Getting Started and More....

I would like to welcome you all to our new communication system! I think we are all going to love the ease of use and collaborative tools in the Google world :-)

To get you started, I have created a few short videos to help you with setting up your account.
**Post Edit 5/31/2011 - there seems to be a problem with the direct links to the videos below :-/ You can reach the entire Google Video gallery at this link...
http://gallery.me.com/howardschool#100089
Each of the videos is named for what it shows. Sorry for this little technical problem.

General Mail Information - Click Here for a short video that will help you login for the first time and access your new account information.

Direct Link to Login Page - mail.howardschool.org
**I suggest creating a "bookmark" for this login page in your internet browser so you can easily get back to this login in the future.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!!**

The first time you log in to your account you will need this information;

User Name: first initial first name+last name (ex. lprodigo)

Initial Password: howardFirstname#of letters in your first name (ex. howardLisa4)

The password is case sensitive, so you must have a capital letter for your first name.

You will be asked to change your password the first time you login.

Contacts -

- Sending mail to THS contacts

- Exporting Contacts from First Class to Import into Google Mail account

Groups - These groups work much like the conferences in First Class.

- Sending to Groups

- Viewing Groups

- Joining Groups

- Managing Groups

Mail Settings -

- Creating a Signature for your email

- Personalizing your mailbox

- Creating labels and sorting mail by labels (folders)

Calendars -

- Adding and Viewing the Schoolwide Calendar

- Importing events/items from iCal to Google Calendar

File Cabinets -

- Viewing a File Cabinet

- Adding items to a file cabinet

- Adding pages to a file cabinet

Setting up your account on your Mobile Phone -

iPhone - two options listed below

- By adding a new account to your mailboxes

- By using the Webmail option through Goggle

Other Mobile Devices should follow these directions.

- Android

- Blackberry

- Nokia S60

- Other Phones

*********************************IMPORTANT NOTE*******************************

We will be leaving the First Class accounts accessible until December 2011. This will mean that you will be able to access any items you may have "saved" in First Class until that time. You will be able to export/save any documents you may need from your First Class account until this cut-off. You WILL NOT have EMAIL ability within First Class after May 27th. Email MUST be done through your new Google account after that date.

Please see the THS help videos on the right side of the page for more information about exporting files from First Class.