Saturday, October 4, 2014

Technology Facilitator Meeting October 2014



Kevin Sherrill

Sam Walker in on executive board at  NCTIES

http://www.ncties.org/conference/present/index.html
  • Sam highly encourages us to talk to principals and assistant principals about attending the NCTIES Administrative Retreat
    • Principals can add teachers on and get a discounted rate
    • Student showcase is very inspiring
  • You can register for this event on OCT. 13 when the conference registration link hits the NCTIES website. 
  • Wednesday, March 4, 2015  9am-4pm (Lunch will be included:  March 4th - 6th at the Raleigh Convention Center
  • If you would like to submit a proposal here’s your information and link. Melissa Edwards mwedwards@wsfcs.k12.nc.us in Instructional Technology
     
  • NCTIES will be accepting concurrent session proposals for the NCTIES 2015 Conference. NCTIES members, non-members and students of all levels are invited to submit a proposal. The deadline to submit a presentation proposal is: October 31, 2014

Miscellaneous notes from Kevin:

  • BYOD—help Kevin promote that (there was a teacher at TAC who had not heard of it) More information:  http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/mlc
  • Work with principal to find out how teachers are using x131's if they are not being used they need to know
  • Middle School Initiative:
    • Continuing wireless infrastructure updates, high schools are done, and now have funding for all 8th grade classroom will have wireless coverage
  • There is also now funding for 5th through 7th grade device deployment
    • End goal 5th through 12th will have wireless coverage by the end of the year.
    • Middle School—6th and 7th grade devices—they will purchase 2000—lenovo model 11e
    • Should be by the end of deployment about one laptop for about every four kids
    • In carts of 24 units or 32? -discuss in Carla Miller session
    • Bandwidth Issues with BYOD?  –all schools have 2 GB connection , with about 50% bandwith usage, so far, it's been okay
      • Seeing about 4-5000 devices everyday.
  • Issues with the webfilter about mid day everyday
    • Knocks everyone off the public and then they have to re-authenticate
    • About 10:30 – 11:00 every day, it falls off any connection and then when they reset the server,  it comes back—

Doreen Bates / Edmodo: http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Page/81443

  • She has provided schools with a list of Edmodo user names
  • There are so many duplicate names:
    • Should NOT need an Edmodo account for every class
    • What should naming convention be?
      • Bring up at MTAC or all future accounts should be their current 4/4/4 standard
      • Teachers can delete students and have other rights too
      • Doreen is the district administrator for Edmodo—continue this discussion in the breakout sessions

Kevin Sherrill--Teacher Advisory/Communication Issue

  • Teacher asked:
    • When are students getting email?
    • What is BYOD?
    • May need to refocus on how you are doing things…

Table discussions:  https://wsfcsk12nc-my.sharepoint.com/personal/kssherrill_wsfcs_k12_nc_us/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?guestaccesstoken=FKCXVW5QsIb836m5D0q%2fzrruHg7PKgJBmSpQEy84t7o%3d&docid=1_15bf41047687e42aeac4f22d1355fe901&wdFormId={F0FDF306-6571-4BB9-9466-931E9C421A6D}&action=formsubmit

  • Is redistributing Kevin’s emails effective ?
  • Maybe connect five might be the best since it reaches everyone
  • People are not reading emails these days?  Too much?  overwhelming people and it’s not working
  • Maybe works for some and not others?  Daily blog?
  • Things still on paper? For families that don’t have internet access

 Current Projects:  Chris Corbin systems update: Link to presentation

  • Sharepoint 2013 development (ongoing)--Moving from the webportal
  • Trip direct—for field trip requests—add on to schooldude
    • Will be accessible from home
  • Way to get IT direct to be the default?  They are working with school dude
  • "System Center"—will be a way to get a full inventory of computers out there—allow us to deploy software more easily too, right now software installs are through user log-in script
  • Updating backup solution starting on 10/8—triple the storage and half the physical computer space
  • November 21—no email that weekend as infrastructure upgrade takes place

IT direct update:

  • Over 6000 tickets—average of 212 rickets per day
  • If you change status to “forwarded” it does not show up at all for those downtown
  • Hit cancel to print without changing the status
  • When we send in machines, what is the status supposed to be?
    • Use "work in progress" for send in equipment
  • Too many categories?  may limit them
  • Make sure you submit before you print ticket
  • So many emails generated from school dude?
    • You might set up a email rule and send them to a folder
  • Be as accurate as possible when choosing the problem type
  • Use journal notes as message center for updates and communication
  • There will be a video for School Dude and how IT direct  works
  • They are going to try and Route service desk queue for your zone, so you will pick service desk by zone
  • Can they make a routing rule for TF’s (obviously their tickets are not going to themselves) ?
  • The number of Printing related  tickets have decreased
  • Strategic is helping with the problem with hundreds of pages of paper printing--if it's blank pages, that is probably a firmware update that is needed by Strategic
  • Firmware update combined with driver update may fix that for the printing hundreds of pages with just a little text
  • Maybe more instructions on printer refresh?
  • Local IP printer install will sometimes work when nothing else will
  • Womac will delete any printer that is not locally installed
  • Start/run:   way to get to network printers

M series image update:

  • Video driver fixed for video driver should be fixed now as of Tuesday night
  • Lenovo x11e models will be windows 8
  • AICP:  better way to deploy software is coming
  • Open in explorer for one drive will be fixed via AICP or will deploy the fix
  • Will be adding smartboard tools to aicp

Student email feedback:

  • Shortcut to windows XP machines will open browser by default in chrome
    • UPDATE:  Chris has already added the Google Chrome shortcut for Student Email on Windows XP machines.  Chris remembered talking to several folks who had  mentioned  other requests for web shortcuts on Windows XP.  Please submit those as a ticket and They work on them."

Carla Miller:

  • Surplus:  email from Carla sent out on Friday
  • New way to handle equipment sent in for repair starting on December 1st
    • They will start to Fix on site for machines that need fixed
    • will need a designated place to work at the schools
    • Warantee repairs will still need to go through Lenovo
    • Accidental coverage for one time per accident per serial number
    • Lenovo will call us on it if we have multiple machines with for example ripped off keys -- and the school will have to pay for it…it becomes a classroom management issue
    • $39.00 to pay for a whole new keyboard
    • Older wake Forest Laptops?  they can use older machines to replace the keyboards

Charge on Laptops issues?

  • Best practice Once a month rotate, let them completely die, then plug it in and fully charge
  • You can buy new batteries through CDW to buy a stash for standby
  • If they are NOT  charged over night that may help

Strategic Printing Issues:

  • Amber Gas sent something from Strategic--that was to be ignored
  • Get list of all printers and compare to the bill from secretary--should be all the same--except You will not see on your school bill the CTE printers
  • If you see a CTW printer on your school bill, let Carla know
  • Toner:  level that will trigger the shipment is 10%
  • Target times are Christmas, progress report time that can be a problem
  • If you have to change out a printer?—consider a refurbished printer from Strategic?
  • Or they will possibly replace one that has been so problematic its beyond repair
  • John DeRose salesman for Strategic is good

Access point upgrade:

  • Need to tell site survey group where your 8th grade classrooms are
  • May ask for a copy of your school map
  • Deadline for 8th grade is December
  • Will get 16 access points per school and where 8th graders sit
  • Maybe another in your media center or gym

New laptops in 6th and 7th Grade

  • 24 laptop cart is cheaper
  • Who will be Setting those up? The district

Heather Horton--Directory of Instructional Technology:

Presentation: http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001395/Centricity/Domain/2792/2014 Oct TF meeting overview Heather Horton.pdf
  • School Net to be used this year for benchmark testing starting in January (Same way that we tested CTE at the start of this year)
    • Curriculum Coordinators will be trained in November
    • Tech Facilitators will be expected to support like we did for CTE

MTAC: (Media and Technology Advisory Committees at the Schools)

  • Username: Full Email Address
  • Password: Self Created
  • Can use the App or Website - teachscape.com to reset passwords
  • Sometimes uninbstall the app and re-install is a fix all solution
  • The app was designed for iphone and works better in general than the android

PowerSchool Gradebook

  • All help materials are available online
    • Go to WSFCS website
    • Click Employee then Resources
    • Click PowerTeacher Help
    • Resources by topic matching the progression of the year
    • School Gurus Posted on Sharepoint Site

New ‘Student’ dropdown menu for Student Email


Kevin Sherrill final words...

  • Purpose of the RUP's was not to keep students off the computers
  • Parents that say keep kids off the computers –Kevin can talk to them
  • Data management has a flag in power school to mark kids as not having turned in their form and that maybe a source of confusion
  • Kevin to clarify on this after talking again to legal 
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