Blakefield Tech-Knowledge-y Weblog

Technology Reminders

What We're Doing Over The Summer:

The Technology Department will be very busy this summer.  We will be visiting every classroom replacing computers, installing updates and performing general "technology cleanup".  Our goal is to streamline operations, implement new policies, and develop new training opportunities that will hopefully make technology easier and more stable for you to use in your classrooms.

Saving to the “H” drive:

Please remember that EVERY computer on campus will be moved, replaced or “wiped clean” (what we call “reimaged”) over the summer.  What this means is…Don’t Save Anything to the “C” Drive! The “C” drive is the actual computer hardrive. Please save any and all documents and files to your “H” drive.  Your “H” drive is a much safer place for your files, not only is it backed-up on the network everyday (while the “C” is not), but you will loose any files saved to the “C” drive when your computer is reimaged over the summer.  If you have any questions please call the Help Desk at ex123 or e-mail helpdesk@loyolablakefield.org.

Encourage Communication with the Technology Department:

It is becoming increasingly important for faculty and staff to keep the lines of communication open to our department. You are our first line of defense and we need you to report any issues that are encountered.  If you have run into any issues in your classroom this term please let us know before you leave for the summer.   Addressing these issues early in the summer helps to ensure that everything is 100% ready when you return in August.

Help Desk over the summer:

If and when you have a problem or question about technology please ask! The Help Desk is your central point of contact for all things technology, and we'll be here all summer! Please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail us (and by "us" we mean Shannon) for anything from remote access problems to questions regarding FAWeb usage. You can even schedule a training session with a member of the technology department for a little extra help with these issues. We are here to help :)

Student Accounts turned off:

As a reminder, all student accounts will be deactivated Friday, May 30^th, and remain turned off for the summer.  At the end of the summer, current student data will be deleted as new accounts will be created for the upcoming school year. Students who wish to keep (archive to a CD or save to a flashdrive) their files should see a member of the technology department BEFORE Friday (5/6/08) of next week.

PowerPoint and Copyright

I came across this great presentation just yesterday.  I thought the topic and content were "on-point" with recent discussions. 

TeacherTube: How to create a great PowerPoint without breaking the law ~A presentation by Alvin Trusty, Professor from Findlay University, from the eTech Ohio 2008 conference.  The topics of the presentation are copyright, law, and how to create a great PowerPoint presentation. http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a86de64238ca77d7970d (same as above).

There is a segment on Fair Use around the 26 minute mark that is very informative.  There are some great tidbits throughout the presentation, that we should share with faculty next fall when we decide to present / remind faculty and students about copyright.

Outlook Fix for Viewing Contacts in Address Book

The attached document (Download outlook_resolve_distribution_lists.pdf)will walk you through the steps necessary to be able to view your Contacts when in your Address Book (see picture below).  This becomes necessary when creating and effectively using a distribution list.  Your newly created distribution list will not work properly unless you follow the steps outlined in the attached document. 

NOTE: When viewing your address book, if you can not see "Contacts" as highlighted above in blue, then you should follow the steps on the attached handout.