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MackinVIA – the MDS Digital LIbrary

Here’s how to login to the MDS Digital Library using the app MackinVIA on your iPad.


Find the app MackinVIA.

Doubleclick to open.

A login screen will come up. IF YOU ARE PROMPTED FOR A SCHOOL, go to “First time login” below.  IF YOU SEE OUR SCHOOL – Mount de Sales Academy – go to “Ongoing login” below.

FIRST TIME LOGIN

The school name is entered once. Type in “mount de” (no quotes but with a space) – and then wait for the school name to pop up. Tap on the school name.  

Typing too fast OR not paying attention to the screen may result in selecting the wrong school.  If that has happened, swipe out of the app and start again.  

Entering the school name is only a one time process.

 

ONGOING LOGIN – Check school name

Your username is your FULL mds email address —-> for example, mds12345@mountdesales.net

Password is the same as your Moodle password.


TO FIND A BOOK

  1. Tap the “hamburger menu” – 3 horizontal bars – at the top left. Then select the purple bar —-> categories. You will find that the MackinVIA categoreis match the categories in the ARC.
  2. Anytime you wish to return to the categories, look at the upper left – there will be either a stylized back arrow or 3 horizontal bars.
  3. Also under the 3 horizontal bars is the ability to exit (log off). Here is what the Categories view looks like:

Click around to browse through a section. Click on a book to see more information OR to check the book out. Once you check out a book it will automatically download to your iPad. 

You can only checkout one book at a time. You can return a book at any time, but when the 2 weeks (or 4 weeks with renewal) timeframe has been reached, the app will check the book back into the database for you.  You will have to check it out again

The stylized arrow in the upper left will return to the category page with the book icons.  

If you get lost, close the app and start again, or come to the ARC for help.

Remember that EXIT is under the three horizontal bars found in the upper left.


FINDING A SPECIFIC BOOK

  • Start with the screen above that has a purple “title” bar.  
  • On the right side of this bar is the magnifying glass (universal “search” icon).  
  • Enter the name of the book and tap “go” or tap the magnifying glass.
  • You will see the book that matches your search.  
  • Click on the black button labelled “Checkout”, which will allow you to read the book for 2 weeks. You can renew it once for an additional 2 weeks, and then the book will automatically be checked back in again.
  • You can only checkout one book at a time.

 

Click on your name to see this list.

Favorites = list of books where you clicked the “FAVORITE button.

Notebook has notes you copy/pasted or typed.

Checkouts has the books you have checked out.

 

 

Open Now = there are a practically unlimited number
of copies available.

Add to Favorites = there is a favorites list available.

Checkout = there are a limited number of copies available,
similar to the way physical books work.

Two additional buttons appear after a book is checked out:
Return and Renew

 

Dark Apps – Can’t get my typing done – help!

Sometimes when MDS Tech pushes out app updates on the iPads it takes a while for everything to get updated.

The first things you need to do:

  • Swipe out of all your running apps, shutdown, reboot, and WAIT. [Search for “iPad Reboot Dance” here on the tech site.]
  • Make sure you have enough open storage on your iPad [Settings –> General –> About. If the number is well below 500 megabytes/.5gigabytes, you need to do some housecleaning. What’s Taking Up All Your Storage?]
  • When you get home, plug your iPad in.
  • Confirm you are connected to the internet {try going to a webpage that you’ve never visited before – hamsandwichtees.com, for example]
  • Check to see if you have a system update [Settings–>General–>Software Update] IF YOU DO< – UPDATE YOUR SYSTEM!
  • Then leave it alone.

NOTICE: YOU STILL ARE REQUIRED TO GET YOUR HOMEWORK DONE EVEN IF NOTABILITY OR TEXTILUS ARE NOT WORKING.

Why? You Have OPTIONS!


Have typing to do? Here are several ways to type EVEN IF your word processor of choice is not available at the moment:

iPad:

  • Pencil and Paper
  • Notes app
  • Textilus
  • Notability
  • Google Docs
  • Fire up a web browser, login to Drive, start a new Google Doc inside the web browser
  • Use any of the above to create the text. Shoot a screen shot. Email it to yourself.
  • …..or use Google Drive to do OCR on the picture – which converts the letters in the picture it to text that you can edit.
  • Type the material, take a picture using your phone, email it to yourself.

Other computers:

  • Type your material using Docs on your Google drive [login.mountdesales.net, Drive, NEW–> Google Doc]. Once done, you could copy/paste the material into an email, share a link, download it as a PDF or Word document…… what makes sense depends on your teacher and the assignment.
  • You COULD use your phone, but I really do not recommend it unless it’s only one sentence. You DO want to have a life, right? A phone screen takes way too long, and it prevents you from seeing the whole things you’ve typed – that means MORE mistakes, lower grade, etc.
  • There are computers available in the ARC ADN in SH206 [when there is no class in session in the room].
  • Pencil and Paper!

Need even more ideas? Contact the iPad guy.