Student Accounts: Homework Interchange
NOTE: You must be using Windows 2000 or higher in order to use Homework Interchange folders. Any custom permissions (advanced users) for Homework Interchange folders must be set from Windows. Mac users can access class folders and Homework Interchange through WebTrekker™.
Account-Ability automatically creates folders for all classes and manages access to those folders using the Homework Interchange. Use folders to:
- Share with students up to 0.5 GB per class of information, links, templates, pictures, and other instructional resources
- Provide space for students to share collaborative work
- Collect student work via a drop-box
Topics on This Page
- How to Access Class Folders
- Components of a Class Folder
- How to Access Class Folders on a Mac
- Creating Subfolders and Managing Access
How to Access Class Folders
Users must be logged onto the MISO network to access class folders.
Teachers:
- Open My Computer either from your desktop or your start menu.
- Open your H: Drive listed under Network Drives. It should be labelled username on 'drizzle\Home$' (H:).
- Double-click to open the desired class folder.
Students:
- Open My Documents either from your desktop or your start menu.
- Double-click to open the desired class folder.
IMPORTANT: Class folders and their contents are only available for the duration of the term in which they are scheduled, plus 10 calendar days prior to the start and after the end of the term. Many year-long courses in secondary schools are scheduled as two separate one semester courses or three separate trimester courses. Contents in these class folders must be manually transferred at the end of the semester or trimester.
Components of a Class Folder
Common Folder
This folder is common to the teacher and all students enrolled in the class. The teacher and all students have full access to this folder. This means teachers and students can save, view, change, and delete documents from this folder.
Inbox
This folder is for students to send documents to the teachers. The teacher has full access to this folder. Students enrolled in the class have write only access. This means students can only put documents in this folder, but cannot view, change, or delete its contents.
Outbox
This folder is for teachers to distribute information to the students. The teacher has full access to this folder. Students enrolled in the class have read only access. This means students can only view and take documents from this folder, but cannot save to it or delete its contents.
Student Digital Lockers
Teachers also have access to their students' digital storage spaces. Teachers are able to put files directly into individual student digital lockers, as well as view the contents of the digital lockers. Teachers can also delete files from the digital lockers, but only if it is a file the teacher put in.
Students do not have access to each other's digital lockers.
How to Access Class Folders on a Mac
Mac users (and PC users not connected on the district network) can access Class Folders and the Homework Interchange through the web portal, WebTrekker™.
Creating Subfolders and Managing Access
NOTE: You will need to use a Windows computer to set permissions for folders.
Teachers can create subfolders within the Common Folder for different class groups, assigning access to only the members of each group.
To create a subfolder:
- Open the Common Folder.
- Right click on the big blank space.
- Point to New, then click on Folder.
- Name your folder, press enter on your keyboard.
To assign access:
- Right-click on the folder you just created and choose Properties
NOTE: Set permissions on folders, not on files (i.e. not on Excel, Word, or PowerPoint files). The permission must be set at the folder level in order for anyone to be able to save changes to the files in the folder.
- Click the Security tab
- Click Add
- In the box that opens, type your students’ usernames. You can enter multiple usernames with semicolons between.
- Then click Check Names. Make sure the correct student names appear.
- Click OK when done.
- On the Security tab, click on each student and check all the Allow boxes at the bottom except for Full Control, if you want kids to be able to edit and save new stuff in the folder.
- Click OK. The students you selected will have the specified access to the folder.
If you are posting class documents that you don’t want students to modify, check Read, but do not check Write.
You can set permissions like that on every folder. If you create a new folder within an existing folder, it will inherit the existing folder’s permissions