Weekly Tech Update
GAPS Technology | September 24, 2020
Reminders:
- It takes 48 hours from the time a student is enrolled until their information is propagated throughout the entire system (SIS, Google, Pinnacle, Canvas, Clever, Seesaw).
- GAPS Technology page can be found here.
Zoom access issues
- If students are not logged in to their school Zoom accounts, they will show as unauthorized users and most likely not be allowed into the Zoom meeting. They need to go to https://albany-k12-or-us.zoom.us/signin and try to log in. If they are asked for a birthday, that means their account is not set up and they need to check their email for an invite from zoom. On some smaller Chromebooks, students may need to scroll down to find the "Sign in with Google" button. If there is no email, and they are not able to sign into Zoom, they need to reach out to GAPS-IT.
- Here is a video to share with students.
- Here is the Zoom video in Spanish.
Muting Students in Zoom
- We encourage you to turn on the setting “Mute participants upon entry” and use your host features to mute students when they are not being asked to speak. This will resolve some issues we have heard regarding not being able to focus on the teacher.
High-Definition Setting:
- From within the Zoom Client:
- Click the "Home" tab.
- Click " Settings" (gear icon).
- In the Settings window that opens:
- Click the "Video" tab.
- Uncheck "Enable HD".
- Close the Settings window
- There are no HD settings on Chromebooks. That option only applies to the PC client and possibly IOS and Android apps. Student Chromebooks only broadcast in lower resolution.
- Chromebooks do not have the ability to set virtual backgrounds or blur backgrounds.
Zoom Passcode Changes & Personal Meeting Rooms
- It is highly recommended that you do not use Personal Meeting Rooms for scheduled classes. This option is available for quick one-on-one meetings. The changes being made are:
- Require Passcode for Personal Meeting - This will be required for security reasons. You will need to set up a new recurring meeting and change the recurrence from “Daily” to “No Fixed time” setting.
- Require Passcode For Participants By Phone - This will be required for security reasons.
- Zoom Sign In Change: We are testing a change to a setting in Zoom to require students to sign in using their Student Google account. If testing proves successful, this will correct the Zoom authentication setting.
- Waiting Rooms will be removed for Zoom meetings for classes that are already in session. UPDATE: Some teachers have asked that this be reviewed. We will update after further testing.
Zoom Recurring Meetings
Recurring meetings for a specific time of day only allow scheduling out for about a month and then you will be required to create a new meeting link. The "No Fixed Time" setting doesn't have this limitation and the link will last for a year. If you are not finding random people in your waiting room, you can probably keep using the same link. If you start noticing unfamiliar participants in your waiting room, that is a sign that it is time for a new link.
Other updates this week:
- Chromebook auto-logout after idle time will be turned off, now that we are 1:1 with students and Chromebooks, to avoid issues with logging back in.
- Students are now able to switch between personal and school email accounts while using district-issued Chromebooks. This should alleviate some login issues.
Teacher Technology Information
Who to ask:
Canvas questions: building Canvas site admin / teacher leader
Pinnacle questions: Jon Dilbone <jon.dilbone@albany.k12.or.us>
Clever / Seesaw: Dan Rothwell <dan.rothwell@albany.k12.or.us>
Computer hardware / network issues: GAPS IT <GAPS_IT@albany.k12.or.us>