CornerNet: Teacher’s Introduction

South East Cornerstone School Division now has its own intranet.Not the Internet, but an intranet.This means it is internal to the school division, and only people who are part of this division can post information on it.This makes it a safe, controlled, environment, where the staff and students of SECPSD can interact.

Classes and Groups

One of the main things that need to be understood, at least somewhat, about CornerNet is the concept of Groups or Classes.They are similar in most respects; there are simply a few different options in each.We’ll use the term Groups here, to refer to both. Groups give a selected collection of people the ability to share files, collaborate on documents, and communicate and share information on discussion boards and wikis. They also have a shared calendar, and Announcements which appear on the My Cornerof all members of the Group.

Groups CAN be created so that others, who are not users in the SECPSD network, can see the content, however, they must be given the address (it can’t be Goggled) and they will not be able to add information to the group.

Groups will be created for teachers to use with their classes, but they also can be used by teachers and other staff to create ad hoc or permanent groups for various reasons. (Classes also have a section where students can hand it assignments, as well as places for teachers to post notes and assignments.)

Groups might be used by for:

  • PLCs or Teacher Committees
  • Sharing resources
  • Agendas
  • Collaborating on creating materials
  • Grade or SubjectSharing and Discussion
  • Sharing resources
  • Collaborating on creating materials
  • Mentoring
  • Permanent repositories
  • Asking questions and fostering c
  • Intramural Teams or Schedules
  • School Teams and Clubs
  • Schedules
  • Discussion
  • Arranging drivers
  • Student Study or Assignment Groups
  • Students can collaborate
  • Teacher can see what they work on and guide
  • Coaches
  • Scheduling games and practices
  • Rules
  • Discussion
  • Posting forms
  • Staff
  • Discussion
  • Sharing
  • Agendas
  • Administrators Discussions
  • Inter-school student groups
  • Allow inter-school clubs, like chess, math, etc.
  • Collaboration on other Documents

Communication

While all staff and students already have division email accounts, the intranet adds the ability to communicate in other ways.Each person in CornerNet has a Note Board where they can post message that others can see; Announcements from each user’s Groups and Classes will show up here as well. Each person can also add Connections to their profile; this means creating a link between the profiles of two people. The Newsfeed will show the user what all of their Connections post on their Note Boards.This can be a valuable venue for asking questions and accessing other information from a wide variety of sources.

As well, each group can have a Wiki and/or a Discussion Board. These are areas where people can post information, ask and reply to questions, and share resources about the topic or purpose the group was created to address.

Sharing and Collaboration

Each user on CornerNet has a place to store files for their personal use.As well, each has a Shared Documents space where they can post files that any others can access.Document can even be edited online, in a web version of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.That means that once a document is posted to CornerNet, it can be changed without having to download it.If it is a shared document, anyone who has access to that document can edit it, thus giving the ability for teachers or students to work collaboratively.

Home Access

Another benefit to the intranet is that it gives access to a user’s Home (H:) drive.Once logged in, a user can access their Home drive from anywhere they have Internet access.Further, the drive (and the rest of CornerNet) is available on almost any Internet abled device, including tablets and phones.As well, there is a link labelled My Mail, which will take the user to the SECPSD web email accounts.

Usage

There are a variety of uses that can benefit teachers, but some of the most useful include.

  1. Setting up collaboration groups. Teachers can share resources across the division (and farther) by uploading documents to groups. Subject areas, grades levels, or extra-curricular activities are all excellent situations where a group could be beneficial.
  2. Mentoring, or supporting new teachers. Often, new teachers find it hard to find resources, and don’t have the connections that make it easy to find what they need. CornerNet groups make it easy to find teachers of similar subjects, and have a venue to ask questions and receive support.
  3. Class group. A class in CornerNet functions as an easy way to hand out assignments, take them in, and communicate with students.
  4. PLC/PLN. Your Personal Learning Network or Community is there, 24 hours a day, on your school computer, smartphone, and tablet. Both teachers and students will be able to connect anywhere there is Internet access.

If you have any questions about CornerNet, or want a demonstration, contact you IT Consultant.