Technology Dept Info and Updates

I hope that everyone had a restful, safe, and enjoyable time with family and friends. Please review the important information in this newsletter regarding:

• Email Spam, Phishing, and Password Security
• WiFi adjustments and changes

The Technology Department is here to support technology, software, devices, Internet access, as well as maintain reliable infrastructure and Internet safety to all members of CVUSD. Please use Issuetrak for all tech support requests.

Issuetrak - Use this link for all Technology Support Requests

"Good" Issuetrak tickets have specifics and detail:
a) What is the problem? Be specific.
b) What have you tried to do already? What was the result? Be specific.
c) Is there a best time to get your device? Let us know, we will try and accommodate.

Many of you have received email phishing attempts with your CVUSD email accounts. These emails have stated that they know your usage, have video of you, and are demanding some form of payment. Mark these as spam as it will help Google Gmail identify and filter similar emails. Google Gmail is our email service provider.

What are Phishing Emails?

Phishing emails try to get the user to click on or reply with information. These emails are often sent in large blasts to organizations or groups of people from hacked accounts. Many phishing emails have improved their levels of deception by including small tidbits of personalized information such as name or email addresses or even city of residency. The goal is to fool you into clicking on links and either giving more information, or inadvertently downloading malicious programs.

Rule of thumb: If you do not recognize the Sender - Do Not Open!

See the quiz/tutorial link below to help education and protect yourself.

Internet security is a team effort. Everyone using responsible practices keeps us all safe!

Can you spot the Phishing Email? Take the Quiz

https://phishingquiz.withgoogle.com/

As spam and phishing attempts are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous, email password security is an essential to protecting your information and data. Strong email passwords are considered to be at least 8 characters including a Captital letter, Lowercase, number, and special character. Consider using a PassPhrase that is easy to remember and even longer than 8 characters. Sample Passphrases can be: Icaneat4piecesofPizza! or Mydogsnameis@lfred1. Think of your own common PassPhrase that is easy to remember.

Digital Security is everyone's responsibility and a team effort!

To change your CVUSD email password, follow the directions here: New Email and Email Password Change

We are pleased that our WiFi Access Points have been upgraded to meet increased demand on our district's WiFi. We have been monitoring our WiFi and have made many adjustments since the beginning of the school year to improve performance. In some cases, we have added new Access Points in high use areas. If you are experiencing slow WiFi, please let us know via an Issuetrack ticket. We will research and find the best solution.

Please keep in mind that slow access to some websites such as Aeries, testing sites, even Google Apps, etc can be separate from WiFi and may be an issue with high demand on a website.

We use Speedtest.net to measure bandwidth and expect download speeds >70Mbps as normal.

To ring in the new year, we have changed the password to the cvusdguest WiFi.

The new password is cvusdguest22.

Aeries has been going through several updates and modifications to their databases and network. This has resulted in connectivity issues and slow website access. Please be patient as they are continuing to service and fix their systems.

Last year, we had good success using Clever as a way for our younger students to login and access the many apps and software systems. We will continue to use this for both teachers and students for logging in to our software systems. Some software applications will have their own logins, and some will use Clever. We hope that eventually we will be able to standardize logins for all programs.

Clever Overview and Directions for Use

Clever Login Link for CVUSD - www.clever.com/in/cvusdclever

Important Technology links can be found here:

cv.k12.ca.us > Staff Resources > Frequently Use Forms > Technology Department Quick Links

Peter Vallejo's Technology TOSA Website for all of your How To's

We are pleased to support both Zoom and Google Meets* this year for all video conferencing needs.

All classroom teachers will start with a Google Meet upgraded license similar to last year. Other staff can request a license using the below Google Form.

Our Zoom licenses have been shuffled a bit since last school year, so if you do not have one, please make your request through this Google Form.

Google Meet = 250 participants

Zoom License = 300 participants

*CVUSD is a Google District, Google Meet is our preferred software choice.

We have been diligently working to upgrade devices for staff.

As part of CVUSD's Standard Classroom Technology, we want to make sure that all classroom teachers, and other credentialed staff are using updated laptop devices. Classified staff that need devices should work through their site administrator or department head.

If you are a credentialed staff member and still have an older model Lenovo Yoga 12/12s, please submit an Issuetrak ticket to have your laptop device upgraded. Please back up your data (Google Drive preferred), and be ready to swap out your device.

Mac Users - If you are using a MacBook Pro or "older Mac" we will be working our way to replacing your devices too! Please back up your data and submit a ticket for replacement.

Now that students have their own Chromebooks, how can we extend and maximize the life of our CB's? Creating strong classroom practices will help support at-home use.

CB's are designed to be inexpensive and affordable internet-accessibility tools. The units that we buy are <$300. While the units that we buy are designed for the rugged student population, there are really some things that you won't get for the price we are paying.

Follow these tips to help maximize our Chromebook life:

1) Students should handle with care - elementary students should have a two-hand carry policy. Broken screens and cracked cases from dropped devices are generally not worth the cost of repair.

2) Charging ports and cables break easily. The charging ports are often broken by the repeated use of plugging in/out. Did you know that CB's have a battery life of 8+ hrs? They only need to be plugged back in at the end of the day, or maybe every other day. Consider their total usage and plug them in when needed (rather than between periods).

3) Establish classroom rules/best practices for CB use. This can include rules about how to carry, no food/drinks, wash hands before using, etc... students that respect their devices will care for them better and they will last longer.

Peter Vallejo's Technology Distance Learning Website

Please see the CVUSD Technology Website . This page has information for Google Account info, Chromebook FAQ, and Parent/Student Tech Support Request.

Greg Ko, Director of Technology

Yann LeRoy, Computer Operations Technician

Ricardo Guzman, Computer Operations Technician

Chie-Wei Lee, Computer Operations Technician

Kristine Coffelt, Student Information Systems, Aeries Specialists

Angela Preston, Student Information Systems, Aeries Specialists

Steve Mei, Network System Admin

Michael George, Network System Admin