School Fusion Teacher Web Pages

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NOTE: School Fusion Teacher Web Pages are LIVE immediately except for inactive files/folders. Finding your page: use Firefox and go to http://www.westside66.

*********************************************************************************************************************** Scroll to the very lower left and look for

org Fall 2013 Peggy Rupprecht (402) 390-2131 Erik Clark (402) 390-8336 prupprecht@westside66.org eclark@westside66.

Note: Art, Music, PE, Media and Foreign Language teachers may have more than one class to activate if they teach at multiple buildings.

*********************************************************************************************************************** Once you have found your class, there are some

1 NOTE: School Fusion Teacher Web Pages are LIVE immediately except for inactive files/folders. Finding your page: use Firefox and go to Logging in and changing your password: the login box is in the lower left corner. *********************************************************************************************************************** Scroll to the very lower left and look for FusionPages. Click on this link to find your classroom. School Fusion Teacher Web Pages Fall 2013 Peggy Rupprecht (402) Erik Clark (402) After login, change your password by clicking on My Account from the lower left menu and then selecting Personal Settings and then the Change Password tab. Note: Art, Music, PE, Media and Foreign Language teachers may have more than one class to activate if they teach at multiple buildings. You may need to click on the Click here to activate link that appears. See Note above for specialists. *********************************************************************************************************************** Once you have found your class, there are some features to rename/turn off for now. When you mouse over editable titles, a pencil and an X icon will appear. Look on the right side of the screen for the words Homework. Mouse over the words then click on the little pencil to rename: Homework to Class Assignments. We also need to rename Web Pages to Class Content Pages, but you will notice that Web Pages isn t visible You will need to make it available to change the name. Look at the upper middle of the page for a red link called Edit Configuration 1

2 This will take you to the Configuration page. There are many features that we have been told NOT to use at this time. Notice that although you have changed the titles (such as Homework to Class Assignments) the original name still displays on this screen. Be sure to select the Only teachers... option for those features you make available. Important Note: At this time, backgrounds and sounds must remain OFF. There are many other options and features on this page that we may be allowed to use in the future, but for now we are not allowed to make any additional changes to the settings on this page. After checking/unchecking the boxes, click on View FusionPage home in the upper right. Now you can rename Web pages to Class Content pages. ******************************************************************************************************************** IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT WORKING WITH TEXT: IMPORTANT: For the most part, your text should be black. You may use your school colors for Header, Title, or Subject Line text in addition to black. PLEASE remember that the Teaching and Learning team is in the process of evaluating additional features. Do not add/use any additional items/features in your School Fusion site until notified. Use only the approved areas and hide all others by clicking on the arrow on the far right. 2

3 Current Approved Features for Use: Click on the appropriate link to add this content. 1. Add/Edit Description (your welcome message): Remember to spell check The spell check feature will not check grammar. Since the sites go live immediately, be sure to double check your content 2. Add/Delete Picture: See photo guidelines for size (remember: no clip art or animated gifs). 3. Add Announcement: You can have start/end dates and an image. Announcements display with most recent at the top. You cannot reorder them unless you modify one (then it will move to the top). You can hide an announcement by changing it to a future date. Adding a file to an Assignment: You can add a file (such as a rubric) to an assignment. HINT- Highlight text before adding file to hide file path Click on the URL link button (chain) In the pop-up window that appears, click on Browse Server. In the next window click on the Upload button to find the file and then click on Open to add the file. When the file appears in the browser, double-click on it and then click on the OK button. 4. Add Class File: All documents posted should be in PDF form. To create a PDF in Pages or Word, go to File>Print and look for the PDF button in lower left. NOTE: There is a 50 Kb size limit. Be sure to follow the same naming conventions for PDF files as for photos (i.e. no spaces/special characters and have.pdf at the end). You can create folders first (a folder for Newsletters, for instance). You can change the sort order of folders either by date or alphabetically. Note: items within folders automatically sort alphabetically, so newsletters display best as: newsletter. When using folders and files in the Add Class File area, you can hide/show content (either entire folders or individual files) by checking/unchecking the Active box. 5. Add Assignment: Enter the information as text and remember to add a due date. It is also possible to link a PDF file (such as a rubric) to an assignment (see Adding a File to an Assignment instructions in box above). Assignment titles will display if you click on the calendar date. Assignments will display for the current month. Previous months assignments can be accessed by clicking on the View Previous Class Assignments (6) link which will indicate the number available. Assignments can be reused the next year by changing the due date of previous assignments. 6. Add Content Page: You can add a content page with a photo (or a Photo Album with up to 20 photos - see next page), or you can have a text only page by typing into the text box (remember Paste from Word) or a list of URL s here. It is important to repeat the title of your page in the body of the text since the titles don t display on individual pages. (This bug may be fixed in the future.) Do not click on Create Category - you should click on Add Web Page. 3

4 When creating a Content Page of URL s for students, remember that URL s must open in a new window. First click on the Link button. In the popup that opens, add the entire URL in the box (you can copy/paste). Next, select the Target tab and select new window from the drop down. Click on the OK button. (You can also highlight text to use as the link as noted in the box on page 3.) When using a Photo Album- look for the message below and click on the second blue here. You will be able to select the number of photos you want in the album (up to 20). Click on the Continue button and give your page a title and summary. Next, click on the Browse button to find a folder of images you have exported from iphoto to upload. Having a Web (content) page with just one photo and a larger block of text: The Photo Album page will not allow long titles or descriptions. If you want a larger photo and longer text, you can upload a JPG file the same way you uploaded a PDF file in Assignments. Just click on the Import/Edit Image button instead of the URL link button. Follow the same steps (Browse server, Browse, Find the file, click OK, then click Upload). When the file appears in blue click on it and then click OK. IMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT FEATURES: At this time, we are not using Wikis, Discussion Board, or any other Fusion features not in this document. IMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT PDF AND JPG FILES: Remember - Never use copyrighted material such as Google photos or PMP material, and do not provide passwords to district online content. To name.pdf and.jpg files correctly, use the following in your filenames: * Letters (ABCabc...) and Numbers ( ) and Underscores ( _ ) * Document File Extension (such as.jpg or.jpg and.pdf or.pdf) * Limit Name Length (Limit file name length to 32 characters or less) Avoid the following in any.jpg file names: * Special characters ( # $ % ^ & * etc. ) * Spaces (especially watch out for spaces at the beginning of file names) * Omitting the file name extension (.jpg or.jpg and.pdf or.pdf) Good Examples: HillsidePlaygound.jpg Mary_schoolwork.PDF gympermission.pdf Room3.jpg Bad Examples: Hillside Playgound.jpg Mary's schoolwork PDF gympermisison Room #3 on the playgound having Friday fun.jpg 4

MOVING CONTENT BETWEEN SCHOOL FUSION WEB PAGES Teachers of Art, Music, PE, Media, or Foreign Language that teach at more than one school: You will have a separate set of web pages associated with

By checking the second box, the user could add this announcement to both of their groups of School Fusion web pages.

Once imported, you can delete (or hide) content not appropriate for that school. See directions below for Import/Export.

5 MOVING CONTENT BETWEEN SCHOOL FUSION WEB PAGES Teachers of Art, Music, PE, Media, or Foreign Language that teach at more than one school: You will have a separate set of web pages associated with each school. You can add content to multiple schools simultaneously by checking the groups box each time you add an assignment, file, etc. By checking the second box, the user could add this announcement to both of their groups of School Fusion web pages. You could also create one complete set of web pages at one of your schools and then Import/Export the content to another school. Once imported, you can delete (or hide) content not appropriate for that school. See directions below for Import/Export. IMPORT/EXPORT for Teachers who want to share content with their grade level partners: We encourage teachers to work as a grade level group - sharing content between their web pages. The Export this fusion page content... and Import content...links are reached by clicking on the Edit Configuration link. (See Page 2 if you can t find the Edit Configuration link.) Click on the Misc. tab and click Export... You will see a list of items to check then you can click on the Export to Zip File button. After clicking on the Export to Zip File button you will receive an Export successfully completed message and can now download the zipped file containing the content. Click on the red text Download the......zip file. You MUST keep the file zipped or it will become corrupted Be sure to select Save to Disk as your option. On your desktop or in your downloads folder you now have a zipped file. Copy this file (but don t double click on it to open it) to a USB flash drive and then transfer the zipped file to your colleague s laptop. Importing: Your colleague can now follow the same steps above, but will click on Import Content instead of Export. They will browse to the zipped file you have put on their laptop and upload it to their School Fusion site. This Import will not overwrite any existing content. It will append content to the appropriate area. You can only upload entire areas. If you upload Announcements you will get all of the Announcements. You cannot upload just one announcement or just one file. Therefore, after uploading an area you may need to delete imported content you don t want to keep. You may also need to rename some of your folders or other items to avoid confusion. 5

6 District SchoolFusion Web Page Guide for Teacher s Web Pages Westside Community Schools Fall 2014 The following are content guidelines for teachers when posting content in any of the six approved areas of their School Fusion Web Pages. The focus of content should be on the audience: students, parents, and the general public (public relations). As you post content make sure it is always in good taste and district appropriate. When posting student work be sure to clearly identify it as student work but do not identify the specific student that created the work. For instance, do not post a photograph of a student holding their painting or do not post a photo of the artwork alone with the caption Mary s Painting. Any student work that is posted should be edited and reviewed for spelling and grammar, potential for libel or slander, and overall appropriateness. Parents are given the option to refuse the posting of materials/information related to their child. Be aware of the the content of the Educational Student Record (FERPA) information on the district website homepage by looking under the About Us tab and selecting Educational Student Records (FERPA). Some parents in your building may have signed an opt out form to prevent disclosure of information regarding their child. Ask your Principal for guidance on identifying photos of students. Note that although you could use first and last names to identify a photograph of a student if the parent has not opted out, you may want to use first name and last initial only. Always consider what is best for the student. Stories or photos that appear on the main Westside district web page will contain first and last names unless the parent has completed an opt out form. However, this does not mean that it is best to include full names on your individual class web page. Check with your building Principal for guidance. Items that should not be posted on your web pages include: Material that is copyrighted (including worksheets or PowerMediaPlus material). Clip Art (unless it is your district approved school mascot). Do not attempt to post animated gifs. Material that has non-district individual or agency commercial value. Absolutely no advertising (including Google ads), business logos, or links to commercial sites are allowed on your class site. Please remember that parents and students are never allowed to edit or create content in School Fusion. Important Technical Reminders: Photos should not be larger than 50 Kb - review iphoto instructions for preparing photos. Photos should be clear (not dark, grainy or out of focus). Photos should be of Westside Community Schools staff and students. No stock photos (photos of random people or places not affiliated with Westside) should be used. Links should open pages in a new window or tab- review adding URL information on page 4. Text should be black. You can have Headline text match your school colors. 6

7 Preparing Photos for School Fusion Teacher s Web Pages Your camera will create photographs that are too large to use in School Fusion. You must use iphoto to reduce the file size to 50Kb or less as required by School Fusion. 1. Collecting Photos for use in SchoolFusion and putting them into iphoto: From a digital camera: Connect your camera to your laptop using the USB cable that comes with the camera. Turn on the camera. When the images display in iphoto for import you can shift-click the photos you want to import (if you don't want all of them) and click on Import Selected. Otherwise, you can click on Import All. If you don't normally use iphoto when you connect a camera to your laptop, you will need to start the application iphoto and go to iphoto>preferences>general>connecting camera opens. Select iphoto from the drop down list. From PhotoBooth: Don t forget that your laptop has a built-in camera that works with the application PhotoBooth (look for PhotoBooth in your applications folder). PhotoBooth has many special effects. You can have your students simply stand in front of your computer to create a great class photo. Photos can be sent to iphoto with the click of a button. From an Drag the photo onto your computer desktop, open iphoto and go to File>Import to Library. From a pen drive/portable flash drive USB device: Drag the photos onto your computer desktop then open iphoto and go to File>Import to Library. 2. Creating an album in iphoto to hold your SchoolFusion images: Open iphoto and go to File> New Album. Give the album a name such as School Fusion Photos and drag any photos you currently have in your iphoto Library (that you want to use in your School Fusion site) into that album. 3.Editing photographs in iphoto: In iphoto, select the photo by clicking on it one time. Next, click on the pencil 'Edit' icon at the bottom of your iphoto screen. The photo will open in the editing screen. Often clicking on the 'Enhance' tool will greatly improve your photo. Consider the 'Crop', 'Straighten', and other tools also. Click 'Done' when you are finished editing the photo and ready to export it for use in School Fusion. 7

4. Exporting photographs in iphoto: Select photo(s) and go to File>Export in the iphoto menu bar. For most photos the following settings will work fine.

8 4. Exporting photographs in iphoto: Select photo(s) and go to File>Export in the iphoto menu bar. For most photos the following settings will work fine. DO NOT ADD ANY PHOTOS TO YOUR WEB SITE UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPORTED THEM USING THESE SETTINGS Kind: JPEG JPEG Quality: High Size: Small Click on the Export button after entering the correct settings information. A dialog box will appear where you can name the photo. It is important to use correct file naming protocols since these images will go on the web. REMEMBER THESE FILE NAMING PROTOCOLS: To name.jpg files correctly, use the following in your filenames: Letters (ABCabc...) and Numbers ( ) and Underscores ( _ ) Document File Extension (such as.jpg or.jpg) Limit Name Length (Limit file name length to 32 characters or less) Avoid the following in any.jpg file names: Special characters ( # $ % ^ & * etc. ) Spaces (especially watch out for spaces at the beginning of file names) Omitting the file name extension (.jpg) Good Examples: HillsidePlaygound.jpg Mary_schoolwork.PDF gympermission.pdf Room3.jpg Bad Examples: Hillside Playgound.jpg Mary's schoolwork PDF gympermisison Room #3 on the playgound having Friday fun.jpg ************************************************************************************** Some Tips for Better Photographs: Composition: rule of thirds - place center of interest at the intersection of imaginary lines in your photo. Landscapes: Put something of interest in the foreground of landscapes. Students: Force the flash when a student s face is in a shadow. Avoid cluttered backgrounds and watch out for objects sprouting out of student s heads. Have your students looking or moving into the scene. Hold your camera at eye level. Move students to the foreground. General: Angle/perspective: try several views - move around, get down. Keep your camera level. Keep the sun out of the lens or use a sunshade (paper or your hand). Avoid windows/glass. Turn off flash and place lens against glass if shooting through a window. Frame your shot with something such as an overhanging branch, doorway, etc. The camera manual is your friend: Read it to learn how to adjust the various settings. Know how to force the flash to go on or off in spite of the lighting conditions. Know how to take a close up shot (look for the little flower button). Shutter lag: Either set manual focus and speed or pre-focus by pressing shutter button half-way. 8

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