1. Welcome to Justin Gilson, our New Tech Support Assistant!
2. Thanks for Feedback on Survey to Improve the Tech PD Classes
3. Getting Your Computers Ready for Summer
4. Google Sites Step by Step
5. WSD Tech Funds - What, where, when?
6. Surplus that old unwanted/unused equipment!
7. LCD Projector Bulb Replacement
8. Creating a Vacation Message
1. Welcome to Justin Gilson, our New Tech Support Assistant
Please welcome Justin Gilson as the new Tech Support Assistant for Cape
Horn-Skye, Canyon Creek, and Washougal High School. Justin comes to us
from Havre School District in Montana, where he worked doing Tech
Support for several years. He is a graduate of Camas High School, and
recently relocated back to the area, and is excited to be working in
schools again. Some people may recognize Justin from the Camas Talent
Show, where he performed magic tricks for the audience. Justin enjoys
geocaching, an activity using GPS coordinates to locate hidden
containers, let him know if you know of any interesting 'caches' in the
area. Justin is replacing Anthony Collver, who has taken a position
with ESD 112.
WHS Staff can reach Justin at ext. 3206, and Cape/CCMS
staff can reach him at ext. 3513 or via e-mail at justin.gilson@washougalsd.org
2. Thanks for Feedback on Survey to Improve the Tech PD Classes
Thank
you to the 30 staff people who completed the paper and digital versions
of the survey on making the Technology Professional Development classes
better work for you. We'll analyze the data collected, and use it to
make adjustments to the schedule, the course topics, and try to make the
classes useful for you. The schedule should come together soon, and
we'll have a survey of interest on topics and themes for the classes, as
well as some suggestions for alternate times/days.
3. Getting Your Computers Ready for Summer
In the
past, some WSD staff have placed garbage bags over computers to keep
dust out. None of our tech staff have noted a problem with excess dust
settling into computer equipment when it is off, so this isn’t
necessary. Please save yourself the trouble, and leave the bags for the
garbage cans.
Please make sure you turn all of your computers off before you
leave. If you have a laptop that won’t be used over the summer, you
should charge the battery fully, and then take it out of the computer
for storage. If possible, store the battery in a refrigerator that’s
turned on. If you have an iPad or other device with an internal battery,
you should fully charge the battery, and then turn the device
completely off before you leave. Leaving a device in "sleep" for an
extended period of time can damage the batteries.
As much as is possible, please leave your computer’s cables all
plugged in. We are aware that the custodians will move much of the
equipment to clean carpets, but doing this will cut down on the time it
takes to get everyone back up and running in the fall.
4. Google Sites Step-by-Step Guide
If you missed
one of the Google sites classes, but are still interested in setting up a
webpage for your classroom or department, you can use the excellent
step-by-step guide created by class facilitator Rochelle Aiton to guide
you through this process. You can download the guide here.
Once you have a webpage set up, send the link to your new page to Les
Brown, and he can link it to the appropriate school/department page.
5. WSD Tech Funds - what, where, when?
WSD Tech funds. What are they? Where do they come from? What do they pay for?
Voters
approved a new Technology levy on February 9, 2010, which collect
$250,000 each year for four years, starting in 2011. This year the Tech
funds have been used to pay for new Teacher computers for all teachers
at Washougal High School, and a current project to replace all teacher
computers in grades K-8. Tech funds pay for “standard” software,
including Microsoft Office, Inspiration, and Sophos Anti-virus. They
also pay for Network infrastructure that allows network accounts for all
staff, including the web server and home-folder servers.
6. Surplus that old unwanted/unused equipmentDo
you have old, unwanted, or unused equipment in your classroom that you
don’t want to keep? Mark it as “surplus” on your year-end inventory, and
let your building administrator know you want to get rid of it. The
deadline for identifying items as surplus is June 8.
7. LCD Projector and Bulb Replacement
Let Sean or
Justin know if your projector’s image is darker than it used to be, has
changed color, or is showing spots or dots in the image. In some cases, a
new bulb is all that’s needed, and for most classrooms, the Tech staff
has an extra bulb. If your projector’s problem can’t be fixed with a new
bulb, we’ll put it on the list to get replaced.
8. Creating a Vacation Message
If you are going to
be out of the office for an extended period of time, you can create a
vacation message which automatically responds to your e-mail, letting
folks know you’re gone.
- Log into your district e-mail. http://mail.washougalsd.org/
- Log in as yourself (first.last) with your e-mail password.
- Click the Sprocket in the upper left, then choose Mail Settings
- On the General tab, scroll down to the Vacation Responder section
- Click the Radio button for "Vacation responder on"
- Enter the text you want to have sent to people who send you email in the box
- Set an end date if appropriate (recommended)
(Note: You can opt to have the message sent to anyone, or just people inside the district.)
- Make sure you scroll down or up to click the save button!
If
you didn't sent an end date, when you get back, follow the same
directions, and set the responder to "off" to remove the message.
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