FOR ALL STAFF
As you know, summer school will be virtual and a number of students have already requested district-owned Chromebooks to take part. The Technology Department has distributed some of the Chromebooks and will distribute them to elementary grades later in June. They will continue to provide technical support to all students enrolled in summer school.
In addition, the school district will have a Chromebook ratio of 1:1 for grades 2-12 in the fall. The administration continues to plan supports for our students no matter the educational environment we may see in the 2020-2021 school year.
We are also planning on additional supports for students as they transition into new environments (i.e. grades levels and educational environments) so they are better able to navigate our digital tools for the best possible experience and success.
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2020
Thursday, March 5, 2020
External Sender - New Subject Line Tag
FOR ALL STAFF
As a district we continue to educate staff and make strides to keep all technology systems safe and secure.
One area that is always a concern is when staff click on a link in an email or download an attachment from a phishing email. These links and attachments can contain malware and ransomware that can cripple IT systems and lock you out of your data and other data/systems until a ransom is paid. To help staff identify any email that is not from an @wbsd-schools.org address, the Technology Department will be adding: [EXTERNAL SENDER] to all emails that are not from the @wbsd-schools.org domain beginning Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Please be extra diligent in clicking on links and attachments from non @wbsd-schools.org emails. If you are not sure of the link or attachment please submit a technology help desk ticket and someone from the Technology Department will reach out.
As a district we continue to educate staff and make strides to keep all technology systems safe and secure.
One area that is always a concern is when staff click on a link in an email or download an attachment from a phishing email. These links and attachments can contain malware and ransomware that can cripple IT systems and lock you out of your data and other data/systems until a ransom is paid. To help staff identify any email that is not from an @wbsd-schools.org address, the Technology Department will be adding: [EXTERNAL SENDER] to all emails that are not from the @wbsd-schools.org domain beginning Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Please be extra diligent in clicking on links and attachments from non @wbsd-schools.org emails. If you are not sure of the link or attachment please submit a technology help desk ticket and someone from the Technology Department will reach out.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Skyward Maintenance
FOR ALL STAFF
On Friday, February 21, the Technology Department will update Skyward with a required software release. The Skyward Finance update will begin at 3:00 p.m. and Skyward Student update will begin at 3:30 p.m. All staff will be required to be out of both these systems at this time. All work should be completed by 6:30 p.m. An all-staff email will be sent once completed.
On Friday, February 21, the Technology Department will update Skyward with a required software release. The Skyward Finance update will begin at 3:00 p.m. and Skyward Student update will begin at 3:30 p.m. All staff will be required to be out of both these systems at this time. All work should be completed by 6:30 p.m. An all-staff email will be sent once completed.
Career and Technical Education Month
FOR ALL STAFF
The West Bend School District joins the State of Wisconsin in celebrating Career and Technical Education Month throughout February. The district is proud to have a wide variety of CTE programming in the areas of Business and Information Technology, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Technology Education. Through the different programs of study, students are able to earn industry certifications, complete work-based learning opportunities through Youth Apprenticeships, and take technical college credit courses right at our high schools. During the 2018-19 school year, students at the high schools took 1,356 technical college credits through their CTE courses, which is the equivalent of $181,975.20 of college tuition that students will not have to pay.
The breadth of programming offered by our high schools allows students to complete course work in the following programs of study: Culinary Arts, Fashion and Design, Early Childhood Education, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, Business Administration, Accounting, Graphic Communications, Engineering, Digital Media Production, Architecture and Construction, Manufacturing, and Welding and Automotive.
The district would not be able to offer these programs to our students starting beginning in 7th grade without the excellent CTE teachers leading these programs of study. Thank you to all of our CTE teachers for all you do for our students!
The West Bend School District joins the State of Wisconsin in celebrating Career and Technical Education Month throughout February. The district is proud to have a wide variety of CTE programming in the areas of Business and Information Technology, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Technology Education. Through the different programs of study, students are able to earn industry certifications, complete work-based learning opportunities through Youth Apprenticeships, and take technical college credit courses right at our high schools. During the 2018-19 school year, students at the high schools took 1,356 technical college credits through their CTE courses, which is the equivalent of $181,975.20 of college tuition that students will not have to pay.
The breadth of programming offered by our high schools allows students to complete course work in the following programs of study: Culinary Arts, Fashion and Design, Early Childhood Education, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, Business Administration, Accounting, Graphic Communications, Engineering, Digital Media Production, Architecture and Construction, Manufacturing, and Welding and Automotive.
The district would not be able to offer these programs to our students starting beginning in 7th grade without the excellent CTE teachers leading these programs of study. Thank you to all of our CTE teachers for all you do for our students!
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Skyward Finance Password Updates
FOR ALL STAFF
In previous editions of The Highlighter we have shared the importance of having secure online systems. One way that each employee can help is to have a strong and secure password that is changed at certain intervals. This past fall we asked staff to change their network/Google passwords to make sure they are strong and updated. At this time we will be increasing our minimum password requirements for Skyward Finance beginning Friday, January 31.
The new minimum requirements for this system will be a minimum of 14 characters that includes at least 3 numerals and 2 special characters. On or after January 31, if you log in and your password does not meet those requirements or your password has not been changed recently you will be required to change your password. Moving forward your Skyward Finance password will need to be changed a minimum of once a year.
As a reminder, the secure storage of your usernames and passwords are important and having unique passwords for different systems helps to keep our systems secure. To securely store passwords the Technology Department recommends using LastPass. If you need help setting up your LastPass account please submit a technology ticket and a team member will help you.
In previous editions of The Highlighter we have shared the importance of having secure online systems. One way that each employee can help is to have a strong and secure password that is changed at certain intervals. This past fall we asked staff to change their network/Google passwords to make sure they are strong and updated. At this time we will be increasing our minimum password requirements for Skyward Finance beginning Friday, January 31.
The new minimum requirements for this system will be a minimum of 14 characters that includes at least 3 numerals and 2 special characters. On or after January 31, if you log in and your password does not meet those requirements or your password has not been changed recently you will be required to change your password. Moving forward your Skyward Finance password will need to be changed a minimum of once a year.
As a reminder, the secure storage of your usernames and passwords are important and having unique passwords for different systems helps to keep our systems secure. To securely store passwords the Technology Department recommends using LastPass. If you need help setting up your LastPass account please submit a technology ticket and a team member will help you.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Skyward Down for Maintenance
FOR All STAFF
On Saturday, December 7, all Skyward Systems will be down from 3:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. to complete server software upgrades for the entire Skyward System. During this time, both Skyward Student and Skyward Finance will not be available. If you use TrueTime to punch in and out and you work on this Saturday, please mark down your times and speak with your supervisor so they can adjust your time-card.
On Saturday, December 7, all Skyward Systems will be down from 3:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. to complete server software upgrades for the entire Skyward System. During this time, both Skyward Student and Skyward Finance will not be available. If you use TrueTime to punch in and out and you work on this Saturday, please mark down your times and speak with your supervisor so they can adjust your time-card.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Time to Change Your Password
FOR All STAFF
As discussed in the last Highlighter, strong passwords are essential to a strong Cybersecurity Plan. To help with strong passwords and to get in the habit of changing passwords on a yearly basis, we will be requiring all users to change their network/computer login passwords beginning November 12.
On the morning of November 12, when you log-in to a computer, you will be required to change your password. Your new password must be a minimum of 14 characters, include three numbers and one special character. Once you change your computer password it will also update your Google account to that new password. This means that you will be asked to enter your new password into your Google account on every device you use to access Google. Also as a reminder, your network/computer login password is the same password you use with Canvas and ARCHIBUS (the maintenance work order system). This means these will now require your new password.
On the morning of November 12, when you log-in to a computer, you will be required to change your password. Your new password must be a minimum of 14 characters, include three numbers and one special character. Once you change your computer password it will also update your Google account to that new password. This means that you will be asked to enter your new password into your Google account on every device you use to access Google. Also as a reminder, your network/computer login password is the same password you use with Canvas and ARCHIBUS (the maintenance work order system). This means these will now require your new password.
please create an account with LastPass using your school district email address.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Passwords, Passwords, and Changing Passwords
FOR All STAFF
As you know, computer passwords are one of the first defenses in the effort to keep data safe. A strong password and frequently changing that password is a best practice. Beginning next month, the Technology Department will require that users change their passwords regularly. Remember that your computer/network login password syncs with your Google password. More information on the process and password requirements will be shared in the next edition of the Highlighter.
Technology Department staff members are often asked where a user should store their passwords. Obviously, passwords should not be stored on Post-It notes, Word documents, or Google documents. Consider using LastPass, which is a secure and encrypted online system to store your district usernames and passwords. If you set up a LastPass account, please make sure it is set up with your school district email account.
As you know, computer passwords are one of the first defenses in the effort to keep data safe. A strong password and frequently changing that password is a best practice. Beginning next month, the Technology Department will require that users change their passwords regularly. Remember that your computer/network login password syncs with your Google password. More information on the process and password requirements will be shared in the next edition of the Highlighter.
Technology Department staff members are often asked where a user should store their passwords. Obviously, passwords should not be stored on Post-It notes, Word documents, or Google documents. Consider using LastPass, which is a secure and encrypted online system to store your district usernames and passwords. If you set up a LastPass account, please make sure it is set up with your school district email account.
Skyward Down for Maintenance
FOR All STAFF
On Friday, October 18, the Technology Department will install Skyward's October software release for both Skyward Finance and Skyward Student on the database servers. The updates will begin with Skyward Finance at 2:30 p.m. followed by Skyward Student. Please log out of the Skyward Finance database prior to 2:30 p.m. and the Skyward Student database by 3:30 pm. Users will be able to login to both databases by approximately 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Click here for the programming notes from Skyward. An email will be sent once the installation has been completed and the databases are once again accessible.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
October is Cyber-Security Month
FOR ALL STAFF
Technology staff is often asked about the actions we take to keep all of our systems and data safe in today’s ever-changing technology environment. While the technology department has a variety of different systems, firewalls, and security alerting and controls in place to keep our environment safe, research shows that users of these systems are just as important in keeping online systems and data safe. School data and systems are often targeted because of the large amounts of information schools are required to keep on their students.
To help keep our systems and data safe, please remember the following guidelines when working with district technology, online systems, and data:
Technology staff is often asked about the actions we take to keep all of our systems and data safe in today’s ever-changing technology environment. While the technology department has a variety of different systems, firewalls, and security alerting and controls in place to keep our environment safe, research shows that users of these systems are just as important in keeping online systems and data safe. School data and systems are often targeted because of the large amounts of information schools are required to keep on their students.
To help keep our systems and data safe, please remember the following guidelines when working with district technology, online systems, and data:
- Do not share your passwords with anyone else and do not post/write them down near your computer or your desk or your computer as someone can easily find your post-it note, sheet of paper, or saved Google/Microsoft document. Please know that technology staff will NOT ask you for your password.
- Use strong passwords that include upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters and are 12 characters long at a minimum.
- Do not include personal information and common words in your passwords.
- Be diligent in watching for phishing email scams where users are trying to get information from you such as usernames, passwords, banking information, social security numbers, etc. If you are ever unsure, please submit the information to us through a technology ticket.
- Be aware of who you are sharing Google documents with. Staff Google accounts are all letters such as tweather@wbsd-schools.org and student accounts include three numbers such as hardejoh000@wbsd-schools.org.
- When any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as student names, address, testing data, special education status, etc. is in a Google doc the information should only be shared with specific people and not shared with whole sites and/or with anyone with the link. Anyone with the link also includes students.
- Staff should not be inputting student information or having students input information into online systems that are not set up by the district. If you have questions on this please reach out. The district is in the process of revising this process and more information will be shared in the future.
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