Power Up Learning! Pennfield Schools

We are piloting the use of guest wireless access with our seniors from now until the end of the school year. Seniors may bring in their own personal laptop and use it at school using our guest access.

To participate, seniors need to fill out the request form, sign it and get a parent or guardian signature as well. Take the request to the office where it will be copied and stamped. Take the stamped sheet to the media center to recieve handouts on how to access the wireless guest access. More information on suggested software and how to access your H drive can be found on the PUL website at http://moodle.pennfield.k12.mi.us/parent/?page_id=76. or by clicking the Guest Wireless Access Page on the PUL website.

Students using the guest access are still under Pennfield’s Acceptable Use policy and are still filtered. The same rules and consequences apply when using a personal computer as when using a school computer.

Request Form:  personal-laptop-use-form-2.doc

Spring Break Information:

 If you don’t want to take the computer home, make sure it is in the bag, completely off and locked in your locker.

If you do plan to take the computer home: 

1. Make sure you transport your computer in a laptop bag. Don’t leave it in the car where it can get extremely hot or cold. Keep it in a safe place at home where it will not get stepped on or thrown around.

2. If something happens to the computer and it is not working properly, you will need to wait until Monday, April 12 to bring it into the media center for repair. You will not be able to bring them in during break.

3.  Parents: Your students will have the computers at home. Please make sure to monitor and be a part of what they are doing on the computers.

4. Students: Be smart about how you are using the computers. Please be very careful as to which sites you visit and what software you download.

5. Malware and Viruses:  There have been many computers coming into the media center lately that have a virus or Malware.  If you think you have this issue, your best course of action is to reimage the computer. You can reimage your computer at home.  The directions on how to reimage your laptop and then what to do after it is reimaged is on the PUL website at http://moodle.pennfield.net/parent/  (click the link on the right that says “How to reimage your computer”. Remember, this will delete your C: drive and reimage it to the way it was when it was handed to you. Your Q drive should not be effected but it is a very good idea to back up important files to a flash drive or somewhere else before you re-image.

I hope you have a safe and relaxing spring break and we will see you back here on the 12th.

Tammy Maginity
Instructional Technology Coordinator
Pennfield Schools

We recently experienced a huge slow down in our wireless system. Upon further investigation we found that there is a choice in your wireless networks for a peer to peer network. If you are using that, it will slow down the whole system. Here are some steps to take to make sure that does not happen. Here is a link to an article that explains the issue. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13554_3-9941355-33.html

Here are the steps:

You can get to this window with: Control Panel -> Network Connections ->Click (one time to highlight) on the wireless network icon -> On the left, click on “Change settings of this connection” -> Wireless Networks tab -> Advanced button. Click the second box that says: Access point (infrastructure) networks only. Hit close.

Microsoft seems to have fixed the issues with Internet Explorer. Also, if you update to Firefox 3.6 or higher, you will have better success. If you update to that version, you will need to uninstall the add on called Proxy Switch. Do this under Tools, add ons.  Then go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ and search for Toggle Proxy. Install that. It will create a button in the bottom right corner of the browser. When you click it, it will toggle the proxy between on and off. It should be on at school and off at home.

Internet Explorer has been having some issues lately with freezing up. Especially in Moodle. The freezing is being caused by the security update for internet explorer KB978207 which was release on the 20th by Microsoft. So until the issue is resolved by another update, we suggest you use Firefox for your browsing.

If you have updated your firefox to version 3.5 or higher, the proxy toolbar will not work.  Go to tools and addons. Delete the Proxy Switch addon. Then go to www.mozilla.com and search for the add in called Toggle Proxy. Install that. It should work for you. It will put an icon in the lower right corner of Firefox and when the proxy is on and you click it, it turns the proxy off and vice versa.

The PUL program (Power Up Learning) at the high school gives each of our students a very powerful tool for learning. Of course it can only be an effective tool if it is working properly. Here are some things you can do to make sure that the laptop continues to work properly as well as some basic troubleshooting tips that can save you the hassle of turning the laptop in for repairs.

Basic Care:

·         Make sure you transport your laptop carefully and in a laptop bag – The laptop is designed to be the most secure when closed, latched and in a bag. When going from class to class the computer should not be out and visible. Also, make sure you are not throwing the bag with the computer inside. A bag offers some protection but is not a guarantee. Handle it with care.

·         Make sure that you have the laptop in “sleep mode” when transporting the machine from one spot to another. The hard drive contains platters that are continuously spinning and trying to adjust to be at true vertical or horizontal position. If you are moving the computer with the hard drive spinning, it can cause the hard drive to crash. By putting the computer to sleep, you can avoid this problem. The Gateways are put to sleep by pressing Fn + F3 and the Lenovos are done with Fn + F1.

·         Back up files – You need to make sure that important files are saved in at least two locations. Backing up files to a USB flash drive or the Home network drive at school is very important.

·         Charge the Battery – Having a fully charged battery can help reduce problems.

·         Be very careful with food and drink around the laptop - Unlike a desktop PC, which has a keyboard and a mouse attached by cables to the machine, your laptop’s keyboard and pointing device are poised directly above the very heart and soul of the computer. A minor soda spill into the keyboard of a desktop can be a minor inconvenience, but a minor spill into a laptop keyboard can be the end of the laptop.

·         Store the computer in “normal” temperature locations – Computers do not like extreme cold or heat therefore, don’t leave the computer inside a car, outside or anywhere else where these temperatures exist.

·         Keep the fans and vents clear of obstructions – It is very important that the laptop is able to use the fan and vents to keep the computer cool. These can be easily blocked by cloth, towels, blankets, carpet, etc. and can cause extensive damage.

·         Keep the laptop clean – o   Use a dry soft cloth that does not have fabric softener on it to wipe the screen, keyboard and case of the laptop. (microfiber cloths are good for this)o   If the cloth does not work, you can moisten the cloth and use that to wipe it cleano   Do not spray any cleaners or liquids directly onto the laptop o   Do not use cleaners to clean the computer. Water should be able to keep it clean.o   You can use rubbing alcohol to clean the computer if water does not work. (put it on the cloth not directly on the computer)

Basic Troubleshooting

·         Shut down the computer and restart – Many problems can be solved by shutting the computer completely off and then turning it back on. Try to shut down the computer using the start, shutdown method. If the computer is frozen, you can press and hold the power button until it turns off. This should be a last resort.

·         Can’t log in at school:

o   Restart the computer
o   Check to see that the wireless is ono   Make sure the workstation only box is unchecked
o   Make sure the correct context is listed in the advanced settings of the login box
o   Plug the computer into a hard wire network connection. Once logged, check to see if the wireless is showing up in the system tray. If it does, unplug the network cable and see if it works. If not, it may need to be reimaged

·         Can’t log in at home and see the internet

o   Restart the computer
o   Make sure the workstation only box is checked
o   Make sure the wireless is connected in the system try
o   Make sure the proxy is off in Internet Explorer or Firefox
o   If you have a wireless router and have the security on, try a different setting.

·         Re-image the computer – You can reimage the computer yourself without having to turn it into the media center. See the troubleshooting guides at the PUL website to see how.

For more detailed information and troubleshooting documents, visit the PUL website at http://moodle.pennfield.net/parent/Visit these sites for even more laptop care information:

• http://bit.ly/7RI0fW
• http://bit.ly/175H7k
• http://bit.ly/7j34TH

Just a reminder that laptops and netbooks should be put in proper case and put to sleep or turned off when students are traveling between classes or leaving school.

This is important because it can lead to a crashed hard drive it that procedure is not followed.

Thanks

If you turn on your Lenovo and the lights are on but the screen stays black, try this.Turn off the computer by holding down the power button until the lights are off.Take out the battery. Put the battery back in and make sure to lock the battery in by using the lock switch under the battery on the underside of the machine.Start it up. If you see the screen you are are set. If not, you will need to bring it into the media center.

Attention all Lenovo users… Seniors and Freshmen

Do not choose the Super Saver Energy Mode for the Power Management. It causes the wireless to stop working. You may choose Low Power, Balance, or Performance mode.

If you have already changed to the super energy saver,  you will need to bring it to the media center so we can fix it.

The home home account on the Gateway laptops is not set as an administrative account. You will be able to fix this after you log in with your school account. You will get that user name and password in the first few days of classes. Once you can log on with that account, you can change the home home account to administrative access.

The directions on how to do this is on the “How to fix issues” Page on the right side of the the PUL website. It is the first entry.

Once it is an admin account, you will be able to log in as home home and install printers at home or other software.