Important Information
Update on hastguest, Mac Spoofing, and Personal Devices
In response to the Mac Spoofing attempts last month, we created the hastguest2 network where students were forced to register devices using their HAST email accounts.
Many students did not adhere to the rules and used fake accounts and fake names. Those students were consistently kicked off the network and guest passes were deleted.
The purpose of registering devices was supposed to alleviate security concerns with personal devices on the network. This did not solve the problem.
Additionally, students in 11th and 12th grade were using personal devices instead of their school issued iPads, even though the guest network speeds were 1/100th of HAST Wireless2. Not all students can afford their own MacBook or brand new laptop. This gives an advantage to some students. This is a major problem with any sort of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Program.
Personal devices are harder to filter and monitor their network usage. We are required by law to make sure students do not access profane or explicit content at school as well as to prevent bullying on electronic devices. As evident by the Mac Spoofing instances, the security issues caused by personal devices far outweigh any benefits.
Due to our belief in a fair and equitable learning environment along with the security issues we have experienced this year, it was decided 11th and 12th grade would not be allowed to use their own devices on the HAST network (this includes hastguest2). These students should use their school issued iPad as should all students at HAST. Personal devices are not allowed on our network at all!
To assist 11th and 12th graders in dual credit composition classes, a COW of 26 white MacBooks has been placed in Ms. Burkes class.
To assist students who have dead iPads, Ms. Burke has been given 10 extra chargers to help charge student iPads.
Students with issues should fill out support tickets.
New iPad Purchase Plan
Our plan is to get new iPads for next year students in grades 6, 9-12 next year. Next years 7th and 8th graders will already have updated iPads. The new iPads will be iPad Air 2s and will come with different cases we will purchase from Apple. This is possible in part due to a grant we are receiving from the state of Indiana. As always, this is a plan and has the possibility of changing.
“Suspicious” Emails
You may have noticed some of your emails contain the word “Suspicious” in the subject. I have added this to emails that are flagged by our email system. Emails containing profanity, inappropriate topics, or even attachments are flagged. When you see them marked “suspicious,” you know it is flagged and we can see it. This does not mean you are in trouble. The flagged system is not perfect and many of the emails flagged are simply the result of students turning in class work. Only emails suspected of containing inappropriate content will be monitored and dealt with.
PowerSchool
Student Fees
Mr. Dupras and Mr. Small have been working for the past month on rectifying an issue with student fees. They are almost done completely revamping our fees to reflect more accurate numbers. Any questions should be directed towards Mr. Dennis Small, HAST Business Manager.
Parchment Transcript Issue
An update with PowerSchool caused an issue with transcripts issued by Parchment. Grades were not present on transcripts for many students. This issue has been resolved by Mr. Dupras and transcripts are now accurately reflected on transcripts.
Support Ticket Breakdown
Total August – 280 support tickets
Total September – 63 support tickets
Total October – 66 support tickets
Total November – 45 support tickets
November was a “normal” month for support tickets. By normal, I mean it was in line with monthly tickets last school year. Normally things slow down in November and December each year.
The highest categories were:
iPad Charge – 8 tickets
iPad Display/Hardware – 7 tickets
PowerSchool Resets – 7 tickets
Laptop – 6 tickets
All but one of the charging issues were resolved by simply charging the devices. If the device does not charge for you or only charges a little bit, please try using another charger. 99% of the time it’s a problem with your charger.
Insurance Claims
We had 11 insurance claims in November. Six of them came from 8th grade. In total this was our largest month. 8th graders make up almost half of all claims this year. I have emailed 8th graders to let them know they should be more responsible with their iPads. Most cases are the result of carelessness.
Lost iPads
We had our second best month as far as missing/lost iPads is concerned with only 4 reported. As has been the case for the last two school years, all iPads have been recovered. Great job to all staff and students for reporting the issue immediately and following procedures!
Other Tech Notes:
- ECA Testing takes Place beginning Dec. 6th. Students should make sure they have the Questar app on their ipads.
- Once again I will remind students in 6thand 7th grade NOT to update their iPads to iOS 10. Pearson has still not found a solution for their test security issues regarding iOS 10; however, they expect to before testing begins in February. For your sake and for mine, please do not update!
- Reminder to staff and students to fill out support tickets when there are issues. Some staff have been sending students to Mr. Dupras or me to assist them with tech support problems. Mr. Dupras teaches three classes and has been busy with PowerSchool issues. I am usually all over the place handling tech support, doing maintenance, or updating/configuring devices. We have a support ticket system in place so we can efficiently provide tech support and fulfill all of our job functions.