FAQ/HowTos - Fall River Public Schools

Technology
Nutrition

Technology

How do I connect a district Chromebook to my home WiFi?On the chromebook in the bottom right corner, click the funnel icon (network connection). Select your home WiFi and enter your home WiFi password.

Can you use gaming consoles (Xbox/Playstation) to access Google Classroom?The quick answers is yes! Here is a link to a great "how to" video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6wKiz2KXoE
**Most users recommend that you use a keyboard (usb/wireless) which are under $20 on Amazon vs the system controller.

Can you turn on Google Voice for our domain so I don' t have to use my personal cell phone w students?Google Voice is a paid service even for EDU users- $20/ per user /per month. Google is offering it free for EDU domains for the next 45 and then discounting rates for EDU users to I believe $10/month/user for large districts. https://www.amplifiedit.com/google-voice-for-education/

Unfortunately we will not be turning this feature on because we do not want our users to become dependent on a service that in a month we will not be able to fund for our 2k plus users. We are currently researching several communication apps such as Remind that offer similar features to teachers/staff.

I am hearing a lot about Zoom for video conferencing. Should I be using Zoom or Google Meet?

Great question. Zoom recently made their product along with premium services free to use for K12. Click Here Both are robust video conferencing solutions. I personally would strongly recommend using Google Meet (via directly inviting users/students versus publishing a meeting code) because it is part of our suite of Google Apps for Education tools that parents sign off on for students to use and *basic features will always be free to use for K12 EDU. *Premium features are turned on during school closings free of charge.

For best practices using Google Meet feel free to reach out to district Tech Integration Specialists submitting a request for support. https://www.fallriverschools.org/departments/technology-services (click on the red banner to the right of the page)

*update 4/14/20 due to recent privacy/security concerns with Zoom I would NOT recommend using this platform for teacher/student conferencing. https://www.cnet.com/news/zoom-every-security-issue-uncovered-in-the-video-chat-app/

Is there a mobile app for Google Meet?

Yes. You can download it from the apps store. If you receive an invite from someone it will also trigger the download.

Is Google Meet available to my students?

Yes. Prior to this week it was not turned on for students. Students are now able to join a meeting but can't initiate one for safety reason.

Is there a way to record myself or a lesson and post the link?

You can use Google Meet to record yourself, like a video message. The link can then be shared out with students, parents or teachers.
You can also use Google Meet to record with a Screen Share
You can record a long time with Google Meet, but be sensitive to how long your audience will actually watch!

What is Clever? How can my student log in to Clever?

Clever is our districts single sign on option for students to easily access most online learning applications all in one easy place. Our elementary students have two options to log in to clever (linked on every webpage), with a QR badge (if sent home) or with their student Google Apps login. Helpful how to's: both Video and Document are provided here. Please reach out to your child's teacher or the tech team if you have any questions or issues.

How can I log in to Google Apps or Google Classroom?

Student Google Apps and Google Classroom can be accessed via any school webpage or through clever. The easiest way, is to navigate to your school webpage, click on the Students menu, then click on the Student Google Apps to log in. Once logged in to Google Drive, navigate to the "waffle" and click on Google Classroom. Directions can be found here.

Is there an easy way to email my students and parents?

This ability is built into your grade book. Directions can be found here.

Why can't students using Google Classroom on their phone see my comments on their assignments?

Just like when they complete the assignment on their mobile device, they need to open up the corrected document in the program it was created in. It is much easier to do than it sounds, here are the screenshots.

Are Google Meet URLs permanent?

From our research, yes. That means if you are holding office hours and share the meet.google URL, you should be able to leave and come back the next scheduled office hour. You can find the URL either in the calendar invite that you set up (you can set it as a recurring event) or if you utilize the Meet App the URL is given to you when you start the meeting and can be found on the right hand side when you click on the meeting name.

Are you able to mute microphones in Google Meet?

That functionality is being rolled out by Google. It should be available to you now under the people link. Keep in mind, as a teacher you can mute, but student must unmute themselves.

How can I use district online progsrams on an iPad?

Some of our district online learning programs behave differently when using an iPad or tablet. See this document for more information and what may be needed if using an iPad.

Is there a way to see my students in a Grid view in Google Meet?

This extension allows you to see your students in a grid view. At the end of the install, there quick note on how to access it.