Have you ever been frustrated by the fact that some aspect of the district's network has become unavailable to you? Here are ways for you to find out more about such occurances, and whether they are affecting you alone, or the entire district. Please be aware that these notifications are usually made during NSD business hours (which is why the weekend's outages were not posted until Monday morning!).
If you are experiencing an issue with a district service (i.e. Zimbra's webmail, NSD Cloud, Atomic Learning, Online Report cards, eSIS, Discovery Streaming, etc.) check the following items first:
- Be sure that you are indeed able to access the internet. Check your wireless signal. If it is not working (and you are at school), turn off your wireless (turn Airport off) and plug into an ACTIVE ethernet port using an ethernet cable,
- If your signal/access to the internet is good (meaning that you can access Google.com or other websites), make sure that you have the correct web address for the site that you are seeking (remember, Zimbra = http://mail.nsd.org, Cloud = http://cloud.nsd.org, Atomic Learning = http://atomiclearning.nsd.org, Discovery Streaming = http://discoverystreaming.nsd.org, Online Report cards = http://reportcard.nsd.org, eSIS = http://www.nsd.org/esis, etc.)
- Make sure that you are using the most current password to access these sites. (Remember that some sites have set passwords that do not change when you update your email password, such as SchoolCenter, eSIS, PD Place, and now employee online. Most of these sites have a link that will either send you your password, or a link to reset your password.)
- If you are still unable to access these services, here are some ways that you can find out if it's a district wide issue , or just you:
- Go to http://www.nsd.org/techalerts to view the most recent alerts about Technology related issues that affect the entire district
- Subscribe to Tech Alerts and receive email notification of these issues (good for work and personal email accounts - see instructions below)
- Inquire with your STS or neighborhood TRT
If the problem is JUST YOU, you will definitely need to fill out a Work Order or call the Technology Help Desk at x6688
To see the Tech Alerts in Apple Mail only:
Open the Apple Mail Program
1. From the File menu, choose "Add RSS Feeds"
2. In the Window that pops up, use the following URL - http://www.nsd.org/education/rss.php?sectiondetailid=60653
3. You may choose to have these messages come to your inbox (as an email) by checking the box. If you do NOT check this box, the messages will appear in their own "folder" listed on the left menu under the RSS heading (click the triangle to expand the selection if you do not see it). Click "Add".
To see the Tech Alerts in Zimbra (as well as Apple Mail):
1. Log into your Zimbra webmail account (http://mail.nsd.org)
2. Next to the word Folders on the left hand side, click on the icon of a folder with the a green plus sign
3. Give the Folder a name (i.e. NSD Tech Alerts), and a color if you like (I use red for the RSS feed icon). Check the box for Subscribe to RSS/ATOM feed, and use the following URL - http://www.nsd.org/education/rss.php?sectiondetailid=60653. Click OK.
To receive the Tech Alerts to a personal email account or cell phone (great for when the NSD email server is down, and you don't have access to http://www.nsd.org/techalerts):
1. Go to the Tech Alerts Webpage (http://www.nsd.org/techalerts)
2. Scroll down to the very BOTTOM of the page, and click on the Subscribe icon on the lower right (looks like a small envelope with a blue letter inside)
3. Fill in an email address (or wireless/cell phone number - using the standard format shown)
4. Click the Submit button. You will now receive email or text messages
(remember that messaging rates do apply)
every time a new tech alert is posted.
5. **If you use Microsoft's outlook for a personal email account (Comcast, Frontier, etc.) I can show you how to use Firefox to set up a Feed to your home email acount (this must be completed on your home machine).
