Massac Tech Ed

We have now added a new page listing useful links that have caught our eye. If you have a link that you use, and one you think maybe of use to other teachers, you may email Tom or Joel and we can post your link to this list. You can find this page by going to the Technology Department Site http://tech.massac.org and go to useful links. or directly by clicking on the following link. http://sites.google.com/a/massac.org/massactech/useful-links

Joel and I have updated our Massac Technology Site ( http://tech.massac.org ) with a few neat features. On the home page you will now find a Systems Status feed that will show projects we are currently working on, updates on outages (InformationNOW, SubCaller, etc.), and other various items. You will also see a feed for this blog and one for general tech news. The updated tech site also has links for recommended (and free!) software , as well as documents (website reports, technology plan). Check it out!

If you haven't already noticed, our Massac Apps have gone through some important changes. Your Massac account is now essentially a full Google account. A list of the services available for your account can be seen at http://www.google.com/options/ To access these services (Blogger, Picasa, etc.), make sure to enter your full Massac Email address in the Email field (i.e. twalker@massac.org) along with your password. Another interesting feature you will find is the Call Phone option in the chat window (bottom left hand side of your Email inbox). As long as you have a microphone and speaker on your computer, you can click this feature and call any US/Canada number for free. (International calling is also available at a cost.) Enjoy these new features!

Hope everyone is off to a good start for the 2010-2011 school year. This is just a reminder to highlight some of the helpful links for you to use. Technology Trouble Ticket - http://sl.massac.org/ticket InformationNOW - http://sl.massac.org/infonow Computer Lab Sign Up ( MCHS only ) - http://sl.massac.org/labsignup Make sure to visit the district website ( http://massac.org ) and the school sites for up to date information. Have a good year!

If you utilize the online address book in our Massac Apps infrastructure, there is now a short link directly to it. http://sl.massac.org/contacts You can also access the Contacts link from your E-Mail Inbox page by clicking the more link (dropdown arrow) at the top of the page and selecting the Contacts link. If it does not automatically log you in to the contacts page, use your Massac E-Mail username and password to gain access.

One of the better free anti-virus/malware programs I have found useful is Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). The update process is very quick when compared to other solutions I have used or tested. I also found the time when running a system scan to be on par with other programs I have seen. MSE automatically updates like other anti-virus programs and doesn't seem to be a drain on system resources while it is scanning or updating. In order to use Microsoft Security Essentials you will need to be running either XP, Vista, or Windows 7. Check it out at... http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Thought I'd share these changes happening to our Massac Apps (more specifically the Documents portion) From Google Over the next few weeks, we will be releasing important updates to Google Docs for all Google Apps customers. These updates are incremental and will not require you to retrain your users. ● Starting on June 16th, 2010, we will introduce new sharing settings in Google Docs, designed to make sharing easier and to give your users more control over their files. Now your users will be able to assign a sharing setting to a file in just one step and see at-a-glance how each document is shared. To learn more, please visit the help center at http://goo.gl/I8Jp . ● Starting on June 21st, 2010, we will begin activating the new Google documents editor for all users. This new editor offers character-by-character real-time collaboration, better document import fidelity, and many new features like built-in chat with co-editors. To learn more, please visit the help center at http://...