Lifelong Community Learning: Winter Online Learning

Are you ready for a change? Would you like to learn something new? Here's a chance to explore new opportunities.

Check out these options AND remember, many courses also have a self-paced option that you can start anytime.

Grant Writing Suite
https://www.ed2go.com/franklined/online-courses/how-to-write-a-grant

A to Z Grant Writing is an invigorating and informative course that will teach you how to raise needed funds. It's an excellent primer for individuals wishing to become grant writing consultants or community grant writing volunteers.


Supervisor Suite
https://www.ed2go.com/franklined/online-courses/supervisor-suite

To succeed as a manager, you must know how to lead, communicate, and delegate. If you’re a new manager, this online management training course will prepare you for success in your new position.


Paralegal Suite
https://www.ed2go.com/franklined/online-courses/paralegal-suite

Careers in the legal field often require years of training, but paralegals can enter the job market quickly. This online course bundle will introduce you to the basics of the paralegal profession.


For additional professional development opportunities
https://www.ed2go.com/franklined/

Lifelong Community  Learning: Winter Online Learning

Town of Franklin: Online Payments, Permits and Licensing Center

Town of Franklin Online Payments, Permits, and Licensing Center

The Town of Franklin website is a great resource for information and can save you time and a trip! Click on the "Payments & Permits" icon on our homepage to find links to our online payment portal, our online licensing center, forms, documents and more.

Or go directly ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/files

 

Town of Franklin: Online Payments, Permits and Licensing Center

Lifelong Community Learning: Online Learning

anytime, anywhere... just a click away!

Online Learning anytime, anywhere...just a click away! Lifelong Community Learning in partnership with Ed2go is offering career training and personal development courses! CAREER TRAINING • 6-18 Month Format • All materials included • Prepare for certification • Student advisors Courses Include: • Certified Wedding Planner • Optician Certification Training • CompTIA Certification Training: A+, Network+, Security+ • Web Design Professional • Digital Game Artist Certificate • Administrative Professional w/ MS Office Specialist 2016 • Mobile and Desktop Web  Developer • Medical Billing & Coding Visit our website for program details! careertraining.ed2go.com/fps Personal Development • 6 Week Format • Discussion Areas • Monthly start sessions • Expert Instructor Courses Include: • Speed Spanish • Accounting Fundamentals • A to Z Grant Writing • Grammar Refresher • Basic CompTIA A+ Certification Prep • Creating WordPress Websites • Medical Terminology: A Word Association Approach • Introduction to SQL • Secrets to Better Photography • Real Estate Investing Visit our website for program details! ed2go.com/franklined

Lifelong Learning Institute - Franklin Public Schools | 218 Oak Street, Room 137, Franklin, MA 02038 Sent by lifelong@franklinps.net in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!

Fiscal Year 2020 1st Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills are due August 1, 2019

Fiscal Year 2020 1st Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills are due August 1, 2019

Fiscal Year 2020 1st Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills are due August 1, 2019
Reminders:

• You can pay online here

https://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/online-payments-and-applications

• If you are mailing in your payment, please be sure to include the remittance copy with your check.
• If you choose to use your Online Banking to pay your bills, please remember to reference the bill number(s) you are paying.

Thank you!

This is an automatic message from Town of Franklin MA and shared from
https://www.franklinma.gov/treasurer-collector/news/fiscal-year-2020%C2%A01st-quarter-real-estate-and-personal-property-tax-bills

Fiscal Year 2020 1st Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills are due August 1, 2019

 

“They go where the money is”

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Places such as Baltimore and Atlanta have been hit with massive cyber-attacks in recent years, but it’s not just major cities that are at risk of losing data or having their systems hacked. Smaller municipalities are also targets.

According to a 2019 report from the International City Management Association, approximately one in three local governments do not know how frequently their information system is subject to attacks, incidents and breaches. Of those that do, 60 percent report they are subject to daily cyber-attacks, often hourly or more.

Tiffany Schoenike, chief operating officer for the National Cyber Security Alliance, warns smaller municipalities are just as likely as larger cities to be the target of an attack. This could include anything from sensitive data being lost or stolen to systems being locked with the only recourse paying the hacker to regain access.

“Sometimes funding levels make things worse,” Schoenike said. “This could be from not being able to afford the right kinds of technology, or not being able to hire the best people for the job.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190723/as-new-threats-arise-is-your-local-government-safe-from-cyber-attacks

One of the keys to successful online processing is to ensure the site you are dealing with uses https. The Town of Franklin site does use this feature:  https://franklinma.viewpointcloud.com/

One of the keys to successful online processing is to ensure the site you are dealing with uses https

Fiscal Year 2019 4th Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills

Fiscal Year 2019 4th Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills are due May 1, 2019

You can pay online at http://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/online-payments

Reminders:

• Payments received after the due date are charged 14% interest.
• If you are mailing in your payment, please be sure to include the remittance copy with your check.
• If you choose to use your Online Banking to pay your bills, please remember to reference the bill number(s) you are paying.

Fiscal Year 2019 4th Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills

FTC Alert: It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

It's National Cybersecurity Awareness Month by Ari Lazarus Consumer Education Specialist, FTC October is spooky enough with its ghouls and goblins. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is here to remind us how to stay safe and secure from real (and maybe even scarier) threats – malware and scammers. Read more  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/10/its-national-cybersecurity-awareness-month?utm_source=govdelivery This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

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4th Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills Due May 1, 2018

4th Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills Due May 1, 2018
Fiscal Year 2018 4th Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills will be mailed out on March 30, 2018.

The due date for these bills is, May 1, 2018.

Reminders:
You can pay online at http://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/online-payments. 

If you are mailing in your payment, please be sure to include the remittance copy with your check.

If you choose to use your Online Banking to pay your bills, please remember to reference the bill number(s) you are paying.

This is an automatic message from Town of Franklin MA.

4th Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills Due May 1, 2018

This was shared from
http://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/4th-quarter-real-estate-and-personal-property-tax-bills-due-may-1-2018

Franklin resident Ethan McCarthy Earls graduates from Massachusetts Virtual Academy

Ethan Robert McCarthy Earls of Franklin, Massachusetts graduated with the Massachusetts Virtual Academy Class of 2017 on Friday, June 9. The commencement ceremony was held at Greenfield Middle School, in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Virtual Academy (MAVA) is the state's first virtual K-12 public school of choice. As a Commonwealth Virtual School, MAVA delivers a transformative education with unique strengths and flexibility perfectly suited for the modern world.

MAVA's approach encourages critical thinking and an independent learning style that meets the key needs of diverse learners by providing educational resources that cultivate curiosity, exploration and inquiry.

As a public school of choice, MAVA is open to all students in Massachusetts.

For more information on MAVA, visit massvirtualacademy.org.

Massachusetts Virtual Academy (MAVA)

License your Dog today. New easy online registration!

ViewPoint Cloud is the vendor whose software is being used by the Town of Franklin for their online dog licenses and future expansion to include other online transactions. ViewPoint published this article on their company blog about the work they are doing with Franklin.

"Franklin’s vision for customer-service means rising to meet the expectations of residents in a digital age. While staff at the counters are friendly and knowledgeable, Town Hall is only open from 8am-4pm. To Hellen, providing better government services looks a lot more like what you’d expect from Google or Amazon. 

“The world’s operating in a global, 24/7 environment, and people are conducting business at all hours of the day. My hope is in the very short-term we can transition our little place in the world, Franklin, MA, into a 24/7 storefront. We want people to expect that out of government, and we want to deliver on it. When someone says, ‘oh shoot I need to license my dog and today’s the deadline,’ we want that service to be a Google search away. We want to be a one stop shop for people’s questions and services,” explains Hellen. 

With this idea in mind, Hellen and other department heads agreed that updating their permitting system was an important step in providing citizens with greater access to government services.

Continue reading the article online
http://viewpointcloud.com/blog/case-studies/franklin-ma-changes-paradigm-government-service-epermitting/

License your Dog today. New easy online registration!
https://franklinma.viewpointcloud.com/

License your Dog today. New easy online registration!

2017 Dog Licensing Season Begins!

"When the ball drops to ring in a New Year, it is also a reminder that annual dog licensing season also begins.

This year, I am very excited to announce a pilot initiative to allow residents to license your dog online.

We hope you find the new cloud-based software easy to use. You can license your dog at your convenience, 24-7, without ever making a trip to the Municipal Building. Simply register online and our office will send you your loved one’s dog tags in the mail.

Please visit our new site to register you dog:
https://franklinma.viewpointcloud.com/

Residents may also find the registration center on the Online Payments section of the Town’s website at www.franklinma.gov

Our office reminds dog owners that licensing your dog is due by April 1st. After April 1st, a late fee will be assessed. In addition to the late fee, if your dog is found to have not been registered at all, there is a $100 fine, per state law.

You are also required to send a rabies certificate and to provide your Vet's information to allow us to communicate better with them on rabies information and expiration.

2017 Fee Schedule:

Dog Licensing Registration:

• Before April 1st (spayed/neutered) = $20.00
• Before April 1st (not spayed/neutered) = $30.00
• After April 1st (Late dog registration fee, spayed/neutered) = $50.00
• After April 1st (Late dog registration fee, not spayed/neutered) = $60.00

By using this online service, we will also email you notification of next year's dog licensing as well. 

Let us do most of the work for you so you can spend more time with your pets. Register today!
Please call the office at (508) 520-4900 with any questions.

And, yes, the Town Clerk still accepts applications via mail and personally in the office. Forms will be sent out in the upcoming census mailing in January. Do not hesitate to stop in to register your dog.

I wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year’s weekend."

Teresa M. Burr
Town Clerk

Online service page for Franklin Town Clerk

http://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/news/2016-12-30_2017_dog_licensing_season_begins_0.pdf

3Q tax bills mailed - Due Feb 1, 2017

3rd Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Bills will be mailed out on Friday, December 30th. The due date for these bill is February 1, 2017.

You can pay online at http://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/online-payments.

If you are mailing in your payment, please be sure to include the remittance copy with your check.

expanded parking lot at the Senior Center

Instructions for Using Your Bank's Online Payment Service to Pay Town of Franklin Bills

Are you currently using your bank's online payment service to pay Town of Franklin bills? 

If so, please use the required format detailed below to insure that your payment is applied to the correct bill.

Shared from the Town of Franklin webpage
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Treasurer/Online%20Banking%20Payments.pdf

screen grab of Town of Franklin webpage

How does this amazing mind reader do it?

How does this amazing mind reader do it?





A nice lesson here. What are you revealing online?

---------------

A couple of related links on privacy. Well worth spending some time reading!

"Why I make my kids read privacy policies"
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Passcode/Passcode-Voices/2015/0513/Why-I-make-my-kids-read-privacy-policies

"Is student privacy erased as classrooms turn digital?"
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Passcode/Passcode-Voices/2015/0513/Is-student-privacy-erased-as-classrooms-turn-digital

Reminder: report a pothole with your phone

This info was updated here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/02/pothole-weather-reminder-to-use-dpw.html

With the changing weather, this will be prime time for potholes. As announced previously, you can use your smart phone (and the built in GPS) to report a pothole. If you don't have a smart phone, you can also do so online.

You can get the app on your phone to make reports on the spot - just search for "Commonwealth Connect" (City of Boston) in your app store or click here to go to the iTunes Store or the Google Play Store.

report a pothole or street light problem with your phone

You can follow this link from the DPW page
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/General_Pages/report_an_issue

or go directly to SeeClickFix.com and find the Franklin, MA page
http://seeclickfix.com/franklin_4

When you create your account you will get notified of the status of the problem reported. You can report anonymously but would miss out on the completion notification and other status updates.

Related posts:

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/01/yes-it-is-pothole-season.html

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/01/pothole-season.html

Online course available through Brown University

Interested in neuroscience and/or computer programming? This might be up your alley!

Hi Steve, 

I am a Franklin resident, a lecturer at Brown University, and an avid reader of Franklin Matters :-) 

I was wondering if you might be interested in promoting a course I am teaching online starting at the end of the month.  The course, Exploring Neural Data, is offered for free to anyone, on the Coursera platform.  Brown University did a write-up about it today: https://news.brown.edu/articles/2014/09/mooc 

I thought it might be fun for members of the community to participate in the course, so I was hoping that Franklin Matters might be a way for them to become aware of it.  The course has no prerequisites, and would even be appropriate for advanced high schoolers with an interest in neuroscience and/or computer programming.  Here is the link to the course: https://www.coursera.org/course/neuraldata 

Please let me know what you think and if you need any more info! 

Thanks,
Monica 

--
Monica Linden, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Dept. of Neuroscience
Brown University
Box GL-N
Providence, RI 02912
401-863-5192

neuroscience online course through Brown

Sign up for electronic payment of your Franklin bills

Are you tired of receiving bills in the mail, putting them down somewhere until you cannot find them when you are ready to pay them? Have you ever paid a late fee and/or interest charges because you misplaced a bill? Then you are ready to take the next step to bill presentment or paperless billing.

The Town of Franklin offers you the convenience of paperless billing through UniPay’s new electronic billing feature. Managing your bills online has now become faster and easier. With electronic bill presentment you will receive an email notice as soon as your bill is available for payment. With paperless billing you will no longer receive those paper bills to save.

It’s easy as 1, 2, 3~ …. Register, view, and pay….. And you are using the same trusted, dependable UniPay product. Your bills are stored electronically on UniPay and your payment history is also available. You can retrieve them by logging in. If you need a copy, just print it out. If you need to know what you paid for taxes for income tax purposes, just look them up.

No searching for paper copies.
No forgetting to pay.
No hassle.

And it is available 24 hours a day/365 days a year so you can manage your Real Estate and water/sewer/trash bills when you want to.

Use our on-line bill payment link to get you there to register. The link is on the Town of Franklin Home page. http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/index

welcome page for Franklin's e-bill service UniPay Gold

Go directly to UniPay Gold via this link:
https://unipaygold.unibank.com/Default.aspx?customerid=721

It is easy to “be green”.


Note: there is a $0.25 service charge that is applied to each payment. When you consider the cost of a stamp is currently twice the service charge, this is a good deal.  I have used the online bill pay successfully.



If you have questions, you can contact the Treasurer's office

Town of Franklin
Treasurer-Collector
355 East Central Street
Franklin, MA 02038
(508) 520-4950

Pay your Franklin water/sewer/trash bills online

Did you know you could pay your Franklin bills online?
You can also get notification of the bill via email. This saves paper and can be more efficient for Franklin and you.

This one page handout was on the table in the entrance area at the Municipal Building.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczM09Kd2NuRTlBakE/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-ip_bGQiAFQEBqKAjmeD_-A



You can pay your Franklin bills online here
https://unipaygold.unibank.com/customerinfo.aspx

Note the link is available from the official Franklin home page. You can find the link in the lower left corner of the menu.  http://town.franklin.ma.us/

Better Business Bureau warns of 'Amazon' scam

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Better Business Bureau warns of 'Amazon' scam

via The Milford Daily News News RSS by Staff reports on 5/15/12

The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about a new email phishing scam that looks like an order cancellation notice from Amazon.com.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to The Milford Daily News News RSS using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

There are several worthy resources to help with your online safety.

• The Better Business Bureau can be found online:  http://boston.bbb.org/
• The US Government has this site:  http://onguardonline.gov/
• Wired Safety has their site: http://www.wiredsafety.org/

If you have found a site worthy of sharing, please send me an email or leave a comment.

RMV Urges Customers: Renew Online

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

RMV Urges Customers: Renew Online

via Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation by Klark Jessen on 10/7/11

MassDOT RMV is again urging eligible drivers to renew their licenses online.

The number of license renewals is expected to increase by 50 percent beginning in November and continue at higher levels for the months thereafter.

November is the beginning of a five-year license renewal cycle that began in 1991, replacing the previous four-year cycle.   The result of that change is one year every five years with a reduced number of license renewals.  That lower volume year ends as of November 1, and transactions will increase. The RMV has responded by launching a publicity campaign through Highway Division billboards and public service announcements at the MBTA to urge drivers to check their license expiration dates and renew online.

The goal of the campaign is to let the public know that approximately 50% percent of drivers are eligible to renew their license online and avoid a branch visit. It also reminds customers that they can renew their licenses up to one year before the expiration date that falls on their birthday.

The RMV's online renewal application asks customers a series of questions. Customers eligible to renew online can pay the required fee and their license will be mailed to them in 7-10 business days. The online application also helps customers that aren't eligible to renew via the Internet. The web transaction informs customers 75 years or older that they must renew at a branch, in accordance with the 2010 Safe Driving Law. It also informs customers if they owe parking tickets or excise bills that have to be paid in order to renew. Customers that are required to renew in a branch can complete and print the web application to save time during their visit.

Customers not able to renew online should plan ahead and check branch locations and wait times online. To help prepare for the expected increase in customers, RMV recently expanded its hours at some of its busiest branches.  The RMV website allows customers to check branch wait times and locations. 

Services available on the MassDOT RMV website include applying for a first time license; converting an out-of-state license; scheduling a branch appointment; registration renewals; ordering a driving record, crash report or Fast Lane transponder; viewing the status of a license, registration, driver education certificate and title; signing up for organ/tissue donation; and canceling a registration plate.

You can also sign up online for a free license renewal or Massachusetts ID reminder service.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites