Tech Notes 🖥️

Sites and software access and various types of information are consistently being added to the Launchpad. The Shakopee Bookmarks folder in Chrome will be pruned and the Staff Links article in Tech Tools will be similarly scaled back to encourage use of Launchpad.

The most recent version of the comprehensive tech report is now available on the TechTools site (linked below; can find the 2024 version and the previous iterations from 2022, 2019, & 2017).

We have been taking a look at our entire printing environment and would like to share a few upcoming changes.

Pricing Updates - Price changes are detailed below; these affect central duplicating requests.

Printer Removals and Relocations

Before we invest in newer desktop printers (think pretty much any HP in the district), there will be a series of printer removals and relocations. One-off devices (literally, where we only have one of a specific printer in the entire district) and HP4250 printers will see the most impact. Those represent the oldest devices and/or most unique support scenarios. We have been doing extensive data gathering this year (which has been shared) to identify the areas where making a change will have the least impact. "Least", not "No Impact"; we realize this will not be met with universal applause but it is a necessary step.

This is also a reminder that we do not support bringing in personal devices like printers. We do not have a lack of resources here.

In order to better capture actual costs for materials and labor, we will be making several adjustments to pricing and material selection for 2024-2025.

These adjustments will not have a significant budget impact on the majority of print jobs. What will be most affected are specific types of requests that use specialty materials or supplies.

Pricing updates will take effect no earlier than June 15, no later than July 1.

Standard Printing Adjustment

• Black toner printing on letter sized white paper, colored paper, white and color cardstock will increase from $0.02/side to $0.03/side.
• Color toner printing on letter sized white paper, colored paper, white and color cardstock will remain at $0.05/side.
• 11x17 b/w prints will increase from $0.04/side to $0.06/side
• 11x17 color prints will remain the same at $0.10/side

Updated Options & Costs

2-part and 3-part Carbonless paper

• B/W print per 1 copy 2-part (white/yellow): $0.14 or $0.07/page
• B/W print per 1 copy 3-part (white/yellow/pink): $0.21 or $0.07/page
• Color print per 1 copy 2-part (white/yellow): $0.20 or $0.10/page
• Color print per 1 copy 3-part (white/yellow/pink): $0.30 or $0.10 per page

Sticker paper

• White sticker paper: b/w or color printing $0.25/page (1-sided only)
• Color sticker paper: b/w or color printing $0.40/ page (1-sided only)*

*Colored sticker paper stock may be limited in quantity and color options due to expense of this supply and deterioration if it sits unused for too long.

Binding

• Binding charges will be assessed at $.05 per wire or plastic spiral binding.

Paper Supply Orders

Orders placed through Central Duplicating for supplies (such as cartons of paper or single sheets) will be billed at current market pricing; this can fluctuate throughout the year depending on the type of item and current availability.

Starting this summer the default view in Infinite Campus will be the "New" Look. The Classic view will remain available as a choice until summer 2025 at which point it will be removed as an option.

The new Infinite Campus experience contains all the same tools as the classic view and provides several improvements. New features include:

• A simplified navigation structure
• Responsive UI design
• A user-created menu of favorite tools
• Quick access to recently used tools
• Intuitive related tools toolbar
• Navigable breadcrumbs
• Robust in-tool person search
• A unified search menu for quickly searching a multitude of data
• A useful person information card

• East is finishing up and Red Oak will follow.
• High School equipment being ordered and wiring is next.
• Sun Path equipment being ordered.

Completion projections are best guess right now and could change, but in terms of funding stream (surplus sales) we are good and are on track with the timeline as originally communicated.

Various summer projects that may affect specific users or groups

• PLTW PCs - Regular refresh of middle school lab devices, one lab each at East & West.
• HP 705 PC refresh - Hoping to do between 80-100 swaps this summer and fall, mostly affecting office staff.
• Chromebook cart refresh - 2 carts each at East and West, 1 cart at Pearson. Will also swap out kiosk Chromebooks that are no longer getting ChromeOS updates.
• Audio-Visual Updates - East, about half of the 300 wing; West, various rooms, Elementary (except Sweeney which is already done) 5th grade gen ed rooms. These are all full replacements or updates of projection, controls, and inputs.

Chart showing staff devices and what version of macOS they are on. Sonoma (current release of operating system) is preferred, Ventura at a minimum. If you click the Apple icon (usually in upper left corner of screen) and choose "About This Mac" you can view what version of macOS you are on.

PLANNING NOTE: The Goal is for all devices to be on the current generation of operating system. That means we are presently about 55% of the way.

Much like a library goes through their collection and removes books, we try to review our collection of iPad apps to remove any that are out of date, redundant, or are problematic in other ways.

For instance, as the chart below shows, we have a LOT of math apps. With the adoption and implementation of new math curricula and resources, it is probable that some (many?) of these could be removed. We may be seeking some feedback on specific apps or more generally on how they are being used.

The fastest and best way to get help is by opening a ticket using one of these contact methods.

Web: https://shakopee.incidentiq.com/ (Preferred)

E-mail: helpdesk@shakopee.k12.mn.us

Phone: 952-496-5100

If you need a call-back please add a good number and time to contact you in ticket.

Whenever possible and necessary we may also use remote support tools such as Splashtop to assist you.

Details help! For instance, student name and ID number is useful when submitting a ticket in regards to a student issue. Or letting us know if you already tried common troubleshooting steps such as restarting. "Student 123456 had this specific problem on their iPad starting at 9 AM this morning." is a much more useful starting point than "I have student with a problem." We appreciate the detail and it helps speed up the process of resolving an issue.

Email: helpdesk@shakopee.k12.mn.us
Website: https://techtools.shakopeeschools.org/
Location: 1200 Shakopee Town Square, Shakopee, MN, USA
Phone: 5100