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Tech Notes

April 2019

Tech NotesApril 2019
It took a while, but we are starting to use some of the features of the Professional Learning Management module in Frontline.


In some cases, there is content built into Frontline that we can use to meet certain training requirements. An example is Bloodborne Pathogens training. Usually we do that training much earlier in the year, but transition to the new system (from Apex/Total Program to Frontline Professional Learning Management) took a bit longer than anticipated.


We have added an article in tech tools (linked below) that walks you through the process, from initial receipt of an e-mail letting you know that you have been enrolled in a course, to accessing and completing the material.


One reminder: Do not sign yourself up for courses in Frontline unless specifically instructed to do so.

E-mail Phishing

Posted above are the results are from our most recent e-mail "phishing" campaign. This is an improvement from our results a few months ago, which is a good thing.


It's unlikely that we will ever get to 0 clicks (opening a message isn't an issue; clicking a link within the message is what we track), but we will continue to reinforce vigilant e-mail habits to encourage everyone to recognize potentially malicious messages. Our goal is always continuous improvement.


Red flags for phishing e-mails include (as described at length in this article):


  • Requests for personal info
  • A sense of urgency or need for immediate action
  • Addresses that may look legitimate at first but upon closer inspection have misspellings or other issues.
  • Hyperlinks that do not go where they claim to go.
  • Unexpected attachments


Poor grammar or other obvious writing errors used to be a good indicator of phishing as well, but scammers who send these e-mails have gotten better at using grammar-checking tools or simply copying real messages from companies and hiding their own links in those messages.


The flyer below was created by Northwestern University IT staff; it also does a good job summarizing potential clues for a phishing e-mail.

Virtual Student Library Card

Over the years, a number of media staff here have been working on a potential partnership with the Scott County Library system to create library cards for all of our students.

Thanks to the persistence of people like Sandy Reishus and the technical chops of Nathaniel Strauss, we have finally cleared the last few hurdles to putting this project into action.

Attached below is a recent presentation to the School Board that provides an overview and details. Sandy will be reaching out to buildings to discuss the project and potential impact for students and staff.

We are hosting this year's Twin Cities edcamp event! It will take place on April 27 at the High School. The edcamp is an example of an "unconference", where the content is driven by the participants.


From the site:

"Arrive with an idea for a session that you would like to lead or with the anticipation of a full day of learning. A session might explore a technology tool, a discussion about best practices, or a collaborative presentation with multiple facilitators."

IC On-line Registration

One of our summer projects is to work with Infinite Campus to add on-line registration capacity to our system. This would be used by new and returning families for school enrollment. (Not to be confused with existing course registration functionality, which is not affected by this project). Our hope is to streamline the registration process and to reduce the amount of paper forms and data entry associated with registration. More details as we get closer to launching this functionality. Some material from Infinite Campus with additional detail is attached below.