready for student use. As soon as I hear about other titles (ie. Symphony, EDM, ATRT…) that are ready, I will let you know. Karyn Saxon will be forwarding information to you regarding Raz-Kids, as she manages that web resource.
Tech 1-to-1 Days will return again this year. They will be held on the second Thursday of the month and will begin in October!!! Further details and sign-ups will happen later in the month.
Websites - Pleaser remember to complete the software request form if utilizing a new website with your students; especially if you are creating student accounts; double check the terms of service and privacy on the site. Many sites require parent permission for students under the age of 13 and some sites do not allow use even with parent permission if students are under 13. This is a good time of year to notify (or ask permission) families of the tools you will be using for the year. The more we can communicate with families the better. If you need help constructing a letter or an on-line permission form (google forms is a great tool), please let me know.
WPSF Grants - If you are interested in writing a WPSF grant this year that includes technology, please let me know. As part of the new grant writing process, an Instructional Technology Specialist must be an applicant on the grant.