Tech eNews for 5-20-2014
1. Getting Ready for Summer - steps to protect batteries in laptops or iPads
2. Prepping your Technology for the Summer
3. Help students copy important files to thumb drives or e-mail to themselves
4. Surplus that old, unwanted equipment
5. Year end inventory sheets - coming soon to a classroom near you
6. Set a vacation message for summer
7. Summer training opportunity for staff on iPads
8. Save the Date - Tech PD Day 10-10-2014
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1. Getting ready for summer - protect the batteries in your laptop/iPads
Our Tech Support Staff are ramping up for a very busy summer, where we will be purchasing another 500 or so iPads for students, and training the 7th and 8th grade teachers to use them with students! We're excited about this work, and can use your help setting us up for a successful, productive summer.
As we head into the final month of school, here are some tips for preserving batteries in electronic devices like laptops and iPads:
For laptops with a removable battery
If you are leaving a laptop in your classroom over the summer, and it has a battery that can be removed, please charge the battery to 100%, and then take it out and store it separately from the laptop. Do not leave the laptop plugged into power all summer long.
For laptops without a removable battery
If you are leaving a laptop in your classroom over the summer, and it has a battery that cannot be removed, please charge the battery to 100%, then turn the laptop off (make sure you shut it down, don't just close the lid to put it to sleep) and then unplug the device from power. Do not leave the laptop plugged into power all summer long, this can damage the battery and prevent it from holding a charge!
For iPads - charge the iPad all the way up and then make sure you turn it off (don’t just put it to sleep). You can turn your iPad off by pressing and holding the iPad's power button for about 7 seconds, then sliding the switch that shows up on the screen. Don’t leave it plugged into the power cord all summer, either.
2. Prepping your Technology for the Summer
To speed up the process of getting your technology ready again in August, please leave your equipment plugged in as much as possible. Tech staff can help get equipment plugged back in after the fabulous custodial staff finish cleaning your rooms, which often requires the custodians to move all your equipment. Having as much of your stuff left intact will speed up the process of getting your room ready in August.
In the past, some staff members have put plastic sheeting or bags over desktop computers. Tech staff would encourage you to NOT do this. We have not noticed dust accumulation during the summer being a problem, and there is a risk of damaging equipment if the computer gets turned on, but is stuck inside a bag where it cannot exhaust heat.
As always, if you are taking a laptop or iPad home over the summer, you need to check it out from your school's office. Your building secretary can use the form here to record that you have the device and to keep it accounted for in the inventory. http://www.washougal.k12.wa.
3. Help students copy important files to thumb drives or e-mail to themselves
As we do each year, we will be reseting student computer accounts to empty out ALL files at the end of the school year. If your students have important files that they need to keep, please help them copy the files to a thumb drive, or e-mail it to themselves at home. Items stored in the students email or google drive will stay over the summer and be available next fall.
4. Surplus that old, unwanted equipment
Do you have old, unwanted, or unused equipment in your classroom that you don’t want to keep? Work with your building's inventory person to get it marked as surplus. They can help get it removed from your building inventory, and you won't have to keep accounting for it on the inventory! The deadline for identifying items as surplus is around June 13, or whatever date your building's inventory person set.
5. Year end inventory sheets - coming soon to a classroom near you
Did someone say inventory? The every-other-year district-wide inventory is wrapping up. Thank you to everyone who has been allowing the inventory folks to update your rooms inventory in our database. A benefit to this work is that it should simplify your year-end checkout. Your sheets, which you'll get sometime around June 13, should be a match for what you have, making it easier to get checked out for the summer.
6. Set a vacation message for summer
Speaking of summer - you can set an auto-reply vacation message for your e-mail letting folks know you'll be out over the summer. This will send a message to each person who emails you, letting them know you're out.
- 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.
7. Summer training opportunity for staff on iPads
WSD is providing training opportunities for staff with an iPad, who are interested in learning how to use it in the classroom. We will have a trainer from Apple on August 5 and 6, who will be covering iOS basics in the classroom the first day, and using iPads to help all learners the second day. If you are interested in attending either of these trainings, let Les Brown know. If you do not have an iPad to bring to the class, we can provide one for you to use during the training.
8. Tech PD Symposium - 10-10-2014
Cape Teacher Heather Kassel and WHS Teacher James Bennett are organizing another district-wide professional development symposium focused on Technology in the classroom. They plan to use the State In-Service Day in October as the date. Please mark this on your calendar, and consider joining us for some fun, engaging, and hands on classes about how to use Technology in the classroom. Teachers who are interested in helping teach sessions should contact James or Heather.
