Kindergarten teachers are going to think I’m loopy with a subject line that displays my lack of alphabetical skills… the purpose of this message is to clarify what network drives are available to staff members and provide some examples of how they can be used.
When you double click “My Computer”, here are some of the possible network drives that you might see…
H: Drive
Each user has their own private H: drive where they can save files that others can’t see. If you have something you’re working on that isn’t ready to be shared or won’t be shared – this is the place to store it.
K: Drive
Each staff member (Cert and Support) can access the K: drive, however, what they see in the K drive depends on who they are. Here are some examples . . .
If you are a member of the VHS ALL email group, then you will see the VHS ALL folder in the K drive. If you’re also a member of the SW ALL email group, you’ll also see the folder for SW ALL. What building folders you have access to depends on the email groups you belong to. Examples of how schools use the K: drive – sharing of photos, presentations, spreadsheets with student results, copies of master schedules, handbooks, etc.
TLS-Public and HR-Public . . . These “public” folders are seen by everyone in the district. They are locations where TLS (Teaching and Learning Services) and HR (Human Resources) share files with staff. Members of HR and TLS have rights to add/edit materials in their public folder – but the rest of the staff have read-only access.
Also in the K:drive are some curriculum related folders . . . for example, there’s a folder called ART ALL (which is only seen by the art teachers who are also members of the ART ALL email group). This folder allows art teachers across the district to share folders, photos, and other resources between themselves, regardless of what building they are located. Of course, if you aren’t in the ART ALL email group, then you can’t see the ART ALL folder.
P: Drive
This drive is only available to secondary teachers . . . it gives secondary teachers read-only access to home directories for 7-12 students. Unfortunately, the directories are listed by user IDs, which include student numbers, not their full common name. However, it does provide you with easy access to their directories in case you need to look in a student’s directory to verify something. If you need to access a student directory and do not know their student id number, it can be found in Infinite Campus.
Why would l use this drive? Maybe you need to check the contents of a student directory because of a concern about something a student has done. Or, perhaps, students have created presentations that are finalized and now they want to show them on the classroom projector. From your computer (while the teacher is still logged in), you can have the student navigate within the P: drive to find their user ID and ask them to open their presentation. (NOTE: since it’s read-only access, students won’t be able to edit or delete anything, so their presentation must be finished)
R: Drive
Only available to elementary teachers . . . this drive gives elementary teachers read-only access to home directories for K-6 students. Unfortunately, the directories are listed by user IDs, which include student numbers, not their full common name. However, it does provide you with easy access to their directories in case you need to look in a student’s directory to verify something. If you need to access a student directory and do not know their student ID number, check for it in Infinite Campus.
Why would l use this drive? Maybe you need to check the contents of a student directory because of a concern about something a student has done. Or, perhaps, students have created presentations that are finalized and now they want to show them on the classroom projector. From your computer (while the teacher is still logged in), you can have the student navigate within the R: drive to find their user ID and ask them to open their presentation. (NOTE: since it’s read-only access, students won’t be able to edit or delete anything, so their presentation must be finished)
S: Drive
The S: drive is a public network drive… ALL parents and ALL students have access to everything. It is commonly called the “Student” drive . . . a place where teachers save files for students to view and use. Teachers have full rights to the S: drive for their school and can create folders, add/delete/modify documents. Students have read-only access to the S: drive – so they can open or copy documents to their H: drive, but they can’t change or edit any of the documents that reside in the S: drive. Additionally, within each school’s S: drive is a folder called DROPBOX. Students have the ability to save a document into the dropbox, but cannot change or delete the item once it’s been added. Typically, teachers will make a folder in the dropbox with their name – and then have students save their projects into this location.
Why would I use the S: Drive? Many teachers use the S: drive as an electronic way to distribute materials and resources to their students. A common example – saving a Word document with web links on a particular topic. Instead of students having to type URLs into a browser, which is time-consuming and easily mistyped, all they would have to do is open up the document with the supplied web links and click on any of them to visit these sites.
West Des Moines Community Schools Technology 