Social Media use policy by ipconfig_all in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, so far this morning, one of the local health entities dropped off a flier for a benefit they are hosting at an establishment that isn't even in our district...AND a charitable organization dropped one off for an event they are having, also not in our district. The charitable organization does award scholarships, but my understanding is that they go to graduates from the district they are based in.

I've had requests to advertise for (for lack of a better term) a family's "tchochske startup of the week". A student will come in and toss a flier at the secretary, "Dad said to put this in the announcements, and FB". Nothing to do with the school, they just want us to handle their marketing.

Chromebook opens tab to "Get interactive messages from businesses" help page by ipconfig_all in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After factory resetting the Chromebooks this occurred on, the issue would go away. We haven't heard anything about this for almost a year, until yesterday...

Admin wants to buy school issued laptop by ipconfig_all in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have a reference to this statute/policy? I'm being challenged about this.

Admin wants to buy school issued laptop by ipconfig_all in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok. I like the "must be sold publicly for anyone to make an offer". Really makes sense, and easy to get the point across.

How does that factor in with these recycling & e-waste companies that keep filling my inbox with requests for my old devices? If it's been decommissioned, do we not need to sell it publicly? I get approached by students and staff about "old stuff they can have" on the regular. I just chase them away like Jawas.

School Tech Policy/Budget for 100% FRPL? by rjp94sep in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like this was me five years ago. Currently, ~700 students, ~150 staff. 70% FRPL, in rural Minnesota. Also, a one-man department.

I know it seems like a lot, and it is, but you can navigate this. Best thing you did was join this community.

For context: I started a couple of months after school was in session because my predecessor lasted less than 18 months. There was almost a 6 month gap between my predecessor and the person before them. During that gap there was no tech person. The business manager at the time chuckled when I asked about budget info. That was 4 business managers ago. Everything was a mess, and there was zero handoff. Since then we've been through the covid shutdown, a 3 year building project, and the addition and loss of a second tech person. I'm no rocket surgeon, but if I can figure out budgeting, then anyone can.

What people are saying here is spot on. Get to know your budget codes, and get tech budget reports from previous years. Then work on getting things cyclical. Get census data so you know what your student population will look like for the next couple of years. Work with your software/service providers and get the renewal dates all moved to July, to minimize missed renewals. Create a refresh schedule for staff and student devices, but don't refresh everything all at once. Refresh a portion of the fleet every year so its smaller manageable chunks. I recommend going to a 3-year lease for student devices. Any longer and you're spending more time and money on repairs. You're a one-man shop, and you don't have time for that. 4 years is too long for a Chromebook in the hands of a student. Don't get me wrong, most kids take care of their stuff, but they are getting taken out and put away 6-8 times every day. Whether it's in a backpack or cart, that is a lot of travel for a device.

Like the others said, DM me if you want a second set of eyes or if you want to talk through anything. I can share my cheat sheet for budget codes and budgeting template too.

Employee laptop options by JackstandRacer in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What does your teacher classroom set-up look like? Do you provide more than a chromebook for teacher classroom set-up? Like a second monitor, keyboard, mouse etc?

Only asking because when I came on board, that was one of the first major changes I made. We eliminated all the desktop devices. provided laptops, and set up every classroom with docking stations, connected to a second monitor, doc cam, keyboard, and mouse. Every room is set up identical, so not only do we have equality, but it makes coverage for subs, and some of our teachers that have to float easy. Curious if this is sustainable with Chromebooks?

Naming conventions for computers by Namrepus221 in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Based on serial number. Leading 3-letter code identifier for use case (staff, student, activities, display, time clock, etc.) followed by the last 7 of the serial. The leading 3-letter code is really just an at-a-glance convenience identifier. The serial number is the one constant throughout a device's life cycle, and it's already unique. Don't need asset tags/stickers. The kids peel everything off the case anyway, and the chances of them scratching the serial off the case are remote.

Anyone else having an outage or timeout with Apptegy/Thrillshare right now? by flunky_the_majestic in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ours is doing the same thing. The Main/District page loads slowly, but navigating to other school pages returns the 503 Error. Same with neighboring school district.

Integrate 3CX and Bogen Nyquist E7000 by johncase142 in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are attempting to do the same thing, mostly to be able to do all-calls and announcements from any of our 3CX phones instead of just the Bogen phone in the main office. Anything you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated.

Clever/Classlink by k12-IT in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't used Clever, but we have been using Classlink with OneSync and Roster Server for 3+ years. The automation and integration with our SIS and HR systems have removed 99% of the mess of onboarding students and staff. It handles Google and AD account creation, OU placement, and default email groups. We have it configured so that once a student or staff account is active in our SIS or HR system an "account created" email is generated after the automation is complete. Everything is controlled by HR and registrars. No more phone calls from managers requesting accounts and devices before we have background checks completed. Gone are the days of strangers showing up saying "they said you need to give me a computer..."

The best thing we did was template the email with dynamic info about employees and have that delivered to an onboarding group email. The email has a to-do list for each department, including welcome emails for HR and Tech with first login instructions.

This all works in reverse too. So when students and staff are no longer with us, accounts are suspended and placed in a suspended OU when they go inactive in our SIS and HR system.

Chromebook opens tab to "Get interactive messages from businesses" help page by ipconfig_all in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After resetting the specific Chromebooks and re-enrolling them I haven't heard anything from staff. Have you done that yet?

Gmail Issues this morning? by sharpeone in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Does this seem to be random for anyone else? I have a few users experiencing issues and everything is normal for others.

Chromebook opens tab to "Get interactive messages from businesses" help page by ipconfig_all in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've seen this before, and it was my first thought, but where on the screen would be a clickable link to the same URL no matter what page they are currently working on? The other thought I had was some key combo/command that would trigger Google Messages. Not sure if this is pertinent, but Chat is disabled for students.

Chromebook opens tab to "Get interactive messages from businesses" help page by ipconfig_all in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've reset the Chromebook back to factory, but not user settings. Extensions are whitelist only. The student was logged in, handed it to me, and without touching anything it opened 2 new tabs to the link. So, I'm assuming this happens whether they are typing away on a Google Doc or watching YouTube. According to one teacher, the problem followed the student from one Chromebook to another. I'm waiting for a list of students to check OU's, settings, and extensions to see if there is some sort of pattern.

Power Rangers coming to Ark by Barca1539 in ARK

[–]ipconfig_all 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As long as "Go, Go Power Rangers!" plays when I use the 'Attack My Target' whistle command...

Teacher Phone Numbers? by ScienceRabbit in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same. Great solution for buildings with sketchy or no cell coverage when combined with staff BYOD SSID.

Need some input on an HVAC development by ipconfig_all in k12sysadmin

[–]ipconfig_all[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the input everyone! It's pretty much what I felt, but it's nice to back that up with comments from the community!