Media News:
- Welcome Heather Pennica our new Lead Media Specialist, she will be your contact for media related topics.
- We are now hosting our Destiny through Follett so the URL for access has changed please update any bookmarks: https://johnston.follettdestiny.com/ is our new address. We have experienced slowness and are working with Follett to correct the issue.
- The data sync process is still the same through PowerSchool and new staff members will continue to be created manually using this link: bit.ly/staffpatron
- MyOn was a huge success this summer with 9820 books read across the district and 2318 hours spent on the program - congratulations to Selma Elementary for being the top participating school.
- WiseOwl - DPI indicated that the password for home access is being updated - look in the Media folder for information about the change. They have also updated some of the subscription resources check here for more information: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B6tdCo4ORZfeYWlfTDRTVjFCTXc
- Optional Media Specialists Meeting 8:30-11:30 in WCCC on August 19
ISD General News
We have had a few staff changes over the summer, so we wanted to update you!
- Dana Jernigan (ext. 1007) is now the Director of Professional Learning, Tony Stewart left us to move to Florida and Kathy Price will be taking Tony's place as Executive Director of Professional Learning.
- Christa Leverette (ext. 1011) will be returning to Stephanie Canning’s post in the Technology Services office. Stephanie returned to Wake County and we are awaiting a replacement for Christa’s position as the AA for ISD.
- Jen Roberts (ext. 1015) will be joining the Digital Learning Team as a Personalized Learning Specialist
- Heather Pennica (ext. 1029) will be joining the Digital Learning Team as Lead Media Specialist official start date is August 29th.
Technology News
- This summer, many software and hardware updates have been pushed out to the computers to improve functionality, be sure you get out all chromebooks and laptops to power them up, turn them on and log into them so they can receive updates. Likewise, all desktops need to be turned on and logged in to receive the updates. Expect some delays during this process so it is best practice to do this prior to student arrival.
- SMART 16 - We have created the latest version of SMART 16 for desktops. If you have a teacher who wants the latest version put in a School Dude ticket to have the computer reimaged. ALL new instructional and teacher desktops will receive the latest version when they are set up. It is also recommended that if a board is experiencing issues you put in a request to have the software updated. (Note: If your current incident of SMART notebook becomes corrupt your computer will have to updated to repair it.)
- Testing Update - new testing standards from DPI prohibit us from having monitoring and remote management software installed on testing devices. We will provide further updates as we learn them. Here are links to the testing calendars for your reference:
- The Energy team has been around this summer unplugging things, so your first line of troubleshooting should be to check the power and the port that it is plugged into.
- Phones - Please make sure that you keep phones in their current location and update extensions using the update form which goes to Shirley Nixon. (you might coordinate with your principal and phone management person at your site) If a phone was unplugged over the summer make sure you plug it into a port labeled with a “V” for voice. Note: all phones are also plugged into the computer to work properly.
- September 12 the technicians will start their new schedule. Until then they will be working 7-4 and will work on prioritizing needs based on tickets submitted from each school. Be sure you are adding your tickets into the system so we can get your needs addressed in a timely manner.
- WiFi update - we are working to provide a fresh wifi password. During the initial transition there will be 2 active SSID’s displayed on mobile devices, we will be pushing settings with the new information and after testing window 1, the old “jcswireless” will become inactive and the new one will be in place hopefully this will improve connectivity, as it will prevent many students from accessing it with their personal devices.
- Mark your calendar: Meeting Dates for this year
We look forward to your return! 2016-17 is going to be a great year!