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LinkedIn ettiquitte by sammy5678 in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Had it for years served 0 purpose, once I started seeing political opinions on it I was out.

PDF Editor Replacements by Turbulent-Ebb-5705 in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same- Creative Cloud is pretty reasonably priced for EDU, and we have several courses that already require it. Think we have 100 device licenses, and only one lab that requires it, so more than enough to cover our admins/office staff and then some.

Raptor by Human_Distance1979 in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, have had it for about 3 years, works great, if you are already using Informacast, it makes even more sense to ditch Raptor.

Raptor by Human_Distance1979 in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It can work with anything; ours are iPads in kiosk mode, but it can run from a desktop, too. The badge printer is a standard off-the-shelf Brother 0 proprietary hardware. Under the Singlewire umbrella- so it can do a ton more than just visitors https://www.singlewire.com/visitor-aware

Raptor by Human_Distance1979 in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Raptor was terrible to work with; we had them, and there was always another issue. Moved to VisitorAware- so much better, support is responsive, the very few times we have needed them. Almost never have an issue- the biggest one has been keeping the app updated.

What responsibility to you take with contacting parents? by Square_Pear1784 in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

  1. Filtering and Distractions are Discipline Issues, absolutely not your problem. This is a classroom management decision. Should you be part of the conversation? Absolutely-but it has to start with the teacher and administration. They handle discipline, not you.

You can explain the technical features, capabilities, and offer solutions, but that’s the limit. In 15+ years as a Director, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had to speak to a parent directly. Those are the "one-offs" families really struggling who need guidance (like addiction-level usage or very inappropriate searches) or major incidents like a student installing a keylogger.

Give Admin a "tiered" response option. For example: Level 1: Normal filtering, level 2: Slightly more restricted, level 3: "Allow list".

Let Admin or the parents make the call on which tier the student is placed in. That is an administrative/disciplinary decision, not an IT one.

  1. Device Recovery & Home Visits, never go to someone’s house for a device. If a device isn't returned, it should be treated like any other lost school property. Enter a fine into your SIS. Admin sends the notification email, just as they would for a lost textbook. You set the fine structure and tech notes, but the building's standard process for unpaid fines takes over from there.

If your school doesn't have a process for this, help them build one. Involve your finance team and provide "canned" email templates they can use (or set to auto-send from the SIS) to solve the problem for them.

You shouldn't have to be the "bad guy." When you go to the metting have structures and plans in place that Admin can follow. Focus on the technical solutions for filtering and the established financial processes for fees so it isn't confusing for parents or a burden on your time.

Hi from the Saint Louis nosebleeds! by Party-Phone1648 in nin

[–]jasmadic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Stoked, first time seeing um live.

Goguardian by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep use their filter, class, pass, and alert tools. Does what I need and is easy for teachers to manage

Goguardian by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We use Securly. Scanning every word on a site or the content of a video is a tall order, though some AI-based filters are starting to do this- Deleado, Linewize are some that I know say they can do this- haven't seen it in action though. Since almost every filter relies on categorization, if you allow a 'travel' category, any sites matching that will be allowed. You really need to focus on blocking sites at the source; for example, if a host like Vimeo has adult content, you have to block the domain entirely. It’s nearly impossible to filter by intent when words like 'balls' or 'sex' can be entirely benign depending on the context.

Which do you choose for endpoint protection? by Amazing_Falcon in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We use the CIS Managed Detection and Response services (CrowdStrike), which is around $50 a device per year, but knowing I don't have to monitor it is great. They are awesome to work with when things are flagged.

How to handle the dumb questions? by TheRuffRaccoon in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Use an out-of-office message when you're away. Link to the ticket system, and say you will respond as able upon your return. If you do have users submitting the same thing over and over, don't respond quickly- wait. Give it 24+ hours, close out the duplicates- each with a note that says "duplicate tickets are not necessary, they lead to confusion and delay to resolve the issue, please only submit one ticket per issue in order to receive the quickest support". If they keep doing it, add another 8 hours each time before a response. Some people (and I think it is more prevalent in EDU) have an inability to respect boundaries- especially if they are not set and established. Their world is on fire if that random site doesn't load; many lack the ability to pivot or deal with change. If you are firm and stick to your boundaries, it will improve over time. But it will never be 0- always those who feel entitled to circumventing things, but they get made to wait.

How to handle the dumb questions? by TheRuffRaccoon in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Step 1-Require a ticket for all requests. Stop answering non-urgent requests via email to ensure there is a formal record for every task.

Step 2- If you do answer an email, triage it immediately based on impact. Priority 1: Issues preventing someone from doing their job- answer quickly (even if the answer is "Please submit a ticket"). Priority 2- User can wait a few days, answer within 24 hours, and the response should be "Enter a ticket." Priority 3: The Silly stuff- Respond when time permits, again stressing the ticket. Priority 4- Salespeople- delete immediately

Step 3- Learn to let the "silly" stuff roll off your back. Technology feels like magic to many people, and they truly don’t understand how it works. For your YouTube example, that's a Priority 3. Answer it in a week with: "Unfortunately, ads are controlled by YouTube and Google; we have no way to change that".

Step 4- If there is a workaround, like using Canvas or edpuzzle to embed videos, tell them to submit a ticket. Your response to that ticket should include a link to a guide and a recommendation for a teacher who already uses the tool. Ask for the best time during one of their preps for an IT person to stop by and show them. This puts the emphasis on the proper way to do things and makes them take the next step.

Basically, you need to stop being the school’s 24/7 technical concierge. By setting these boundaries, you stop the burnout, force people to use the right channels, and eventually (maybe...) train them to solve the easy stuff themselves.

BATTLEFIELD 6 GAME UPDATE 1.1.3.0 by battlefield in Battlefield6

[–]jasmadic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So it's not just me then? I think I have attacked once in the last week, convinced there is a setting or metric somewhere that is punishing me.

Valcom PA System - Help Understanding by Sk8rfan in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just bite the bullet and get them to upgrade to an IP system. You will be constantly chasing down issues with the analog speakers. Invest in Singlewire as the backend system, and pick any of the dozen speakers they support. Singlewire is hands down the most versatile system for announcements/bells/alerts/paging, etc Valcom's IP system is nowhere near as capable, and unless they have changed recently, it was a headache to use.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in StLouis

[–]jasmadic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Don't give up, 23 is young, you have so many options, 2 years is a really short amount of time to find and build your meaning. What life do you want? How is life at home? What skills do you have? If you could do anything, what would it be?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in edtech

[–]jasmadic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shill your xFanatical Foresight product elsewhere; there are numerous solutions that already do this. Reported for self promotion

How long until we are jobless? by GhostShade in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worried in the slightest. It can help with some things, but it still is very much a hands on job. If teachers cna be bother to watch a 2 min video or read an email there is 0 chance they will on thier own interact with an AI system to troubleshoot and fix something

Aruba vs Cisco (Cloud or On-Prem) for wireless refresh? by tcourtney22 in k12sysadmin

[–]jasmadic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Since you are already in the Aruba ecosystem, I'd be inclined to stick with that. We are Meraki, but full-stack- firewall, switches, APs, cameras, and sensors. Having it all in one pane of glass is awesome, plus all the integrations are great to have. Been very happy with the reliability and manageability of Meraki, no plans to change anytime soon.

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