Campus Portal Mobile Application Has a New Version

The Campus Portal Mobile Application has been updated to version 2.0. The new version has some great features, including the ability to see food service info, such as the amount of money left in the student's lunch account.

How to get started:

1. Log in to the Campus Portal from a Web browser. (http://www.oregonsd.org/portal)
2. Select the App Stores image (located under the Process Inbox). A new browser page displays listing three steps for how to connect your device to the Campus Portal. Note this ID number.
3. Download the app. When the app opens, the Settings option displays.
4. Enter the six digit District ID number found in Step 2 in the District ID field.
5. Enter your Campus Portal username and password.
6. Press Go or Sign In. Data will begin to download.

Videos illustrating how to use the App are available at  http://media.infinitecampus.com/public/html/mobile/moreinfo.html

Seasonal links, safe shopping tips, and new technologies

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Google trots out some resources for the long holiday weekend.

http://www.google.com/insidesearch/landing/holidays.html

If you have Google Chrome, this model of 100,000 stars is pretty amazing. It gives you an interesting perspective of how far away we are from our nearest stellar neighbors.

http://workshop.chromeexperiments.com/stars/

The holiday season is a common time for families to buy a new computer. New PCs will ship with Windows 8, which is a very different user experience from previous versions of Windows, like XP and Windows 7. Take a look at Windows 8 features so you can be prepared for the change.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/meet

Speaking of buying a computer for the holidays, Google has a Chromebook for $249, designed for web-based work. I wouldn't recommend it as a replacement for the only computer in a home, but as an additional computer for a student, it seems like a useful device. It provides web-based access 

Practice safe shopping on Black Friday!

Lots of people will shop online to avoid the crowds this season. Be sure to avoid scams and shop safely by following these safe shopping tips:

1. Look for https in the address bar of your browser. This means your credit card information will be encrypted during transit.
2. Only buy from vendors you trust. Encrypting your credit card info doesn't help if you are sending it to a shady site you've never heard of, which could take your money and run.
3. Make sure the URL (website address) matches with the site you think you are using. Beware of typos. Sometimes sites will appear in a web search, but they go to unreliable (or even nefarious) websites, hoping that the unbelievable deals will distract you from noticing that you aren't on the correct site.
4. Don't give out too much personal info. Nobody needs to know your birthday, income level, mother's name, or driver's license number to sell you something. Well, unless you are buying a car, in which case you really shouldn't be buying it online anyway. 

Getting rid of the junk on YouTube

YouTube has lots of great videos, but I really don't like using it with students because of all the inappropriate stuff on the site. Even if a particular video itself is completely appropriate, the "related videos" or promoted videos posted along the side can be inappropriate. In addition, comments on YouTube are notoriously mean-spirited and profane.

A web browser plug-in called clea.nr helps with this problem by showing just the video itself on a plain white page. Here are some screenshots that illustrate the difference.

Regular YouTube, without the clea.nr extension:

Now here is the same video, with the clea.nr extension activated. Notice all the beautiful, uncluttered white space around it.

To get started, go to http://clea.nr, click on Extension, and then click the giant button. This will add the extension to your current browser. Then, when you go to a YouTube video, you'll see just the video, not all the stuff around it. The browser extension is free, and works with Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. (If you are still using Internet Explorer, you really should switch to one of these other browsers.) Clea.nr also offer iOS apps for a small price so that you can get the same features on an iPod or iPad.

Hopefully you will find this useful for sharing YouTube videos with children.