Introduction
Hello everyone and welcome to the October Tech Report. A number of things have happened in the last month from iOS updates to the opening of our online tech purchasing form. As always if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Important Information
Purchase Chargers, screen protectors, and pay iPad deductible online
Last month I created an online form to allow parents and students to pay with a credit card for a number of technology items such as chargers, screen protectors, and iPad incident deductibles. So far a number of parents and students have taken advantage of the online form. It is much quicker than paying in person and allows parents to pay with a credit card (something we previously could not do).
If you need to purchase a new iPad charger, a replacement screen protector, or pay for an iPad incident deductible, you can now pay using your credit card by going to the HAST Technology Order Form Quick link located under Quick Links or by clicking here.
Orders completed will receive items within 24 hours.
Due to credit card processing fees, there is a small fee associated with iPad Deductible payments. This fee is included in the price. (ie. $52 instead of $50).
Those preferring to pay cash or by check still need to make payments in Mr. Small’s office during business hours.
Purchase iPad Insurance Online
Parents who have not paid for the iPad insurance and need to do so may also complete this online. The cost is $70 for the year and the form can be found here.
iOS 12
iOS 12 released on September 17th and consisted of many new features and updates to make a much more efficient user experience. Some of the new features included a measuring app, stacked notifications, and some changes to quick gestures. iOS 12 has changed the Quick Gestures on the iPad to resemble the iPhone X’s interface. Swiping up from home key to camera will bring up the list of active Apps on the iPad but it will not show the Airplay, Volume, and other settings previously available on that screen.
In order to pull up that interface you must swipe down from the battery icon. Pulling down from any other part of the screen will produce the search bar.
Here is a quick video on the iOS 12 iPad Gestures if you are not familiar with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOGCnhnVZ8U
Typically, I advise students to wait until the first maintenance update before updating their iPads. iOS usually has bugs in the first release that need to be ironed out. iOS 12.1 will be released this month. Once it is released I will advise students to update.
OS Mojave
OS Mojave was released last month as well. I ask staff to wait until it has been out for a couple months before updating so Apple can work out the kinks. I have not updated myself, yet, but will update a test computer soon to see how it compares.
Guest Network Change
Last month I made some changes to our Guest Network. Unfortunately, some students have been using the guest network to look at inappropriate websites or for cyber bullying. As a result, I have added a web portal for students to register their devices before getting on the guest network. This allows me to better track guest devices and provide a much more secure network.
Future Network Changes
Next year we will change the way Wifi works here at HAST. In the next few months I will be setting up a RADIUS server to manage wifi logins. The goal is to have students connect to wifi through their network logins when they configure their iPads at the beginning of the year in the initial setup. There will be no specific wifi password and the network will be much more secure. This will also change the guest network as students will be required to register their personal devices and use their network logins to access the guest network as well. Teachers will have their own network for personal devices.
PowerSchool News w/ Mr. Dupras
This month has seen quite a few parents requesting Powerschool information. Though we are still only at 57% parent logins, that is already a huge improvement from the past. Teachers should continue to push parents to get setup with Powerschool if they do not have it and a station will be set up during Student Led Conferences to help anyone who would like to have theirs set up.
We have gone forward with the purchase of Power Registration that will allow us to move the HAST Student Registration process to an online format. The robust program will allow for easier and faster access to registration and pre-registration for parents and the community.
Tech Support
Support Ticket Breakdown
As you can see, tickets dropped drastically from the first month of the school year. The tickets were more random this past month without one topic really sticking out as an issue. Most of the App tickets were about apps not working or the need for me to send an app to a student.
Insurance Claims
We only had one insurance claim last month! This is fantastic and shows the screen protectors are working!
Missing iPads
Lost iPads landed at seven again last month. Please continue to follow procedures.
Additional Information
- Please remember to choose a topic for your support tickets and not just select other. I use these to categorize and assign.
- Remember to fill out support tickets for all your tech support requests.
- If you have a broken iPad, please ensure you make deductible payment or you will not receive a new iPad.