SchoolNotes Tutorials - Click Here to Learn More

Clicking on the header above will take you to a list of tutorials on the different areas of your New SchoolNotes account.

Enjoy!

Adding Images

When you are working with images and graphics in your SchoolNotes page, there is one very important thing you must remember – Be sure you have permission to use other people’s graphics. There are many websites out there that will allow you to directly link to an image on their site as long as you provide the proper information for the graphics when you use them on your page(s). However, there are many sites that require you to download these images to your computer and give them your own internet space. This can be done easily with a free online program called “Image Shack”. You can download this free image hosting website at http://my.imageshack.us/registration/

There is a free and a subscribing version of this online program and I have used the free one for a few years now. What this program does is allows you to upload pictures from your computer onto this website to give them the “web space” needed to insert them into your SchoolNotes page(s). Just follow the directions to download this program onto your computer and upload your images.

Before adding images, be sure to note if you are using the Basic or Advanced Text Editor. This information can be found by clicking on "Manage/Edit Pages" then "Editor Settings."

NOW LET’S GET STARTED WITH INSERTING IMAGES INTO YOUR SCHOOLNOTES PAGE!

If you are currently using the Basic Text Editor, in the below image, you will notice in the HTML Text Editor Tool Bar there is an icon that looks like a picture of a mountain. This icon represents the “Insert Image” tool you will use to add images and graphics to your web page(s).

Basic Editor:

Once you have clicked on this icon, the below window will pop open. The only area you will need to work with in this window will be the very top box titled “URL”. In this box for the type you will always select the http:// choice from the drop down menu. For the Address you will need to enter in the URL for your image location (in the Address box you will be leaving off the http:// at the beginning of the link of your image URL). You can acquire the address of an image by placing your cursor over the image, right mouse click and then select “properties”.

After you have added the information in for the image you are working with, it should look like the example below.

Now that all of the correct information has been entered in for your image/graphic, click the “OK” button. You should be able to see the picture you have just inserted on your page.

After the images have been inserted into your page, you can cut and paste each one to position them any way you would like to in your page. To insert more images, just follow the same steps as above for each one.

If you are currently using the Advanced Text Editor, in the image below, you will notice in the HTML Text Editor Tool Bar there is an icon that looks like a picture of a mountain. This icon represents the “Insert Image” tool you will use to add images and graphics to your web page(s).

Advanced Editor:

Once you have clicked on this icon, the below window will pop open. The areas you will need to work with in this window will be the top boxes titled “Image URL” and "Image description". In this box you will select the http:// choice from the drop down menu. Place an image description in the box.

After you have added the information for the image you are working with, it should look like the example below.

Now that all of the correct information has been entered in for your image/graphic, click the “Insert” button. You should be able to see the picture you have just inserted on your page.

Have Fun!!

Adding Images Using "My Files"

Here is a work around for not having to use a Third Party Vendor when adding images to your SchoolNotes page. Keep in mind, when you use the images the way that I am going to show you, it will take up space in your "My Files" section. To add an image to your SchoolNOtes page from your computer, you will need to do the following:

STEP 1. Click on the "My Files link in the left margin of your teacher dashboard:

STEP 2. You will then be taken to the following page within your account:

Step 3. Click on the "Add a New Attachment" link to add your first file. Once you click on the link, additional boxes will appear for you to fill in. You will enter in a title for your file and "Choose File" you computer documents to locate the file. Once you have entered in your title and located the file, you will need to click on "Click to show/hide list" to select the page(s) you want this file to display on. Put a check in the box next to the page(s) and then click on the "Add New File" button to save your changes.

*Pay special attention to the lisf of files you are able to upload into your account-if you do not see it in the list, do not upload it into your page.

Once your file has been added, a list of all of your attachments will appear. By clicking on the "Edit" icon, you can make changes to the title of the document or what page(s) you want the document displayed on. Make sure to save your updates. By clicking on the "Delete" icon, you will delete the file from the page(s) it is listed on as well as from within your "My Files" section.

You've just added a file!

SPECIAL NOTE-Free SchoolNotes users have 1MB of file storage space. If you would like additional file space you can subscribe to Personal Edition for $24.95 a year and receive 25MB of file space as well as an online teacher planbook and access to your state standards aligned to oneline lesson plans and resources. For addtional information please visit

http://edgate.com/personal_edition.php

Adding RSS Feeds to Your SchoolNotes Account

To find out more about what RSS News Feeds are click here

STEP 1: First log in to your SchoolNotes account and click on News Feed Reader in the left margin:

STEP 2: To add a new RSS feed in to your account, click on the Add a new feed link circled in the image above to view the list of feed choices:

STEP 3: Click on the icon next to the title to add this RSS feed in to your list:

After you click on the Add icon you should see the RSS feeds begin to populate in your list:

STEP 4: Once you have selected all of the feeds you would like to track, click on the View Feeds link to see the feeds:

Expected results after click on above link:

STEP 5: Click on a feed title to view/hide the contents of that specific feed:

STEP 6: To view the original article, click the feed icon next to the item date:

STEP 7: To add a feed, click the "Manage Feeds" link in the upper right corner:

STEP 8: To delete a feed from your feeds list simply click on the delete icon next to the feed you would like to remove:

Adding Sound to Your Page

To put sound on your page you will need to use the following code:

The yellow section above is where you will add your own music link. Once you have all of this, you can copy and paste this code into the HTML edit view on your page. To change the view of your page click on the icon in your toolbar circled in the image below:

BASIC TEXT EDITOR:

Paste your code into the bottom of the rest of the code and then click on the HTML button again to switch your view back to normal edit view. If your music is not yet playing, click on the save buton and then refresh your browser. You may need to check your page through the student/parent portal to ensure that the music is playing.

ADVANCED TEXT EDITOR:

Paste your code into the new window and click "Update." If your music is not yet playing, click on the save buton and then refresh your browser. You may need to check your page through the student/parent portal to ensure that the music is playing.

Also, here are some of our example music midis you can copy and paste into your page using the directions above:

God Bless America
to preview click here

America the Beautiful
to preview click here

Star Spangled Banner
to preview click here

My Country 'Tis of Thee
to preview click here

'Merry-go-round' Music
to preview click here

Baby Elephant Walk - Henry Mancini
to preview click here

The Parrot- Some GREAT Carnival Carousel Music
to preview click here

Island Music
to preview click here

Toccata & Fugue - Bach
to preview click here

One - A Chorus Line
to preview click here

Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)
to preview click here

Theme from Hawaii Five-0
to preview click here

Wind Beneath My Wings
to preview click here

Sock Hop
to preview click here

Hall Of The Mountain King
to preview click here

Popcorn - Hot Butter
to preview click here

The Peppermint Twist
to preview click here

Stayin' Alive
to preview click here

I'm Still Standing
to preview click here

Tradition - from 'Fiddler On The Roof'
to preview click here

Hang On Sloopy - Tommy James & The Shondells
to preview click here

You can also find sounds out on the Internet. Sounds you can use are WAV, MIDI, and AU.

Just copy and paste the URL in between the " " Quotation marks and your sound file should work.

Calendar of Events

STEP 1: Once you have logged in to your account you will click on the Calendar link in the left margin:

A new Calendar window will open so be sure you do not have a Pop-Up blocker program on your computer. The default setting is to view the calendar by week. However, you can switch to view the calendar by month by selecting the option on the right.

STEP 2: You can select a different month and year to enter an event on by using the month and year drop down menu or by clicking on the forward/backward arrows. Click on the number date you would like to enter your event on:

STEP 3: You will enter in the Title of the event you are posting for and then type in any information for that event under the “text” area. You will then select if you want this event to show to:
Everyone Only Me Show this on all pages

*If you select Everyone, you will need to be sure to select from the “SchoolNotes Pages” which of your pages you want this event to show on.

*If you select Only Me, the event will only appear for you to see

*If you select Show on all pages, this event will appear on the calendar for all of your SchoolNotes pages.

You can also select a start time for the event to show and a stop time for the event to stop showing to your parents and students.

STEP 4: After you have made all of your selections click on the Save button:

Enhanced Users can also add events to your calendar from your planbook. To do this, open up the planbook and select the Calendar icon.

The calendar will open up and automatically populate the text area with the information that is in your planbook. You will then need to add a title, select "Show this even to" option, select the page, hit "Save" and you are all set!

You should see your future events appear on your teacher dashboard under your calendar:

As well as on the parent/student view:

Clearing Your Cache and Cookies

It may be necessary to clear your cache and cookies two or three times.

To clear your cache and cookies in Internet Explorer:

Click on Tools

Select Internet Options

Select General and click “Delete” under “Browsing History”

Be sure that “Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, and History” are check marked and select“ Delete.

To clear your cache and cookies in Mozilla Firefox:

Click on the Firefox tab in the upper left corner of your browser.

Select “History” then “Clear history.”

A new window will pop up. Select “Everything” and “Clear Now.”

Creating Content

Click on either the edit icon next to a page showing on your teacher dashboard or click on the "Manage/Edit Pages" link in the left margin:

NOTE: If this is the first time you have created a page, select "Add a New Page," create a page title, select "Add New Page" and you are all set!

In your edit page, you will find many tools to work with. There is a Text Editing Toolbar similar to what you find in Microsoft Word. There is an option of choosing the Default editor or the Advanced editor. Choosing the Advanced setting will provide you with more options and allow safe copy/paste from Word documents. You are able to change your font style, size and color. With the editors, you are also able to bold, underline and italicize your font. There is left, right and center justification buttons, bullet lists and numbering buttons as well as inserting images and tables. It is highly recommended you type all of your text into your page and then go back and modify your text using the toolbar. Remember, when you turn one of the tools on in the toolbar (by clicking on it), you must turn it back off before moving on to the next line of text.

Begin to type your text into the text box provided. Do NOT paste into your page unless you have the Advanced text editor and use the icon that looks like a clipboard with a W on it. (SAVE AS YOU GO):

BASIC EDITOR:

You can also set a default color your text will appear in when you type as well as add a background color or pattern.

The ADVANCED EDITOR: works the same way only the tool bar is slightly different, with more options. It also has a feature called the "Toggle Full Screen Mode" if you would like to have a bigger area to work with while editing.

NOTE: Once you have finished editing your page and you wish to send notifications to parents that recent updates have been made, you MUST click on "Save and Notify"

Once you have all of your content in your page you can manage your Favorite Links, File Attachments as well as Flashcards from your edit page. You can also resest your page counter, make your page visible or invisible, or decide the location of your blog posts. Just click on one of the three links and a new window will appear.

To display any of the items on your page place be sure that "Yes" appears in the "Make Page Visible" box, to remove them from being displayed on your page be sure that "Make Page Visible" says "No" and click "Save."

Creating Flashcards

STEP 1: When you first log in to your teacher dashboard to work with your flashcards, you will click on the “Flashcards” link:

After clicking on this link it will take you to the following page:

STEP 2: There are two ways to work with your flashcards, search for a public deck or create your own. When you search for a public deck, you are searching the flashcard decks of other SchoolNotes users who have chosen to share their flashcards with you. So what you will need to do is type in a “keyword” you would like to search on, for example Science. Click on the Search button and watch your results appear:

STEP 3: You can click on the preview link to see the flashcards before choosing any public decks to attach to your page. Once you have decided if you want to share this deck, you will select the page you want this flashcard deck to appear on from the drop down menu as shown highlighted above.

You will then scroll down and click the Save button to save your selections. The flashcards you have chosen to share from other teachers will now appear in your Public Flashcards table:

STEP 4: The other option is for you to create your own flashcards deck from new. You can do this by clicking on the Add New Flashcard Deck link:

STEP 5: You will then need to fill in the general information about your new flashcard deck. You can also choose a background color and the font color from this menu:

STEP 6: You will need to enter in the name of the deck and decide if you want it active (for your students to see) or inactive (for your students not to see). You can also decide if you want your flashcards to look like the flashcards on the old SchoolNotes website or you can choose the new look and feel. I will show you that in a bit. The next thing to determine is if you want to “Share” your flashcards with other teachers by making your deck public (to share) or not public (not to share). Lastly, click the “Click to show/hide list” link to view your SchoolNotes pages and select the page(s) you want this flashcard deck to show on and then hit Save.

STEP 7: You are now ready for the next step which is making your cards. Click on the “Add/Edit Flaschards” icon in your My Flashcards table and on the next page click on the Add A New Flaschard link. If you have chosen the new style flashcards you will see this:

STEP 8: You can change the font you type in using the toolbar provided as well as upload images into your flashcards and choose if you would like the image to show at the top or bottom of the flashcard. Once you have entered everything in to your new flashcard, click save.

STEP 9: To create more flashcards follow the same steps again. To edit or delete the flashcard you have created click the Edit or Delete icons, to move the flashcard in the order it is in click either the up or down arrow and to preview the flashcard click on the Preview icon. Your preview will look like this:

Click the View Back link to switch to the back of your card.

STEP 10: If you choose the old style of flashcards when you are creating your new flashcards you will have a different set up for creating your flashcards in your deck:

STEP 11: Each line of text you enter creates a new flashcard. When you finish entering in your text, click Save and you will see your save confirmation:

STEP 12: Click on your Flashcards link in the left margin to return to all of your flashcards and then click on the name of your old style flashcards to see what they will look like to your students:

**You are not able to change anything as far as the format of these cards and you are not able to upload any images.

Note: You can also manage your flashcards by clicking on the icon beneath the text editor on your main editing page.

Creating Your Pages

Click on the “Manage/Edit” pages link in the left margin of your teacher dashboard to begin creating your pages. On the next page you will add pages to your account by clicking on the “Add A New Page” link:

After you have clicked on this link, you will need to enter in the title for your page and click “Add New Page”:

You will follow the same process to add any additional pages you wish to create.

Special Note: A free SchoolNotes user can add up to ten SchoolNotes pages in his or her account. If you find you need more than ten pages, you can subscribe to Personal Edition for $24.95 a year and receive an unlimited number of pages in your SchoolNotes Account. For additional information please visit http://edgate.com/personal_edition.php

Now that you have created all of the pages you will be utilizing, you have a few options on what to do with your page. The first is to click the “Visible” icon so your page can be viewable to your parents and students. If you are working on your page and you need to take it down for a bit, you can click on the “Visible” icon again and it will temporarily pull it from the web for you to work on. The “edit “ icon of course will take you to where you will add your content to your page and the “View” icon will take you to a view of how your page will look to your parents and students.

To delete a page and its content from your SchoolNotes account, simply click on the “Delete” icon shown on the far left.

Dashboard Features

SchoolNotes has a new look with updated features! On the dashboard you will see:

A link to update browsers: This feature allows you to be sure that you have the most current browser settings for maximum performance of the SchoolNotes website.
A place to add a profile picture: Currently, this feature is a nice visual for teachers only. However, it is soon to be available for parents and students to view.
In a hurry? The dashboard offers easy access to your pages, calendar, Quick Post, Blog, and Plan Book (for enhanced users). Access your pages from "My Pages" or place a comment for your page on "Quickpost". View upcoming events for your calendar, view latest blog entries and for Enhanced Users- double check your planbook. All from the dashboard!
Educator Resources: These links provide quick access for page ideas, Word Doc and PDF Templates, Clip Art, and more!
RSS News Feed Reader: Stay abreast of current news and ideas in the world of education with this feature!

Check out the new features! And if you need a little extra help, be sure to click on "Support" in the upper right-hand corner for the User's Guide and Frequently Asked Questions.

Have Fun!!

Enable/Disable Java Scripts in Firefox

To Enable/Disable Java Scripts in Firefox:

Locate the "Firefox" tab in the upper corner of your screen. Select "Options" and then "General."

After you get to this window, you will click on "Manage Add-ons" and you should see the following:

Enable/Disable Java Scripts in Internet Explorer

There are two ways to enable/disable java scripts in Internet Explorer

First Way:

From the Tools Menu, or the Tools drop-down in the upper right, select Internet Options

Next, select the Programs Tab and click on "Manage add-ons"

Highlight the Java Plug in and click either Enable or Disable in the lower right hand corner. Then click Close.

Second Way:

From the Tools Menu, or the Tools drop-down in the upper right, choose Internet Options

Click the Security tab and select Custom Level

Scroll to the "Scripting" section of the list. Click Disable or Enable

Close and restart your browser.

Enable/Disable Java Scripts in Safari

To Enable/Disable Java Scripts in Safari, locate the tools icon in the upper right corner of the browser bar and select preferences.

Click on the Security Tab and Enable or Enable JavaScript and close.

Favorite Links

Click on “Manage Favorite Links” from your teacher dashboard:

To add a new link simply click on “Add A New Link”. A new section will appear where you will enter in the information for your link:

You will need to enter in the information for the link and then click on the “Click to show/hide list” to assign this link to your pages. After you have clicked on this link, a list of your pages will appear for you to put a check next to the ones you want this link to show on.

You will also want to define if you want your link to be “active” which makes it viewable to your parents and students, or “not active” which means you can save this link in your Favorite Links section for use at a later date. You do this by checking “Yes” or “No”

Once you have all of the links entered in you want to use, your list will look like this. If you decide to change the order of your links, simply click on the green arrow buttons and you can move the link either up or down:

Note: You can also manage your links from your main edit page by clicking on the link below the text editor.

Getting the Word Out

Help us get the word out about the fabulous features of SchoolNotes. Its easy! In the upper right hand corner of your dashboard you will see a link that will allow you to send out an email inviting friends to give SchoolNotes a try.

Enter in your friend's email address, personalize the message, type in the captcha and hit send!

You will then receive confirmation that your email has been sent.

That's it! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell others about the SchoolNotes website. We appreciate your patronage and are here to help make your classroom experience a positive one!

Import/Export Notification List

Adding email addresses to your notification list just got easier! Log into the account and click on "Notification Lists" located in the left margin. You will then see "Import/Export Notification List in the upper right-hand corner.

A new window appears with the option to export from Excel or Other Mail Programs. To export from Excel, be sure that the file is a CSV file. Locate the file, choose the page(s) you want the email addresses assigned to and select upload file:

You will then see the following window appear. Select the information that you want to import foremail address, parent name, and student name and click "Continue."

A list of the email address will then appear. If there are email addresses that you do not wish to import, simply uncheck the box then select "Load Notification List."