Network Management: One Click Access to Websites
by Jenni Donohoo

When sending students to the Internet, it is important to give them direction and purpose for its use. By previewing websites in advance, teachers eliminate the unknown. One of the easiest ways to assist students in navigating the Internet is to direct them to the sites that are linked to the Student Reference Portal. If a link to the website you would like your students to access is not a part of the Student Reference Portal, it is possible to give them one click access to the site by following the instructions below. This strategy is particulary useful for primary teachers. No longer will students need to type in lengthy and complicated web addresses. All they will need to do is logon and click on the link you provide.

Macintosh Manager Users:
Your SSTs have found a way to make this a quick and simple process in Macintosh Manger. In a short amount of time your SST will set up a Work Group entitled 'Internet'. When you login, choose the 'Internet' Work Group. The screen that will appear will look differently than what you are use to.

Step One: Click on the icon 'Items for Internet'.

Step Two: Inside you will find a link to Internet Explorer. Launch Internet Explorer and locate the web page(s) you would like your students to access.

Step Three: Re-size the 'Items for Internet' window so that you can see your Desktop. Double click on your Home Directory icon (e.g. JDoe). Re-size and re-position the windows so that both are open and visible. Create a folder inside your Home Directory. Ctrl+Click anywhere inside your Home Directory window. A pop-up menu will appear. Choose 'New Folder'. You may want to name the folder 'URL Links'.

Step Four:

Back in your 'Items for Internet' window, locate the website you want to share with your students. Drag and drop the URL into your Home Directory by placing your cursor over top of the @ sign inside the address field, holding down your mouse button and dragging it from the one window (Items for Internet) and into the other (your Home Directory). Switch to your class panel to distribute the address to your class members.

Step Five: Open both your 'Documents Panel' and 'Your Class Panel' in Macintosh Manager. Within your 'Documents Panel' you shoud see the folder for the 'URL Links'. Open the folder and locate the link to the Internet site. Ctrl+Click on the link to get a pop-up menu. Choose Hand Out...

This window will verify that you want to send the link to all users in a group (e.g. 5D).

When the students login, they will find the link to the website in a folder entitled 'Handouts' in their Documents Panel. They can double click on it to access the website directly.

SchoolConnect Users:
Step One: Logon to SchoolConnect and launch Internet Explorer. Visit the site you wish to share with your students.

Step Two: Re-size your Internet Explorer window so that you can see part of your Desktop. Click on the "e" at the beginning of the Internet addess and hold down the mouse button. Drag the address to your Desktop and release the mouse button. Close Internet Explorer. You should now see an link to the webpage located on your Desktop. (If you wish you can change the name of the site by right clicking on the icon and selecting 'rename').

Step Three: Drag the icon from your Desktop and into your class group icon. When the class group icon darkens, release the mouse button.

When students login and open their class icon, they will see the link. To access the website, they can double click on the link.