Frequently Asked Questions
Here I'll try to answer questions that we have been getting at the office regarding the new website.
Q: Will my page from the old web site be moved over for me?
A: No. The old website used a completely different format for storing information and the templates for displaying information are completely different. There's no practical way to move the information over.
Q: But I had documents for my class on that site! How can I get my old documents/files/pictures?
A: The old website is running inside our network so you can access your old website, download the material, and then upload them to your new web page. To access the site just navigate to http://metadot.athensasd.org and you'll get the old page. But this only works inside the school network; you can't use it from home. Use it in your classroom or one of the labs. NOTE: The old Metadot website will be shut down as of the week of 9/18/11. At some point during that week, the server will be shut down and all data on that system will be inaccessible from that point on.
NOTE 2: The old Metadot server has been decommissioned and is no longer available.
Q: How do I log in?
A: Use your district username (like you use for logging in to email) and password. If it rejects your login please contact the IT Department and we'll check that your account is properly configured to allow web site use.
Q: What about my password to the site? Do I have to change it when I change my district password?
A: You do not need to change it on the website. If you change your password on your school computer it is automatically syncronized to your website account.
Q: How do I create a web page here?!
A: There is a link with animated demonstrations for editing the website to assist in the learning curve. You can find the link in the site map as "notes from the administrator" or by clicking here. I'm still working on updating material, and as I create more content I'll upload them to the website.
Q: I'm getting an error about security something-or-other when I'm logging in to the web site.
A: Chances are you're seeing some of the errors from the encryption certificate used in the login process. This was demonstrated in some of the video tutorials later on; just accept the certificate or continue on or whatever it's prompting you to do to accept the security settings. It only happens as you're logging in and once you're logged in it shouldn't bother you. Different browsers react in different ways to the login process. The security certificate means that your login and password will be encrypted as you log in but if your browser doesn't recognize some of the certificate properties it will complain. Let it complain, it's fine, accept the cert and continue to the site.
Q: I got the certificate error, but there's no way to continue. It just wants me to close the website...I'm running Internet Explorer 9.
A: We are seeing this with the new version of IE. In testing, it seems to happen if the web browser is launched from a desktop icon or a "pinned" icon. Click the Start Button (Windows logo in the corner) to get your menu of items and launch Internet Explorer there and see if you can get in, or try launching FireFox if you have that installed.
Q: How do I add my teacher page to <school>'s teacher page links?
A: You don't. Those are added by hand. Generally there's not a long wait time, but it can take a day or two depending on how long it takes for me to get a block of time to go through the new users that recently logged in and locate what building/section they belong in.
Q: I'm listed in the wrong school/section (or my name is incorrectly listed!)
A: Sorry...sometimes I don't get updated lists on who gets moved to other buildings, or other times I don't know if you're a Mrs. or Ms. and other times it's a straight out typo; I do apologize. I do try to fix typographical errors as soon as I'm made aware of the issue, so if you email me the link (the http://...address) and the typo in question I'll fix it as soon as possible!
Q: I can't drag my article to another column!
A: This looks to be a problem with the way Internet Explorer (well, the newer Internet Explorer) handles the code for the site. In the address bar at the top, you'll see the web address (http://www......) then a magnifying glass (search) and then what looks like a ripped paper. If you hover the pointer over the ripped paper, it says "compatibility view." Click that ripped paper to activate compatibility mode. Then using the site should work properly. This was mentioned in one of the video tutorials, if you go through the earlier ones you should see where clicking that mini-icon is demonstrated.