We have been getting lots of questions about the proper way to clean student Chromebooks, document cameras, dongles and other shared technology throughout the building. All of these devices can be cleaned with the cleaning supplies being provided by our Physical Plant department. In addition, they can be cleaned with any household cleaner that does not contain corrosive chemicals like bleach. Corrosive chemicals would result in the screen "etching" or losing its protective covering. 

Also, if the cleaner is a spray, please make sure to spray the cleaner on the rag or paper towel, wipe the equipment and then wipe it dry. Please do not spray cleaner directly on the devices as it could result in damage.
 
Attached is a cleaning 
flyer, feel free to use or share it as needed. I'm also sending something similar out to our families.
 
Device Cleaning Tips

The State College Area School District will be utilizing GoGuardian this school year. This product helps the district by providing web filtering solutions for district devices and accounts as well as additional teacher tools in the classroom to support student learning. We are excited to announce that GoGuardian has released a new optional Parent App. It is a mobile app to help keep parents and guardians aware of your children's browsing activity, app usage, and more. GoGuardian Parent is a companion to the classroom management and internet filtering tools that your child's school uses for devices issued to students. Through the use of this app, we hope to encourage more open and honest conversations between parents and children that will result in safer practices and responsible browsing habits.

What is the intention of the app?

By providing insight into student browsing habits, our goal is to empower parents to take a more active role in their children's online learning. We aim to create a greater sense of transparency with student browsing to help bring about a greater sense of accountability on both the parent's and the student's part. We also believe that transparency and insight will increase the likelihood of productive student browsing habits on a more consistent basis.

What is included in this app:

  • Top 5 summary of student browsing (apps, extensions, documents, and websites visited)
  • 30-day view of websites, videos, documents, apps, and extensions

To access the app, please follow the below instructions:

  1. Download the app
    1. iPhone: Visit App Store, search for GoGuardian Parent, and tap the download button.
    2. Android: Visit Google Play Store, search for GoGuardian Parent, and tap the download button.
  2. After the app is successfully downloaded and installed, open it up and enter the email address registered with the school. Note: If you forgot your registered email address, please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
  3. Login/Check Email: Check your email on your phone for a link to log in to the app. Tap the "Verify your email" button, and it will take you straight to the app. Note: If you don't have access to your email through the device you used to log in, tap on "Login with verification code", and copy and paste the verification code from the email into the app.

If you have any questions, you can reach us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 814-231-7743.

IT Services has been working this summer to add additional resources to our IT Central application. We are pleased to announce that a new section called “User Profile” has been released. This section will include a variety of information relevant to employees including account information, badge access, digital agreements, assigned equipment and phone routing.

Each section will be described below, but please make sure to check out the Phone Routing section. We are extremely excited about some of the new features there that will assist teachers should we go remote.

Phone Routing:

  • We have redesigned the phone routing application based on the feedback you provided to us earlier in the summer. The new system continues to allow teachers to route their phone to voicemail, a classroom phone or cellphone as needed. In addition, we have implemented a new “Directory” phone number for SCASD. Families can call 814-231-1192 and enter the staff member’s extension or say their name to be transferred. 

    Routing District Phone Number Knowledge Base Article

Assigned Equipment:

  • This section will display all district equipment that we have on file as being assigned to the staff member.

Digital Agreements:

  • We will be using this section to have equipment agreements signed digitally moving forward instead of the paper forms that have been used in the past.

Badge Access:

  • This will display which buildings a staff member has access to with their district badge.

Account Information:

  • This section will display general information about the staff member for their reference.

IT Services has recently been working on updating our website and we heard from all of you a desire for content and videos to allow you to begin working through some of the technology or classroom changes that we are facing with the upcoming school year. We are happy to announce that we have a lot of this content now developed for you. It is hosted under its own "Remote Learning" section on the site with a subsection just for faculty. 
 
The site will give you insights on things like:
  • Classroom Technology (How will remote students connect? What platform are we using? Do doc cams work, etc.)
  • Google Meet (How do I use it? Can I record, etc.)
  • GoGuardian (What is it? How do we use it? How do we help students, etc.)
We hope these are helpful. Here is a direct link to this section of the website, but please check the main page regularly for announcements and new content. 
 

Faculty Remote Learning Resources

 

The State College Area School District has entered into an exciting new agreement with the Schlow Centre Region Library (SCRL) called the All Ready Access program. The All Ready Access program will create an infrastructure that will allow all SCASD students to access SCRL’s online resources freely while at home and at school. SCRL will serve as an extension of the classroom, and our shared goals of increasing literacy and educational success will be realized by developing a comprehensive, strategic, and sustainable collaboration between the two organizations. 

  1. Google Meet vs. Zoom
  2. New SCASD IT Website