Using Safe Collaborative Technology in the Globally Connected Classroom

1. Using Safe Collaborative Technology in the Globally Connected Classroom

2. Technology Professional Development 2012-2013 CATS #2919

3. A Collaboration Story

4. To comply with eRate guidelines, Wilkes County Schools are required to have an email account for students in grades 3-12. We are currently using ePals for student email and collaborative learning services. This subscription is paid for through eRATEfunding.

5. Today’s Focus

6. What is ePalsSchoolMail? • ePalsSchoolMail is the recognized leader in school-safe email for students in grades K-12. • ePalsSchoolMail is an easy-to-use product with an interface similar to other email systems. • ePalsSchoolMail offers opportunities through the Global Community to communicate and form partnerships with peers and classrooms in over 200 countries bringing to life the concept of global citizenry. • ePalsSchoolMail provides multilingual email solutions to classes, schools, families and districts worldwide offering instant language translation into 58 different languages. • ePalsSchoolMail has TRUSTe certification of student privacy.

7. How is ePalsSchoolMail different? • It is like regular email with the addition of “policy management” and monitoring • It allows teachers and administrators to monitor mail written by their students • It offers different types of accounts, with different roles and abilities for each • It enables classrooms to connect and collaborate in meaningful ways

8. Adult Account Types • District Administrator • manages the overall SchoolMail license • may create all accounts (sub-administrator, teacher, monitor, student and parent), add schools, define grades and set policies for users • grants privileges to sub-administrator • Sub-Administrator • can perform same functions as district admin but cannot add schools • can make changes for users only in schools where access has been granted • Teacher • any adult member of your school community, including educators, media specialists, counselors, principal, etc.

9. Additional Account Types • Monitors • oversees communication to and from students • one is assigned to each student account • is essential for filtering to ensure that the communication is appropriate and on task • Student • is only for students in your school/district. • filters and access parameters are set for all student communication and define who and how the student may communicate • Parent • for parents wishing (and allowed) to participate in the school communication system

10. Getting Started • You’re going to need: • Usernames and passwords for your students and yourself • A computer with access to the Internet • Basic knowledge of using email • Willingness to reach out, connect globally, and try something new

11. Logging in as a Teacher • Type www.epals.com in the Internet address bar. • Your username will be your WCS username followed by the letters wcs (i.e. scottbjwcs). • Your password will be on the back of your index card. • Click Continue. • When prompted to change your password, I would suggest your WCS password.

12. Logging in as a Student • Type www.epals.com in the Internet address bar. • Student usernames will be first name, last initial, and possibly random numbers (i.e. scottb35). • Student default passwords will be either password123 (6th grade)password12 or a random password. • Click Continue. • When prompted to change their password, I would suggest they use their NCWISE numbers. • Passwords can be reset by the school administrator or the teacher.

13. Your Homepage • After logging in, you’ll see your Homepage. • Scroll down to see the entire page. • When finished, you’ll need to click MORE to see Sign Out. This will ensure your account is secure.

14. Your Homepage • Highlights Projects, Activities, etc. • Allows you to easily access your mail and the student mail you are monitoring. • Offers access to resources that will help you get the most out of ePals.

15. Your Homepage Toolbars • The Toolbar at the top of the page gives you access to tools in the ePals Global Community, such as Projects and Classroom Match • TheMail Toolbar provides access to functions within your SchoolMail account, such as your email and files

16. Updating Profiles • There are two types of profiles within ePals: personal and shared. • Your personal profile is used to customize your ePals account. It is not available to the general public or other teachers using ePals. • Your shared profile is an optional way for you to introduce yourself to other members of your school, district, and/or the ePalsSchoolMail™ and ePals.com communities.

17. Creating a good profile

18. ePalsSchoolMail Interface • Click on See all email from the menu. • Notice the “My Mail” and the “Monitored Mail” tabs. • Student accounts will look identical to this, but without the monitored mail tab.

19. Using SchoolMail Email • Let’s practice: • Sending a message • Managing folders • Filing messages in folders • Setting up a signature • Using the Spam Control feature • Managing Auto-Reply

20. Managing Contacts in SchoolMail • Because you are a teacher and are already set to monitor students, you will find student accounts in your contact list. • Students, however, will need to build their own contact list. • So, it’s important to know about: • Adding individual contacts • Adding new groups to contacts • Importing contacts

21. Using SchoolMail to Share Files • Files may be uploaded to ePals for storage or sharing purposes. Files can be categorized in the following ways: • My Private Files • My Shared Files - can be viewed by your students, colleagues, and SchoolMail Administrators • Other Shared Files - students cannot view these, but adult users may be able to • My Students’ Files – only on monitor accounts

22. Monitored Mail • Email monitoring lets you bring email technology into the classroom while maximizing the likelihood that it will be used in appropriate, education-specific ways. • Monitored email means that students’ incoming and outgoing email messages are previewed by a monitor before reaching their recipients. • The monitor can ensure that the message is appropriate to age, setting, and context.

23. Filtering Settings The four filter levels are: Level 1: All student messages must be approved by a monitor. Level 2: The monitor receives a copy of all student messages but approval is only required for messages containing words from the flagged words list. Level 3: The monitor will only receive messages containing flagged words; these messages will require the monitor's approval. Level 4: All content filters are off. Students can send and receive messages freely.

24. Monitoring Settings • • Flag Attachments: Monitors can be asked to preview any message that comes with any kind of attached file (such as photos, documents, sound clips, etc.). • • Access Level: The ePalsSchoolMail Administrator decides whether email communication is allowed within the class, within the school, within the district, within the ePalsSchoolMail Community, with members of the ePALS.com community, or with anyone, anywhere on the Internet. • • Flagged Words: Monitored email is checked by the ePalsSchoolMail system for the presence of words on the Flagged Words list. These might include profanity, epithets, or other inappropriate language. The ePalsSchoolMail Administrator can add and remove words from the basic supplied list. The words on this list can affect whether or not you need to preview a student message and are used to indicate messages with questionable content. • • Email Filter Languages: The Flagged Word list is available in multiple languages. The ePalsSchoolMail Administrator can choose to have it look for inappropriate terms in any or all of: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Japanese.

25. Monitoring Student Mail • Outgoing messages are those sent by your students • Incoming messages are those being sent to your student • All messages without the green OK sign will need to be approved before they are sent or received • After approving, rejecting, or deleting a message, it goes to the Processed Mail folder

26. The Monitored Mail Console

27. Monitored Mail Flags

28. Connecting with Others Sample letter for getting started with a classroom in the Global Community: • You may connect with others in several ways: • Set up email pals within the class, school, or district • Find classroom matches in the ePals Global Community • Click on Project and/or Collaborate to find a partner

29. Using Instant Translation • Select Instant Translation from your menu • Copy and paste text that needs translation • Choose the appropriate languages for the translation • Click the Translate button • Remember this software is effective for conveying the “gist” of the message, and is NOT a perfect translation • Is a great way of breaking the language barrier and opening up global communications

30. Connecting with Others

31. ePals and Common Core Resources See the video- A One Stop Common Core Solution

32. References All images and video from Microsoft Office or epals.com (used with permission).