IT News and Notes - February 2022

SMART NOTEBOOK UPDATE

We have just under 50 SMART Boards left in the district. We still have a handful of teachers using SMART Notebook software. Our district SMART Notebook subscription is due to expire on March 25th, 2022. We have reached out to the company hoping to be able to extend this license to the end of this school year. They will only sell the license for a period of 1 full year. We have also identified an issue with teachers being able to convert old SMART Notebook files to Powerpoint / Google Slides on their MacBooks. This process can be completed on a Windows based machine.

Because of these issues, the curriculum department has purchased 1 additional year of the SMART Notebook software. This final subscription will expire on March 25, 2023.

Next school year, we will work with the teachers who still have SMART Boards in their classrooms and replace these with whiteboards. We will also have a PC Laptop available for teachers to transition their SMART Notebook files. We hope this extra time allows the few teachers still using this software the chance to transition to other platforms / software.

Phishing Emails

Phishing is an attempt to steal personal information or break in to online accounts using deceptive emails, messages, ads, or sites that look similar to sites you already use. For example, a phishing email might look like it's from your bank and request private information about your bank account.
Over the last few weeks we have been running a Phishing test with all staff members. You would have received a fake email that looked like it came from Google, but it was really a phishing attempt. We used this test to collect data and get a baseline on our recognition of these emails. We had 58% of staff ignore or delete the messages while 41% clicked on a link in the email and also entered their password, potentially compromising their accounts.
In order for the district to receive and maintain Cybersecurity Insurance, we need to complete these tests along with having each staff member trained in recognizing phishing emails, messages and sites. Next week (week of March 7th), each staff member will be receiving an email with information on this topic. You will be asked to watch a 4 minute video and answer 8 questions about Phishing scams.

Infinite Campus Messenger

Depending on your role in the district, there are two ways to access Infinite Campus Messenger. Please see below for the ways to start taking advantage of this great tool within IC.

Campus Instruction - This is for all teaching staff, case managers, anyone with teacher access.

Using the Message Center in Campus Instruction, teaching staff can send a Class Message to students and/or guardians to communicate class information to your sections. Messages can be sent to an entire section or specific students in a section. Multiple sections can be selected.

Campus Tools - Principals, Secretaries, Administrators Non teaching staff with access to student information can send an email message to guardians, students, and staff using the Messenger tool.

Emails can be scheduled to go out at a specific date and time. Emails can be personalized by pulling fields from Infinite Campus. Below are a few examples of the items that you can pull into your message.

Student Name
Guardian Name
Student Number, email, lunch PIN
Grade Detail, Term GPA and Cumulative GPA

You can contact Tracy Gibson or Jan Orlando for assistance in sending out an Infinite Campus Message. Click here for detailed instructions.

GIF of the Month

Each month our IT Techs will share a GIF to remind you of an important item related to Technology in Mentor. This month's GIF is for staff to change their password in their MacBooks. This is very IMPORTANT considering the information we shared with you above on Phishing scams..

IT Support and Video

In IT Tips and Tricks this month, Todd shares how to make sure your MacBook is updated to the most recent operating system, Monterey. Your MacBook and all applications and programs will work better on an updated MacBook!

A Little IT Humor!

Doug always manages to keep things light around our office so we thought we would have him share some IT Humor each IT News and Notes with you! This is a good practice to do every now and then to keep your computer healthy and your mind healthy!