Posts

Working with Documents

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In the last post, I went over Working with Images . Here, I talk about documents. In the transition from Schoolloop to Catapult, users may not know where to look to find documents they uploaded to the old Locker system, or how to upload new documents in Catapult. Catapult's system is slightly different, but you can access all documents and images in the same place: at the upper left hand of the editing workspace. There are two tabs, one for Documents and the other for Images. Under the Documents tab, you'll find what is essentially a File Manager / file transfer program. You can upload files and organize them into folders and subfolders of your creation. You can even re-name uploaded files with names that make sense to users, and without worrying about breaking the link since Catapult fixes that for you. On the left side of the File Manager is where you can upload documents from your computer. Once it's uploaded, in the middle section is where you indicate
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A Word About Images, Alt-Text, and ADA

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My last post was about working with your website . Here I want to touch on the subject of adding images to your website. Images and graphics on our web pages make the site more visually pleasing and also easier for people to understand the message on a page, in particular those with cognitive or learning disabilities. But images can pose a problem for people with visual impairments or the blind . Any institution that receives federal funding (and a public school certainly qualifies) is required to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Adding associated text to images and graphics is one way we can satisfy that requirement on our websites. Such text additions are known as Alt-text , or Alternative Text, a brief text description of the image embedded in with the website code for each image so that screen  reader software for the disabled can interpret it and search engines can locate it. In Catapult, Alt-text i
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Working with your website

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My previous post was about logging in to the Catapult RCHS website. After logging in, from the main Catapult screen they call the Dashboard , you see the link to Manage Websites. Click on that icon (or the Websites link in the navigation bar above it) and you will see the different websites you have access to. Many site users have access to only one website -- their own. But some users have been given access to other websites at RCHS: department or academic websites, student club websites, or perhaps an athletics website. If there is a website that you need access to, contact me and I'll take care of it. The Options menu for each website allows you to view the live version of the website, or an edited version of the website that hadn't been published yet (what Catapult calls a "Staging site"). Click on the Edit button to access the website. The big dark area is the workspace; double-click on a page at left to edit it there. On the left side are
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Logging in to your site on the RCHS website

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Gerald O'Connor The WUSD has decided to switch website vendors from Schoolloop to Catapult for all schools in the district. Our new website address is rivercity.wusd.k12.ca.us . (Our old address at Schoolloop should still work through the remainder of the school year if you need to transfer files over manually.) All teachers who had a website on Schoolloop should have had their page(s) migrated over to the new site by the vendor. Unfortunately, they did not migrate non-teaching staff websites. Please contact me at goconnor@wusd.k12.ca.us if you would like me to create a website for you. First, a couple of terms to know. A site administrator is one who has access to the whole school site and can edit just about any page on the site. I have this access, as do the Principal and Assistant Principals, Joan Smith, Sarah Ostatnik, Jamie King, and a few others. There is a higher level -- Developer -- that is controlled by select staff at the district office.  A site user is
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