Testers are ready! (almost)

The Smarter Balance Tester 7.2 has been installed in all the desktops in the computer lab, and on the Juniors computers today.  The AirSecure Browser for the chromebooks has also been updated.

The Smarter Balance Browser should have a logo and shortcut on the desktop and it looks similar to this.

In addition, the Questar Test Browser (used for the Science portion of the testing, for grades 5, 8, and 11) has also been installed in the Computer Lab, and on the Junior machines.  After installation each of those tests was logged into once, and given a trial run, making sure all the features of the test work (highlighter, help page, calculator, etc...).  Once the trial test was completed the machines are registered as OK to go.  As of the moment I am writing this, all seem to be working!

The Questar logo should be located on the desktop, and will look similar to this.

The chromebooks will have a different log in for the Questar Test.  These have been requested from Questar, and they should be getting those to me at any time.

When I get those, the students will log into the chromebooks using the Questar log in when they get on the chromebooks.  They will NOT log in to their normal chromebook account.  (I will install the Questar accounts on each of the chromebooks)

As before, if they are taking the Smarter Balance portion of the test, they will use the Smarter Balance "AirSecure Browser" which is located on the startup page.  This is what is known as a "Kiosk" App, and I have checked the machines, and it is there.

So hopefully, we will have the chromebooks finished up by the end of this week, and we should be all set and ready to go for online standardized testing!

I do have a few old "loaners" to image, to make sure we have some spares for the Juniors.

If you would like the tester installed in your classroom to "practice", all you need to do is ask, and I will get it done for you.  It only takes a few minutes to install the Smarter Balance Tester, and a little bit longer for Questar (since it requires a log in, and check of the system to register the machine).

Thank you very much, and Happy Testing!

Technology Tips: Shut down your computer!

Today's Technology Tips comes to you for all users...not just Teachers...but students Too!

One of the common questions people ask with their computers...do I need to shut down?

-Because of hibernate commands and stand by modes... people think they don't need to turn their computer off.

However, please read this:

From a software perspective, an operating system and the programs you run on it tend to accumulate all sorts of cruft over extended periods of use – temporary files, disk caches, page files, open file descriptors, pipes, sockets, zombie processes, memory leaks, etc. etc. etc. All that stuff can slow down the computer, but it all goes away when you shut down or restart the system. So shutting down your computer every once in a while – and I do mean actually shutting down, not just hibernating or putting it to sleep – can give it a “fresh start” of sorts and make it seem nice and zippy again.

However, different computers and OS’s are not all equally affected by this phenomenon. Generally, a computer with a lot of RAM can go for much longer than a computer with only a little RAM. A server, on which you just start up a few programs and then let them work, will be fine for much longer than a desktop computer, where you’re constantly opening and closing different programs and doing different things with them. Plus, server operating systems are optimized for long-term use. It’s also been said that Linux and Mac OS tend to run for longer than Windows systems, although in my experience that mostly depends on what programs you use on them, and not so much on any differences between the kernels of the operating systems themselves.

That came from an article LINKED HERE.

Think of it this way...computers are nothing but machinery.  All machinery breaks down eventually.  If you run something continually, all the time, never shutting it off, you are shortening it's useful lifespan.

In addition, with Windows computers (like our school machines)...Microsoft often releases updates that are installed when the computer shuts down.

Also, for student machines...the large majority of students take their netbooks home every day.  The computer should be shut off during this travel time.  If it is on, the hard drive...which is a physical piece of machinery, is still running.  

This is what a Hard Drive looks like.

I can't tell you how many student machines are brought to me to work on that are not powered off.  Even last summer, when I went to install new programs on all the existing machines... over half of the students machines were not shut off.

So, do yourself a favor, and give your computer a break...it'll appreciate it.  At the end of the day...Shut Down!

A Guest Review and update

First of all, a quick review of the Nexus 7 Tablet from our own Ag. Sciences Teacher...Dan Robbins!
(applause)

FYI…   gave my kids their own nexus 7, can setup other users which is nice so the wife and I steal them too and have our google accounts/apps/backgrounds all ready to go as well!

Here was a review I pretty much can agree with…

http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=4948

Went w/ the 32gb as thinking more media/movies get loaded on them.

Also set went to our library for the kids’ account numbers up the SD online library for ebooks and that works nicely.

Been hunting for educational apps, they are there but, really have to hunt for good stuff.

Over the Christmas/New Years Break I was able to do some updating to the student's netbooks.

A quick rundown of what was done:
1.  Installed Windows updates on all computers...this took a long time, several hours for some of the netbooks.
2.  Installed iTester on each of the netbooks.
3.  Made some tighter restrictions on the Cybersitter program.  This isn't something I really wanted to do, however, we had a handful of students (less than 10, more than 4...) install some "chat" clients on their netbooks, and so I had to tighten the restrictions on social networks and chat, and that type of thing.  So if you hear the students whining about more things being blocked, this is why.

If you find the students computers are blocked from going to a site that you need for educational purposes... I can "whitelist" any sites...although that would need for me to come to the room, and put them on each individual computer.

Which is a pain, but if we are going to have illegal chat clients installed (which leads to malware and viruses...of which we did have some)... I have to tighten the bottleneck.

Creating a User Password...Netbooks

When installing the updates and itester programs on your netbooks over break, I had to "remove" the password for most users... so to "create" a user password... use the following steps.

Creating a User Password

1.   Click on the Windows Icon on the bottom left of your screen. 
2.  In the “Search” box type in the word “password”.
3. Select the option “Change your Windows password”
4. Click on the link “Create a password for your account”
5. Type in your password, then confirm it…also you can type a hint in the password hint box.
6. Click on Create Password Button.
7. Go Forth and Learn!

Wednesday, August 16th

I'll be heading over to Lake Benton this morning.

When I return, I'll be doing lots of work on the student netbooks.

Busy, busy, busy in the tech office this week.  I feel like I'm spinning in circles.

Open House will be Thursday night, August 16th from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.  I'll be presenting on the netbooks and their usage to Freshmen and new students, and their parents.

Hope things are going better (faster) for everyone else.

Back to Benton (Lake style)

I'm headed back to Lake Benton today, will be preparing the netbooks for the upcoming year.

Keeping busy and meeting new people each day.  Hope everyone is getting prepared for the new school year.