Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Useful Links for 1:1 Laptop Parents

Welcome to Seoul Foreign Schools 1:1 Laptop program. Below you will find useful resources that will help you understand the program and help you navigate the laptop's use at home.

Why a 1:1 Laptop Program?




Useful Links


FAQs on the 1:1 program


Required Computer Specs (Option B is the only option for parents with students in Grade 5/Year 6 +)

Parental Control

At SFS we feel the the laptop belongs to the parents. We  strongly encourage parents to setup the admin account on the Mac in their name and grant access to the student. The Parental Controls is a good way to monitor and restrict access. Although we do not suggest locking down features of the laptop we do recommend doing the following:

  • Setting time restrictions (when the computer can be turned on in the morning and when it will turn off in the evening. (There are separate settings for weekdays and weekends)
  • Monitoring what sites have been accessed and for how long
If you add any restrictions to access to the Internet you may find sites that are needed for school will not be able to be reached and you may be called to allow access. The other option is to provide your child's homeroom teacher with the admin username and password.

The following documents will explain parental controls and show you how to set this feature up.


https://upload.wikimedia.org


Need further help or have a question?

Contact your child's teacher or the Digital Learning Coaches at: dlc@seoulforeign.org




Monday, August 20, 2018

Are your Internet habits harming wildlife?

An interesting article from the BBC Website.
Photo by Lance Anderson on Unsplash
"It’s a familiar impulse for animal lovers, but is our appreciation of the adorable helping or harming wildlife?
Red pandas are extremely popular online, they even share their nickname with an internet browser – Firefox. Search for the animals there and you’ll rapidly disappear into a rabbit hole of images and videos of the fluffy creatures cavorting in the snow, overreacting to stones and generally being cute (though mostly in captivity). The location conspicuously missing from these videos is the forests from Nepal to China where the animals live in the wild. Following a 50 per cent decline in their populations over the last three generations."
Quote from BBC website
Full article

Is it time to change your SFS password?

Your SFS password works for GSuite, signing you onto the school wi-fi, logging you into the printers around campus, etc.
  • Is your password the original one the school gave you that includes your ID number? 
  • Has it been longer than 6 months since you changed your password? 
  • Does anyone (besides your parents or maybe a teacher if you are in lower grades) know your password? 
  • Has anyone besides you somehow gotten access to your accounts? 
If you answered yes to any of those questions, it's time to change your password. Check out this video to learn about passphrases and how to reset it. (Skip to 3:33 if you want to go directly to the how-to.) 

Update: The character limit is now 8 characters. 



After resetting your password, you will need to log back in to SFS wifi and change the Job Accounting Password on your printer settings. 







Sunday, August 19, 2018

Eduro learning: 10 Hidden GoogleDoc features every student should know

Download PDF (must be logged into SFS Google Account)

Download PDF (must be logged into SFS Google Account)

1:1 Teacher Micro Credential available now

Get ready for back to school by learning something new! Eduro Learning has a variety of ways for you to continue your learning, including free resources, short courses, and course bundles.

Want to take your learning to the next level? Registration for The 1:1 Teacher microcredential, a year-long mentorship for teachers in the 1:1 classroom, is now open!
This academic-year-long online mentorship program includes 24 weeks of course content learning (divided into 4 key themes for a 1:1 learning environment) which enable you to immediately implement your learning within your own school setting. Highly experienced and approachable mentors provide ongoing support via weekly emails, regular video conference meetings, and forum feedback.

The next cohort of The 1:1 Teacher microcredential begins September 10th. 
Learn More

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Getting around Seoul



Last year when I first arrived in Seoul, I downloaded the following apps to help me get around...


(Photo by diGital Sennin on Unsplash)

Apps to get you around Seoul: City Mapper, Subway Korea, Kakao Taxi and the SFS Vehicle Checkout System



City Mapper is a good way to compare travel time and route options for subway vs. bus vs. driving. It's my "go to" for bus travel.


If you decide to take the subway, "Subway Korea" is your best option.





KakaoT is for taxis.



But let's be honest, even though they were on my phone, it took at least a month to start using them, partially because I was so busy adjusting to a new school, but also because I was too lazy to use them when I could follow people who knew where they were going. So, when you're ready to head out on your own, here are some tutorials.

Here's a quick demo of City Mapper and Subway Korea.


KakaoT
I know many SFS staff use Kakao Taxi (apparently KakaoT now because it includes other types of transport), but I usually stick with my BMW (bus, metro, walk), so I'm not the best person to ask about this service. This vid is from 2017, but apparently there have been some updates, and more of the app is in English. If anyone has a better tutorial (or wants to make one 😍), post the link in the comments, or shoot us an email and we'll swap it out for this one.


How can I check out an SFS Vehicle? 


How do you get around Seoul? If you have any other apps or helpful hints, add a link in the comments or email dlc@seoulforeign.org

If online tutorials aren't for you and you want help in real life, come see a digital learning coach. We would love to help you with this, and to meet you if you are new!





SFS newbies mobile phone and Internet info

SFS Newbies Mobile Phone and Internet Info



Mobile phones are very popular in Korea and many of the teachers purchase them after they arrive. Your mobile phone may work here in Korea if it is UNLOCKED. Phones purchased from carriers in the US such as AT&T or Verizon are normally locked and cannot be used in Korea.

(Photo by Vivek Kumar on Unsplash



Bringing your own phone: A new feature in Seoul is a tourist SIM that is available at some of the corner stores. You will need your passport for ID to active the SIM later online. You can also buy a tourist SIM at the airport at counter 55 or at the CVS4You convenience store. The airport is the simplest place to buy these SIM cards. You might find them at 7-Elevens in town. Here’s a map of suggested 7-Elevens that sell them. Tourist SIMs can be used for a month. There are 3 types and you can read about them here. 

Buying a phone in Korea: If you want to buy a new mobile phone here you will need to wait until you have your alien card and bank book and that could be at the end of August. If you need phone service right off from the airport, you might consider purchasing a temporary phone at the airport for the first month.

More about phones: Later on, each person needs to open their own bank account in Seoul if you want to start a phone plan. You can purchase two phone lines per bank account, one post-paid and one pre-paid. As the alien cards come out in early September you will be without cell phones until then if you do not buy a Tourist SIM or rent a phone at the airport. Of course you can use your apartment land line. One last thing to note; there’s a special number (1330) you can call to ask for all sorts of “tourist” info – movies, restaurants, translate for the taxi, etc.

Getting online:
On campus - You can purchase a wireless router or bring one with you and follow the directions that come with the router. Expect to pay around KRW 100,000 or more for a good router. Bigger is better and more antennas is better :-) You can also purchase on Gmarket.com.

Typical router installation is as follows:
1. Connect to power.
2. Connect ethernet cable to the wall. 










3. Look for the wireless network on your laptop. In many cases the network name and password are on the bottom of the router or on the box.

Hilton - plug your router into the DSL/cable modem there and talk to the Suite A desk for help. 

On the school part of campus you should also see the WiFi network named SFSWiFi. You will need to enter your username and password to connect.
1. Username: firstname.lastname (note the “.”)
2. Password: the one you use to log in to SFS email

Need help? - visit the tech office (upper level of the aquatics building) or call them at 13051 from campus phones or 02-330-3100 and that extension from home. Home internet connections are not officially their responsibility but they will do their best to help if possible. 

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Google Classroom: Getting Started


      Get started using Google Classroom



Further information go to: Teacher Tech with Alice Keeler

       10 Things to Start with in Google Classroom

1. Create a class
2. Create an announcement
3. Invite Students
4. Create an assignment
5. View the Classroom folder
6. Click the Assignment Title
7. Provide feedback
8. Return work
9. Provide a link
10. Ask a question
  
To find out how to do these 10 things, go to: Teacher Tech with Alice Keeler


Adding the SFS Six Day/ Eight Day Cycle Calendar to your Google account

Thanks to Paul Sanderson, you can add the six day cycle and eight day cycle calendars to your Google account.

The six day cycle calendar is used by the British and Elementary School.
The eight day cycle is used by the Middle and High Schools.


SFS Days calendars can be added to anyone's Google Calendar too (including parents with Gmail). 
To add both just repeat the process.

Step 1: Go to the links directly below.

SFS Days Six Day Calendar (BS/ES)


Step 2: Click the + Google Calendar button at the bottom of the calendar (shown by the arrow below)

Step 3: View this calendar as one of your Google Calendars.

For faculty: You will be able to add this calendar to your class Google Classroom sites.