Tech eNews 1/4/2012

Topics for this Tech eNews 1-4-2012

1. Inventory is Underway at Hathaway

2. Planned E-mail Transition to WashougalSD.org addresses

3. Document Camera Class Being Rescheduled

4. Back by Popular Demand – the Certified Personal Days Calendar

5. New Gause Computer Lab Purchased with WSD Tech Funds

6. WebQuest Refresher Still Has Space – 1-23-2012 from 4 – 5:30PM

1. Inventory is underway at Hathaway
The every-other-year district inventory is moving along. Gause Elementary School’s inventory is done, and work is underway at Hathaway. Here are some simple steps to help make sure the work in your classroom goes smoothly.

- Make sure any personal equipment is marked as belonging to you and not the district. A sticker or note stuck to the equipment would be very helpful!

- Make sure any new WSD equipment to your classroom has a tag

- You must get permission from your building administrator to check out any equipment. There is a short form they need to keep track of while you have the item away from the building.

- If you have equipment on loan to another staff person, you should have it written down somewhere in your room, or document it with your building’s inventory designee.

2. Planned Transition to WashougalSD.org e-mail service

WSD Tech Support Specialists Sean Elkinton and Anthony Collver are busy on a project to shorten our district e-mail addresses. We will be switching to a Google based e-mail system, which will use the formula first.last@washougalsd.org instead of the older Washougal.k12.wa.us e-mail addresses we’ve had.

This new system will give you access to a district-wide contact list, and your own contact list from any location. The look and feel of e-mail will be the same regardless of which computer or device you use to check your mail, and messages marked read, replied to, or deleted will show up that way from all locations. E-mail signatures are available on any device you sign in from, and your vacation message can have a start and end date, so you don’t have to log back in to turn it off. The new e-mail system will integrate with other Google Apps, like Google Sites, Chat, and Calendars, using the same password as those services.

You will get an e-mail with your new username and password on January 25^th, and all users will get switched over to the new system by February 1^st.

Mail sent to your old e-mail address after switchover will get automatically forwarded to your new e-mail address.

3. Document Camera Refresher Class Postponed

The Document Camera Refresher class originally planned for January 12 or 19^th is going to be rescheduled for later in the year.

4. Certified Staff Days Calendar – Back by Popular Demand

Certified staff who want to know if days are available for personal days can find the Certified Personal Days Calendar on the “For District Employees” page of the WSD website. This calendar shows whether a day is available or not (based on the contract language that specifies that no more than 8 certified staff may take a personal day on the same day). Contact Liza Linde at ext. 3041 for more information about how to use your personal days, which can be requested through the AESOP system, also linked on the “for District Employees” page, which is linked in the upper right corner of the WSD Site.

If you have a suggestion for something else that could be added to this page (check first to make sure it’s not already there!), e-mail Les Brown and he’ll look into adding it to share with everyone.

5. New Computer Lab at Gause

A new lab of computers has been purchased and installed at Gause, in a room off the library. The WSD Tech committee identified this as a need to support online testing for EasyCBM and state testing in 2013. Gause teachers will be able to schedule the lab for use with students using an online calendar in the Google Calendar system mentioned above.

6. Webquest Refresher on January 23 4-5:30

There is still lots of space in the WebQuest refresher class that Scott Rainey and Chelsea Meats are facilitating later this month. If you’re interested, just e-mail lester.brown@washougal.k12.wa.us and ask to be added to the list.