Tech Questions & Answers

Chrome books are very simple computers whose programs and documents are ALL stored in the cloud. Because of this, Chromebooks only work if they are connected to WiFi or a hotspot (a cellphone or portable device connecting to the cellular network in order to provide WiFi).

Logging onto any Chromebook with a Vestal ID will take your student to their classroom and documents. If you are using a personal Chromebook with an @gmail login, your student will need to log out and then log in with their Vestal email. Multiple students can share a Chromebook, but they will have to log off every time they switch users. Two people cannot be logged in at the same time on a single chromebook.

How to login to a Chromebook from home: https://scric.service-now.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0012506

Open Chromebookand connect to Wifi. Make sure other Google users are logged out, or use a different Internet browser.

Login window opens (or you click on ADD USER and then login window opens)

#1 Check to see is CAP LOCKS is on. It shouldn’t matter for the username, but it will matter for the password. Turn it off if it is on.

#2 COPY and PASTE the username instead of typing (saves chance of typos) firstname.lastname@vestal.k12.ny.us

#3 Password: Varies by student. If password begins with an ` character, make sure that you are NOT using an apostrophe. Find the ` on a regular keyboard in the upper left corner, next to the 1 key. Find it on an iPhone by holding down the apostrophe key until an array of choices appears; the ` is at the far left.

Make sure you typed the username and password exactly as they were given (you can even copy and paste them usually). Delete any extra spaces in the beginning, middle or end of your username or password.

If the above steps do not work try the username and password again, but this time:

#4 Try the username without the email domain. At school we do not need the email info for the Chromebooks-it is worth a try.

If you still cannot log in, contact Malinda Miller (mrmiller@vestal.k12.ny.us) or Anna Gebbie (akgebbie@vestal.k12.ny.us) for further assistance.

Google classrooms are private websites where teachers can post things like messages, assignments and documents for their students, and students can respond. Only invited students and their parents can see a given classroom. The default setting for your classroom is to send you an email every time the teacher posts new content; many parents prefer to turn this off (see Google Classroom notifications for details. We recommend that you and your student check their classroom once every day for new assignments, materials and Zoom/Hangout/Meet times.

Malinda Miller's step-by-step guide to signing in to a Google Classroom: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10wIkI4gx6Y5V0sA6swxyoyQzSOpAX2Cv/view You can also find it at the bottom of the VHE Home Learning page.

Albanian I Arabic I Bengali I Chinese I English I French I Haitian-Creole I Russian I Spanish I Korean I Urdu

Google Classroom Tutorial Videos: English I Spanish I Wolof

Google Classrooms generate an email notification to students whenever new content is added. Your student can turn off their Classroom emails in the Settings section of the Classroom app. Here is a step-by-step guide: Turning Off Google Classroom Notifications - Students (1).pdf

Some teachers generate parent/guardian emails for their classrooms. If you want to manage or unsubscribe from these emails, you will need to use a Gmail account: https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6388136 You can also contact your student's teacher if you have concerns about the frequency of these communications.

Google has a great feature in which we can share live documents, which allows many people to work on the same thing at the same time. However, teachers often do not want students changing their original documents accidentally. In that case, they set the document’s permissions to "view only," meaning they cannot be edited. You are reading a “view only” document right now! If a teacher wants students to collaborate on a document, she/he will give them permission to edit.

If you would like to have your student change or respond to a “view only” document, you must go to "File" and then "Make a Copy." This will download your own copy of the document into your Google Drive, so that you can edit and use it. If you want to print a document without making changes, you can do that without making a copy.

These are video call and conferencing platforms, like Zoom.

Jams are like online white boards, where a teacher can post notes and images as part of a lesson. Like with Google documents, if your student would like to use a particular Jam, you must go to "File" and "Make a Copy"

This is a collection of sites and platforms under the Google brand. Your student should log into ALL of them using their Firstname.Lastname@vestal.k12.ny.us login, or they will not be able to access Vestal materials.

You will notice words that are underlined and the letters are blue/purple. These are hyperlinks, also known as links. If you click on the link, it will take you directly to a document, video, website, presentation, etc. Sometimes links are the actual website address, or URL. URLS oftens start with http or www and contain a domain name like google.com. URLs are the only links that you can copy and paste into your web browser; for all the others, you must click on the link.

MyApps https://scric.okta.com/app/UserHome

VCSD Home Learning Resources https://www.vestal.stier.org/COVID-19HomeLearningResources.aspx

VCSD Elementary Home Learning Resources https://www.vestal.stier.org/ElementaryHomeLearningResources.aspx

VHE https://sites.google.com/vestal.k12.ny.us/vestalhillselementary/home

VHE Home Learning https://sites.google.com/vestal.k12.ny.us/vestalhillselementary/home-learning-opportunities

VHE Libraratory https://sites.google.com/vestal.k12.ny.us/libraratory/home

VHE PE https://sites.google.com/vestal.k12.ny.us/vestalhillsphysed/at-home-activities

BOCES IT support for Home Learning: https://sites.google.com/btboces.org/school-closure-technology-supp/

My Apps provides one place to access all of your student’s commonly used sites and applications and helps maintain security. To log in, click https://scric.okta.com/ and use your full district email address and the same password that you use to log onto your computer at school.

Some documents are PDFs. Unless you have special software, these documents cannot be edited, even if you make a copy. Many info sheets and worksheets are PDFs; they are for you to read and/or print out.

Like you, teachers know that ink/toner cost money! They do not want to burden you with too much printing, and urge you to only print out the sheets your student needs to write on. If you are printing a few pages from a longer document, after you hit “Print,” change the setting from “All Pages” to “Custom” and specify which page numbers to print. It is also often possible to do the reading online and then the writing/math on a blank piece of paper. Please do whatever works best for you.