Start of year with CHS student devices

One of the changes for all of us heading into the 16-17 school year is the student device program for CHS.  Most students will still have iPads, but about 25% chose the BYOD option.  Some of those students will likely bring iPads, but some will also bring laptops or possibly even chromebooks.

We'd like to avoid technology disruptions in your classroom as much as possible.  Teachers, please do not feel that you need to solve technical issues for your students.  In general, Patty and I will be available to provide student help as quickly as possible, especially in the first few weeks, but keep in mind that we may not be able to get everyone right away.  Please keep this in mind as you plan your lessons for the first few days.

Some students have not picked up their new devices and may be using an old device, or they may not have a device right away.  For the first week or so, we will NOT get students their new device before school or during class time!  We will be available after school to work with the students in completing their paperwork and picking up the device they leased from us.

Basic information you can provide to students:

WiFi:  CCS Mobile, the password is always Cozad789.  To avoid confusion, I've disabled the guest network.  Any networks "seen" other than CCS Mobile are NOT school networks.  Connecting to other networks (usually residential networks from neighbors, but could also be hotspots from student phones) may give students internet access, but they should NOT be connecting to any WiFi network other than CCS Mobile.

Keep in mind that some student-owned devices may have cellular network access just as phones do, and that most phones today can be used as mobile hotspots.  Be aware that ONLY the school network is filtered.  We recommend that your classroom rules explicitly prohibit the use of networks other than CCS Mobile.

Where to get help.  In general, Patty will work with iPad issues, and I'll handle everything else, but this is not a hard and fast rule.  For the first few days, we will both be available before school in Patty's office area.  Feel free to let students know where both of our offices are.

• You are welcome to send students to us for help during your class time if that is what you prefer, but this is not required.  Students can see us before and after school if you do not want them to leave your classroom or miss time with you.
• You are welcome to help students with devices, but this is not something you are required to do!  Again, our goal is to minimize disruptions for you.  If students have problems, send them our way or inform them that they should see us before or after school.  If a student's device is not functioning, you may have to pair them with another student or provide an alternate means of participation.  
• Students may provide the most effective help to each other.  Don't be afraid to ask other students to help out.
• If it fits within your classroom rules and with your permission, students may use their phone.
• These issues should diminish as we get into the year, but it is likely there will be problems at first.
• If you prefer, feel free to submit a helpdesk on behalf of the student, or you can email us.  We get notified right away when a ticket is submitted.  The link for submitting a helpdesk is located on our school webpage under Staff-Requests.  Students are welcome to submit tickets as well.

Thank you for help and patience as we make the adjustments in the device program this year!

Dave and Patty

CHS Library Computers for 2016-17

Computers for student and class use will be available through the CHS library.  These will include 14 laptops with all of the latest adobe software and Office2016 installed.  These are the larger format laptops from DakTech.

There will also be at least 10 Lenovo Laptops.  These are not the small x120e model, but the larger T410 computers which many staff still use.  These computers will have Acrobat and Office2016 installed, but do not include the full Adobe suite.  

Teachers should confer with each other and plan with Ms. Osborn for use of these computers.  They may be removed from the lab during class, with permission.  Please make sure than when they are returned, they are reconnected to the charger.  There will be spare chargers available for the Lenovo computers, as some of those batteries do not last long.  There are no spare chargers for the DakTech computers.

For login purposes, students may use their own account, or they may choose to log in with one of the generic student accounts (grade9, grade10, grade11, or grade12).  The generic account password is Cozad123.

One advantage to students in using their own account is that they have server space to save their files (Z: drive).  This is true with the generic accounts as well, but the Z: drive is accessible to anyone else who uses that account.  If your students need to save files locally, they should log in with their own accounts and use the Z: drive.

Students may log into Chrome, but be sure to remind them to log out when they are done, particularly if they are using a generic account!  

Also keep in mind that while google drive sync is installed on teacher computers, students do not have this, so if they want to save files to their google drive, they will need to manually upload them.

Please contact Ms. Osborn for more information on the use of these computers.

CHS student iPad Check-in

CHS student iPad check-in for students who will not be keeping their iPads for the summer will be in the hallway by Mr. Vincent's room, during homeroom on Wednesday afternoon!

Juniors will be called first, followed by sophomores, and then freshmen.  Students who chose a lease option and who have completed their paperwork and turned in their protection fee money will NOT go through iPad check in.

Before you can officially check out of school, you need to turn in your iPad and equipment, and take care of any technology fees that are due.  To make sure your check-out process goes smoothly, please review the following information:

Ms. Wolfe and Mr. Evertson will be checking in iPads Wednesday during home room in the hallway by Mr. Vincent's room.  We will NOT sign for check-in unless ALL of the following conditions are met:

1. Be sure you have a current backup BEFORE Wednesday.
2. Turn off "Find my iPad" (Settings-iCloud)
3. Reset the iPad by choosing to erase all content and settings (Settings-General-Reset-Erase all Content and Settings).
4. You must turn in a charger (or pay $15) and cable (or pay $10).
5. You must turn in your school-issued case, if you have one.  
6. Your iPad must be in good repair.  You must pay $85 if your iPad is need of repair, unless you have NOT had a repair yet this school year.  If you have not used your free repair for 2015-16, we will take your damaged iPad and there will be no fee.

When we have your iPad, charger & cable, and you have paid any fees due, we will sign your check-out slip.

If we run out of time during home room on Wednesday, the check-in process will continue after the state track send-off on Thursday morning.  Students will be called by name to the hallway to complete their technology check-in.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks, and have a great summer!

Tech End of Year Procedures

As you close out the year and clean out your rooms, please refer to the following regarding technology items.

• All Staff with assigned computers and/or iPads.
• Computers, iPads and peripherals
• If you will not be returning to the district next year, please return your computer, chargers, adapters, any peripherals, and your iPad to Patty at the HS office. There are several things you need to do with your iPad, and Patty needs to make sure these things are done or we may have problems with your iPad in the future.
• Do a backup of your ipad (settings--icloud--backup--backup now)
• Remove any passcode lock on the device (settings--passcode--turn off)
• SHUT OFF FIND MY IPAD (IMPORTANT!!!!)--(Settings--icloud--Find my ipad--turn off)
• Erase device (Settings--General--Reset--Erase All Content and data)
• Turn in iPad, Charger, Case & Keyboard (if applicable)
• Your computer does not need to be "cleaned up" because it will be wiped out and configured from scratch.
• For returning staff, please store your computer, accessories, and iPad securely or take them home with you. For computers, keep in mind that there are always new updates being released, and if it is not on and connected over the summer, it will be very slow until updates are completed when your return in the fall.
• Except for libraries, labs and your teacher computer, please turn any extra computers into the library or office of your building. If you have need for extra computers next year, please let me know by sending an email request and I will do my best to accommodate you, but ALL computers need updates so please turn them all in.
• Be sure to secure adapters and remotes for overheads and other AV equipment, etc.

• Student iPads (Elementary)
• Place chargers and cables from your home room in the appropriate boxes in your room.
• EL student iPads - Please make sure you have your students do the following:
• Power down the ipad (make sure it is off, not just asleep)
• Make sure the iPad is labeled with the student's name.
• Place class iPads in box or grade-level cart. These iPads will be returned to the student next school year.

• Classified staff with no computer or iPad
• If you will NOT be returning...
• Your email (Google) account will be suspended after your last day. Please make sure that you have forwarded any important messages to a private account.

• If you are returning, please make note of your account and password so you can use it next year.  There will be occasional important announcements set out via email, so it is best if you can check periodically over the summer.

• All staff: Accounts and e storage
• eBackpack files you wish to save need to be moved to My Files, ePortfolio, or downloaded and placed in google drive.
• Schoology accounts will NOT be deleted, nor will resources be removed. We have not yet determined the status of Schoology for next year, but we will update teachers as more information is available.
• Google drive - Any files (such as those stored on the desktop) not in google drive should be moved or copied to your google drive folder. This is the only place which provides backup protection for your files.

• Departing staff
• Your Google Apps account will be suspended after your final day. If you need more time, please contact Dave in his office or at dave.evertson@cozadschools.net to make those arrangements.  
• If you have files you need to take with you, use Google Takeout to archive old data.  Google search for “How to archive my google apps data” for instructions, or follow this video.  You might also find this blog post helpful.
• Create a folder in your google drive for replacement staff if you would like to leave files for them.  Ownership of ALL remaining files in your account will be transferred to them when your account is disabled.  You will want to delete all files (after archiving with Google Takeout) that you do not wish to transfer.  DO NOT DELETE THESE FILES FROM YOUR COMPUTER!!! You should only delete Google drive files through the browser. If you have questions about this, please contact Dave or Patty before you begin deleting.
• Make sure you change your email on your Apple ID if it is set to your current school account.

If you have any questions, please contact Patty or Dave.  

Have a great summer!

Senior Seminar--Preparing Your Online Presence

As our seniors prepare to leave high school and continue their journeys, we had the opportunity to share some "last minute" tips and reminders to help them on their way. I had the opportunity to visit with all seniors about the importance of their online presence as they leave high school to pursue their passions. We discussed the importance of promoting themselves online and creating a positive online network with others that share their career paths, goals, and passions. We also discussed that now is the perfect time to do some "digital dusting" and clean up their social media. Many students have old accounts to services they haven't used and they should remove those. In today's society, their digital footprint is as important as their resume. In addition to cleaning up their online presence, they should begin thinking about creating digital portfolios and/or an about.me page.  We wish our seniors good luck as they pursue their dreams and hope you find success in the paths you are taking!

I am including my google slides to share with all of you

Student Data Liberation

Graduating seniors face many changes in the coming months.  One change will be that graduates will lose their current school-issued iPads and accounts.  Please refer to the information in this blog to help you move your important data so that you will not lose access in the coming months.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UdLqxfRLouSAqZLgWMK5Ur8Vaki9k7BKrgoKXiSD6AM/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

School Accounts

• Google apps - All CCS students have a google account with many different resources associated.  You may not use all of these resources, but if you have data that you will need in the future, it is important that you have a strategy to move that data to a private account.
• Current account is username2016@cozadschools.net
• Accounts will be terminated on or about January 1, 2017.
• Until termination, you will be able to log into your CCS google apps and services using your current username and password.
• After termination, ALL data related to your account will be deleted and it cannot be recovered.
• You will need access to a computer (not an iPad or other mobile device) to liberate your data.  Please feel free to use school computers for this purpose.  You will also need something to which you can save your data (like a usb drive, or you could save to a private dropbox account)
• Google Takeout is the easiest way to do this.  
• Here is a video how-to...
• Log in with your current school account.
• Select the format of the export file.
• .zip is the easiest, but is limited to 2 GB (will create multiple files if you exceed 2 GB)
• .tgz or .tbz can be larger, but may require special software to open.
• Select the apps from which you want to export.
• Edit the settings for each app if you don't want the defaults.
• Select "Create Archive".  Google will create your archive files and email you when they are ready for download.  This may take many hours or days!
• When your archive is done, you can download it to a usb drive or save in a dropbox account.  
• After download, you can open the .zip file to pull your data out.  Docs get saved in MS office formats by default.  Mail can be imported into other mail clients.
• Since this email address will go away, you should notify contacts as soon as you have an alternate email.
• If you've used this email to create accounts for other services, you should update those account settings to reflect your new email account.

• School computer/network account - You will lose access to this account around July 1.

• eBackpack - You will lose access to this account around July 1.
• Use a home computer to download any files you need to keep, or transfer those files to google drive before your archive.

• iTunes/iCloud (Apple ID) - Since this is not a school-owned account, you will continue to have access to your Apple ID account.  However, you will lose access to your school email, so you should change the email address associated with your apple ID.  Here is a video that explains how to do this.  Note:  You need a private email account that you can access during this procedure.
• Make sure you have a complete backup of your iPad before you turn it in.
• In the future, you can restore from backup to any other iPad.
• You can install purchased apps using this account on any other iPad.  This includes apps and books purchased for you by the school.

• New accounts - Once you have a new account (at school, from employer, etc) you can import your old data from your archive files if needed.  You can also import google data into a private google account, if you have one.
• Private gmail accounts are free and have all of the google apps.  Free storage is limited to 15 GB, but you can purchase more ($2 for 100 GB) if needed.
• Organization accounts (and their data) are owned by the organization!  

• Social media accounts - 
• You should make sure your social media is "employer safe".  
• Remove inappropriate posts, videos, etc.  
• Check your privacy settings.
• Remove connections to others who post inappropriate content.
• Imagine an employer viewing all of your posts!

Need help or have questions?  

• Mr. Evertson - dave.evertson@cozadschools.net
• Ms. Wolfe - patty.wolfe@cozadschools.net

CHS 1-1 iPad Program Changes

     At Cozad Community Schools, we believe that modern teaching and learning practices often require age-appropriate student internet access.  We strive to provide universal student access at school  in the most cost-effective and student-centered way possible.  The Apple iPad mobile device has proven to be easily managed by students and teachers, provides a versatile range of teaching and learning tools, is strongly supported in education, and has offered the most affordable path in establishing a 1-1 student device learning environment.

iPad Take-home Changes

     We recognize the importance of modern technologies in student learning.  Unfortunately, severe budget reductions mean we can no longer provide a modern, capable device to every student at CHS. Faced with losing our successful 1-1 program, we have worked to develop several affordable options for students and parents.  For the time being, our current inventory allows us to provide devices at school.  Unfortunately, we can no longer provide home use or guarantee a device for every student.

     CHS will provide iPad access to all students in 2016-17, but the devices may be shared, and will remain at school.  There will be no cost to any student electing this option, and students will not be required to provide their own device.  If necessary, the school will provide extended hours for students to complete academic work before or after school.  This is referred to as Option 1 on the device intent form.

A Home Device is Important to Our Students

     Over 90% of our students surveyed tell us that it is important to them to have access to their learning outside of school.  We very much agree, but we also recognize that not all of our families have suitable devices or can afford to purchase devices for their CHS students through normal retail channels.  For this reason, we have worked to develop affordable purchasing and leasing options so that each student may have the opportunity to have exclusive use of a device and be able to take it home.  CHS will not require any student to purchase or lease a device.  As explained above, should the student elect to not purchase or lease a device, suitable devices will be provided at school.

     Should the student or parent wish to purchase or lease a device for individual use, we are excited to be able to provide affordable iPad options (Options 2 and 3 on the intent form).  Through our status as an educational institution and group purchasing power, we feel these purchase or lease options offer a more cost effective opportunity than is available to consumers.  These options are available to all 2016-17 CHS students.  Please note that Option 2 is contingent upon the availability of devices currently in the school inventory.  Please also note that students may participate in only one option.

Bring Your Own Device

     Another option for students is to bring their own device (BYOD) to school.  This can be a current family or student-owned iPad, a laptop computer, or a Chromebook.  This is referred to as Option 4 on the device intent form.

Presentation - CHS Student Device Program

Please Let Us Know Your Plans

     Because we can only order devices for those who we know will be leasing, we ask that you and your student complete the 2016-17 device intent form and return it to the school by Friday, April 29, 2016.  Students will receive this document electronically, and paper copies will be provided upon request.  Parents and students may complete and sign this form electronically, or a paper copy may be returned to the high school office.

Access the device intent form here

Important!  If we do not receive your signed intent form, we must assume that the student will not be participating in the lease programs.  We cannot guarantee that devices will be available for lease at a later date!

Questions?  

Student Meetings:

• Juniors - Thursday, April 7 during home room
• Sophomores - Monday, April 11 during home room
• Freshmen - Wednesday, April 13 during home room

Parent Meetings:

• Thursday, April 14, 6:30 PM - CHS Auditorium
• Wednesday, April 27, 6:30 PM - CHS Auditorium

Contact us...

Dave Evertson - Technology Director

• dave.evertson@cozadschools.net
• 308-784-2746

Patty Wolfe - Technology Integration/iPad Coordinator

• patty.wolfe@cozadschools.net
• 308-784-2744

Bill Beckenhauer - HS Principal

• bill.beckenhauer@cozadschools.net
• 308-784-2744