Infinite Campus 3 Week Check

(Thanks for Mrs. Culham for these directions)

This section is if you have NOT put any grades in and are starting from scratch.  

When you create an assignment just make sure at the bottom you only click the trimester grading task and not the other three! Your screen will look like this. 

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Now those who are like me and have entered in grades already and clicked all for the the grading tasks there are a few more steps. It shouldn't be too hard though! 

First, go to your grade book and select 3 week Grade Check at the top. 

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Then you will need to click on each assignment individually. When you open up the assignment scroll down to the Grading Task Bar.  Unclick every grading task except for the 3 Week Grade Check. After you have done that hit SAVE!

You will then need to close out of the assignment and reopen it. When you have done that scroll down to the 3 Week Grade Check and unclick this box. You will get this message. 

You will want to scroll down and click the Trimester>Category and hit SAVE. 

Make sure only the trimester is selected. When you are done with that make sure you hit SAVE again at the bottom of your screen. 

Your assignment should have transferred over onto your trimester page. You can find this out at the top drop box. 

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Also to make you all aware today is the end of our first 3 weeks so our grades are going to need to be posted. Below is information on how to do this. 

How to submit grades for 3 Week Grade Checks (Would you like to know more?  Read on.)

-  In order to submit 3 week grades, just follow the steps below: 

 

1)  Open up your gradebook (Campus Instruction) and select the class that you wish to submit.

  

2)  Go to the POST GRADES (under In Progress) in red.  

3) There will be a pop-up box that appears and you want to make sure that you move the drop down menu from Trimester to 3 Week Grade Check

4)  It will then give you a "WARNING!"  But don't be scared, just click OK.  

5)  Once you click OK, it will look as if all of your grades have disappeared, but guess what?  They haven't!  Go back up to the top of your gradebook by TASK and move the drop down from 3 Week Grade Check back to Trimester and they shall reappear like magic. 

Are you having troubles getting to websites?  ....the ones that really shouldn't be blocked but seem to be.

Try this:

Open System Preferences ->  Click on Network

Click on Advanced

Click on the DNS tab

Selecting the sets of numbers one at a time, click on the -  symbol in the lower left corner to delete all of the DNS numbers in the left column.  There will probably be 3 sets of numbers there.

Click on OK

Click on Apply

Now restart your computer.

All should hopefully be better now..... Let me know if this is not the case.

-BG

K-2 Teacher Details

Grinnell-Newburg K-2 Teachers:

iPad carts will be showing up in your classrooms in the next day or two.

The iPad carts include:

  - a class list 

  - an adapter to connect any iPad to your projector

  - one named and labeled iPad in a case for each of your students

  - one teacher iPad and its case

  - a temporary login for your teacher iPad.  Reset the password on your first login.

  - charger cords for each iPad.  I may be coming back to get your extras.

  - Please feel free to re-arrange the iPads on your cart in alphabetical order or whatever you want in the cart.

  - Wheel the carts over to Specials classes as needed through the school year.  Students should be using them in many ways throughout the day

  - PLEASE keep track of the iPads in your class.  If one 'disappears', it can be tracked to get it back.  Your cart can be locked, too.

-  The cart names:  BK1 -  Bailey Park - Kindergarten - Cart 1

The student iPads: 

  - hold 16 Gb of data.

  - are labeled and already assigned to each student

  - Each student has their own Apple ID, already signed in on their iPad.  Their 4-digit password is on the asset tag (not the name label). 

  - I will share a master list of your classroom iPads/students/passcodes in a Google Doc soon.

Your Teacher iPad:

  - holds 64 Gb of data

  - includes an App called Self-Service.  Apps to download will start showing up there soon.  These can be 'pushed' to your classroom iPads... directions for that will be coming soon.

  - This iPad is not labeled yet (our labeler was borrowed)  Please label, bedazzle, or do what you need to so that your 'teacher' iPad stands out from the rest.  Do this to the case and not the iPad, please.  Please include the name of your cart on the label.

Other Related Notes:

-PLEASE let me know your roster changes when you can.  Any update given to me by Monday 8/22 will be in your cart and ready for the first day of school.  

-As the school year gets rolling, there will be a tech form you can submit for any roster changes, app requests, and more.   More details will be coming on Monday 8/23 at your building meetings.

-PK, Specials teachers, and Instructional Coaches will have iPads coming yet.  We may need to visit about how that will look.  

-There are about 2000 new and repurposed computers/iPads being rolled out in the upcoming days.  Thanks for your patience as we get the kinks worked out.  

-The Apple TV's for your room are now in, but need some set up.  They will be distributed in the first couple weeks of school.  The laptop and iPad rollouts will have a higher priority.

-Some external CD/DVD drives will be available for short checkout from your building library. Their primary purpose is for installing software or burning CD/DVD's.  They may be used to play any DVD, but if you need to do that a lot, please consider just using an inexpensive DVD player  that is not connected through your computer.

-Here is a link to download the drivers to connect your new laptop to your Smartboard (if you have one).  

Protect Your Computer

We have many new computers being issued for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year.

Grades 5-12 student will receive a  MacBook Air  Model # A1466  with a 45W MagSafe 2 power adapter.

Teachers will receive a MacBook Pro with Retina Display Model #A1502  with a 60W MagSafe 2 power adapter.  

The model numbers may be helpful as you accessorize your devices.

Good habits can help make your school-issue computer last without dings, dents, and other problems that may cost your family budget a fix-it charge.  Even with good care, accidents do sometimes happen.  Here are a few products that may help reduce problems down the road:

Does your power cord get in the way?
Here is a handy gadget that stores your power block and cord, protecting them and helping you stay neat and tidy.

Here is the $12.99  Quirky Cord Keeper that works for both computer styles.

There is a small version that can work with your iPad charger cable, too.

Does fraying have you fried? MacBook cords have been notorious for fraying at the power block.  This can be reduced by making a little loop (see picture) before wrapping the cord, but it still doesn't always prevent problem. There is a cool product called The Fray Fix that could help.  $14.99 will give you some protection at both ends of the cord.  The bright colors can make your charger easier to find, as well.

Protect your laptop from dings, dents, and scuffs in a fashionable way:

There are many models on the market.  This includes:

For the MacBook Pro 13.3" with Retina Display:

                 Kuzy makes a durable case available in many different solid colors for $19.95.

                 Get a little fancier with this model from iCasso for $19.95

MacBook Air 13"

                 Here is a case made by Mosiso, sold for $11.80

The school district issues a durable case, made by Brenthaven, with every laptop.  It includes a shoulder strap and side pocket for the charger cord.  It is the responsibility of the user to take good care of it according to the terms of the District's Acceptable Use Policy.  The products above are not endorsed or sold by the school district, but can provide a little extra piece of mind with the heavy use these great tools will get in the upcoming years.  

Please send me a note if you find any other products that you think would be beneficial.  I will add them to this list. 

    

Teacher iTunes Account

Every G-N staff member that is issued a laptop or iPad should create an Apple I.D. that is connected to their school email.  This may be used to download applications and updates on school-issued devices.  You may create a new Apple I.D. from a computer, tablet, or your smartphone.

There are two different kinds of Apple I.D.'s.  The first is a consumer account.  If you have ever purchased or downloaded anything from Apple's App Store then you have a consumer account.  This consumer account is connected to an existing email address.  We would like you to create a new I.D. that is connected to your school email.

Apple recently allowed schools to create school-managed Apple I.D.'s.   This feature allows a teacher to manage a classroom set of iPads which are each assigned to the classroom students.  However, the classroom teacher will still (for now) need to have a 'consumer' I.D.

The managed accounts do not have to be connected to an email address and provide protections for our students. This is quite important with our lower elementary students who will not have a school-issued email address.  It will allow students to create and collaborate in a safe classroom environment.

Here is a support document, provided by Apple, that lists the steps  OR see below.
Here are some additional details about managed Apple I.D.'s

To create an Apple I.D. using iTunes on your computer:

In iTunes, navigate to Store-> Create Apple ID.  You may have to sign out of a previous account
Select Continue
Agree to the Terms and Conditions
Submit your contact information.  Create your own unique password.  This may be changed at any time. Include security information, as well, just in case you forget your password. You will have to include your personal credit card to set up the account, but do not have to buy anything. Your email will be verified through Apple.

Teacher Computers

Teachers will be receiving one of of 161 new MacBook Pro laptop computers with this summer rollout.

These computers are similar to the student computers since they have no moving parts, include 128 Gb of storage, and have a 13" screen.

There is still some setup work to complete to have the mass deployment ready.  This includes the creation of a school-issued Apple ID for every teacher.  It will come in very handy when it comes time to update or install any applications either on an iPad or teacher laptop.

We should be on track to have teacher computers ready during the week of July 11-15 25-29.  I will send out emails about how the check-in / check-out procedure will work.  There will be times available each week until school begins to make the switch.  Any teacher can wait until the start of school, but I would really like to see most of the new computers deployed long before that.

Teachers:  Please Please Please get your data backed up.  This can be done using your Google Drive, a large flash drive, or and external hard drive.   Let me know if you need help with this.

Check back here for more details.

Computer Labs

The computer labs at Fairview, Bailey Park, and Davis are each getting upgrades.  The 25 computers in each will be switched out to iMacs that have Apple's newest operating system, El Capitan, installed.

Most classrooms had 3 or 4 iMacs in them, but this will no longer be necessary with the new carts. These are replacing the lab computers, but this also gives us plenty of computers to go around to update the custodian, kitchen, and check-in stations. The labs may become functionally obsolete, but we need to see how well the iPads handle our standardized testing during the school year.  There should be a distinct change in how they will be used. Our summer tech help is going through the tedious process of completing the updating in each.

iPads

This week we unloaded 516 iPads to be placed in 23 carts.  This includes 18 carts of 22 computers for each grade K-2 with 16 Gb of storage.  It also includes 3 carts of 25 iPads to be used in the 3-4 classrooms.

We had another outstanding group of volunteers to help unpack the iPads, place them in the new protective cases, and install the charging wiring.
Each cart has a capacity of 42 tablets and have carefully installed charging cables.
Each cart was labeled by building, grade level, and section. B21 indicates Bailey Park, Grade 2, Section 1

MacBook Air laptop computers

 There is significant work to do yet before the new student computers are ready.

An 'image' needs to completed for all of these computers.  This is the template that is provided on all computers at the start of the school year.  All of the computers are then cloned, except for login details.  This included a management system, called Casper.

Each computer has a unique identifying asset tag.  The same number is also placed on its charger block and sleeve case.  Before a computer is taken home, a form must be signed agreeing to the District's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).

1046 new MacBook Air computers have arrived that will be issued to students in grades 5-12.  These computers arrived last week on 16 pallets and were carefully unloaded. The computers have 13" screens, 128 Gb of storage, and 8Gb of RAM.
Our summer tech staff carefully unloads the pallets.  5 high school students have been working this summer and staying very busy.
A big thanks goes to Mrs. Wolfe, who ordered these heavy duty shelves for her classroom.  They make a great temporary storage for the boxes.
A generous team of volunteers opened every box and removed the computer boxes from the outer cardboard.  This helps save significant time when the time comes to begin the imaging process.
The resulting large pile of boxes were all taken to the city recyclables collection site.  For a brief time, there was a cardboard mountain by the auditorium.

Student Computers and Tablets

Here are the basics of how tech will look like in the upcoming school year:

Grades 5-12:  1046 MacBook Airs.
5th grade students will work from classroom sets and will be allowed to take theirs home later in the school year.

Grades 3-4:  300 refurbished MacBook Pros on 12 carts and 75 iPads (64 Gb) on 3 carts
Each classroom teacher will have a classroom set of refurbished MacBook Pros.

Grades K-2:  440 iPads (16 Gb) on 20 carts
Each classroom teacher will have a classroom set of iPads.
The computer labs will also be upgraded to refurbished imacs.

Every teacher will be issued a new MacBook Pro.
Teacher Assistants who need one will be issued a refurbished MacBook Pro.

There are some other potential projects in the works, including switching internet service providers, upgrading Internet bandwidth at the elementary buildings, updating the District's phone system, and updating the District's website.  There are several other initiatives progressing in the upcoming school year that will not be addressed in this thread.

Look for more tech details in upcoming postings.

Introduction

This is a lively summer for all the new changes in technology that will serve to continue to transform instruction for all of our students.  This is a result of an impressive commitment by our community, school board, administration, and staff to purchase and support some new and amazing tools.

This blog serves to show some insight of the work progress happening this summer.  The intended audience is our fine staff, but not exclusively.  It is a communication tool to be informed and know what is going on.

I am the Technology Integrationist for the District, but am serving a larger role in this transition time between outgoing and incoming technology directors.

-Bill Gruman