Technical Information

Home Technology Notes

Below you will find what we hope will be helpful information for you to be successful in using your home technology for school work. As we become aware of issues people might be having, we will do our best to find resolutions and present them here. As there are endless combinations of hardware and software available to students at home, we cannot necessarily support every combination.

Browsers, Plug-ins and Web Pages

In working with some vendors in the past, the only solution to making some web pages or online services work is to:

• Update your browser

• Update plug-ins like Flash and Java

• Disable pop-up blockers

• Use different plug-ins like Adobe PDF Reader

• Use different internet browser software

Not all browsers are equal and not all web page designers support all browsers. To that end, you might need to use a different browser to access specific resources. Our experience at this time indicates that Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge (new version) and Internet Explorer support the widest range of resources.

Video Formats and Video Players

There are many formats in which videos and pictures can be stored. As teachers will be using multiple tools in the effort to deliver your student the best learning experience they can, they may be creating multiple video formats. Depending on the device on which you are attempting to view a video, you might have issues. Not all software/apps will play all video formats. MIS uses VideoLAN’s free video software VLC in school which plays a wide variety of formats. This can be download here for the Windows version and here for the Mac version. All supported versions can be found here.

Click here for instructions on making VLC your default under Windows 10.

Click here for instructions on making VLC your default video player on a mac.

In all cases, it is a better practice to download any video if that is an option. This should give you a better viewing experience.

Edmodo Learning Management System (LMS)

Edmodo is used by the 5th - 8th grade students. Some useful resources are:

• How Parents Sign Up for Parent Accounts:

  • https://support.edmodo.com/hc/en-us/articles/205008584-How-Parents-Sign-up-for-Parent-Accounts

• What Do Parents See on a Parent Account:

  • https://support.edmodo.com/hc/en-us/articles/205008574-What-Do-Parents-See-on-a-Parent-Account

•  Student: Turn-in Assignments:

  • https://support.edmodo.com/hc/en-us/articles/205009544

•  General Edmodo Help:

  • https://support.edmodo.com/hc/en-us

For MIS assistance on Edmodo, please contact our Instructional Technology Specialist and 4-8 technology teacher, Sandra Loshelder at sloshelder@mischool.org.