Introduction

Hello everyone and welcome to the November Tech Report.  This month I have information about new features to Tech Support Portal and information on items we are looking at purchasing to improve technology at HAST.

Important Information

Reminder: Online Tech Store

This is just a friendly reminder you can purchase Apple Certified iPad Chargers from our online Tech form as well as screen protectors.  You can even pay your iPad deductible in the event you broke your iPad.  A number of students and parents have taken advantage of this option as it is quicker and more efficient for both you and me.

If you need to purchase a new iPad charger, a replacement screen protector, or pay for an iPad incident deductible, you can access the HAST Technology Order Form Quick link located under Quick Links or by clicking here.

Orders completed will receive items within 24 hours.

Reminder #2: iPad Chargers must be Apple Certified

It has come to my attention the vending machines by the gym are selling iPad chargers.  At this point I am not aware if they are Apple Certified or not.  Apple certified chargers have the Apple certified logo on them.

Using an iPad charger that is not Apple Certified can cause damage to your charging part and your battery.  This is also in violation of the AUP and your insurance policy.  We sell these chargers on our online technology order form for $6.

iOS 12

At this point in time, iOS 12 has been out for a while and it is safe to download.  All testing should be compatible with iOS 12.  Most bugs have been fixed and you may notice improvements in the overall function of your device.

Sharp Boards

This past week several teachers have had the opportunity to demo a 70 inch Sharp Board.  These boards are basically 70 inch computer touch screens.  They allow for annotating over any program, website, image, or file.  The screens allow for ten points of touch as opposed to the current 4 points our SMART Boards have.  This means ten fingers can be on the board and interact with it at a time.  The boards come on rolling stands and contain a very powerful soundbar.  There is a meeting function as well that allows for interactivity between iOS devices and the board.  The teachers who tried it out were very impressed and could see uses for it in their classrooms.  We are looking at getting some to supplement the existing boards in teachers rooms.

New Switches

This year we are also looking at replacing our current switches with more up to date ones made by Aerohive (same company that makes our Access Points).  Switches basically connect every patch panel port containing every PoE port, every access point, etc. to the internet.  Not only would this provide a much more up to date switch, but would also allow us to manage them through the same interface as our Access Points.  This should help improve quality of service throughout the building.

VR Headsets

Currently I am looking into purchasing one classroom set of VR Headsets for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.  VR headsets would allow students to immerse themselves into whatever content they are learning and experience topics, places, and concepts in a completely different way.

POD Printers

This week, teachers will be getting new Printers installed in each POD.  These printers are for teachers use, but can also be used to print student projects and assignments.    The printers are more durable than your traditional printer as they are not made of cheap plastic.

Changes to Support Ticket Portal

This past month I made a few changes to our Tech Support System that should make things more efficient for staff and students.

Support Ticket Chat

When you go to the support ticket portal, you will now see a chat icon in the lower right hand corner of your screen.  You can now chat with us through this chat for your support needs.  To make things smoother, please login by pressing the login button at the top and selecting “login using Google” (use your hammondacademy.org email).  If your request is for an email password reset, create a support ticket.

Once logged in, you can request support through this chat and we will respond when we can.

At the moment, this is only working on cell phone and computer, not iPad.

Tech Support Web Clips on iPads

Another way I have improved our Support Ticket Portal was to add a quick web clip to your iPads.  You can click on this web clip and it will take you directly to the support ticket portal to elicit tech support.

Support Ticket Breakdown

We had 50 support tickets last month.  A majority had to do with apps not working or the need for apps to be downloaded.  Support tickets have started to pick up in November and I believe we will see more next month.

Lost iPads

October had our largest number of lost iPads for the year.  All were recovered.  Thank you for following procedures.

Broken iPads

Only had two broken iPads for October.  Screen protectors are still working and are effective in preventing damage to screens.

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.