Tech Notes - September 2017

Video Tutorials

We'll start off with some videos that walk you through the use and features of the RapidIdentity account portal.

• Staff Profile and initial set-up: https://youtu.be/LIIcYOy6afo
  
• Accessing the Staff Directory (Non-Secretary): https://youtu.be/omh0NoJZB70
  
• Accessing the Staff Directory (Secretary): https://youtu.be/eMYiCtPNELg
  
• Student Password Reset (for students in your building): https://youtu.be/T3NRSLGUcSw
  

A note about the ability to reset student passwords. Please watch the video prior to doing so. We're happy to be able to offer this functionality to staff but it underscores the importance of protecting your own password so that we avoid any issues with (for instance) students accessing RapidIdentity with a staff account and pranking their classmates.

Profile Details

You are encouraged to update your phone extension and room number in the RapidIdentity portal.

After logging in, you should see a tab called "My Staff Profile". If you need to change phone or room number information, click Edit Profile.

Make any changes, then click Save.

This helps our staff directory within RapidIdentity to be more accurate and useful.

Here is the current status for tech in new spaces at the high school:

• Installation of networking equipment and wireless access points is completed.
  
• Phones are in progress.

Classroom Audio-Visual is broken into two projects:

• Procurement and installation of classroom audio-visual systems, which will consist of a large screen display (75" TV), Apple TV. Those installations should start around or prior to the last week of September.
• Wall mounted HDMI and VGA input options, ceiling speakers and controls for the system. Installations are starting the week of September 18th.
  

We are getting these projects done as quickly as the circumstances allowed. Thanks for your patience as we get everything up and running.

The Google Drive app has been rebranded as Google Backup and Sync. Here is some background info on the program.

If you are used to seeing the icon at the top of your screen, you can search for it using spotlight search (the little magnifying glass in upper right corner) with terms like "google" or "backup" to find it. It is represented by the blue cloud logo shown above. Click it to run the program and out it back into the upper taskbar.

It basically works the same, but you can check the preferences for some additional features, such as the option to also sync to the Photos area of the Google drive.

We continually try to refine the ticket options in Web Help Desk. You may notice a few additional types or some changes to the wording to try to make it easier to find the ticket type you need. We go to the trouble of having all of these ticket types for a few reasons, primarily to better track issues throughout the district and to set up the logic in the program for escalation of tickets (if an issue needs to get escalated up the chain, routing it properly saves time and gets faster results).

With some changes to how we handle accounts and authentication on the MacBooks, there has also been a shift in the process for connecting to network drives.

Here some notes on connecting to network drives and creating a shortcut on the desktop:

https://docs.google.com/a/shakopeeschools.org/document/d/1-j7cSIOpFS1Z99_lm4Xk3kD2rpoQTmiZTdb1mOa2vKc/edit?usp=sharing

In the next few days we will install an update to the Nomad tool (the triangle icon with the checkmark in the toolbar at the top of the MacBook screen). Currently you can find a shortcut for "Home Network Drive"; the upgrade will support an additional drive shortcut for staff share as shown below.

The upgrade to move from the mac operating system "El Capitan" to "Sierra" is now available in Self Service.

A more detailed set of notes for running this upgrade can be found here. If you are not sure which version of macOS you are on, click the little Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose "About This Mac" from the drop down menu; a window will pop up and show which version is currently installed.

There is an issue with some factory installed apps affecting all 3rd-6th grade student iPads district wide. The apps are iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. When a student attempts to open one of these apps, a message appears saying “iTunes Store: Sign in to accept this app and assign it to your Apple ID.” Students should not attempt to sign in, and hitting “Cancel” only causes the app to close.

The issue was caused by the way Apple installed these apps on iPads at the factory, and they currently don’t have a global fix for the issue. At this time, the remedy is to delete any installed copies of iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote that the issue is occurring for, and reinstall the apps from Self Service. This should permanently fix this issue for those apps on that specific iPad.

Updated chart with Instructional Technology staffing.

• Tech Troubleshooting: Passwords and Hold for Authentication
• August 2017 [2] - RapidIdentity, wireless changes, room booking system.
• August 2017 [1] - Rollout news and updates.
  
• May 2017 - Mostly summer items, but also wireless AP troubleshooting and an explanation of the wireless changes that were planned.
  
• March 2017 -Features: Apple TV notes and troubleshooting, blinking smartboard fix, explanation of assistive tech ticket types in help desk.
  

Email: helpdesk@shakopee.k12.mn.us
Website: whd.shakopee.k12.mn.us
Location: 1200 Shakopee Town Square, Shakopee, MN, United States
Phone: 5100
Twitter: @ShakoTechDrozd