10 Digit Phone Numbers

I'm not sure if you've heard or not, but there will be some changes coming to phone dialing in our area. Here's an ARTICLE from the Cedar Rapids Gazette talking about the upcoming changes. Here's another ARTICLE from SouthSlope, who's our phone provider about upcoming changes, etc.

So, what does this mean for us here at CCSD and our phone system?

Beginning 4/24/21 you can use the 10 digit for local numbers on all phones in the district. If the number is long distance, you will still need to start with the 1+area code for those calls and they will only work on phones set up for long distance.

Any local numbers stored on district phones or fax machines will need to be updated to the 10 digit calling number. As it mentions in the SouthSlope article, there is a grace period from 4/24 until 10/24/21 for users to make this change. I would recommend making these changes now as to not forget about them in the future.

Comments

Passwords - oh passwords!

We just recently sent this message to our staff: Greetings! In our continuing efforts to create a more technology secure environment, we are going to begin to enforce the following rules for STAFF passwords in Google. All passwords must be a minimum length of 12 characters. We recommend passwords that are passphrases, for example “ilovechipsandsalsa”. While we are enforcing a password length requirement, at this time we are not requiring complexity through special characters, or symbols, or upper case letters. All staff will be required to create a new password every 180 days. We will begin enforcing these policies on Wednesday November 16th. When you log into your Google account, you will be prompted to update your password. A few other items regarding this change. Infinite Campus passwords will not be affected. Teacher MacBook logins, office staff’s windows logins, any business office/HR logins, or other website logins will not be affected. Para tablets, chromebooks, or ot...

Webfilter update

Just this week we implemented a new webfilter. Many of you use GoGuardian's teacher classroom management system so you would be familiar with that platform. We are now also using their content filter to ensure CIPA compliance for our network, on student and staff devices. In part of this implementation, you may have noticed some times of certain sites that were allowed in the past getting blocked now, or vice versa. We will be continuing to monitor the filter and if things pop up that you or students need access to please reach out.

Personal Device and Personal Accounts

We have received some recent guidance regarding personal cell phone use from Matt Carver, Legal Council for School Administrators of Iowa that we felt would be beneficial to pass along to you. LINK TO ARTICLE (NOTE ARTICLE IS ON PAGE 4). Please know that although this article is directed toward school administrators, it applies to ALL school employees . One key point that I want to reiterate is this paragraph below: "Does this mean that all communications between school employees or representatives are subject to public records requests? NO. Again, consider if the communication is about official business. If the communication does not relate to the employee or board member carrying out their official duties or making a decision about the school district, a student, or another employee, then it is unlikely the communication is subject to a request. Remember that public employees have constitutionally protected rights to speak on matters of public concern in their pe...

CCSD Tech Hawks

Search This Blog