Angel

Students are getting to know Angel more each day.  Students and parents have asked for resources on how to do things in Angel.  I am posting a link for some resources at the top of this blog.  I am also going to post some resources in the Thompkins Students group in Angel.  If you have questions about Angel, don't hesitate to ask me.

Many teachers post assignments on Angel.  If you do not have internet at home, students should download the assignment to a flash drive before leaving school.  If students are struggling with how to do this, they should see me.

Netbooks Go Home

Wow!  The past couple weeks have been busy!  The teachers, students, and I have been working hard to make sure that we are becoming good digital citizens.  Today, we finished up the last of the testing for students.  With the passing of the assessments, students were able to take their netbooks home.  They were all so excited!  Some hints:

• Students should power down at school and power back up at home.  
• Please encourage students to wait until they get home to take their netbook out of the bag.  We are hearing that some students are getting netbooks out on the bus.  This is not practicing good digital citizenship.
• Remember that we are all learning right now.  There will be lots of lessons for all of us along the way.  

Over Labor Day weekend, be sure that the netbook is kept in a safe location.  Cars can get extremely hot and be tough on the netbooks.  Find a secure spot in your home for the netbook.  

Enjoy practicing good digtal citizenship!!!

First Full Week of Netbooks

Wow!  An entire week of netbooks, along with digital citizenship testing!  Students seem to be getting used to carrying their netbooks around school.  Many of them are showing great responsibility by carrying their netbooks in their cases in the halls, closing the lids when moving across a room, and making sure that pictures and music that are on their netbooks are obtained legally and are school-appropriate.  We are just about ready to send the netbooks home.  Are you ready for them?

• Have you set aside a spot in your house for the netbook to charge each night?
• Have you found a good spot where the netbook can be used to complete homework? 
• Have you purchased a flash drive to save work so it isn't lost?
• Have you talked as a family about the rules for using the netbook at home?
• When can the netbook be used?
• Where can it be used?
• How long can it be used?
• Who will have access to the netbook? (Should be student and parents/guardians only)
• Where will the netbook be kept when it isn't being used?  Will it be safe from younger siblings or animals if the middle schooler isn't there?
• Have you purchased insurance in case of loss, theft, vandalism, intentional damage?

Students are ready.  When they see me in the hall, they say, "Mrs. Piacentini, when are we getting to take the netbooks home?"  We are hoping that it will be some time this week.  Make sure your home is ready!

Standards for Proper Care-Day 2 with Netbooks

Many students are sporting proper ways to carry netbooks in the hallways. I see some carrying it like a backpack and some with it draped across their torso from one shoulder to the opposite hip. Those are my two favorite ways because it's much harder for it to get knocked to the floor. Over one shoulder is acceptable too. Just make sure that it's not hanging below the hip where it can be knocked around easily. Remember that the rule for carrying the netbook in the case in the halls still applies during classes. Put your netbook in sleep mode and put it in the case, even when you're bringing it for repairs or troubleshooting. If you need to move from one side of a classroom to another, put the netbook in sleep mode and close the lid before moving across the classroom. Remembering these safety tips can keep you enjoying your netbook rather than having it out for repairs for an extended time period. Great job Jets!

The Case Dilemma

I heard a conversation in the hall today about two students who mixed up their cases.  With every student's case looking the same, it is important to find a way to personalize it that doesn't involve writing on the case or defacing it with tape, etc.  Some of the ways that students mentioned in our digital citizenship courses were to use luggage tags, ribbons, key chains, or pins.  As long as the case can be turned in at the end of the year in the same condition in which it was given to the student at the beginning of the year, the personalization should be okay.  If a student is unsure about anything, have them see me.  My office is in the small gym.

Netbooks-Day 1

Wow!  What a great day!  Thank you to all of the Thompkins teachers for the great work they did in helping to get students logged into their netbooks this morning and for helping Mrs. Brown, Mr. Jones, and I with troubleshooting.  There are still a handful of students who are not able to login at the time of this posting.  We are waiting on login information to come for a few students, waiting on a few netbooks to be reimaged, and a couple are being repaired.  All in all, the day went great!!!!

Students will be using netbooks in classes for a while before taking them home.  All students must pass the digital citizenship assessments in order to be able to take the netbook home.  We will be taking those next week in science classes.

Tech team information will be going out next week as well.

Thanks, Jets, for a great day! Have a great night!

Digital Citizenship Frequently Asked Questions

We are finishing up our digital citizenship classes today.  Working with Thompkins students has been very fun.  The students have great questions and are eager to get the netbooks in their hands.  I thought it would be a good idea to let everyone know the answers to some of those questions today.  If you have more, feel free to message me and I will add them to the list.

Q:  Can we put music on our netbooks?
A:  Yes, as long as you obtained the music legally.  You may not purchase music using the netbook.

Q:  Would it be okay to use a different netbook/laptop bag, rather than the one issued by the school?
A:  Yes, however, the student will still be responsible for the school-issued bag until netbooks are checked in at the end of the school year.

Q:  Other than the student, who else is allowed to use our netbook?
A:  Only the student's parents or guardians may use the netbook.

Q:  Do I need to buy additional insurance?
A:  That would probably be a good idea.  While some damages are covered, theft, loss, and vandalism are not.  Follow the link for netbook insurance at the top of the website for more info.

Q:  Can I download a game to my netbook?
A:  No.  Students cannot install or uninstall ANY software without the consent of the Chieft Technology Officer for the EVSC.

Q:  Can I get on Facebook?
A:  Facebook is currently blocked on the netbooks.

Q:  Can my netbook desktop or the webcam be accessed remotely by EVSC?
A:  No, EVSC monitors network activity, including logins and files downloaded/uploaded.  The EVSC does not utilize remote desktop connection to access the netbook.