News from Castle Software, Inc.

QUESTION: I am an elementary school teacher. My students' accounts were created without passwords, which means that students pick their own passwords the first time that they sign into Castle Learning Online. That first visit into the computer lab takes a long time. They just can't seem to make up their minds about passwords. What can I do to help my students choose good passwords quickly?

ANSWER: A Castle Learning Online account of any type-administrator, teacher or student-is a valuable resource that is worth protecting. Using the same password for everybody, sometimes called a generic password, essentially removes any form of password protection for your accounts, making them vulnerable to accidental intrusion or deliberate mischief. Yet as you point out, helping young students choose good passwords can be a challenge.

What makes a good password?

easily described
not too hard to type
easy for the student to remember
hard for others to guess

Many schools request that students use their date of birth as passwords-the two-digit month followed by the two-digit day. While this may not offer the highest form of protection to all accounts, it does meet the first three criteria above.

TIP FROM A USER: One teacher rose to the password challenge in a clever way. The teacher devised a list of grade-appropriate spelling words, and told the students to pick one word out of the list to use as a password. The list was long enough to discourage other students from trying to break into another account, but short enough that students could pick out a word within a few minutes!

QUESTION: I submitted my student enrollment data at the beginning of the school year, but new students have transferred in. I also have some new teachers who need accounts. Do I need to send their names to Technical Support?

ANSWER: The initial upload of student accounts at the beginning of the school year is a great way to bring students on board quickly. However, most schools experience some fluctuations in enrollment throughout the school year. For this reason, Castle Learning Online offers a full range of account management features.

Administrator account holders can add new user accounts of all types (student, teacher and other administrators); edit existing accounts to accommodate name changes; and deactivate accounts for teachers or administrators who have left. For customers with multiple schools, administrator account holders with district rights can even move accounts from one school to another to accommodate personnel transfers within a district. The Accounts link on the Administrator Home page is the gateway to the account management features.

How to create a new account:

1.    From the Administrator Home page, click Accounts.
2.    Make a note of the established login patterns for users.
3.    Click Add New User, above and to the right of the Accounts list.
4.    An Add Account window pops up with an empty account profile.
5.    Enter the first and last names of the user at the prompts.
6.    Enter the login ID according to the pattern for your school. For example, "any-TomSmith".
7.    You may enter a password. If left blank, the user can choose a password at the time of first sign-in. Note: You must enter a password if this is an administrator accounts.
8.    Select the User type from the drop-down menu: Student, Teacher, or Administrator.
9.    Optional fields include the salutation (recommended for teachers and administrators), email address, and grade level (recommended for students).
10.    Click Save to save the changes.
11.    You may continue adding accounts as needed. Click Cancel or Back when finished.

Be sure to give the user the new login ID and the password, if any, with instructions for signing in at www.CastleLearning.com.

If this is a new student account created without a password, the student will choose a password the next time s/he signs in. Enter the login ID at the prompt, skip the password field, and click Sign-in, then follow the steps to choose a new password.

If this is a new teacher account created without a password, enter the login ID and the default teacher password found on the Administrator Preferences page and click Sign-in, then follow the steps to choose a new password.

QUESTION: How do I reset passwords? I have administrator rights and can view accounts and names, but not passwords.

ANSWER: In theory, it is a good internet safety practice to maintain separate sign-in information for all online accounts. In practice, most of us simply cannot juggle dozens of usernames, IDs, passwords, PINs, pass phrases and security questions for online banking, shopping, subscription services and other accounts.

We tend to reuse logins and passwords in order to save time and energy, but this practice actually compromises the security of all of our online accounts. Thus, in the interests of promoting internet security,Castle Learning Online does not reveal user passwords. However, administrator account holders can clear passwords using the account management features.

How to clear passwords so users can choose a new one:

1.    From the Administrator Home page, click Accounts.
2.    Locate the user on the Accounts list.
3.    Click the edit icon (looks like a pencil) next to the user's name.
4.    An Edit Account window pops up.
5.    Click the Clear button next to the user's password.
6.    Note that Administrator accounts must always be password protected. If this is an administrator account, enter a new password for the user.
7.    Click Save to save the changes

The user can now sign in as if the account were new!

Ask the Castle Learning Online Administrator at your school to send the 2008-09 enrollment data
to Castle Learning Online Technical Support as soon as possible!