St. Charles North High School

• Janice Finke
• James Henderson

Link to the Help Desk   

• The online catalog for LRC materials can be searched from any computer at school and/or from home. Go to the LRC page and click on “online catalog” to find out what books and videos are available.
• Have you seen a video or book you think you would like the LRC to purchase? Send the information to Cheryl LaMaster. We will get the video for preview if necessary.
  

• Please turn off the LCD projectors when you are done with your presentations. Don’t put a book or a piece of paper in front of the LCD—it shortens the life of a bulb and could cause the projector to overheat or start a fire.
• 
  The LRC is looking for the power adaptor to one of the laptop cart wireless hubs. It’s a small black square power supply. If you see it in your classroom please bring it to the LRC.
  

• The laptops from the LRC can see a variety of printers throughout the building. If you are using a laptop cart, please make sure your students choose a printer that is located in a nearby building location when they are printing.

• Changing your passwords! Be sure to read the email from Janice Finke regarding password changes. Some of you may already have had to change your password--others should be getting the message soon. Your email and network passwords will both change when you change the network one. However, if you use IGP, you will need to change your email password on IGP before you can send out your progress emails to parents. If you have questions check the instructions posted on the NOC web page. (If you need help after that see Janice or Cheryl.)

• PowerPoint is a program to be used for presentations and is included as a component of the Freshmen Literacy Program. The media specialists stress a professional look, bullet points with information, a “less is more” style where not every word the student is saying is actually on the slide. Please help us out by reinforcing these concepts in your classes.
• If you want your students to print out their PowerPoint’s, please stress printing in a format of at least 4 slides per page. In order to do that, go to “file” then “print.” On the lower left of the print box change “print what” to “handouts” and then indicate the number per page in the box to the right, usually 3, 4 or 6. If you need assistance, please see the LRC staff.
  

• Using the workroom copiers as printers (100 and 200 for now, 400 area soon)
  
  The district is setting the workroom copiers up as printers. Janice has placed them in your printer groups so you will see them from the computers throughout the building. Here are some instructions for using the copiers:
  
  To use the copier in the 100 or 200 workroom:
  
  Before you print, select the CANONCOPIER as your printer and print. It will ask you for a numeric password and you can use anything like “1” or “2222;” you’ll just need it to access your job on the copier. After you print, your job is ready for you at the printer but it will not stay forever. It will be deleted after awhile if you don't actually print it.
  
  You can also choose the number of copies, hole-punch, double side, and staple if you click the Properties under the “Finishing Tab” in the Print window.
  
  After you log into the copier, select the “Systems Monitor” button on the lower right of the screen. You should then be able to see your job with a pad-lock on it. Select the document that you’d like printed, select “Secure Print,” type in the password that you gave the document, and hit “OK.” The job should then begin copying.
  
  Using the copiers as printers will save the building quite a bit of money on toner. Please keep that in mind when you are printing.

• Is your email inbox a mess?
  Create folders inside your inbox and move your messages to the appropriate folder. Store them there for an appropriate amount of time. Periodically clean out the folders from the oldest date forward to the newest date. (You shouldn’t keep the items there forever but it is a way to organize and store messages for a time.) Delete items from your “sent” folder periodically also.
• Have you seen the newest DVDs or books the LRC has purchased?
  You can search the online catalog from any school computer—and now from home too. Go to the LRC page and click on “online catalog.” All audiovisual items are cataloged and placed in the online catalog just like the books.

• Having trouble emailing grades to parents? Some files send OK but others don’t?

  The problem is one or more of the email addresses in the file. When an incorrect email address is “hit”, the gradebook stops sending from that point. To find the problem, check the email addresses for obvious errors such as spaces or commas. Try sending the grades or progress reports in small bunches to try to narrow down the location of the incorrect address. The email addresses from parents are being updated in SASI, which should help solve some of the errors.
• Mini classes in the LRC next week

  The LRC is running mini classes next week on using the discussion board in Blackboard.
  
• Can’t connect to the network?

  Check the connection to the wall or “switch”. Make sure the switch AC power is plugged in. If the power in the building has gone out recently the switch might need to be unplugged for about 10 seconds and then plugged back in so it “resets”. If your connection is directly to the wall via a cable, check both ends of the cable to make sure the connection is solid. If you still have problems, put in a helpdesk ticket.
  

• If the printer in your area is out of toner, bring the old cartridge to the LRC and pick up a new one. (Please don’t put in a help desk ticket for new toner.)
• We have a collection of print resources for teachers in the LRC. We have moved them to the black shelves located near courtyard B in the LRC. Come in and look them over.
• The LRC has a “bookmark” with all of the database logins printed on it. Take one home and place it on your computer for future use.

• Getting into your district email from school: There are several ways to enter your district email: 1. Click on an “email” link on a North or district webpage.  2. Type the word “mail” in the Internet Explorer address line (URL line) and you will be taken to an email login window.  3. Open Outlook from the start menu and be taken to your email using Outlook instead of the web based version of email.  All staff members have access to Outlook this year in addition to the web-based email.
• Updating or revising a helpdesk ticket: If you get a response to your original helpdesk ticket that contains a request for further information in order to complete the ticket, please respond by adding a note with the information requested.  If you need to revise a helpdesk ticket or check on its status, login to the helpdesk system and click on the “history” button at the top of the page. You will be taken to a ticket history section to locate a specific ticket.  You can search for the original ticket and add a “note” with a question or a response.  If a problem you reported is not resolved in a timely manner, please update your original ticket instead of starting a new one for the same issue. 
  

• The District has made Microsoft Office, Inspiration, Pdf creator, etc. available for staff members to load on their home computers.  If you would like the software for home please email Cheryl LaMaster.
• Lost some of your desktop icons?  Use the application refresher in the lower right hand corner of your monitor screen.  Right click on (or hover over) the white square with a red line on the top.  Click on refresh and your desktop will be "refreshed" and your icons should re-appear.  If you have questions, please see Janice Finke or Cheryl LaMaster.
• Can't find the helpdesk?  When you have your browser open, you can type "helpdesk" into the address line in the top toolbar (where you see http://...).  You will be taken to the helpdesk login window.