Clemente Tech News – September 2002

Clemente Tech News | September 2002 | Volume 2 | Issue 1

Tag! You’re IT!

That’s right, teachers! In an age when technology is part of almost every aspect of what we do, just about everyone using it becomes a techie. At Clemente Middle School, teachers all become Information Techs! Here are some things you can do for classroom computers and printers before filling out the complaint forms for someone from the technology department.

Choose wisely
We use your complaint feedback forms to help track the most common problems so that we may continue to serve teachers and students even better from year to year. One of the most commonly reported problems has been the printing issue. Of course, one of the most common solutions is… setting the chooser!

Some Common Printer Issues
For most printing problems, the solution is to set the chooser. For all printers, access the Chooser under the Apple Menu in the upper left corner of the computer screen. When the Chooser dialog window opens, select your printer type in the left pane and the appropriate port in the right pane.

Make sure background printing is turned OFF and that AppleTalk is ACTIVE. If these settings are not correct, they may cause other problems in connecting your computer to the network as well.

For Hewlett-Packard DeskWriter 600 printers, select DW600 (not DW600 AT) in the left pane of the chooser and the modem (phone) port in the right pane. Then close the chooser.

For Epson 740 printers, select SC740 in the left pane and the USB port in the right pane if you are using the Epson with an iMac. For non-iMac computers, select the SC740 icon and the modem port.

A new printer in this year’s scene works exclusively with the iMac computers in the classroom. For Epson C80 printers, select Stylus C80 in the left pane and the USB port in the right pane. This printer will not be hooked up to any other computer in your classroom, so only USB port will appear as a choice in the chooser.

For other printers, find the appropriate driver in the left pane, and check your computer for the correct port.

Using a Switch Box
Rooms equipped with an A-B switch box are special cases. Users must make sure the box is switched to the computer from which they wish to print. For example, most rooms are set up so that the left computer is “A” and the right computer is “B.” So when printing from the left computer, users must ensure that the box is switched to “A.” The box must also be correctly switched in order to set the chooser.

Before you know it, you’ll have your printer up and running with minimal effort. The process will become routine. As you use these tips and pointers, IT will become second nature to you!

Updates for the new school year

Classrooms with no computers
Teachers moving into or being assigned to rooms with no computers will be accommodated as soon as possible. It is most likely that the room was not occupied at the end of June this year, but the computer department is working to move available equipment, including tables, into those rooms as soon as possible.

Stand-alone computers
As newer equipment makes its way into classrooms, the older equipment is still used for word processing and other print projects. These computers, called stand-alone computers, do not function on our school network. Currently, we do not have enough tables to keep these computers in their rooms. Tables are on order, but these stand-alone computers cannot stay on the floor or in places where they occupy valuable classroom space. They are being moved to a storage area until enough tables can be placed into classrooms to accommodate this additional equipment.

Keyboards and mice
At the end of the last school year, teachers were asked to secure their keyboards and mice to make the thorough cleaning of classrooms easier. The compliance was at 100%, and we are very grateful. Over the summer, most of this loose equipment was placed back on the computers and printers. In some rooms, the keyboards and/or mice were not easily accessible, and we could not complete setup in those rooms. Please ensure that you have placed your old keyboards and mice back out of their secure locations so that we may complete setup of computers in all rooms.

New login screen
Our new network setup requires that all staff and students logging into our school network use the login information provided them at the start of the year. Login passwords are the responsibility of each user. Other than the new look, and a slightly different naming convention, teachers and students sign in as they did last year. New teachers should receive their login instructions shortly if they have not already been given this information.

Easy Grade Pro Serial Number
You may experience the following problem when trying to access Easy Grade Pro 3.5.6 on your PowerPC 5200 and/or PowerPC 5400. Some teachers trying to use the program on these computers are being asked to enter a serial number in order for the program to run. You must enter this number exactly as it is given to you, including the dashes, in order to begin using Easy Grade Pro. The number is available from the technology department. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Problems? Complaints? Questions?

The computer department is in the process of changing over from our old login and network system to the new system. In addition, we are working to ensure that all equipment in all classrooms and offices are fully functional as soon as possible. We have limited technology support staff to oversee all the rooms, and we appreciate your patience as we work to complete these tasks. Our complaints database will be opened after the first full week of school – beginning Tuesday, September 17th – at which time complaint forms will be available in your mailboxes, in the mailroom, and in your facilitators’ offices. Please use these forms to report computer problems or complaints to help us serve you better.

Ron Walker, Webmaster, Clemente School Internet Website
Bruce Stern, Webmaster, School Intranet Website
T Martin, Editor, Clemente Tech News

CWASP

Clemente Tech News – September 2002