Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions
of students and parents.
- When will students be able to use their USB drives again?
- What is Kan-Ed?
- How do you access the Kan-Ed Backpack?
- How do I access and work on a file from the Backpack at home or at school?
- How often do students work in the Computer Lab?
- Is the Computer Lab available at any other times for students' use?
- Who supplies the floppy disks for primary students?
- Why do students in Grades 3-8 need portable USB devices?
- Where can portable USB devices be purchased and at what price?
- Why are students being charged for reprints?
- Why are students not allowed to use Jump/Flash Drives with software on them?
When will students be able to use their USB drives again?
We have successfully cleaned the Server of the Worm and Trojan
viruses . We are now in the process the of cleaning all of the
student USB drives that are stored here at school(Grades 3-5). As
soon as they are clean we will begin using USB drives again. We
are asking all Middle School students to bring in their USB
drives to be cleaned. After they are cleaned, we will be storing
Middle School students' USB drives here at school for use in
storing large project. Students in Grades 5-8 also have the
option for storing smaller project in their Backpack on the Kan-
Ed website.
What is Kan-Ed?
Kan-Ed is school resource website provided by the state of Kansas
for student and teacher use. Among other things, it contains
a "Backpack" with 25 mg of space in which students can securely
store documents. This site can be accessed from school or home or
anywhere. The address is http://kportal.learningstation.com. Each
student in Grades 5-8 was given a ticket that gave them a unique
Username, the school subscriptionID, and their unique password.
How do you access the Kan-Ed Backpack?
1. Save your document to My Documents.
2. Go to the Kan-Ed website (http://kportal.learningstation.com).
3. When the site opens, type in your unique username, the school
subscriptionID, and your unique password.
4. When the Cure of Ars Elementary Leawood page opens, click on
the Backpack tab.
5. When the Backpack opens, click on the Add file icon.
6. When the folder opens, click on the Browse button.
7. Navigate to My Documents (or wherever you saved the document).
8. Click on the file you want to add to the Backpack, and click
on the Open button.
9. It should add the document to the "Select a file. . ." box.
10. Click on the Upload File button. You shoud see a blue
uploading stripe. Voila! Your file is uploaded to the Backpack.
How do I access and work on a file from the Backpack at home or at school?
1. Open the Backpack.
2. Click on the file you want to work on.
3. In the pop-up box, click on Save and save the file to My
Documents.
4. Delete the item from your Backpack. Click on the tiny box in
front of the file to put a check in it, then click on the "delete
selected items" button.
5. Work on your document from My Documents. Bear in mind that the
school uses Office 2003 Professional software. If you have other
software or other versions of the software, the file may not open
at school. Most MAC software will not work at school.
6. When you are done, save it to My Documents.
7. Follow the process to upload a file to the Backpack.
How often do students work in the Computer Lab?
Grades K-3 spend 30 minutes in the Computer Lab each week at a
scheduled time. Grades 4 & 5 spend 40 minutes in the Computer Lab
each week at a scheduled time. Middle School students (Grades 6-
8) come in once a week with a regularly scheduled class (45-50
minutes. Middle School students also have keyboarding classes in
the Computer Lab.
8th Grade has keyboarding once a week at study period time during
the 1st &
3rd Quarters. 6th Grade has keyboarding once a week at study
period time
during the 2nd & 4th Quarters. 7th Grade has keyboarding every
other
Tuesday during their ancillary time.
Is the Computer Lab available at any other times for students' use?
Students are welcome to come to the Computer Lab to work most
mornings from 7:30 AM until 8:00 AM. The Computer Lab is also
available most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thurdays until 4:00 PM.
(Prior notice is recommended if planning to work after school.)
Occasionally, there is room available in the Computer Lab during
Study Period on a first-come-first-served basis. Students may
work in the Computer Lab ONLY if and when a teacher is present.
Who supplies the floppy disks for primary students?
Students in Grades K-2 are supplied by the school with floppy
disks. However, it is required that students in Grades 3-8 use a
Flash/Jump drive.
Why do students in Grades 3-8 need portable USB devices?
As we strive to meet technological goals in our curriculum, we
have increasingly become aware of the limitations of the floppy
disks. Students are producing beautiful PowerPoint and Publisher
projects that require significant amounts of memory.
Unfortunately, the students have encountered frustration and
heartache as they devote valuable time to their assignment
only to have the disk crash. The computer industry also seems
aware that floppy disks are becoming obsolete, as floppy disk
drives are no longer standard on most new computers. Our
solution to this problem is to require that each 3rd through 8th
Grade student purchase a portable USB device.
Where can portable USB devices be purchased and at what price?
Portable USB devices are available at all major computer stores
such as Micro Center, Office Max and Best Buy. They can even be
purchased at Target and WalMart. Ocassionally, they can be
purchased on sale for $7 to $20. The smallest device recommended
is 1G. This is sufficient for the students' needs; however, you
may choose to purchase one with larger memory if the price is
right. Be sure the device is "plug and play" and compatible with
Windows XP and does not have any other software on it that needs
to be installed for the device to work. Some brands that we know
will work at school are generic Micro Center, Lexar, Belkin,
Kingston, Verbatim and PNY. (We have had some difficulty with
SanDisk brands.) Watch the Sunday ads for bargains and rebates.
It is recommended that you hold your receipt until you can bring
the device to school to try it out to make sure it works with the
school computers. If you retain your receipt, you should be able
to return/exchange it for another one.
Why are students being charged for reprints?
Anyone who prints computer documents in color knows how expensive
it is to print in color. Multiply that by 700 and you get some
idea about the amount of money Cure spends on ink per year for
our printers. To help defray the cost of printer ink, students
may print one document in color free. If they need to reprint
the document due to errors, we are charging $1.00 per page of the
reprint. Therefore, it is very important that students carefully
proofread and print preview all their documents before printing.
Why are students not allowed to use Jump/Flash Drives with software on them?
When students plug in portable USB devices with software on them,
the software wants to automatically install on the computer they
are using. Since students do not have installation privileges on
school computers, their USB device may not work. It is
recommended that the software be removed from the USB devices
before they bring them to school.