NiceNet Tutorial

Guilford Day School is pleased to incorporate the Internet Classroom Assistant (ICA), NiceNet, into our high school curriculum.

NiceNet is a web-based tool to complete your GDS classes. Through your Interne Classroom you have access to your class schedule including classwork and homework, assignments with e-mail reminders, communication between your fellow classmates and teachers, the ability to turn in selected assignments online and access to relative links to additional learning tools.

Your NiceNet Internet Classroom is accessible from any computer with an Internet connection and web browser; so, no matter where you are, you can always access your classwork, homework, and assignments and communicate with fellow class members and teachers. Your user information is private and is NOT shared with any other site, person or service.

You must "enroll" in the NiceNet class for each of your GDS classes. Enrolling is easy.

To join your classes, simply look to your right at the NiceNet homepage and following these instructions:

  1. Click on "Join A Class"
  2. In the box labeled "Class Key:" type your teacher's class key. You will be provided with a master list of GDS High School classes and you should choose your 1st period class to begin and then once registered and logged in to your account you can add your additional classes by simply choosing JOIN and adding the additional class keys
  3. On the screen that follows, enter the information requested. YOU MUST enter a valid email address. Entering an email address makes it possible for you to recover a lost password and receive updates on assignments due and new messages in your Internet Classroom mailbox. If you do not have an email address, you should get one and then you can enter an email address into your profile at a later time if necessary.
  4. For your username, use anything you wish, but write it down and keep it. You might have to try several usernames to find one that has not been used before.
  5. Make up your own password, and be sure to remember it! If you forget your password and didn't enter an email address, GDS staff cannot help you, as we have NO access to your password.
  6. You MUST enter your real name. NiceNet does not share your name or e-mail address with any other organization, and you will not receive any junk e-mail from NiceNet.
  7. Once you have completed the registration, click the button at the bottom Join the Class!
  8. On next screen, click the button at the bottom Finish Registration to finalize your enrollment. You will be taken directly to the Log In screen to enter your username and password and login to NiceNet.
  9. After entering your username and password click on Log In to the ICA to join our NiceNet website. You can browse around and see what is available on-line.
  10. Once you are logged in you will see on the left navigation bar an section for Classes and under that a choice for Join. It is here that you will enter the additional Class Keys for your other classes and register for those under your newly created login.

USING NICENET

Log on daily to NiceNet daily to keep up with new developments in our class. Class details will be updated by 5pm each school day.

Here are details about the navigation options to the left of the NiceNet page once you are logged in:

Home: This is where you can see what has happened in your Internet Classroom since your last visit. Remember this is information ONLY about the class you are viewing and you check this for each class.

Class Schedule: This is where you will see what was covered in your class each day and what was assigned for homework and what assignments are pending in the longer-term.

Conferencing: Generally speaking you will only use this function when instructed to do so by one of your GDS teachers. This is essentially a forum in which your teacher may pose a question to you as a class for your to respond to and which allows you to see all other responses and resond to them as well in a public communication forum.

Link Sharing: In this section you will find links to useful websites, documents or other resources as posted by your GDS teacher. Clicking on a link will open it in a new window. NiceNet will remain open and active its original window or tab. When you wish to leave that lined page, DO NOT click the browser's back button; instead, close that window and return to the NiceNet tab or window.

Documents: This is your teacher may post document for you and where you can see documents you or others have posted. You will use this as instructed by your GDS teacher.

Class Schedule: This is where all of your class assignments are posted and where many online assignments are turned in. Check Class Schedule daily.

Class Members: This shows who is signed up in this class.

Personal Messages: This messaging service is exclusively for class-related communication between students, teacher and parents and you should use it only for such professional communication. Your GDS teacher has access to all messages sent and received via your GDS NiceNet Internet Classroom. DO NOT use the Send to All button without prior authorization from your GDS teacher.

Edit User Profile: This page gives you options to change your email address, add or delete your phone number, edit your name, change which class comes up first if you are enrolled in more than one GDS NiceNet class and change your password. It is here that you can select to be notified of new messages via email.

Some important reminders:

  1. As all content on NiceNet remains internal, you must login to read it. Any e-mail account(s) that you might have are entirely separate from NiceNet, even the email you entered when registering. Nothing - except for notifications of new messages- if you selected this option in your profile - is automatically delivered to your e-mail account. Therefore, log in every day.
  2. Your GDS-NiceNet Internet Classroom is a professional environment in which you are expected to conduct yourself in a professional and respectable manner at all times. This means, but is not limited to:
    1. No texting lingo such a U for YOU or UR for YOUR or SUP or any other such abbreviated, hip-hop, urban slang.
    2. No profanity, abusive language or discriminatory speech or references.
    3. Proper punctuation and spelling at all times in all communications and posting with everyone in your Internet Classroom.
    4. No posting, sharing or references to inappropriate links to websites, videos, music or other such Internet resources.
    5. No illicit sharing of or links to illegal software or music sites.
  3. Don't forget to click the [LOG OUT] link when you leave your workstation. If you forget to do this you might become a victim of identity theft, others can hijack you profile, edit your password, change your email address and prevent you from getting at your own work.
  4. Do NOT complete online NiceNet assignments in the NiceNet document window as you may be logged out before you finished and loose all of your work. Instead, create your work in a Word (or similar program) document and then cut and paste it into the NiceNet document window, always keeping a copy saved in your word processing program.