UPDATES and MORE UPDATES
RHS Media Technology Center
Daily Student Sign-ins and Sign-outs
1. As some of you know, we used to access the RHS Media Tech Center Daily Schedule Calendar via Outlook. This took numerous steps to access the Online calendar, some staff would double-book their reservations, some staff would sign up for the wrong set of computers, it took additional time to access the calendar and it was not a user-friendly Online calendar. So, I began checking on an Online Student Sign-in / Sign-out system more than two years ago. I located a great system and began checking by getting quotes for our RHS Media Tech Center as well as every media tech center for FCS. After this was double-checked, I learned that we would not be allowed to do this due to student numbers located outside our servers.
2. Recently after additional information was learned, I contacted the individual again and am checking for this possibility. This would be a fabulous system as it would provide data for our daily schedules, including the sign-ins / sign-outs for students as well as keeping daily / weekly / monthly / yearly data for all of the class reservations. The information data would be compiled electronically which would be a huge timesaver with daily up-to-date data information for our school as well as FCS. I will advise whenever I receive more information and hope I will receive this soon.
New Atrium with RHS Crest and School Data
New Atrium with RHS Colors / White and Green
MackinVIA Info for Great Databases and Resources
MORE UPDATES
Collection Development 2015 - 2016
The Collection Dev. 2015 - 2016 order has been placed with Mackin, FCS approved vendor. The allocation for RHS is $9,086 to purchase resources, including books, e-Books and DVDs. The order must include at least 20% or more as some resources may be out of stock, out of print or out of publication. E-mail requests were sent beginning in December, 2015 asking for suggestions. In addition, resource requests from the staff and students are kept in a consideration file to be included each year. In addition, each school is required to include a minimum of 30% for e-Books.
The Collection Dev. 2014 - 2015 allocation was $10,526 for resources with a minimum of 30% for e-Books. As we transition to more Online resources, this will enable the students to become more "college and career ready" with the use of the student digital devices.
Please check the requested and suggested titles for Collection Dev. 2015 - 2016 @ Google Drive.
RHS Media Tech Center
Daily Student Passes, Including Lunch and Study Hall Passes
1. Please remember to send ONLY ONE STUDENT PER STUDY HALL each day as we have many study hall students, lunch students, individual students and classes to accommodate. If you have a special situation that includes sending two students from your Study Hall as a mentoring session, please note that on the Study Hall Pass.
2. The Study Hall pass may be:
a. The standard form pass with a WHITE BACKGROUND AND BLACK LETTERS AND BLACK IVY BORDERS.
PLEASE use a LEGIBLE SIGNATURE so MTC staff or parent volunteer may return pass to your Main Office mailbox EVERY DAY.
b. The standard YELLOW PASS issued by the Main Office / FCS.
PLEASE write "Study Hall Pass" at the top of the YELLOW PASS.
PLEASE use a LEGIBLE SIGNATURE so MTC staff or parent volunteer may return pass to your Main Office mailbox EVERY DAY.
Post-it notes, "Sticky" notes, index cards, notebook paper, scraps of notebook paper, cards, bookmarks, gum wrappers, paper towels and other paper products are NOT legitimate passes allowed by the Admin. and the MTC.
3. Teachers: If you DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR DAILY STUDY HALL PASSES back in your Main Office mailboxes EVERY DAY they are issued by you, PLEASE SEND ME AN E-Mail immediately so I may double-check.
You must receive the Study Hall passes or you will not know if your Study Hall student reported to the Media Tech Center as students sometimes like to be with their friends in the cafeteria. Also, it has been noticed that some Study Hall students give their passes to another student who tries to turn in TWO PASSES for one student while the other student has "disappeared" by going to the cafeteria or another location. Plus, some students try to sign in by listing the names for two or three students while there is only one student present.
Laptops for Student Use, Must Charge Each Day
1. As we usually have an abundance of MTC reservations during Semester # 2, recently we have not been able to accommodate as many teachers with the necessary student laptops as they have been checked out by staff for special situations and have not been returned at the end of each day.
2. As many of you will recall, we were given some additional student laptops as some of our student laptops were more than six years old and some of them did not work very well. This was with the expectation that we would use the laptops to supplement the laptops that the students were already using. Also, the teachers should only be checking out laptops if their laptop is in the "Tech Specialist Repair Shop" and waiting for repairs. Please let me know if this happens each time you check out a laptop.
3. Please note that the following laptops need to be returned to the Media Tech Center as some have been "missing" for several weeks. We need to have them returned EVERY DAY so they may be checked, charged and ready for the students on the following school day.
If you have a special situation that your staff laptop has a longer than usual repair problem or for any other reasons, please send me an e-mail or talk with me so I may check with Roger Jones about the status of the laptop being repaired or replaced.
Right now, there are 11 student laptops not turned in and some also have "missing" power chargers. This is close to 3/4 of a cart which truly shortchanges the teachers who bring their classes to the Media Tech Center and expect to find enough laptops to use with their classes. Also, some classes check out a few laptops for a few class periods and that is allowed as long as the laptops are returned no later than 4 PM EVERY DAY to be charged overnight. We appreciate your cooperation as these laptops were purchased for student use, so we will need to be able to provide them to the students as we do not have enough working laptops for teachers to use with their students @ the MTC. Thanks so much!
"MIA" Laptops:
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# 1.........................# 2
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# 17......................# 18 ....................# 20 ....................# 25
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# 3-1 ....................# 3-2..................# 3-5....................#3-10................# 3-16
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New Equipment: The KING and the QUEEN
As mentioned earlier in an e-mail, we have two new equipment items that are available for use in the RHS Media Tech Center.
"THE KING" is a large Epson interactive projector that is to be used in the Media Tech Center. It is very similar to the Epson interactive projectors in the classrooms; however, it is on a large base that allows it to be moved within the Media Tech Center.
"THE QUEEN" is a large flat panel screen that allows one to connect a laptop, tablet or other device to Online resources via the Internet or laptop and iPad devices for projection throughout the area.
"THE QUEEN" was used within the past two weeks for two events. The first event was to launch a SKYPE session for Ms. Collins' class as a technology enrichment activity while studying a novel.
The second event for "THE QUEEN" was to show photos from a laptop as a supplement to a featured speaker for Ms. Sellman's class as another technology enhancement activity while studying the same novel.
Please check the Media Tech Center Sign-up Calendar and the MTC staff if you are interested in using this new equipment to SKYPE or for other uses with your laptop or iPad and Megan Huss will be glad to help you.
Another new addition to the Media Tech Center: Hamilton ISD-TFS iPad / Tablet Floor Stand. Please check with me if you want to check it out for a special presentation.
Please Note
As many of you know, I have been using this web site for more than two years, so please do not hesitate to let me know if you want additional instructions. This is another great way for your students to use technology. You may want to ask the students to complete one of these Smore flyers for a project instead of using PPT for so many projects.
Our Tech Support Specialist, Roger Jones, is ready to support the staff with the use of technology and he wants to keep our computers and electronic devices "buzzing" along each day! This Online Smore flyer is more exciting and innovative than just an e-mail, so I hope you will enjoy the lively action and please let me know if you want an introduction for your students to utilize this flyer for more great technology!