We encourage comments, questions, and discussions related to the posts. All comments in this blog are moderated. Comments that are solicitations, obscene, vulgar, sexually oriented, racist, sexist, harassing, degrading, libelous, threatening or harmful will not be posted. We reserve the right to deny or remove any comments that we deem inappropriate. If you notice a factual error, e-mail Kimberly Bannigan (kbannigan at deforest.k12. . . ).
We’ve been getting plenty of questions about connecting to wireless. Here are a couple of handouts and tips for making it easier to connect:
Connecting to DeForest-Guest: This network is for student devices and devices used by students. Find the DeForest-Guest network and connect >> Open a Browser >> If you don’t see I Accept Terms, click/press Refresh >> Accept. You should see the DeForest web page and then you are connected. Wireless Guest Access
My Documents . . . if you own a Windows computer, you probably use that folder at home to save everything. Now, it’s no different here at DASD.
If staff or students save files to the My Documents folder, that folder is synced to their H drives. Inside of each H drive, you’ll see a folder called _______’s Documents. Your username will fill in the blank.
Office likes this folder as the default and now you don’t have to worry about where things are saving. We’ve got you covered.
Also, we’ve added a “Google-like” feature in Windows. In the background, things are saving. If you right-click on a folder, you can select Properties >> Previous Versions and if you’ve saved the file recently (on a previous day), you’ll see those versions. Select the Version you’d like and click on View. Very handy if you’re sharing a file and something happened to it or, say you’d like to see how the file looked in the past.
Today’s tip will allow you to make your away through the tools Lightspeed provides to get access to web content you need.
Have you ever been suddenly blocked from viewing sites you usually have access to (like YouTube)?
Have you ever wanted to check out a site for possible student use or research?
Are you interested in being able to open a site for multiple computers in order to meet your instructional goals?
Here’s the full story on how to navigate Lightspeed.
Do you want to allow students to see a specific YouTube video without seeing the comments and having full access to YouTube?
A short (less than 2 min) video showing how to install the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack (in case you need to open newer versions of Word or Power Point files).
If you use Moodle, you already know there’s a feature that allows you to use a “profile picture.” If you’re interested in creating an avatar instead of posting an actual photo of yourself, here are four web tools that allow you to create a “cartoon-ified” image of yourself!
Build Your Wild Self (animalize yourself, then “print”, then right click to save the image as a jpeg)
Make yourself a LEGO character (customize your LEGO, follow the directions to “How to Save”)
Make yourself an M&M character (you must register to save your character)
Create a Mii (just like on the Wii) (create, then EXPORT your character)
Last week’s winner for the Thinkfinity drawing was Aimee Glennon! For all those who sent me links, thank you!
This week’s drawing: To be answered via email… please copy and paste a link to something from Thinkfinity that you might try with your students and send it to me with the word “Link” in the subject line before Friday at 4:00pm. I’ll randomly draw a name from all the entries.
Two recent areas of difficulty have been student email for grades 5-12 and printing. If you’re having trouble with either of these, we would like to hear about it:
Printing? We are changing to a different printer distribution system, so if you are having issues with your printers not showing up, please submit a Work Order.
Email? Please send contact Kim or Howard with student email issues. Over the next two months, we will be examining potential solutions and talking with students and staff members to determine our next steps. Here’s what we have planned so far:
Trials at DMS and DHS using alternate email applications and collaboration tools
Student surveys and interviews at DMS and DHS regarding how they use email
Staff surveys and interviews regarding email use, collaboration, and resource sharing
For the foreseeable future, we’ll continue to use ePals for email. If you are finding it difficult to communicate with students using ePals, we can offer some alternatives for the interim:
For sharing information: Moodle or your web page
For sharing files: Moodle or J drive
For transferring files between home & school (students): Moodle or flash drives
What’s printing? You can check on the progress of printing by going to Start >> Settings >> Printers & Faxes. Double click on any printer to see what’s in the queue.
What’s your default printer? You can check your default printer by going to Start >> Settings >> Printers & Faxes. Look for the printer with the check mark–that’s your default printer.
My file didn’t print! Sometimes a printer may have numerous print jobs that hold up your work. Checking to see what’s printing allows you to see what’s ahead of your work. Or if your work is first, but it’s still not printing, turn the printer off. Wait 30 seconds and turn it on again.
If you’ve received a new projector, you might experience some sound issues. Check out this page for two quick fixes. If you’re looking for more troubleshooting tips or TEACHING ideas, check out our Projector Resources page.
Updates@LISD 