Welcome Back!
Back2School Tech Info from your Instructional Tech Coach
This year, we are going BOLD SCHOOL!!
Mrs. Evans - Instructional Tech Coach
My schedule is Monday through Friday and my office is located in the hallway leading to the blue hall, two doors down from the library door that students use. It is right next door to the SRO office.
Where do I start?
Teachers,
As you set up your classroom computers, please be sure to do the following.
Do not block the network drops on the walls with bookshelves, desks, cabinets, etc. We have to be able to access these at all times.
I will say it again: Do not block the network drops on the walls with bookshelves, desks, cabinets, etc. We have to be able to access these at all times.
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Plug in and connect everything -- including printer, student computers, document camera (if you checked one out)
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Make sure you plug in the 2 white network cables from the back of the computer cart to the wall. One is for your phone and one is for your computer.
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Test the projector to make sure it is showing your computer. PLUG in the blue projector cable in to the wall prior to turning on your computer. **The newest image is set up so that your projector is on Extended Display instead of Duplicated or Cloned Display. To change this, right click on the desktop, choose "Display Settings" and then, find "Multiple Displays". Change it from Extended Display to Duplicate Display and change the Resolution to 1920 X 1080. Instead of having to right-click on the desktop, you can press the Windows + P buttons on your keyboard to open up the display options.**
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Test the Video feed for Announcements (found in Teacher Apps>Live video folder)
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Test out the speakers/audio to make sure these are working. (Sometimes, the sound is turned way down on your projector remote OR your sound is turned off on your computer OR BOTH!) Also, if you still don't have sound coming out of your speakers and they are NOT muted, try hovering over the sound icon in the task bar on your computer and you will see a pop-up window and 2 options will appear. If one option doesn't work, try the other.
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Help out your neighbors/team members (especially new teachers) that may not be familiar with all of these items.
**If you have something that is NOT working, email a work order to schwo@rcschools.net with the specific details (RCS Tag #, Room #, description).
Joe Pfeifer will be our technician this year and will be here on Tuesdays and Fridays. As always at the beginning of the year, there are a lot of things that need to be fixed and set up. We will be working through the issues by priority. The first goal is to make sure all the offices, teacher equipment, and computer labs are up and running. You can submit work orders for student computers, but they will not be a high priority at this time.
Thank you for your patience.
***Important Reminders***
Here are some reminders and refreshers:
- Subs & Computer Use: (Memo from Central Office) Our agreement with PESG does not allow for substitutes to use classroom computers in any capacity. Please remind your staff that computer use should not be included in the lesson plans left for a substitute teacher.
eSchool Solutions employees are not covered under our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and should not be allowed to use a teacher’s log in/user name for computer access (Your email is vulnerable because it is tied to your log-in; this includes students). This is intended to protect the teacher, school, system and eSchool Solutions employee.
- Please follow the instructions for work orders to ensure that they are completed in an orderly manner. I know that getting things working for you is the most important matter and we are here to help and by completing this process correctly will help to speed up the process. Refer to my directions above about submitting work orders.
- Network programs-I will let you know when network programs (Edgenuity, etc.) are up and running.
- Voicemail boxes-Please set these up ASAP!
- Webpages-Please update your Edlio webpage for the current year. If you have not done webpage training, you will need to attend an upcoming session. County policy is that all web pages (including sports pages) must be one of the approved web page options that is used to create your web page.
- Email is for school use. Please do not send or forward jokes, political or religious emails. RCS email should not be used to sell things. Email is considered public knowledge so don't send anything that you do not want others to see. Please click here for RCS policies on use of Social Media.
- IMPORTANT- As the school year starts please remember that NO technology is to be moved out of a room. If it is something that is not working, please submit a work order @ schwo@rcschools.net.
- At the end of the year, instructions are sent out about policies and procedures to prepare our equipment for the summer. Please follow those instructions closely to ensure that whoever is in "your" room next year (whether it is you or someone else) has everything that belongs to him/her. You may not move equipment to your new room.
To connect to the Wifi on your phone or a personal iPad, you (OR YOUR STUDENTS) will need to follow these steps...
- Select the RCS-Secure network option
- It will then prompt you to give a username and a password
- You will enter your email username and password
- You will be asked to agree to the terms of using the wifi network when you join. (You may also be asked to "Trust the Certificate"; if you don't click to trust it, you won't be able to connect to the wi-fi network.)
If you need a personal laptop to connect to the RCS-Secure WiFi, you will need to bring it to my office for me to run a utility that will allow you to log in with your RCS Credentials.
**Students MUST have Dr. Harrell's permission to bring and use their personal laptops at school.
The RCS-Secure will work in any of the Rutherford County Schools once you login. Let me know if you have any questions.
**The RCS-Secure will NOT work for subs or other people outside our RCS network. They will have to use the Guest wi-fi network.
GoNoodle!
While this might look kind of juvenile, I can promise you that many of our students will like some of these brain breaks because I have tried it with some of the classes I've worked with! Try GoNoodle and take some brain breaks throughout the day to get your students back in the "groove". This site is GREAT Fun and completely free.
NEW Student Information System
If you are new to our county, you are required to attend an in-service to go over basics. Go to our school webpage and you will find a link at the TOP of the page to" Information Now".
Digital Citizenship-Be Internet Awesome!
Part of my job each year is to meet with students to give a lesson over digital citizenship. I will be asking some of you to team with me to teach students to put their best foot forward in their social media accounts by building their personal brand!
Mrs. Evans-Technology Coach
Email: evansc@rcschools.net
Website: https://sch.rcschools.net/apps/pages/instructionaltechnology
Location: 301 Red Hawk Pkwy., Smyrna, TN 37167
Phone: 615-904-6771 31524