December 2018 Technology Update

HelpDesk: 37 tickets opened. 34 tickets closed. 3 open tickets. To create a ticket, go to http://loganelm.org/helpdesk and fill out the form. If you are requesting new accounts or resetting passwords for students, please include their grade level and student number.

Wireless: There will be no changes to our current wireless configuration this year. Last month, I reported that we were going to make some changes beginning January 1. It turns out that we didn't have the licensing for it and it was going to cost $14,000. I do not see any return on the investment or other need that would warrant the cost.

Classroom Technology: With the passage of the bond levy, new classrooms will have new technology for instruction. There will be a budget per classroom and we will need to decide what gets installed. I have reached out to our building techs to attend sessions and speak to vendors at the Ohio Educational Technology Conference in February. It isn't too early to begin planning and seeing what is out there. I attended a meeting of central Ohio technology coordinators last week and this was a topic of discussion. The reason I am getting this out there now is that I have been asked many times over the past few weeks about this topic. We will have many meetings and discussions when the time comes and work diligently to find a solution that works best for the majority of teachers.
Over the next 4 years, we will need to obviously replace technology that has stopped working or where there is an immediate need. We will need to discern between "needs" and "wants". It doesn't make sense to purchase something now if it will be going to auction in 5 years. Please note that this only concerns instructional technology. This does not include computers, chromebooks or technology infrastructure. We will be able to move computers/laptops/chromebooks/document cameras and other devices to the new building. Existing projectors and interactive displays will go to auction or be recycled.

November 2018 Technology Update

HelpDesk: 64 tickets opened. 53 tickets closed. 11 open tickets. To create a ticket, go to http://loganelm.org/helpdesk and fill out the form. If you are requesting new accounts or resetting passwords for students, please include their grade level and student number.

Wireless: I had a 2.5 hour meeting a couple weeks ago with Extreme engineers concerning our wireless implementation. By January 1, we will be moving to one SSID. All chromebooks will be automatically provisioned and will be given high priority on bandwidth. All district-owned devices that are not chromebooks (laptops, iPads) will need to be manually assigned to high priority on bandwidth. All staff will be allowed 3 devices on the wireless network and will be given a good amount of bandwidth. Students (grades 7-12) will be allowed to have 3 devices as well, but not as much bandwidth. Guests will be given low priority on bandwidth. Our goal is to have staff and students authenticate to the wireless network so that we can track our Internet usage and bandwidth needs.

Filtering: META Piketon will no longer be providing Internet filtering, so we need to move to our own filtering solution. I am looking at Securly, which is free for chromebooks. We will need to pay for non-chrome devices, so I will be looking at phasing out Windows computers in some areas (media centers, some offices that do not need Windows applications).

Chromebook Repairs: I have seen a spike in chromebook repairs since we replaced the Acer C720 chromebooks with the HP chromebooks. I am puzzled by this, since the HP chromebook is more resistant to breakage than the older Acers we had. In areas where chromebooks are shared, please utilize a sign-out sheet to track chromebook usage and determine who was in possession at the time of the breakage. Most of the repairs are broken power plugs, broken screens and keys removed from the keyboards. A new power plug is $20, new screen is $60 and new keyboard is $80. If we continue at this pace, I will be spending $4000 in chromebook repairs that I did not anticipate in my budget.

Websites and email issues resolved

The issue with websites and email being inaccessible has been fixed. Our hosting provider removed our DNS records. I recreated the records and moved to new hosting providers.

Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet. Humans access information online through domain names, like nytimes.com or espn.com. Web browsers interact through Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. DNS translates domain names to IP addresses so browsers can load Internet resources. Each device connected to the Internet has a unique IP address which other machines use to find the device. DNS servers eliminate the need for humans to memorize IP addresses such as 192.168.1.1 (in IPv4), or more complex newer alphanumeric IP addresses such as 2400:cb00:2048:1::c629:d7a2 (in IPv6).

When our hosting provider deleted the DNS information, routers around the world didn't know where to send the traffic, which is why you received a "site not available" or Bluehost screen that the domain couldn't be found. I recreated the records with Bluehost. I created the same records with Microsoft and then put in a request to move DNS from Bluehost to Microsoft for the loganelm.org domain. Due to the size of the Internet, it takes 24-48 for servers around the world to get the new information. Currently, all records for the loganelm.org are resolving correctly, with the exception of an authoritative server in China. I'm not too concerned with China being able to access our website.

Loganelmschools.com is resolving to @loganelm.org. When you type it in a browser, it should appear as loganelm.org. The mail records for @loganelmschools.com are taking some time to resolve, but it should be working fine later today. There are some servers that are not getting the correct records, but it will resolved soon. I am not too concerned, since this isn't our primary email domain and students are out for Pumpkin Show break. Mail will eventually get delivered, just like the post office will keep trying if you have to sign for a package.

Salt Creek, Laurelville, Pickaway and Washington domains are resolving as they should. In the next couple weeks, I will be moving the DNS records from Bluehost to GoDaddy. I will do it on a Friday afternoon, so records have the weekend to resolve. It will not affect service, as both providers will have the same information.

It is recommended that you create bookmarks in your browser to our vital services (email, ProgressBook, etc) or create a free webpage and add links to the sites you use. You can create a free site with Google Sites, Blogger, Wix, Weebly or any of the other free website offerings. I sent an email to all staff with a Technology Fact Sheet. There are links to services that you can copy and paste. Below are links on how to create bookmarks in Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, Chrome and Safari. I would recommend either Chrome or Firefox, due to your bookmarks being available on multiple devices.
Internet Explorer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL7941JDAtw
Edge: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4027306/windows-add-a-site-to-my-favorites-in-microsoft-edge
Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/bookmarks-firefox
Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/188842?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en
Safari: https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/bookmark-webpages-that-you-want-to-revisit-ibrw1039/mac

October 2018 Technology Update

HelpDesk: 90 tickets opened. 86 tickets closed. 4 open tickets. To create a ticket, go to http://loganelm.org/helpdesk and fill out the form. If you are requesting new accounts or resetting passwords for students, please include their grade level and student number.

Clever: I am still working with Clever on all of the issues with accessing BrainPOP. Integration with MobyMax has been removed. They have restored all data prior to the Clever integration. I have found a number of issues with our data that is being extracted from DASL. I am working on getting the data cleaned up.

Social Media: Access to social media is blocked. We are simply following board policy (AUP and BYOT policies) and providing more bandwidth for educational resources. Twitter is not blocked, since it is being used as a communication platform.

Recovery Email Addresses: I added recovery email addresses to Office 365 and G Suite. If you have both accounts, I added the other address to each platform. This will aid in password recovery so I don't have to reset your password. If you only have an Office 365 account (classified staff), you can send me a personal email address and I will add it.

Public School Works: Links to Public School Works have been added to the Staff Resources page of the district website (https://www.loganelm.org/Staff-Resources.html). I had a webinar with PSW and updated our offerings. Some classes have been added due to new state laws and policies. Custodians and bus drivers will be receiving information on which courses need to be completed in order to be compliant. Jennifer Russell has updated all of the medical offerings in order to be in compliance and provide current information.

Locks: If you have a lock(s) missing from your chromebook cart, please let me know. We had to cut off some of them to install the new chromebooks. The following list are locations where I know to install locks:
Salt Creek 12 (2), Salt Creek 17, Salt Creek 21 (2), Laurelville 12-G (1), Laurelville 203 (1), Pickaway 11 (1)

WOSU Classroom

Makerspace for Elementary Librarians PD series   Starting on October 2nd, we will begin our monthly Makerspace for Elementary Librarians series. This group will meet at the beginning of each month to explore different ways to integrate makerspaces and design thinking into their curriculum. Participants will leave each session with new design challenges and classroom equipment including: Legos, Lincoln Logs, Kinex, Magnalites, Keva Planks, and a cache of engaging books to get your students excited for their new challenges!   Visit wosu.pm/F2F-PD to sign up today!   Curious CBUS Answers Your Burning Questions!   Submit your Columbus Questions on the Curious CBUS page, and the WOSU News and Digital Teams will seek out the answer! This is a great way for students to learn more about Columbus, journalism, and research in general, and can spark some great project ideas. Help decide the next big story by voting for your favorite submission.    A New Look at INFOhio!   Have you seen INFOhio's new look? Over the past few months, the INFOhio team has been working to make their website even more efficient and easier to navigate with a "mobile-first" design aimed at giving every user the best possible experience, regardless of device. Join us on 9/25 for a FREE session on how to make the most of INFOhio's fantastic resources, or schedule an INFOhio Education session in your school on your time.   Extra Credit   - Did you know that INFOhio’s Integrated Library System (ILS) helps you manage your classroom inventory, strengthen parent communications, and differentiate texts?   - WOSU's Dialogue series continues on 9/11/18 with a discussion of US military engagement. Get tickets here.   - Help students find success after school with "American Graduate": CPB's initiative to help students graduate and move on to rewarding careers. 9/20 - FREE $martPath Financial Literacy Training (Get a $25 Amazon Gift Card just for attending!) 9/20 - Introduction to Office 365 9/25 - FREE INFOhio Classroom Tools   9/28 - Mindful Learning Environments   9/29 - Playlists for Student-Centered Instruction 10/02 - Makerspace for Elementary Librarians (This is a series of 5 monthly workshops from Oct. thru Feb.) 10/04 - Learning with Voice and Choice   10/05 - Blended Learning with Schoology 10/05 - FREE Code.org Computer Science for K - 5 10/09 - Interactive Notebooks and Visible Thinking with Sketchnotes       Our mailing address is: WOSU Public Media 2400 Olentangy River Rd Columbus, Ohio 43210 Add us to your address book Copyright (C) 2018 WOSU Public Media All rights reserved.

September 2018 Technology Update

Helpdesk: 221 tickets opened. 14 open tickets. To create a ticket, go to http://loganelm.org/helpdesk and fill out the form. If you are requesting new accounts or resetting passwords for students, please include their grade level and student number.

Recovery email address: I will be adding recovery email addresses to Office 365 and G Suite. If you have both accounts, I will be adding the other address to each platform. This will aid in password recovery so I don't have to reset your password. If you only have an Office 365 account (classified staff), you can send me a personal email address and I will add it.

New servers for Laurelville and Washington: Once I am caught up on helpdesk tickets, I will configure and deploy new servers at Laurelville and Washington. Once this has been completed, all schools will have server that are less than a year old.

Windows 10 upgrade for desktops: Once the servers have been deployed, I will begin upgrading all desktop computers running Windows 7 (224) to Windows 10. Goal completion date is June 1, 2019.