Teacher's Frequently Asked Questions

I am new to Gaggle. Is there something that will help me get started?

Yes, we suggest that you download a copy of the Administrator's Guide, and download the QuickStart. The QuickStart contains a handout for teachers and a separate handout for students.

Download the QuickStart Handout for Teachers.

I am trying to add a user and nothing is happening or I am getting the error message "user name is not unique." Why is this?

After clicking on "add" or "import" the system should bring you back to the "user list" screen with a message on the top (under the ad banner). It should say either "user added" or "_____user name is not unique in the domain." This means that someone else at Gaggle is already using that user name. You will need to add letters or numbers to make it unique.

I've imported my users, why aren't all of the names appearing in my user list?

One of two things may be happening. . (1) if your access level is set as "school teacher" you will only see those students whom you administer or (2) the users are now sorted alphabetically if you have a lot . . please click on subsets or letter sets to find your users (ie. "all users" or A-D, E-G, etc)

How come I don't have a Blocked folder?

A Blocked folder will be created for you as soon as the first message gets blocked by the system.

What if I forget my password?

If you forget your password, you should ask your School Master to give you a new password. No one on the system can see what your old password was.

The School Master will have to assign you a brand new password. Once you log back in you can change the password to whatever you want by clicking the red Options button.

If you have a Teacher account, you can also ask someone with a School Administrator account to fix your password.

Educator's can give users new passwords by going to the user list screen and clicking on the user's full name. Enter the new password in the two fields and press the Update button. For security reasons, there is no way to see the old password. You must assign a new password.

But what if I am the School Master, and I forget my password?

If you are the School Master and you forget your password, you will need our help. Please send an email to admin@gaggle.net. We will mail a new password to the email address you gave us when you signed up for Gaggle.

You can also give us a call at 800-288-7750.

I was wondering, if I don't have a Drafts folder where will my draft messages be saved?

The system creates a "Drafts" folder as soon as you save the first draft message.

How can I copy my class address book into each one of my student's accounts?

It is easy for your students to do it themselves. Students can click on the Red Group List button and see every member of your group. They can check off the names of the other students whom they want to add to their personal address book.

What type of account should our teachers have?

Generally, teachers should be set up as School Administrators. This will allow the teacher to be assigned as the administrator for their own students. All blocked mail from the students will be rerouted to the appropriate teacher's mail box. The teacher will also have full access to the Gaggle service. Each School Administrator has the ability to alter the Blocked Word List, alter the Blocked Address List and edit any student's account.

In some situations it may be more appropriate for teachers's to be given the Teacher Access Level. The Teacher Access Level can only see the students who are assigned to them. Furthermore, they cannot alter the Blocked Words or Blocked Address Lists. Currently, Teacher Accounts cannot create new users. This will soon be changed so that Teachers can create new users and assign themselves as the administrator.

You might want to read the Complete Description of User Access Levels.

Why do the web pages seem to be pulling from memory and not reloading from the site?

The browser is simply caching the page.

On Netscape:

1. Hold down the shift key and press the reload button. This forces the browser to go get a newer version of the web page.
2. Go to the Edit menu choose Preferences. At the bottom of preferences there is a choice for Cache. Choose "Check Every Time"

I was wondering about attachments. Sometimes graphics or other attachments seem to have a hard time getting through. Is there some guideline you can offer?

The way that attachments come through depends a lot on the way your web browser is set up. The preference for helper applications specifies what the browser should do with each type of file it receives. For instance, browsers are set to immediately display jpeg and gif images.

We suggestion that you compress your images into either zip or sit files before you send them. This makes them smaller and easier to read when uncompressed on the receiving computer. It's especially important if you are on a Macintosh since the file and creator type get lost when sent over the internet.

How do I setup Gaggle as a portal for logins to other systems?

Gaggle has an automated Single Sign-on solution based on the student ID number and works with other portal systems. Portal Links How-To document.

What "rules" do I use in the "blocked address" area to block all addresses except for gaggle.net?

Type the following in the "blocked address" page, which can be found by clicking on "group setup" then scrolling to the bottom of the page. You may also want to read the help page for the Blocked Address List.

(a)gaggle.net
(r).com$
(r).org$
(r).edu$
(r).net$

What "rules" do I use in the "blocked text" area to set the system to block virtually every message?

Type the following in the "blocked text" page, which can be found by clicking on "group setup" then scrolling to the bottom of the page. This will cause all messages to be rerouted to the administrator's blocked folder. You may also want to read the help page for the Blocked Words List.

(p)a
(p)e
(p)i
(p)o
(p)u

How do I fix the Javascript errors? or nothing happens when I click Select All.

The Gaggle web site uses Javascript in several places. Javascript is a part of your web browser that enables interactivity. The Gaggle web site will function without Javascript, but it is best to have Javascript turned on.

How do I turn Javascript on?

Netscape Navigator 3.0 or newer.

1. Go to "Edit" menu. At the bottom you will see a menu choice for
   " preferences". Choose this item.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the category list.
3. Click once on the word "Advanced."
4. Locate the check box for "Enable Javascript." Make sure this box is
   checked.
5. It's also a good idea to check the box for "Enable Style Sheets"
6. When your done click the "OK" button.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0+

1. Go to "Edit" menu. At the bottom you will see a menu choice for
   " preferences". Choose this item.
2. Under the "Web Browser" section you will see the choice for "Web Content."
   Click Web Content.
3. Select the "Enable Scripting" check box.
4. Click the "OK" button.

Do Administrator and Teacher accounts get blocked and monitored?

School Master, School Administrator and Teacher accounts will only be monitored by the system if you assign an administrator to the user. We recommend that you leave the administrator line blank for these users.

These accounts have full, regular email privileges. They can send to any email address on the web and they can use adult type language.

School Master's can view the contents of School Administrator and Teacher accounts. You should remember that email is not 100% private. Your organization has the legal right to view the contents of your email. This is true for all email whether it is provided by a company, your school district or AOL.

Can you explain the access levels?

Each of the access levels has different email privileges and can control different parameters for the group and member accounts.

Some users can change the Blocked Word and Blocked Address Lists as well as read and edit other users' email.

For a thorough explanation read the Complete Description of User Access Levels.

What if one of my users forgets their password?

If a user forgets their password, the Teacher, School Administrator or School Master can assign them a new password. From the user list screen, click on the full name of the user. Enter the new password in the two fields and press the Update button. For security reasons, there is no way to see the old password. You must choose a new password.

I have general questions about using Gaggle email such as how to do attachments and how to use my address book?

You will want to read the General Quick Start Guide for Normal Users.
This two page handout explains things that all user's will want to know about the Gaggle system.

Can we use a custom domain name for our e-mail addresses?

For a small fee you can customize the email addresses for your students. There are two choices:

1. You can use a sub domain name such as "jsmith@westsidehigh.gaggle.net". A sub domain of gaggle requires no work on your part.
2. If your school has it's own domain name such as franklinschool.com, you can use this for your email address. You will need to have your web master point the MX record of your server at the Gaggle mail server. (We can help.)

Using a custom domain name gives your students more choices for their email address. For instance, jeff@gaggle.net is taken, but jeff@sdhs.gaggle.net would be available. A custom domain also helps unify and identify the members of your school.

The cost for a custom domain name of either type is $200 for the first year and a $100 maintenance fee each year thereafter.

To order a custom domain name for your school, fax us a purchase order at (818) 784-6304. Please list the domain name you would like as well as a person to serve as the technical contact. If you want to use your school's top level domain name, the MX record for your server should point to "mail.gaggle.net". This will forward mail from your domain name to the Gaggle mail server.

My school says "no to advertising." What can I do?

Your school can switch to the subscription version of Gaggle that does not have advertising. Follow the link above and you will see the enhanced benefits and fee schedule.