IT Guidance Committee Q&A

Your reps on the IT Guidance Committee met with the IT department and the Ed Techs on May 30th. At that time:

The Ed Techs demo'ed:

• The Ed Tech Loaning Library's new Microbits, plus other recent tech devices
• Microsoft Products (like OneNote, Teams)
• Microsoft Tools (like the Surface Go's currently finishing their pilot)
• Microsoft Assistive Tech (like Immersive Reader)

HelpDesk discussed:

• Summer storage for Chromebooks
• Epson pen rechargeable battery charging and replacement
• Work order process for the summer

The IT Department discussed:

• nComputing replacement
• Teacher workstation replacement

If you have further questions, be sure to talk to your school rep (IT Guidance Committee member list here).

Want to know the best way to store your Chromebooks for the summer?

HelpDesk has created the linked document to take you through the steps, or check out Chrome Education's Help Center article on this very topic, especially if you have a Chromebook model for which the steps in HelpDesk's document don't work (usually the older models)!

Why Keep your Phones Up-to-Date?

Keeping your cellphones up-to-date on OS updates means you will also be getting the option of updating to the latest versions of apps. When the Ed Techs do training videos, we are using the latest versions, so if your screen looks different, it could be because you are using a different device OR your device is running an older operating system/older app version. You will have to research how apps and all the things that we demo for you function differently, if you want to use older versions of OS and/or apps.

Getting Weird Pop-Ups Suddenly on your Teacher Computer?

Don't panic - here's how to get rid of them!

Teacher Desktop Replacement with the Addition of Full Microsoft Suite 2019-2020 School Year

While teacher workstations will be replaced during the next school year, this is NOT to say the IT Department is taking away teacher access to Google products. The IT Department is simply adding the full Microsoft suite onto your computers so that you can choose which one will work best for you, your students, and your classroom situations and needs.

The CustomGuide training that HelpDesk emailed to you in March is optional and only meant to help you to hone your own Microsoft skills in the Windows 10 environment. Many former Microsoft users will find that while much remains similar to the Word, PowerPoint and Excel that you knew and loved, there are many new additions that finally make Microsoft a viable alternative to Google for offering your course materials to students. Microsoft Teams' ability to organize your classroom experience and to host online meetings, and the embedded OneNote's capabilities to post text, PDF documents and images using Office Lens, and to create math materials that can be read aloud effortlessly to students using the amazingly versatile Immersive Reader are materials management game-changers that you should explore.

While the Tech Tidbits early this school year focused on Google's tools and how to maximize their classroom use for you, we've spent the later part of the school year focusing on the Microsoft tools and how to use them to maximize your classroom impact. Check the Tech Tidbits page for those recent additions, and look at the Google & Microsoft Go Head-to-Head page so that you can make an informed decision on the best platform(s) for you! Also be sure to check out the stats on WHY you might consider changing.

Sub Drive Clean-Up Needed

Many of the school drives where teachers copy the plans for their substitute teachers are filling up, so the IT Department will be wiping these clean this July. Please ensure that before July, you have retrieved any necessary files from your school's Sub Drive.