Pretty Fly for Our WiFi

In our district, there are three WiFi networks that Chromebooks have access to: Guest, Inet, and WCS. Each have different levels of network access. Make sure you are using the right one to meet your needs and avoid the panic when a site you swore worked yesterday no longer works by following the tips below!

Guest: This is designed for visitors to our district. Depending on where you access this network from, you may need to have a sponsor that can approve your accessing the network. This is also the most limited network. There are a large number of blocked websites. 

Inet: The Inet is the default setting for many of the Chromebooks and is most like what students have access to. It has a medium level of access to sites. If you are having trouble accessing certain websites or portions of websites (videos, images, etc.), this is a good place to look first in your troubleshooting. Many sites use larger hosts like Amazon or Google for their content and they will occasionally be blocked by this network. The login information for this network is programmed into the Chromebooks. 

WCS: This network is tied to your login information, so it gives teachers more access to sites they may need.  It is the least locked down of the websites and offers access to a number of sites that may not work on other networks. If you can access a site like Netflix to show a documentary or instructional video from your desktop, but not on a Chromebook, you are most likely not signed into WCS on the laptop. In order to sign in there are a few steps that you need to take. 

1. Go to the toolbar at the bottom of your screen and click on the clock at the bottom right

2. Click on the WiFi symbol and choose WCS

3. Fill in the login info...

-You will need to do several things in order to do this:

a. Change the EAP method from LEAP to PEAP. 

b. Type in your username (whatever your Google login is minus the @westerville.k12.oh.us

c. Type in your password- the same that you use for Google login. 

You should be connected! Happy Interneting! As always, if you have questions or want to know more about the technology available to you, contact your friendly neighborhood ed-tech coach!

Accessing Student Account Information

"Hey teacher! Do you know my password for..."

We've heard it a hundred times. Kids forget their passwords or parents need to know how to access some of the digital products we offer. In Westerville, we have three main passwords that students and parents need to know in order to get access to most of their digital products.

1. Google
2. PowerSchool
3. Schoology - parent access codes

Often times I hear that students have gone to the office to ask a secretary or a counselor for their passwords. But teachers have access to these as well and are typically the best contact for a student or parents trying to be involved in the digital side of a student's education.

All of the passwords listed above can be found in the PowerSchool Administrative portal. Teachers can access this by going to the Westerville City Schools main website.

From there, teachers can sign in using their district username and password. District staff members with PowerSchool access can find these by searching for the student in PowerSchool, clicking on “Custom Screens”, then clicking “Student at a Glance (Parent Permissions).”

The parent access code for Schoology is needed by parents if they would like to create their own Schoology account and connect it with their child. They will be able to see all of their student's classes and submitted work, connect with the classroom teacher, and check grades and comments. This only has to be done one time, as the courses they see will be updated yearly to reflect the student current course enrollment.

The Student Google account is what kids need to sign in to district desktops, Chromebooks, and their Google account at home. From there they can access other digital products the district owns independently or using the Clever app provided.

Lastly, the PowerSchool access ID and password is provided for students and parents to be able to access their official grades and schedule. 

Having access to these passwords can help a student save a lot of time by removing the need for them to attempt to get them from someone working in the front office. 

With power comes responsibility, so make sure that you are only giving passwords to approved people. Never email a password. Finally, please make sure you log out of websites that host passwords to ensure that people near your computer aren't able to access confidential information.

As always, contact your Ed Tech Coach if you have any questions or want to talk about how to implement new ideas in your classroom with your students! #WestervilleWay