Tech Notes

Now that we have a new version of the tech tools site, we have been hard at work updating and adding content. Here are some articles worth checking out...

We really cannot reiterate this enough; there is not a way to stop 100% of the phishing emails from showing up in your inbox, so recognition and proper handling are vital.

Check out the latest version of the tech tools article for all of the notes on recognizing and reporting suspicious email. If it looks "fishy", it probably is!

And yes, we have even more tech tools article on this and related topics:

While we are on the topic of Email, a few reminders:

Messages sent home from Infinite Campus Messenger should include identifying information about the sender, such as which school it is from and/or what class. A common and consistent concern from parents is that when they receive messages is not always clear who they are from or, if they have multiple students in the district, which student it pertains to.

Common Names: A few of our staff have common enough names that we end up using a middle initial (generally) when creating their account. Just a reminder when addressing emails to verify your recipients are correct! It can be easy to select the wrong name, which can be embarrassing and/or end up with sending confidential info to the incorrect person.

A Friendly Reminder: Messages sent from or received by district email accounts are all captured and preserved in an email archiving system, and are public records. It is always best (for example) to keep your work and personal business separate.

We continue to implement a software review process. A number of web-based learning and teaching tools and other software have been submitted for review. All of those requests and the documentation collected along the way as part of the review process is openly viewable to all staff in the google share drive called "Technology - Process - Software Review".

A point to reiterate: We have the ability to create an open process and transparent communication within the district to make the experience of using on-line resources and apps easier for students, eliminate redundancies, and potentially save money. Overhauling how we manage software subscriptions may have some pain points along the way but is ultimately the right thing to do.

The May 2021 newsletter summarized the reasons why this is necessary, if you would like to review the backstory on this process.

Recently reviewed sites and status

IXL (on-going review)

What it is: Math and ELA practice activities

• Currently licensed under 5 different accounts across K-12 for a total of about 2400 students.
• Lack of account or licensing coordination means that we are likely overpaying for IXL due to missed targets for volume licensing discounts.
• Lack of coordination also means that we have no consistency for maintaining student accounts, rostering, or login process, though we are working with vendor now to address that specific issue.
• IXL is expensive, approximately $15 per student when both Math and ELA are used (about $10 per student if licensed for a single subject).

Current status: Continuing most existing licensing (part of the licensing is attached to last year's version of Shakopee Online, which would not need as high of a student count for this year). Working with vendor to address technical concerns. Trying to consolidate licensing wherever feasible. Also attempting to intercept and align new attempts to add subscriptions.

Learning A-Z Programs (most notable RAZ Plus)

Used mostly at K-5, we currently have subscriptions managed by not less than 19 different account coordinators across the district. Working with vendor to try to centralize this licensing, in order to ensure we are getting best pricing and to allow us to use automated rostering and logins through Clever. The district spent over $26,000 on A-Z licensing last year.

Discovery Education

Using this site for one more year; to be determined beyond that. In the meantime, please note changes to login process as noted in our Discovery Education article.

XtraMath

Early stage of review for this site. One building currently pursuing a school-specific license. Seeing anecdotal reports of usage in multiple classrooms throughout K-5 buildings. Unclear how it compares to IXL (wouldn't that be super helpful to know!) and we do not have any usable data yet about usage or student progress.

Smore Newsletters

Based on popular demand (not to mention that we already had not less than 17 individual and group accounts throughout the district for it) we have chosen to acquire a district-wide license for Smore. New licensing includes the full functionality, most notably the translation features that we believe are a great option to have in our toolbox for home-school communications. TECH TOOLS - SMORE NOTES.

BrainPop (includes BrainPop Jr and ELL)

What it is: Informative videos covering a variety of subject areas.

• Licensed for 2021-2022 school year for all K-8 buildings. (Note that Eagle Creek had an existing license which is similar but does not include ELL).
• Usage will be monitored throughout the year.
• FY22 cost (excluding EC) is $6,000.

Currently available to all K-8 students to log in. Students can use the Clever portal and their default username and password, then select BrainPop from the programs listed on the portal.

Portal link is - https://clever.com/in/shakopee/student/portal

Additional notes can be found in the Software Subscriptions article. Here is a chart indicating usage so far:

We have had some challenges this year with increased traffic on the network. Over the past month or so we have had made several changes to mitigate disruptions. The article below offers a comprehensive review of the design and use of our network at this point.

Anyone using the Epic book site, please note the changes that they implemented to availability of their full catalog of books:

https://www.getepic.com/learn/important-changes-to-epic-school/

New Hours

Starting Friday, July 23, Epic School will be available until 3 p.m. instead of 4 p.m. on weekdays. The new hours of availability are 7 a.m.–3 p.m. local time, Monday–Friday.

Please use your class code to access Epic School during days when school is in-person.

E-mail: helpdesk@shakopee.k12.mn.us

Web: Log in to help desk at: https://whd.shakopee.k12.mn.us/

If you need a call-back please add a good number and time to contact you in ticket.

Whenever possible and necessary we may also use remote support tools such as Splashtop to assist you.

Details help! For instance, student name and ID number is useful when submitting a ticket in regards to a student issue. Or letting us know if you already tried common troubleshooting steps such as restarting. We appreciate the detail and it helps speed up the process of resolving an issue.

Email: helpdesk@shakopee.k12.mn.us
Website: https://techtools.shakopeeschools.org/
Location: 1200 Shakopee Town Square, Shakopee, MN, USA
Phone: 5100