Thursday, January 19, 2012

Tech Facilitator Meeting Jan 19, 2012





Check out comments from today's meeting on:
http://todaysmeet.com/tfjan12


Today's Agenda is on the web portal –QR code there with the agenda


New Positions:
  • Cory Robins—on Carla Miller’s team
  • Marty Creech—One of the new instructional Technologists
Whats's been happening?
  • Career Center opened on schedule--it was a hard working holiday season for the department
  • Betty Weycker showed us some pictures of Career center—She will try to have an open house there for a meeting soon.
  • Walkertown also opened--more happening there
  • Then, NW and Vienna are on the horizon
  • The "in the middle schools"—what about them? (not Title 1, not covered by last bond)
    • Dr. Martin still advocating for 2012 bond. In next couple of months will start cranking up the publicity to help get the word out about the 2012 bond.
    • (Oklahoma City) (note from John how some cities still raise money for investment despite this economy
Cathy Davis—CYC group
  • Grant to put computers in homes. Goal was over 1000 parents—already over 1100,
  • Grant ends in May, but will go thru July
  • They will surpass their goal
  • Go to one of the graduation exercises if you get a chance (testimonies from parents are moving)
Kevin Sherrill--technical updates:
  • Have you had discussions with your teachers about email?
  • Go live date is Feb 21st: --Tuesday (after a Common Core training day)
  • Friday 17th 5:00 it will stop working and they will do a final migration
  • Weekend 17, 18, 19th and 20th will be email downtime
  • Will take approximately 30 days (starting now) to move all the mail 
  • This will not be the smoothest thing--that's just a reality
  • Will try to keep us as informed as possible
  • Migrating mail now: 9800 email users moving to MS cloud data
  • Right now Teachers have at most 100 mb  that data will be transferred
  • Tech Facilitators have more data than that
  • On Friday, Feb 17th-- any thing that has been changed since the initial migration will be reconciled
  • Archived email (not many lotus client users even did this) –that will NOT be moved. 
    • However, that archived email will still be assessible through lotus client which will still be on those workstations
    • All Lotus applications are being web-enabled (things like street files, etc)
Why again have we gone to this new email platform?
  • DOT wants to get out of the support of the local lotus servers
  • Email is more a utility then the applications
  • Server Space is another issue—no money to add more servers
  • Teachers will have 10 GB !! of saving space (1000 times more than now!!)
  • There will be the ability to integrate VOICEMAIL into email--it can go to a wave file in your email
Do we need to be compacting mail files?
  • No, there is no need to compact at this stage of the game
  • Best thing to tell teachers is to delete what they do not need
    • Though, it does run automatically on Tuesday night
    • What is in folders does count against their quota
What about Spam?
  • Spam filtering now handled by time Warner service—we pay for that service—that will  go away and will rely on MS live service with their own spam filtering rules
  • Junk mail folder is part of the application 
    • questionable items will get dumped in there
    • users can set up rules too to handle their own spam.
    • Not sure how that will totally look until it goes live
What about Blackberries?
  • 500 users currently
  • Will continue to use the same process of transferring mail to these handhelds
  • There has been some discussion around the idea of switching to Samsung Smart phone, but there is no "two way" and no direct connect
  • We will receive some instructions on how to activate the new service on the current blackberries
    • During the week of Feb 21st—DOT will be available for users to come in and get blackberries re-registered.
    • But will give end users the directions and let them try, and realistically they are expecting issues.
    • AP’s and Principals will have to be prepared that there maybe issues on blackberries
    • We should be able to help them with the instruction--should be four or five steps
    • Newer blackberries with version 5.0 seem to have no problem activating, tho the ones running 4.6 have been problematic
    • Betty is asking for an inventory from us, who has a black berry and their roles (will be on the web portal)
    • Check on the operating system? ( go into options, and choose "about")
    • Directions for upgrading to the 5.0 upgrade?
What about Galaxy Tablet users?
  • Betty will need to also know the galaxy tablet users too
  • There are some settings on the galaxy tablet that will need to be changed, but  settings are easy
What about using new Email on personal Smart phones? 
  • There is nothing preventing the new email from working on those phones
  • Though they can not "support" phones not purchased by WS/FCS
  • This came up in leadership too—There are really two questions here
  • The whole "Bring your own device to schools issue"
  • It's not just logistics of supporting personal devices, it's also about making teachers aware of issues of confidentiality using personal devices and the legal ramifications
  • Nothing will prevent them from adding the school mail to their smart phones, but We need to get some communication going with teachers about these issues.
  • Betty can’t give us an answer today, but there will be a WebEx about what we need to tell teachers
Email addresses?
  • All email user names are driven through active directory—synchs to active directory database
  • The majority of email and active directory user names already matched, but a couple of hundred didn't
    • For those couple of hundred, DOT changed the active directory to match the email user name
  • Also were some teachers who had hotmail account with the same user name (that had to be dealt with too)
  • Everyone will use webmail application (there is no "client: version)
Stephen Anderson/Overview of the Email Application:
Instructional technologists have been contacting staffs to setup trainings


Options for training:
  • 15 minute overview (such as a faculty meeting):
  • 1 hour more in-depth
  • Then individual moodle courses (    http://wsfcs.mrooms.net/   ) for your school with a specific code for your school
  • Don’t forget this affects everyone in your building—custodians, cafeteria, etc.—take this into consideration with your training.
  • Train before the 21st, one option is the presentation
  • Moodle Course has videos you can watch
Looking at the specifics of the Email application:
  • Three views
    • Navigation pane
    • Center—current list of all mail
    • Right—preview pane
  • Global address book is loaded with all WS/FCS employees
  • System remembers people you have corresponded with before and will auto-fill when you start to type a name in the to box
  • Personal contacts will be transferred, Email GRoups will not get transferred!
  • However, Every school will have a group created for all staff at the school
    •  you will just type the code of your school to pull that group up
    • we will also get a list of other groups in the school district
  • Remind Teachers to Backup Parent groups into a spreadsheet or word document!
  • Is there an individual File size limit? Not sure…will get back with us
  • Email addresses are exactly the same
Looking at the Inbox:
  • Triangles next to your messages—you can "do conversations" (like gmail and others).
    • There is an option to turn it on, but it is turned OFF by default.
    • This could be very helpful to teacher in tracking back and forth between parents or whomever there is a series of back and forth emails
    • You will have to turn conversations on: under options
  • You can easily create a folder structure: Right click is very powerful
  • Hover over your name to see how much space you have used
  • RC on inbox and see all the options one of which is to create a new folder
  • You can drag messages to the new folder
  • RC on a message and there are a huge number of options
    • Retention policy—interesting
  • With this EMAIL, there is archiving for seven years, it costs the school system 6 $ per user per year…will start archiving everyone, but may change later (legal issues)
  • Can RC on message and choose junk email and choose options of what to do with it
  • Teachers might want to add parents to “safe senders list”
    • Or can add a domain to safe list—but be careful about that one
  • Drafts automatically are saved as long as you have an email address in the to box
  • So if you reply, and your computer crashes, an email you started should be saved in the conversation view.
  • Add bcc??  Click on to or cc and there is an option in there for adding bcc,  you can also change it in settings so bcc is always viewable
Calendars:
  • You can create multiple calendars
  • You can share a calendar with your teachers and it would show up in their outlook box (a computer lab calendar for example)
  • Double click to create events
  • Recurring (with start date and end date) events can be set
  • Can attach files, insert pictures, and choose repeat (called repetition)
  • Under share (have to be under the calendar you want to share), there is an option to share with a group (would have to set up group up first)
  • To add a new calendar, RC on calendar and choose new
  • Maybe able to "request a meeting" to place an item on the calendar (for example a computer lab calendar request)
  • For teachers, Stephen will work on some directions to copy groups from i-notes
  • From a spreadsheet make a comma delimited file, have to put semi-colons in between for group emails
  • You can also right click on messages from a parent for example and "add to contacts"
  • There is a little flag next to email on right side that you can click on to add as a task
Options:
  • Can create an inbox rule
  • In the moodle there is a big section on rules
    • For example, you might send all your KACE tickets to a folder
    • choose New rule, select what you want to happen , choose message to a folder , choose the folder and can make a new one right there.
    • Nice thing is the folder will have a number on it, so it will tell you have un-read messages in there. Rules can save you lots of time!
  • My account—option –you can see all your messages in one place
Settings
  • Signature
  • Reading
    • Always show bcc—under message format
    • And show conversation tree
  • ABC settings:
    • Always check spelling before sending
  • Can choose a different dictionary (Foreign Language teachers might look at that)
  • Block and allow is where you can take something off spam list, etc.
  • Can not import a Google calendar
Email Password:
  • To change email password—it's tied to active directory, so just hit cntl-alt-del on teacher desktop at school and choose--change password
  • So starting on Feb 21st if teachers have a different email password from active directory password, it will go to all active directory passwords 
  • AD passwords changes are immediately changed for email
  • Quick way to get to email:
  • http://Wsfcs.k12.nc.us/email
Carla Miller:
Kevin Sherrill:
  • Betty and Kevin are working hard on a wireless structure so that teachers and students can eventually bring their own devices to school
  • He have wireless controllers that can block devices.
  • Until we can create a policy for outside devices, We have machine based authentication
  • User based authentication is based on your user account being part of the domain (will be turning that off soon)--that’s how smart phone are getting on currently
  • When this is turned off (user based), any machine connecting that way will no longer connect
Galley Tablets and the Wireless change:
  • Users will have to be joined to a security group that will then still have the user based authentication
  • That’s why they need a list of the users of the Galaxy tablet
  • That means those members of that group could still bring in their Macs and connect
  • Anything Galaxy tablet users need to be known to Kevin
  • Some schools that purchased Galaxy tablets are sharing them around--Kevin will need to know about those situations
  • Still kicking around dates—but thinking about Feb 21st to turn user authentication  off
  • Then, this summer may open back up the wireless once policy is in place about devices brought in from home
Provisioning Process: 
  • All office staff are provisioned the way other staff are now
    • Example: New lead secretary is hired, HR action is put in the system, tells start date is Jan 3rd, technology has to wait until HR puts user in the system on that date.
    • Sometimes it was taking up to the third day before a person could log on to the computer. 
    • Change is now that the action is predated, and technology will now put person in the date the HR is put in.
      • This should eliminate this lag, (though this can still be a problem for transfers)
Project Update:
  • Lots of classroom solution updates (new schools and renovations) Title-1 purchases
  • New elementary school near Hall-Woodward next summer
  • Goal to have all schools on the same standard eventually
  • Light Speed sound systems—batteries have issues. 
    • Orange wrapper on top of battery:
      • take that orange wrapper off, and that should improve the problem.
      • Wrapper is on the flat end of the battery
    • Looking at other sound systems too
Media Caste Schools
  • Changed the district TV channel line-up—now providing 24 channels—click on the digital TV button at the top and you should be able to access them.
Printer adding console
  • Send in a ticket if problems with the console
  • Will do a new WebEx next week on the printer adding
  • Recorded Webex's will be saved on the web x section of the tech facilitator web portal
Marlo Gaddis:
Moodle Rooms:
  • They have a hosted environment with lots more functionality with this new format
  • All make ups for common core will be available on here
  • All Moodle accounts will be Active directory user names and pw across the board.
  • In the meantime, If you already had a moodle account and you don’t remember your user name and password, then Stephen or Melissa will just switch you over to AD
  • Not teaching online Moodle for Jan and Feb because they are building on the new system
  • Teachers only have to have 1 CEU of technology Credit now 
  • All information is available on the spring list: http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Page/44870
  • If you had a link to Moodle on your pages you will have to change the link to the new Moodle:  http://wsfcs.mrooms.net/
  • Also linked on Learning Village
  • All common Core resources all moved to Learning Village
Pictures from School Wires Rotating images 
  • Will go away
  • School wires will move two of the pictures but you need to save additional ones --they will not be retrievable'
Galaxy Tablet Updates:
  • We didn't know everything that was behind classroom distribution of tablets
  • Will take some kind of server for these
  • Training is an issue and to be able to support the management of the devices
  • Original purchase was designed for on-line testing, so we definitely need to be concerned with security
  • Issues with new models of tablets
  • Question about the life of the devices? Who knows…short life span 2 years?
  • Getting ready to go to a one to one school, taking a test on their own mobile devices—Yes that could be the case
  • EOG app for that?
  • Dibbles…discussion…new version will work on a tablet
  • Testing for K-2…suffer through the rest of this year with it.
  • Betty thinks we did not have enough information to start with this, but we are getting there
NCWISE:
  • Using Alpha characters—got a call about a grade book not calculating correctly. It does
  • Found that DPI started allowing alpha characters be entered in a grade book.
  • Our policy is for teachers to use numeric marks only
  • Tech assumed the change by NCWISE did not apply to us, but then some Teachers tried and used it.
  • Computer uses a midpoint of the range of that letter
  • There were 2000 alpha characters in NCWISE for our district
  • Reminder to teachers—use numeric not Alpha not acceptable by policy or proper grade book calculation
Parent Assist discrepancies: 
  • Teachers not “posting to parent”—Betty’s answer to the parents is to have then call the teacher and ask them if they are posting to parent assist.
She will put on the TBT…the following:
  • Spreadsheet for Gallxy users
  • Blackberry users
  • Classroom solutions inventory
  • Because of questions about the Bond, need a good count of classroom solutions, and not just complete, but partials too.
  • Betty needs to be able to talk intelligently about the needs in the school
  • They may due matching grants too
Focus on Cyber bullying for 2012-2013:
  • Group decided that next year’s focus will be on cyber bullying
  • Question is: How can we be better informants to parents about the dangers of cyber bullying?
  • We need to be on the front of this…
  • 3 ways we can be involved:
  • Informing parents…child can be arrested.
  • If it happens at home, grey areas…
  • Netsmarts has good resources for netiquette: http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents
  • http://www.nsteens.org/
Is it a Problem in elementary?
  • Let elementary students make a video of what happened to them
  • Bring a legal person in to educate the parents (at a PTA meeting)/Parent nights
  • Marlo:  Fear doesn’t teach…have to understand that people are going to use it, not about turning everything off, it’s about learning the proper usage.
  • What we perceive is going on is not what’s going on.
  • Can’t put our restraints on it, once It goes viral
  • Educating on digital foot print they are leaving
  • We need sections up on our websites to discuss this
  • A standardized page that we all can put up on our websites?
  • Parents are uncomfortable with technology, one way is to open up doors to parents so parents are more comfortable
Betty will do…
  • Will set up a means of communicating ideas (discussion space)
  • Will invite legal counsel to attend next meeting
  • Subcommittees will be setup
  • Conversation has to start with what’s appropriate and not in conversations transmitted digitally
  • Must be a collective/agreed/shared change (Mark )
    • “Setting the Tone”—New book published Monday, Mark Carpenter one of the authors
Quiz:

  • Email: migration starts Jan 19th at 6:00
  • Email unavailable: 17, 18, 19, and 20
  • Archived data will not be available on the new email (only by going back to old Lotus client)
  • Users should not archive —NO
  • Compact files—NO (too late)
    • Help them delete
    • List them in order by size and delete
  • SPAM will be filtered, will have your own junk folder, and you can set your own rules
  • Blackberries will not be replaced! They are talking to vendors about new smart phones (but down the road)
  • New outlook email will be start Feb 21st

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