Parent Assist Issues

FYI, During NCWISE maintenance weekends” parent assist” is not accessible either.
List of Maintenance Weekends:

http://www.ncwise.org/documents/maintenance/NC_WISE_Maint_Weekend_Sched.pdf

Also, even before the maintenance weekend, I have been hearing about parents having difficulty accessing parent assist. ( https://pa.ncwise.org )

Unfortunately, there is not one simple answer as to why someone might be having difficulty accessing Parent Assist. However, having heard of some problems and possible fixes from various parents this week, the following are some possible solutions:

1) One quick fix is to start fresh try another internet browser, and then use that new browser only for Parent Assist. Why might that work?—because browsers can get corrupted by various spyware, tool bars, and the like, and starting fresh can be away to deal with those issues without addressing the other issues that are affecting your computer. A couple of good browsers that have been suggested to me are:

Safari: http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Mozilla/Firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Opera:  http://www.opera.com/download/

2) Another suggestion might to be to clean up your internet explorer browser. Depending on your internet explorer version, you might try the following:

From an open internet explorer window:
Go to the menu
choose Tools,
Internet Options,
advanced tab
select RESET (under reset internet explorer settings)

Warning, this will generally reset your homepage and other customized settings, but can be a good clean sweep if you were having other IE problems.

Another good thing to occasionally do is:
Also under Internet Options,
but this time under the general tab
choose “delete”: to remove temporary files, cookies, browsing history, saved passwords. This can sometimes make a program like parent assist work where there were problems with it loading before.

Otherwise, there is a Parent Assist FAQ site on WS/FCS’s webpage:

http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us//site/default.aspx?pageid=769

List of Maintenance Weekends:

http://www.ncwise.org/documents/maintenance/NC_WISE_Maint_Weekend_Sched.pdf

If you come across other suggestions that have worked for you, please let me know. I did speak about navigating to different grade views in parent assist in the weekly memo. http://weeklyhappeningsattjms.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-10-14.html

Saving Favorites/Bookmarks in the Cloud

I recently got an e-mail from a teacher whose Internet favorites were not carrying over to her laptop as they should according to our school's network policies. Since it was the holidays, and I could not get to her machine for a few days, I suggested the following:

I don't use favorites (I put my most frequently used links on an i-google page, so whenever I log-into any computer regardless of whether or not it is school system machine, I can get to my most frequently used links) i-google also allows me to customize my default home page regardless of the browser so that I see the same gadgets and same favorites anywhere I log in to a computer!  Here's how to set it up:

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-iGoogle

Once you have that set-up, one of the gadgets you can add is "favorites/bookmarks" and then you can add those frequently used favorite links so that they will always be part of your i-google homepage

More information on working with a google homepage:
http://www.wikihow.com/Set-Up-a-Google-Personalized-Homepage

Here's a How to on Social Bookmarking:
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Social-Bookmarking

And, here is a current list of social bookmarking sites:
http://www.social-bookmarking-sites-list.com/
and another list:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_bookmarking_websites#Social_bookmarking_sites

But anyway, getting back to the specific question of moving bookmarks/favorites from one computer to another,  there is a way to export favorites to a file so we can move them to your new laptop.

What you would do is...from your main desktop computer where you currently have many favorites (at school for example)  navigate through "my computer" to the following location:

C:\Documents and Settings\"your user name"\Favorites

Copy that star looking folder called favorites, then go back to your laptop and paste the contents of that favorites folder to the dame location on your laptop:

C:\Documents and Settings\"your user name"\Favorites

Another way to move favorites/bookmarks is to do whats called an "export/import": (again you would have to go back to your desktop computer in your office)

From your Internet explorer menu, You go to:

• File
• Import/Export
• Choose "export to file"
• Choose "favorites"
• Choose a location--like your flash drive

Then once that is complete, you would do the same thing essentially, but this time:

You go to:

• File
• Import/Export
• Choose "import from a file"
• Choose "favorites"
• Choose the location on your flash drive where you exported earlier

Hope that helps...

:)

December 2010 Technology Facilitator Meeting

Classroom Solution Demo:

 

Brian Pie:
CPS/Mobi:

 

First message you might get about opening a database on a network server—just click yes to that message.

 

You have one database for the year, and it likes the database on the C drive

 

You can load CPS on your computer at home (from the website), teachers can save files on their thumb drives and then bring them in from home and over-write the one on the C drive.

 

So, best thing is to load the database on the C drive

 

Another setting to check...

• Go to Settings menu
• Delivery options
• Receiver tab
• Put the check to Power off the clickers…

 

Battery question: heaviest users—take about a year for the batteries to go dead.

 

Prepare tab is “Create”

Lessons are tests

Team activities tab—like Jeopardy type games

 Reports tab: there are tons of different reports you can create…

 

Can you import students? have to get your data manager to export your class files, so probably easier to just enter them manually

 

Research shows that if students get instant feedback, they perform better

 

You can do verbal engagement too, it's not just multiple choice.

 

CTE teachers should already have lessons (tests) made

 

These are generation 2 remotes—pulse—can do text answer up to 140 characters

 

Issue with text answers—they have to be worded exactly to get them right.

 

"FAST GRADE TEST": You can use a paper copy of a test and just use an answer key in CPS and have students take test.

 

You can also print a study guide out.

 

Engage Tab: Now we are going to take a test, teachers have to put a check ?

 

Modes:

 

• Teacher led test,
•  student paced (test in front of them and a remote)

 

until teacher ends test, they can change their answer as much as they want

 

• Student practice mode

 

Many schools have generation 1 clickers

 

Have to use version cps 5.62 to use generation 1 remotes

 

You can create lots of different types of graphs

 

You can add audio or video to a question…

 

Report tab: most recent reports on top:

 

Generate—most common on the top, reports are generated in PDF format

 

Kevin made the point about the sound being one of the most important component of the classroom solution, someone mentioned having the kids come up and speak with the sound enhancement, another person mentioned many students have hearing issues that are not on their IEP.

 

The sound needs to have the instructional cart for the placement of the AMP

 

Using zoomit to zoom and focus in on something on the screen

 

Brian: “Workspace”—google zoomit

 

You can also find zoomit—under teacher applications

 

Cntl -1 will zoom

 

Cntrl-1 takes you back out

 

Menu in workspace for mobi:

• go to preferences
• change size of tool bar,
• tool bar settings
• check to change to size 40

Also change advanced settings to show more items in the toolbar

 

Pen:

 

Math teachers love the mobi for moving around the room

 

The workscpace program wants to save it to their H drive (if teacher H drive is full—it will crash)

 

Problem: pens need to seat well inside the mobi or it will not charge

 

Icon for the charging battery for the pen on the mobi—make sure that is showing when you “seat the pen”

 

Might need to turn the pen just a little to make sure it is making contact and charging.

 

e-instruction will send you a courtesy pen if you have problems with them

 

Customer service for e-instruction (888) is fantastic –call them if you need anything: 888-333-4988

 

Gallery for –build the gallery database is not accessible sometimes…Chris is working on that problem…

 

Use your camera tool instead and capture any image out there…H drive too full can be a problem too…

 

Make sure teachers H drives are not full…Can you direct to C drive?  Chris may have fixed this default problem

 

But when you are creating files on Mobi, don’t load the interwrite content

 

COMPUTER SKILLS TEST for 8th Graders:

• Steven and Doreen will give us the list of kids who need computer skills test
• No proctors but they do have to have mods, they will be entering kids in atomic learning
• Go into my trainings, my assessments
• 48 questions randomly assigned, so they may have different questions
• After all the scores come in…we do not report scores—district will handle all the reporting…Principals do not handle it!!
• Data is not always accurate, so let Marlo know if there is any issue…District will handle the one big upload.
• All we have to do is check the list schedule the test, let them know When we are finished—you can test anytime before April…
• Not part of any gateway, no one is looking at it. Only reason we are doing it is because of federal dollars.
•  It is a really hard test—indicates teachers are not teaching 21st century skills…but it is an eye opener to what we are not doing in schools.

Betty Weycker

 

2006 bond construction plan: (plan was developed in 2004)…

 

• Reagan
• Parkland
• Sherwood Forest
• Rural Hall
• Sedge Garden
• Glenn
• Downtown Elem

 

Plan is ....is, if they finish this summer, then Walkertown HS/MS and other schools coming on…

 

As of today, 2012 plan is to start doing all the classrooms in the district.

 

LCD Monitors are less expensive and less man power to install then the promethium and smartboard systems

 

Issue dealing with teachers who don’t want to leave their classrooms, some will take place after-school. Some issues with construction and nasty conditions behind boards that they take down.

 

Kevin—Technical side issues

 

Chris Corbin

 

Trend micro came up for contract last summer, and they looked at it.—wanted an all inclusive package for scanning malware, etc. Will still have the little blue bubble—"core protection model" now when you hover your mouse over it. Will do real time and manual scans. Still use malwarebytes as a backup.

 

Other benefit, laptops will do pattern/definition updates at home!! Yeah!!

 

 If you ever go into the running processes you will see “BESClient UI.exe”

 

And "BES console"

 

Don’t close out of those processes, still have the regular office scan pccntmon

 

At some point, Teacher laptops will need to come in to be updated to this new version.

 

They now have four office scan servers…

 

May get an e-mail from Chris asking teachers to bring in laptops, or may get an e-mail from Chris asking you to re-image a machine because of difficulty uninstalling and reinstalling the new client

 

New “core protection model” is built in to all current images.

 

AICP utility has been updated:

 

• Ticker box at the bottom has updates on it, cleaner interface without the tabs. 
• Images have been watered down somewhat, so may have to use AICP a little more…
• Check box AICP will be coming so you can install several items at one sweep.

 

T61 new WFU laptops

 

Inter-video playing the sound not the video, solution USE VLC instead…

 

Mobi workspace problem—writing a 95 MB file to teachers H drive, the fix for that is a a registry script fix that now writes “workspace” gallery now to the local C drive

 

It is now set to go to inter-write folder/workspace content, file does not get built until you run the gallery…When teacher builds the gallery, they have to re-build it…registry key is now there that will point to the gallery on the C drive

 

Dell mini—jumping around fix is on the webportal…

 

question:  Exam view with CPS? Chris will look into –Exam view is very weird about their licensing—they are locked down.

 

Profile sweep is coming up –the 13th through the 17th: Use the utility to check your computer. For all class room machines.

 

Anything with an "I" will get swept…

 

Buddy Martin:

 

Many tickets lately about missing machines…need to make sure compu-trace agent is on your machines—especially laptops

 

Go to AICP utility—( CTM web utility) To do a test call (password) is password to test a call…

 

180 day moratorium on missing computers…

 

Kevin: Just a few minutes on ASSIST…

 

• Process improvement committee update:
• Now e-mails have more information on them—
• ticket number at the end…
• speed improvements
• simplified categories
• will be moving data to our data center…to see if it improves speed.
• Email subject line has ticket number now,
• Service project has employee name, etc.
• There will be much more detail in the sub category..
• Christmas Break –Assist will be down for a few days (around the 29th)  while they update the new categories, etc.

 

Brenda Bourne:/Human Resources Page of our website: —

 

Emplyee User id number is the ten digit number that your principal should have provided you  for use with the on-line evaluation process, (data managers also have this under teacher list (not the six digit payroll number)

 

• First default password is 123456
• Refer password problems to Brenda Bourne (MS/HS) or James Lucas (elem)
• This is for help with teachers who need help with this site…
• All schools are using this…to evaluate teachers…

 

Every observation can now be seen by the state admins and superintendents. Peer observations can be done on here too.

 

If you go to DPI’s site,  go to:

• departments,
• professional development,
• on-line evaluation system:

 

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/training/online-evaluation/

 Common Question:—tried to print, will not print—under FAQ—there are suggestions:

 

Here are the FAQ links:

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/profdev/training/online-evaluation/faq.pdf

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/profdev/training/online-evaluation/faq2.pdf

Now signed in…Peggy D. asked about doing a peer evaluation…

 

Betty—teachers and admins are going to come to you with questions—a check box is their electronic signature—remind them they don’t have to print it…

 

Jackie Pierson—they are re-writing our job descriptions once they do that--Media Coordinator or Tech Facilitator will have to use this instrument. (if you are career status then you just use your PDP) Otherwise you could have to use this depending which year you are on your cycle.

 

Marlo Gaddis: School Wires

 

Working on "centricity 2" update:

 

Two Pod-casts from In-touch—weekly off the instructional technology page

 

"Instructional technology unplugged":

 

http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/22351032313571730/podcasts/browse.asp?a=399&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=86939&22351032313571730Nav=
&NodeID=4407

On intouch blog: Be checking it out for the latest:

 

http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/

Upgrade taking place—mostly on December 29th:

 

As of December 14th at 4:00 will not be able to use Site Manager on School Wires—

 

The upgrade rocks....!!

• They are completely re-building the platform
•  Now Site Manager, will automatically direct them to the pages that they can edit.
•  Site Manager: Will require more training…
• Passport rights: we will now have the ability to unlock your own teacher accounts!!
•  Users: look under “more” and you can “emulate” user…without having to know their user name and password
• New version can create your own groups so that roles can be customized for secured pages-- A protected page for example that only a certain group can see.
• Webmasters will be scheduling for January training
• Hierarchy will now be drag and drop!!
• New page types for now "APPS"
• More than one calendar per section will now be possible, can even have more than one calendar per page
• APPS are drag and drop…
• Can change existing page types without starting all over
• A team can make a calendar that can be shared…Can now have a separate calendar that only a group in your school can see…
• We have a sandbox site, and they will create accounts for webmasters for the month of December.

AGAIN, Dec 14th after 5:00—No SITE MANAGER…

 

CL there are strawbridge CD’s down stairs

 

MTAC: password matrix—will retrieve it and update it and get it out to you…

 

TAM Upgrade—NCWISE first major upgrade ever—we don’t have much information. Program director for NCWISE is no longer there.:

 

Betty is worried about the impact, there is a link on Technologywebpage:

Dept of technology/ncwise link to the docs that they currently have on the upgrade…

 

http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/22351032313574277/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=87717&22351032313574277Nav=
&NodeID=4528

Stipends are coming ($1000 is still in effect)

 

Betty has no idea for Theme monies for next year—not had their first meeting yet.

 

Mail box scrooge! Please remind teachers not to send personal greeting e-mails !!

 

Everyone understands that there will be no inotes e-mail on an IPAD—flash issue :(

 

So people that get one for Christmas, no i-notes—flash required pages will not show on IPADS

 

Next meeting...January 27th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add Lucy to my tech buddy friends…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technology Facilitator's Meeting, October 28, 2010

New person--Dianne Phillips—Clemmons MS

Betty Weycker:  "Remember the individual child…"

Bill Park—WinstonNet—Connect your community Grant—a partnership with WS/FCS

• 1750 families have computers in their home thanks to this Grant
• CYC:  “Connect Your Community”
•       Bill Park:  is not a tech person…Cathy Davidson is project supervisor
• They have roughly a million dollar grant
• Free computer training starting November 29^th
• call for more information (336) 703-4138
• He is at 475 Corporate Square Drive  --34512
• He is wcpark@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Kevin Sherrill:

Carla Miller:  “End of Life Survey”—One more day to do that—working computers and monitors that you no longer use.  No laptops

• Surplus:  About 70% finished—should be done by tomorrow…
• If you have something else that needs to be added, put it on the spreadsheet and let Carla know (especially TV’s)

• Courier Service:  How process is going with the Courier Service:  Carla is looking at the process.  If an item is not there when they go to pick it up, then they will close the ticket.

Nook/Kobo:  (electronic readers), schools have wanted to buy.  They are looking at them--Nook Barnes and Noble, and Kobo from Borders.

• They felt like the Nook was a better built machine. 
•  It is School based decision. 
• Technology is not supporting them at this point for repair, some can connect to the WI-FI.

Classroom Solution: 

• Title 1 budget and purchasing has picked up on that. 
• Make sure you put in an assist ticket to do a survey for the rooms you want done. 
•  Be aware that pricing is changing all the time. 
• They need to work with maintenance. 
• Order through Assist ticket when ready to buy. 

Assist: 

• What you do with your teachers is up to you..But they encourage you to use it with your teachers.
• Requester:  anyone who creates a ticket…May simplify the categories in the next couple of weeks
• Make sure the ticket information from teachers is up-to-date, and complete before assigning to the service desk.Remember there are only FOUR people on the service desk. 
• Link to software clearning house: http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/22351032313577150/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=60922&22351032313577150Nav=|&NodeID=171
• Before you write a Grant for software, it needs to be approved first.  For example, Just recently, having a problem getting a program to work--the software did not go through the software approval process. 
• GET a trial copy to Sherry to test it first.
• Better to look at the tickets to find comments--look for the flags
• Make sure when you use comments you do NOT check INTERNAL ONLY…otherwise it just stays on the ticket, and does not get corresponded.
• Do not reply to e-mail for comment notification e-mails--instead Log back into assist and edit comments.
• Reports section of assist:  share with your principal…if the number of days the ticket was open is wrong, report that to Kevin.
• ONCE you OPEN a ticket, make sure you ASSIGN IT…Service desk is not looking at the Master Queue list
• Unapproved software list is still on the technology page, Software Approvals... 
• Marlo sends e-mail to instructional services first and often have to wait :( —The more information you can give about the software, the better—how are you using it ?  where did you get the software, etc.?
• Kevin spent a fair amount of time on the flow chat showing the assist ticket flow process.
• Comments:  go back to whoever submitted the ticket.  Anyway to extend the time…of a closed ticket??
•  It is five days, and school wires won’t extend it.  You can reference the old ticket number (especially an issue with hardware repairs)
• Remember, you can only “assign to the service desk” or yourself or another tech facilitator in your school..
• Can set up e-mail rules to control the flow of your notification.  (Jim will put instructions for doing this on the web-portal)
• By queue, you can see what tickets are waiting to be assigned.
• Auto-assigned categories: Data Management, media services

Compu-trace:  https://cc.absolute.com/  Guest Speaker-- "ROYCE"

• Log-in with your e-mail address and password
• Part of every new purchase and on every computer
• Every machine come with  a Bios agent,  and an application agent communicates with compu-trace.
• Asset tracking Page:  has a call history, is most popular…
• Computrace is not just a theft recovery tool. Excellent inventory tracking. 
• Alerts tab:  set them so you can be alert and be notified if anything unusual happens.  You can get a malware notification.  Or notification that their drive is full, etc..
• "Device freeze" can be locked down at the OS level,  user messaging can be used to correspond to the user.

Jackie Pierson:  Media Services:

• LSTA(Library Science/technology) Grant—five schools got this grant…it is a “print” grant.  Public libraries gets technology $10,000, and a matching $2500    
  

• Mt Tabor,
• N. Forsyth
• Sedge garden
• Sherwood Forest
• SouthEast Middle
• MTAC committee should be meeting at your school....MTAC  decided this grant
• Inside Destiny—There are 65 "e-ready" classic books already.
• The ones inside destiny—are through adobe reader, 1 reader at a time.  Huckleberry Finn for example…The little @ sign indicates it is in “e” format.

Principals are very "in-tune" with the e-books  

Marlo Gaddis:

Update, a corruption took place on Learning Village Update. 

• No data was lost, have had to re-build the framework…
• will not be upgraded since they are just trying to get it back to the way it was. 
• There will be a new hosted version that should facilitate upgrading in the future.
• Career start teachers have been calling…so it has been being used—hopefully will be in the TBT tomorrow.

On-Line staff development—on-line courses ending for October.  May want to remind teachers.

Staff Development:  they are down one instructional technologist, demand for training is outstanding.  If you schedule open labs, make sure you have a list of teachers who will attend. 

NCEEF:  Teacher evaluation on-line.  Marlo has been getting Tickets about log-ins.  DOT does not have anything to do with that internally at this time.  First check with principals—they re being trained.  Don’t think user names and passwords have been sent yet.

TEACHSCAPE:  company we use for classroom walk-through—Marlo is “pulling numbers” tomorrow for this quarter.

• http://www.teachscape.com/html/ts/nps/index.html
• PLC model and using this tool--"Teachscape Reflect":
• Could be used as a reflective tool for teachers to use and help one another. 
• There are linking the NC evaluation instrument with this device..you can tape your lesson and tag the different pieces of evidence.
• Can also take still photos—evidence in the classroom—activity sheet vs. a worksheet, classroom environment, etc..
• Cost: ~$4800 for the camera…the video is only viewable on the website. 
• National Boards should work with this product.
• There is an OPT out policy for video—parents would have to say they don’t want there children to be filmed…
• Go to here to find the resources that Marlo is sharing from her conference
• http://wsfcs.pbworks.com/
• "Teacher works academy resources"
• Look under the conferences folder on the right.
• Talked to lots of important people in education circles.

 Betty Weycker:  “Race to the Top”—"NC education cloud". 

• Federal Initiative to give schools money—what will be technology’s role? 
• From Governor Purdue…MCNC is one of the groups who is involved with this…Program Director—Phil Emer (used to be a director of MCNC)
• Friday Institute:  center near NCSTATE.  MCNC is a partner with e-rate
• One of the major things coming with all of this is:  on-line assessments…on a regular basis—and we have to be prepared to implement.  Learning Management systems—like success maker or compass.  Now, the state might mandate it. 
• The “CLOUD”—off-site management for all of this—they will provide, but we have to be able to access it.  Huge thing for Betty is the infrastructure to support it.
• Cloud—hosted services…
• We already have the band-width in place, other districts don't
• State can own some of these resources and our job to use them and give information back
• Every child will have to be tested…on-line
• Other devices?  IPADS?  Whatever the devices are remains to be seen…IPADS don’t have flash (major draw back of them)
• Dell and other are out there trying to satisfy the needs for the "Race to the Top"…
• No one has any real answers right now as to what will be the best devices for online assessments
• State will update our e-mail system (though the Microsoft e-mail—MS Live)
• Voice over Ip phones/State will take care of some of these resources.
• Cloud enabled LEA (servers will be hosted throughout the state)
• Jackie Pierson—We may see  a new form of Learn 360/Discovery Streaming soon as part of Race to the Top
• Betty will post this on the web portal and we should read it…
• Some schools will be dramatically more affected than others. 

Another technology piece is coming along…2006 school bonds

Reagan, Parkland, Sherwood forest, Rural Hall, Sedge Garden, Glenn, Downtown—all these schools will get complete classroom solutions. 

Reagan had 20 and now 60 additional will be done soon.

 General Reminders:

• Make sure teachers are checking the box to "Post to Parent Assist"
• MTAC will be discussing a better (hopefully on-line solution) for the Purple Acceptable Use Policy Forms that students must sign.
• Alert Now--Message retrieval link can be put back on home pages
• "E-Docs" is coming...where teachers can retrieve their pay stubs on-line.
• Employees will log in using their Employee ID number (found on your pay stub, or ask Media person to look up on Destiny or through the district website)
• Can Find the website under Employees--resources--administration--wsfcs administration resources--employee user ID look up:http://intranet.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Public.nsf/InternetMenu?OpenForm
• e-docs will be alive starting next wednesday nov 3
• Next Meeting is December 2nd

Edmodo --Social Learning in the Classroom

In a recent  discussion with a teacher the question was raised:   "Why can't we have a platform like Facebook for teachers?" to be able to interact with students? My Friend, Jennifer Lagarde highly recommends this educational version of Facebook:  http://www.edmodo.com/home/   She says her teachers love it.  I signed up for a generic tjmswsnc account with my "usual" password, if anyone at school wants to try it before signing up yourself

What is edmodo video:
http://www.edmodo.com/?language=en&auto_selected_lang=true#

Guide to edmodo:
http://www.edmodo.com/guide/

Edmodo blog:
http://blog.edmodo.com/

Here are some testimonies from teachers with ideas:

edmodo in L/Arts:
http://projects.minot.k12.nd.us/groups/chris/weblog/6dae5/

http://usgovteducatorsblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/edmodo-new-tool-for-connecting-in.html

http://blog.edmodo.com/2010/02/02/teachers-corner-robert-millers-edmodo-experience/

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/01/edmodo-microblogging-for-students.html

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/mediainfusion/2010/07/edmodo-a-great-and-interesting-new-opportunity.html

http://www.appappeal.com/app/edmodo/

Check out how another school is using social networking:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/111909_New_Milford_teachers_using_Twitter_social_media_sites_to_engage_students.html


School Policies on Social Networking with Students:

http://tjmstechtips.blogspot.com/search/label/Facebook

Interference with Wireless signal? Check out some of these possible sources of problems



I was researching why the wireless signal in our two trailers here at Jefferson Middle School seems to go down everyday around the same time.  I was wondering if it had anything to do with the sun, or perhaps or some human cause?

I found this interesting article on how some everyday items can interfere with a wireless network

http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/bc/bcs6p3B.html

Some electric devices known to clash with your wireless signals are:

• Digital phones
• A Baby's cot monitor
• Blue tooth gadgets
• Other wireless router

Other issues can be caused by objects getting in the way. If a signal is sent to your computer then it may get bounced off walls, windows, glass mirrors, carpeted floors, and many other objects, before it reaches your computer. At the PC end, this can mean a slow connection. The radio waves are travelling at the same rate but, due to signal bounce, it's taken longer to reach its destination. Things that can cause problems for your wireless router are:  

• Glass doors, glass mirrors, glass in windows
• Shiny metallic surfaces
• Fish tanks (it's the water)
• Internal walls made of brick
• Stud partitioning in walls
• Carpets

The sun produces electromagnetic waves too, and I was wondering if perhaps they could be interfering with the waves of the wireless network?  Here's an interesting article on solar outages:

http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/satellite/solar-effects/sun-solar-outages-basics-tutorial.php

Sweet Search

Sometimes the most difficult part of students doing research is sorting through the mass of internet information some of which can be unreliable. Consider having your students try:

 " Sweet Search"
http://www.sweetsearch.com/

 or

 FindingDulcinea

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/


Here's more about it on the WSFCS In touch blog:


http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/2010/09/your-search-has-never-been-sweeter.html