Information Services
Massachusetts Online Network for Education (MassONE)

Newsletter - January 2011

Happy New Year!

As the second decade of the twenty-first century unfolds, it's a great time to explore ways that technology can engage students and enhance their learning. This newsletter offers a few ideas to help you get started.

Learn to Use MassONE

If you'd like to know more about how to use MassONE's tools, there are several resources that can help: Once you have logged into MassONE, look for these resources:

• On the main announcements page, there are links to our MassONE Quickguide and our Student Quickguide. These quick tutorials will help you get up and running.

• For more in-depth information, you can take the MassONE Orientation. To access it, click the TLR in the menu bar on the left. Then click "Online Courses" and then "MassONE Orientation."

• For help with specific tools, you can use the MassONE Help tutorials. To access them, click the Help icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen. Then select the topic.

Teachers' Domain offers a wealth of resources

If you haven't checked out Teachers' Domain, make a New Year's resolution to try it! Massachusetts Teachers' Domain offers free access to thousands of classroom-ready media tools, including video clips, interactive activities, and lesson plans--all aligned with the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks. This rich resource collection is pulled from a variety of sources, including public television programming, government agencies, museums, libraries, and academic institutions.

MassONE allows users to navigate directly from MassONE to Teachers' Domain, without needing to enter another password. To access Teachers' Domain, simply log onto MassONE and click the TD icon in the toolbar on the left. If you already have a Teachers' Domain account, you will be prompted to connect your accounts together by signing in to your TD account when you first access Teachers' Domain through MassONE. After doing that, you will be able to access your TD account simply by clicking the TD icon in MassONE.

If you do not have a TD account, you will need to register with Teachers' Domain in order to view the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks correlations and take advantage of the personalized features. When you set up a new account, it will be automatically linked to MassONE so that you can access TD through MassONE from then on.

New Resources in Teachers' Domain

Teachers' Domain recently launched two new environmental collections: Climate Literacy (http://www.teachersdomain.org/special/climlit/) a collection from a range of public media producers based upon the Essential Principles of Climate Literacy; and LOOP SCOOPS (http://www.teachersdomain.org/special/lpsc/), a collection of short, fun animated videos that help elementary students think more deeply and creatively about the stuff in their lives and the impact their choices have on the environment.

MassONE Evaluation Underway

The Department has contracted with Learning Innovations at WestEd to do an evaluation of MassONE. WestEd has spent the past two months speaking with students, teachers who use MassONE with their students, educators who use MassONE for professional development, and staff from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Results of the evaluation will appear in the next newsletter.

Help Using MassONE

If you need help with a problem, start by contacting your district's MassONE Admin. A list of Admins is posted on the MassONE web site at: http://massone.mass.edu/Admins/list.html If your district doesn't have a MassONE Admin, or if the Admin is unable to resolve your problem, you can contact the MassONE Help Desk at MassONEHelp@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-3020.

Did You Forget Your MassONE Username or Password?

If you misplaced your username or password, you can quickly and easily retrieve them anytime. To do so, just go to MassONE's home page and click "Forgot Username or Password?" To provide security, MassONE uses a two-step process. First you need to provide some basic information, along with a new password. Then MassONE will instantly email you a secure link, along with your user name and password. When you click the link in the email, your password is reset. You should do this as soon as possible, because the link expires after 24 hours. For security reasons the password reset tool cannot be made available to students. To reset a student's password, choose your classroom workgroup, click on the "Admin" icon at the top of the screen, and then click "Reset Password."

Back issues of newsletters

If you missed any previous issues of the MassONE newsletter, you can now find them on the MassONE web site. To access them, click MassONE News Archives on the MassONE home page.