Dearborn Public Schools
We are pleased to let you know that we have new HelpDesk software available for you to use. When you click on the HelpDesk Ticket (available under the Staff Tab on the main Dearborn Public Schools web page), you’ll be taken to our new HelpDesk site called OTTERS. This new site will allow for better communication, feedback and efficiency.
Directions to use OTTERS are now available as a shared document.
We have begun our exciting transition to Google Apps for Education. This will bring powerful opportunities to us. Along with those opportunities are necessary changes.
Many people now use their phones to check for email. In order to continue doing so, you’ll need to make some changes in your settings. We recommend creating a new email account on your phone. All old email will sync.
Directions for setting up your email account on your phone are available on our Professional Development site.
We are one day closer to our transition to Google Apps for Education. Although email is not set up yet, staff can sign in and use Google Apps for Education. Here is a testimonial from one user:
I tried it yesterday and it worked. It was easy to set up but must be done slowly and carefully because the system was slow. I like the chrome’s set up of apps–easy to see and follow. My email is not updated yet but your email indicates this will be done. I’m hoping my iPhone will not be complicated in setting it up. Thanks for the instructions–they were easy to follow.
Email will be synced starting Thursday evening. Since we have a tremendous amount of email to sync, we are positive how long the sync will take. Starting Friday, you should check your email using https://www.google.com/a/dearbornschools.org
Want to see something cool just for Dearborn teachers? You are personally invited to join Dearborn Public School’s Pin It website. The Pin It website works very similar to Pinterest but is limited to stuff we/you post as a Dearborn School employee. Our own private pinterest just for staff, students, and parents. This new tool is ideal for teachers who want to share and collaborate with web links and resources. Pin and Repin the content! With enough people pinning resources this could be an ideal website for sharing and finding new tools and ideas.
Directions:
You might want to try adding a board and multiple pins. It should work just like Pinterest for the most part.
Please send comments and feedback to Chris Kenniburg kennibc@dearbornschools.org
Currently in our developmental lab is a project to bring functionality like “pinterest” into Dearborn. You can check it out by visiting Pin It!
Let us know what you think.
As we transition to Google Apps for Education, it is important to understand why. The district has been able to provide 2GB of storage for documents and 2 GB of storage for email. With our transition to Google Apps for Education, each user will receive 30 GB of storage. Additionally, the documents that you create within Google Drive won’t count against that storage limit. Essentially, this means that users won’t have to worry about storage limits.
Please remember that Google Apps for Education will also provide a ton of features that we just aren’t able to provide at this point.
MicroSoft is ending support for Windows XP during the next school year. This means that we will need to update our computers so that they are running Windows 7. In order to accomplish this with as little instructional disruption as possible, we will attempt to update as many computers during the summer as possible.
(Please note that we have updated some computers throughout the district. If your computer is already running Windows 7, we won’t be updating. However, it is still a good idea to back up your data. If the hard drive of your computer crashes, we have no way of getting that data back for you.
* As long as you save all of your files to your H: drive* (the network drive with your user ID in the name), you are all set.
* If you have your files on your C: drive, please copy them to your H: drive. This includes documents that are saved only on your desktop or in your “My Documents”.
This is also an opportunity to clean up computers. We have seen computers where there are six different toolbars that have been installed. One computer had over half of the screen permanently covered with tool bars.
Please note that once we update your computer, we have absolutely no way of retrieving your data. Any data that is left “just on your computer” will be erased. All data saved to your H: drive will be safe, sound and backed up. Saving files to your H: drive is good practice as we back that up.
As we move forward with Google Apps for Education, you will want to save your documents in Google Drive. Google drive is persistently backed up through Google.
Thanks.
We’ve identified an issue with Gmail delivery. Due to that issue, we have suspended delivery to Gmail accounts.
Resolution will be soon. In the meantime, please continue using Outlook to view and respond to email.
Thanks.
As we have tried to open the web more and more for adults, we have hit upon a few stumbling blocks. We still need to filter the Internet appropriately, there are lots of things that are totally inappropriate for schools.
You may see an Authentication Box if you are attempting to access sites that are blocked for students. This includes YouTube.
We are working on the issue.
‘Tis that time of year again. Time when many schools are holding assemblies and putting together retrospectives of the year. We know the power of music, and many schools want to include music in their retrospective projects.
Unfortunately, many people don’t stop to think about their actions. It is very easy to download a piece of audio from the Internet, or a CD that someone brings in, or buy a CD.
However, is it legal to use that music as part of presentation?
The short answer is no.
If you are playing the music for the school, it becomes a public performance. Public performance is different than personal use. Here is the definition of a public performance:
A “public performance” of music is defined in the U.S. copyright law to include any music played outside a normal circle of friends and family. Songwriters, composers, and music publishers have the exclusive right to play their music publicly and to authorize others to do so under the copyright law. This is known as the “Performing Right”. This right was designed to enable and encourage music creators to continue to create music.
When you see the words “All Rights Reserved” on a movie that you’ve rented or purchased, you know that playing that movie before a public audience is prohibited. The same restrictions apply to music that is purchased, broadcast, or live musicians that are hired to play in a public setting. Every business or organization must receive permission from the copyright owners of the music they are playing before playing it publicly.
Publicly includes schools. There are some “fair use” conditions that allow schools to use parts of copyrighted music, but those don’t generally cover assemblies. There is a popular misconception that because it is used in a school, copyright doesn’t apply.
The good news is that there are some resources that can be used. These are generally found by looking for Creative Commons licensed material. Specifically, you want to look for is licensed under ShareAlike.
Please see below for clarification from Creative Commons:
Can I use any song with a CC license on it?
Almost — you need to make sure that what you want to do with the music is OK under the terms of the particular Creative Commons license it’s under. CC-licensed music isn’t free for all uses, only some — so make sure to check out the terms (you can find these by clicking on each song’s license icon).
Most importantly, you need to use music that is not licensed under a No Derivative Works license. This means that the musician doesn’t want you to change, transform, or make a derivative work using their music. Under CC licenses, synching the music to images amounts to transforming the music, so you can’t legally use a song under a CC No Derivative Works license in your video.
Also, make sure to properly credit the musician and the track, as well as express the CC license the track is under. For example, you might include text like this at the end of your video:
This video features the song “Desaprendere (Treatment)” by fourstones, available under a Creative CommonsAttribution-Noncommercial license.