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Issue 56 - 2019 │T4 │W9

 

Link - access past issues in the archive




Click to check out all the great events the T4L team are running in Term 1!

 

 

 

 

Secured Internet Edge update News item

One project that has been quietly kicking goals over the past two terms is Secured Internet Edge. The rollout of a new internet service to a total of 730 schools is now almost complete! As at the end of November, 676 schools are now accessing the internet via their new Telstra gateway, providing significantly greater bandwidth. It also offers scalability to support evolving IT-enabled learning initiatives. As with any significant infrastructure change, moving a school to Secured Internet Edge requires the support of multiple teams in ITD, together with local preparation and assistance from the school. There have been teething problems as expected in some cases. But in the main, once resolved, the new service is well-received. It also helps to solve some issues of the past, particularly relating to BYODs with iPad pop-ups and Android access. We look forward to working with the remaining 50 schools and to further improving the Edge service. The charts below show the extent of improvements at our completed 676 schools.

See how Secured Internet Edge has increased bandwidth for each student enrolled at our 676 I@E schools!

HP Probook 11 G1/G2 power port News item

Effective immediately: All Out-of-Warranty G1 & G2 Probook 11 laptops (not x360) with the “Power Port” fault, will be repaired at no cost by HP until 29 February 2020. This is a great outcome for schools, but it is time-limited. The extended warranty only applies to power port faults - no other faults will be considered. Please take a photo of the affected power port and log a ticket via EDConnect's online query form. The online form lets you upload a JPG photo file as an attachment. The serial number of each device should also be included. Finally, include the statement “Faulty POWER PORT” in the description of the incident to ensure the incident isn’t rejected.

HP Probook 11 G1/G2 faulty power port

Stay Cyber-aware over the break Tip item

As we draw to the end of the year and start the summer holidays, we are all likely to see more phishing emails in our inboxes. Everybody needs to know how to spot a scam. Your bank, or any authority won't email you with a link to sign in. Check who the sender is and what their email address is. Check where links go by hovering over them to see the real URL. Check the language used. Be vigilant and be safe. Learn to be suspicious of unsolicited email. DON'T GET HOOKED.

Phishing - Be SUSPICIOUS, REPORT IT and DELETE IT!

Surface GO tablets now on EdBuy News item

With the release of Windows 10 v1809 and the ongoing development of a more efficient upgrade path to newer versions of Windows, NSW public schools are now able to use their discretionary funds to purchase the Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Go touch-enabled devices and accessories through the department's online Catalogue (EdBuy)! These new Microsoft devices, along with the touch-enabled devices from HP, Acer and Dell that are also on the catalogue, can deliver on awesome new features of the Windows platform including Paint 3D and Windows MR. Visit the QRG link to find out more about these exciting products - https://t4l.link/surface

Microsoft Surface Go is now on EdBuy

Staff leaving your school? Tip item

As the end of the year approaches, it’s important to clean up access and permissions granted via AMU. Otherwise departing staff will continue to have access to your school’s resources at their new site.  This could include the ability to reset your student and staff passwords, access your eT4L file shares and be members of your school’s email distribution lists. It’s VERY IMPORTANT to remove these permissions BEFORE they start at their new school. Once they start at their new site, staff will disappear from your main AMU lists, but your granted permissions will remain for them. If they have disappeared from your AMU list, click the “View & Add Staff not at this site” link at the bottom of AMU to find them and remove their access from the various applets in AMU. If they are not shown there but have reported they still have access, an EDConnect call will need to be logged to have them removed from your site totally. Casual/temporary/relieving staff that have left will need to have their access removed from the various applets in AMU, then removed from the “Casual – Search / Remove Staff” list in SMU.

Image: Hello, I am in transition

Are YOU changing schools? Tip item

It's always recommended that staff take a backup of all their files before leaving a school. Your DoE user account is fully transferable and will work at your new school. But one of the traps that staff find when they move schools is that the contents of your personal home folder (U:) are not automatically transferred and stay behind on your old school's eT4L Server. As a result, when you sign in at your new school, you get a brand new U: drive which is empty! So how do you access your old home folder contents so that you can copy them to your new U:? Let's say for example that your DoE user ID is Meghan.Markle2 and that the school code of your previous school is 6482. Log onto any Windows PC at your new school, open Computer and in the address bar at the top, type in: \\detnsw.win\6482\staff\_Meghan.Markle2 - except, replace the school code and the user ID with yours. Take note of the _ before the user ID. It should open your old home folder and you can copy all the files and folders from there to your empty U: drive. Then delete your content from the old school's server.

Santa divider

T4L Month of Code - livestream News item

The T4L team ran an amazing YouTube livestream after school on Monday 25 November for Month of Code. With its aim of kick-starting our teachers' and students' interests in coding and building digital skills, the team brought together several experts to help. Guest presenters from Microsoft, Apple and Google demonstrated coding tips and tricks - all to prepare teachers for the popular worldwide event Hour of Code - on THIS WEEK! First to join us was Megan Townes from Microsoft, who helped us learn about MakeCode. Next up was Chris Betcher from Google who showed us how to unlock the power of Google Sheets. Finally, Libby Jones joined in to tell us about coding on Apple iPad using Swift Playgrounds. If you missed this great live 80 minute event, you can stream it at the link above.

Filming of the Hour of Code livestream

ICT Thought of the day Fun item

ICT Thought - Who needs virtual reality, when you can have ACTUAL reality?

 

 

 

 

What about Windows 10 v1607? News item

Our schools have done an amazing job in reducing the old Windows 7 fleet, from a high of over 80,000 this time last year, to just under 14,000 right now. Microsoft will end all support for Windows 7 in January, so it's important that we get ALL of the remaining devices removed from the DoE network as soon as possible. If you have time in these last two weeks, please look to identify and then either rebuild these to Windows 10, or decommission them completely if they are too old. Beyond Windows 7, we also have the looming issue of Windows 10 v1607. Our starting point is just under 100,000. All of those devices need to be rebuilt to v1809 by April 2020. You can identify all of those devices that you still have in UDM - let's make an effort to rebuild those ASAP as well.

Windows 10 v1809 installations in NSW public schools

Leave these ON over Summer Tip item

Turning off ICT infrastructure over the holiday period can stop important software upgrades, antivirus and security updates.  It is strongly recommended that you do not turn off the following infrastructure:

  • The Cisco router that connects your site to DoE
  • The Palo Alto appliance in Secured Internet Edge schools
  • All switches and components in the main data cabinet
  • Your school’s eT4L Server and UPS
  • Apple Caching Server - if you have one
  • Connected Classroom cabinet and other VC units

If you turn these devices off, necessary updates will take place on your return to school and slow down your network access during the busy first days of Term 1 next year.  

eT4L data cabinet

What you should turn OFF Tip item

In many areas of NSW, Summer is lightning season. In order to protect your equipment over the long break, it’s a good idea to turn off the power point and unplug the following devices:

  • Computers (desktops/laptops) and monitors
  • Printers, projectors and other peripherals
  • Multifunction devices and copiers
  • Televisions

Term 1 School Development Day – turn on all your school computers so they receive security and Windows updates from your eT4L server so they are ready for use by students the next day.

What to turn OFF and what NOT to turn off

What about batteries? Tip item

The long, hot summer vacation is also known to cause problems with the remote controls for your projectors, TVs, LED touch panels and VC units. The AA and AAA batteries in these remote controls are known to occasionally leak. While it usually is only required to replace the batteries, sometimes the leaking actually damages the remote control. Some of these can be difficult or expensive to replace, depending on the device. As a precaution, it's a good idea to remove these batteries from the remotes before the end of the school year. Remember, many robotic devices also use these batteries, so consider removing them as well!

Protect all your AA and AAA battery-operated devices by removing the batteries over summer

Latest magazine.T4L out now! News item

Looking for some holiday reading? Catch up on all four issues of magazine.T4L published so far. The latest edition has a focus on Coding in the classroom. We look at how the development of these skills will help to create the digital workforce of the future. So many resources and learning opportunities to share. And we end our amazing Minecraft Education Edition journey with Como West Public School.

Get the latest copy of magazine.T4L!

2020 Student Rollover outages Info item

The annual student rollover process is a highly complex and critical procedure that affects multiple corporate systems. It involves the adjustment of every student account (more than 850,000 of them!) at over 2,200 schools. Most accounts remain with the same school, they just progress a year. But almost 20% are reassigned to a new year group in a new school. It's vitally important to normal school operations that this occurs seamlessly and accurately. To facilitate the upcoming rollover, an outage has been scheduled for ERN and ebs. In addition, there is a DoE system maintenance weekend scheduled during the holiday period as well:

  • ERN and ebs:central will be unavailable from 9am on
    27 December through to midnight on 12 January 2020
  • Staff and Student Portals will be unavailable from 6pm on Friday 17 January through to 8pm on Sunday 19 January.

Scheduled outages during summer holidays

Users that attempt to logon to their Portal will see a page which offers instructions for accessing their Webmail, Google G Suite and MS Office 365 during the outage period.

The final T4L Show of 2019! News item

You've reached the end of the final issue of news.T4L for the year, and we'd like to wish all of our readers a happy Christmas and a safe and restful New Year. But the T4L team have been really busy producing our last episode of the T4L Show! And what a way to celebrate a fantastic year of tech! This year's final episode is jam-packed with inspiration to see you through the holidays:

  • Hear from Sarah at Wilcannia Central School. She had one very important conversation which led to a T4L tour to the communities of far western NSW. It's an awesome tale of tech success!
  • Meet Cal and his mum Megan as they talk about how Microsoft and T4L are making tech more accessible for students with diverse learning needs.
  • Did you know that kids born after 2018 will most likely never drive a car? Hear from T4L correspondent, Joe, on how we might be getting from A to B in the future!
  • Finally, the T4L interns have been hard at work putting The Amazing Annoyatron through its paces in the lab.

Don't forget to subscribe to our T4L YouTube channel to be notified when our next video drops!

More news.T4L in Week 3!

Information Technology Directorate publishes news.T4L three times each term. Remember - share each issue with your staff!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the T4L team

NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORATE