Meridian phones on key systems

Some quick tips on adjusting your key system phone (applies to phones at Cape/CCMS/JMS/Hathaway and District Office)

To adjust the contrast, you can push the Feature Button, then the * or Star key, then the 7 key

Choose the number corresponding to the contrast you want, with 1 being light, and 9 being dark.

Press RLS to end the change.

To change the tone of your phone's ring (there are four available) you can do this:

Press Feature, then * (Star) and then 6

Enter the number 1 through 4 to hear the different options.  Press RLS to save the new ring tone.  You can also use this to adjust the volume of the phone's ringing.

Slow Gmail on Safari/Mac

An end user was complaining of slowness in Gmail using Safari on the Mac.  After taking a look around, quitting and re-opening, and trying a couple items found online, I noticed that there were a number of tabs open in another browser window.

It turned out that the re-open tabs on startup was causing him to end up with Gmail open in more than a dozen tabs at a time.  In addition, he was moving between Google Drive, Calendar, and Gmail using the black bar at the top of the screen rather than cycling between browser windows to find the one that was already open, which was opening additional windows.  With each window he opened, Gmail got even slower.

The solution was to close any extra Gmail windows in the background, and help the user use the "Window" menu to find Gmail rather than re-opening it each time he wanted it open.  I also disabled the "reopen windows at login" to keep it from starting up with more than a dozen instances each time after he shuts down.

Tech eNews June 2013

Tech eNews for June, 2013

1. Getting Computers/Laptops/iPads ready for summer

2. Surplus that old/unwanted equipment

3. LCD Projector Bulb Replacement

4. Creating a Vacation Message for summer

5. iPads motivate students, increase achievement 

6. Archive of eNews on the Tech Blog

1. 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. iPads and cameras should be kept in a locked cabinet, or an office that's locked, to ensure they're safe over the summer.  

If you can, please turn off all the surge suppressors that your computers are plugged into.  This will let you 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.  

Also, please remember that you can't take district owned equipment home over the summer without making arrangements with your principal, and filling out a check out form. 

2. 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 14.

3. LCD Projector and Bulb Replacement
Let Sean, Kenneth or Linda, 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. 

4. 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.

5. iPads motivate students and increase achievement
Washougal School District Technology funds were used in the Summer of 2012 to purchase iPads for three 5th grade classrooms as a pilot of a one-to-one (or 1:1, one device per student) initiative.  Data from the iPad pilot suggests that the iPads are motivating students to attend school more regularly, to show up on time, and increasing student achievement as measured by the EasyCBM assessment.  

Data from the pilot will be shared with the Washougal School District School Board during the June 11, 2013 school board meeting, with participating teachers and students showcasing projects and classroom activities that worked through the year. 

Transfer ownership of Google Apps for Education files in Google Drive to an external account

I did some research, and the Google Apps for Education prevent users from transferring ownership of documents outside their own domain.

However, there is a pretty straightforward work around - make a copy of the document in your new new domain's account.

Here are steps on how to make this work:

Open Google Drive
Create a new folder, and move collections of files into it that you're going to want in your new new domain's account
Click the checkbox to the left of the Folder name in the "drive" view, which will "select all" of the documents in the folder you created.
Click the More button
Click Share
Type in your new domain's e-mail in the bottom box, and give yourself "edit" rights
Click Share and Save.
Click Done when you're finished.
Now, log out of your old domain's e-mail, and log into your new domain's e-mail
Click Drive in the upper black title bar at the top of your e-mail window
You should hopefully see the folder from yourself.  It might be listed under "Shared with me" instead of in your drive.
Click the folder to open it
Click the check box ABOVE the checkbox to select the first item, to have it select all files in the folder
Click the More menu
Click Make a Copy
Depending on the number of files, this may take a while.  It will create a copy of the file in your drive, with the sharing turned off.

Forcing Google Safe Search at Home

Question from a parent this week about forcing Google's Safe Search and whether there's a way to do that on a home computer:

Here are the steps to turn on Google's safe search and force it to stay on.

The following link from Google's support site talks about a way that you can turn on Google's "Safe Search" and lock it on for your browser.  You may have to do this for each browser (i.e. firefox, chrome, Internet Explorer or Safari) as well as per user account if you all use different accounts on a shared computer.

http://support.google.com/websearch/answer/144686?hl=en

The District forces Safe Search using an Internet Safety appliance called Barracuda Web Filter, which does this for all students and staff automatically.

iPads for Administrators session 3-1-2013

Blended learning - major typing papers, creating music, composition, advanced video editing might require a full blown computer or laptop for students.  

ipad came out in April 2010 – not yet 3 years old

HS Students coming to class with higher tech than we provide in the school, we tell them to turn it off as they come in and leave it put away.

Mobility for Leaders in Education (MobLE) in Escondido CA, documenting growth both among administrators and students.

Staying organized, keeping informed, increasing productivity, classroom possibilities.

eWalk eCove iObserve as examples of classroom walkthrough tools

Using Numbers as a spreadsheet with Classroom Walkthrough Tool

Sample spreadsheet with video section, photo, checkbox/form type data gathering tool with menu to choose options.  

Apple in Education session 3-1-2013

Personalization/Individualization of education, finally getting to the point where you can really make a significant impact in the education of children 1:1. 

Blended learning environment –

Accessibility as a foundational element in the device

iTunes university – App store

iBooks/textbooks in a session this afternoon

Keyboard shortcuts for the iPad;

Flick up from the comma to get an apostrophe

Flick up on question mark to get quotes

Flick up on 0 to get a degree symbol

.com button when entering a web address has .org if you press/hold

note no space bar since you don’t do spaces in them.

Arrow keys in grey bar when entering text gives you next

Using the “reader” button lets you look at just the text on the page (like the rss) when you’re on an article (not on the homepage)  Reader button shows up at the end of the address bar when it’s available

Send to button (arrow coming out of a box) lets you “add to Reading List” which caches it to the device , and it’s under the book icon in the reading list. Looks like a pair of glasses)

Voiceover is in the system settings

General/Accessibility – Voiceover – triple click home button turns this on/off

Great for people with vision problems.

Reads text to you when you highlight it, then speak

Guided access – can disable features, lock someone in a single app, control which features are available when using  a single password

Can turn this on by device, or could use mobile device management which would disable this feature

Pages, Keynote, Numbers

When presenting via Projector or Apple TV – have the ability to show notes on the iPad in addition to to the slide

Can also press/hold when in presenter to Apple TV and you get a laser pointer dot

Send an e-mail to pvrasper@apple.com to get list of apps he’s using in the presentation, annotated with the name, link, cost, description

Tree Hut reading app, based out of New Zeeland (Kiwi)

Color, read slowly, spell words, switch languages, record yourself when reading

VPP discounts start at 20 – if buying more than 11, buy at least 20

Algebra touch - $.99 app that shows how to solve equations

Can create a problem and then solve it, swap and share