Monthly Archives: April 2008

Troubleshooting Wireless Issues

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Wireless issues can be very frustrating because teachers often don’t know what to look for or how to troubleshoot. Here’s a quick checklist of things to look for when problems arise, and there is a handout with more information that you can download from the Box widget in the sidebar.

  1. Check the Power

    Are both of the black electrical cords are plugged in?
    Are both power switches on the back turned on?

  2. Check the Network Connection

    Is the Ethernet cable (the one that looks like a phone jack) plugged in?
    Is it plugged into a “hot” port?

  3. Check the Wireless Access Point on top of the cart

    Is the wireless access point getting power?

  4. Make sure that the wireless is enabled on the computer

    Has the wireless been accidentally disabled?

  5. Check for low, very low, or no connectivity

    Are some computers not picking up a wireless signal even though you have a working access point in your room?

  6. Check for a cart in a nearby room that is not connected

    Is there a cart nearby that is getting power but the network cable is not connected?

Don’t ever hesitate to ask for help from your technician or ITRT! Hopefully, though, this checklist will help you out when help is not immediately available. Remember the handout in the Box in the sidebar too if you don’t already have a copy.

VoiceThread.com

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Many of you have recorded podcasts, and a few of you have mentioned that it would be nice to be able to add pictures. Well, now there is an easy and *free* online tool that lets you do just that. You can also skip around, so you can go straight to the student/picture that you are interested in. The web site is Voicethread.com.

Here’s a example of a voicethread we did with Melanie Smith’s first grades at West Salem after they created their own robots and wrote stories about them:

To set up your own account, go to voicethread.com and register for a new account. Then click on the Go Pro button, then click the K-12 Educators click here link. Complete the form and be sure to use your school email address so you can get a *free* Pro account.

After you have activated your account, let me know and I’ll help you get started with your first voicethread. I like to set the “Share” settings as public with comments, comment moderation ON, and Listed on Browse NO. This way, I can embed the voicethread on a blog or website, I can send the link to someone, but it will not be visible to someone just browsing through the site.

How can you use this great tool? How about book reviews, field trip pictures, digital stories, or even SOL reviews? Here are a few links to help give your more ideas:

VoiceThreads in the Classroom

VoiceThreads Examples

Second Grade Book Reviews (great project for any grade!)

Create Your Own Ending Story