The Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN) was established by the Florida Legislature and the Florida Department of Education to provide network communications for schools and educators. The FIRN network provides an email system, several educational support services for classroom use, and access to the World Wide Web. Public educators in Florida can obtain free access to FIRN and email through local or toll-free dial-up modem numbers.

Contacting FIRN (www.firn.edu)

To find out the modem number for your area, visit the FIRN web site, http://www.firn.edu, or call the FIRN Helpdesk at 800-749-FIRN (800-749-3476) or 850-487-8851 (local). The FIRN Helpdesk is available to assist with PPP, network, phone line, modem, or other technical problems during these hours:

Monday: 8 AM-10 PM
Tuesday: 8 AM-10 PM
Wednesday: 8 AM-10 PM
Thursday: 8 AM-10 PM
Friday: 8 AM-10 PM
Saturday: 10 AM-6 PM
Sunday: 10 AM-6 PM

FIRN Helpdesk contact numbers:

Telephone: 800-749-FIRN (800-749-3476) or 850-487-8851 (local)
Fax: 904-922-1359
Suncom: 292-1359
Email: helpdesk@firn.edu

Services offered by FIRN

FIRN offers free Internet access, free email accounts, and web page hosting. In order to use the services, you must first register for a FIRN Profile Identifier account. The Profile Identifier account number and password allow you to dial into FIRN to access the Internet and to send and receive email. This process is explained in the section, How to register for a FIRN profile.

Email

FIRN offers a POPmail account for those who are registered. A FIRN POPmail account requires you to connect to a FIRN dial-up number. (You can receive your FIRN POPmail if you are using a non-FIRN connection such as AOL, but you will not be able to send mail.) You will also need a POPmail client package on your computer, such as Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later, Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, OutLook Express, Eudora Pro, or Eudora Light. You will receive your own email address, typically the first ten characters of your last name followed by an underscore and the first character of your first name. For example, the FIRN POPmail account for John Williams is williams_j@firn.edu.
FIRN's Quickview is a web interface that allows you to read, delete, or forward the new mail that is waiting in your POPmail account. Attachments can be viewed or downloaded, and new messages can be sent, including attachments. Unless the delete option is chosen for a message, the original message is left on the POPMail server and can be accessed from a POPmail client at a later date. After using Quickview, be sure to click on the logout button at the top of
the page to keep others from accessing your mail. You can access Quickview at http://raven.firn.edu/.

How to register for a FIRN profile

You must first register for a FIRN Profile account in order to connect to FIRN through a modem. You may also register for an email account at the same time. The FIRN Profile account number and password allow you to dial into FIRN and access the Internet using a browser. Your Profile Identifier account number and your dial-up Network Username will be the same number. The username is numeric and starts with the year you registered. For example, 02345678 would indicate that the person registered in 2002.
Access to the FIRN dial-in facility and other services is based upon a person's affiliation with education. Each applicant's educational affiliation is automatically verified by this system. When registering for a FIRN profile, you will be requested to enter your full name as it appears on your records in the personnel office of your employing institution. This will speed up the verification and activation of your profile.
Registration for FIRN is through their website, http://register.firn.edu. If needed, you may dial-up FIRN using a temporary username and password, and then go to the FIRN website, in order to register. The following directions are for accessing the website through your local FIRN dial-up number for registration purposes:
1. Use your computer and modem to dial your local FIRN dial-up number which can be found at http://www.firn.edu/connectivity/remote/dialup.html. (See Chapters 3 and 4 for instructions on setting up your computer and modem.)
2. After receiving the “Connect” message, press Return or Enter.
3. Enter netreg for the username (it must be lowercase) and press Return or Enter.
4. Enter firn for the password (it must be lowercase) and press Return or Enter. Since the password is secured, the letters will not be displayed and the cursor will not move as you type.
5. Once you have established a dial-up connection, start your web browser. Then go to http://register.firn.edu and follow the on-screen instructions.
Note: Your email account will be the principle means by which FIRN will communicate with you. At the time you are registering, if you do not already have an email account with an Internet service, the registration system will automatically create a FIRN email account for you. FIRN profiles will not be activated without a valid email address.

Account Status

After the user information is successfully verified, a FIRN profile will be created and will have either an active or trial status.

Active
Your account will be considered active at the time of registration if you requested a FIRN POPmail account during the registration process. You may begin using the FIRN dial-up and FIRN email immediately.

Trial
If you provided an existing FIRN POPmail account OR an email address other than FIRN at the time of registration, the email address you provided must be verified. An email message will be sent to the email address you entered. You will have 5 days to respond to it. Failure to respond within the 5 days will result in your access to FIRN (which includes the FIRN dial-ups for Internet access and, if applicable, FIRN POPmail) being disabled. You will have to contact the FIRN Helpdesk (1-800-749-3476) or helpdesk@firn.edu for assistance.

How to Maintain an Active FIRN Profile
Users must change their FIRN profile password at least once every 90 days. Failure to change this password will cause all your FIRN services to be disabled. You will then need to contact the FIRN Helpdesk to have your services reactivated. FIRN profiles not reactivated within 60 days after the password expires will be deleted.

FIRN registration reference sheet

The following form contains the information needed to register for a FIRN profile account. Obtain and record the information before you go to http://register.firn.edu to start the registration process.
Name (payroll name) _____________________________________

School name ___________________________________________

School street address ____________________________________

City, FL Zip_____________________________________________

Your school phone number ________________________________

Supervisor’s name ______________________________________

Supervisor’s phone number _______________________________

Personal Identification Code (PIC): __________________________
(This will be your password. Make it 6-10 characters in length. Select something you will remember. Make sure to write it down.)

As you register, fill in the spaces below with the information from the system.

FIRN Profile Identifier (8-digit number): _____________________
FIRN assigns this number. It will be displayed on the screen; write it down. It is always an 8-digit number beginning with the year that you registered. This is what you enter when prompted for username when you dial-in and connect to FIRN.

FIRN Profile password: ___________________________________
The FIRN system automatically uses your PIC code for the password. It is displayed on the screen and should be 6-10 characters long.

Alternate password: ______________________________________
You can record an alternate password so that you can switch back and forth between them when you change passwords at regular intervals. You must change your password at least once every 90 days.

FIRN Internet email username: _____________________________
If you are applying for a FIRN email, FIRN will assign this name. it will be displayed on the screen; write it down.

Your full FIRN email address: _______________________@firn.edu

FIRN Internet email password: _____________________________
The FIRN system automatically uses your PIC for the password.

Alternate password: ______________________________________
You can record an alternate password so that you can switch back and forth between them when you change passwords at regular intervals. You must change your password at least once every 90 days.


FIRNTECs

Technical support personnel (FIRNTECs) are available for group Internet training. These numbers are voice telephone numbers.

Andrea Barton
866-427-6927
Broward and Miami-Dade
barton@firn.edu

Chuck Davis
800-226-9157
Bay, Calhoun, Escambia,
Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes,
Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa,
Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, and
Washington
davis@firn.edu

Gary Deaton
800-226-4600
Martin, Okeechobee, and Palm
Beach
deaton@firn.edu

Saundra Hart
800-330-9858
Hardee, Highlands
Hillsborough, Manatee,
and Polk
hart@firn.edu

Connie Knoble
800-226-2696
Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval,
Flagler, Hamilton, Nassau,
and St. Johns
knoble@firn.edu

Linda Love
800-330-3519
Alachua, Columbia, Gilchrist,
Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison,
Putnam, Suwannee, Taylor,
and Union
love@firn.edu

Charlie Morris 800-257-1687
Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto,
Glades, Hendry, Lee, Monroe, and Sarasota
morris@firn.edu

Georgina Long
877-892-9602
Brevard, Indian River, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, St. Lucie, and Volusia
long@firn.edu

Gordon Worley
800-226-5711
Citrus, Dixie, Hernando,
Lake, Levy, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sumter
worley@firn.edu

Babs Ryan
800-330-1049
Administrator
ryan@firn.edu

|| Contents || Telecommunications in the Classroom || Florida Information Resource Network || Hardware ||
|| Configuring your Computer || PPP email Applications || Implementation || Appendices ||

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