STEMSHARE is coming this year!

Following the announcement last week by Premier Gladys Berejiklian at Yass High School, work is now underway to build-up multiple STEM kits for access by all schools as part of ITD's new STEMSHARE project. The STEM kits are part of a $23 million project over three years to provide public schools – including those in regional and remote areas – access to technology that will ignite students' interest in STEM subjects.
The kits being prepared include:

Tablet Robotics

PC Robotics

Virtual / Augmented Reality

Film making

3D printing

Coding

We'll keep you updated via news.T4L about all the developments as this exciting project develops. This infographic offers some more details on STEM Share until our official web resource is launched. Stay tuned for more!

Navigating the DoE "intranet"

During 2017, the old green-and-white department Intranet was slowly phased out and replaced with a brand new website for the NSW Department of Education. This single site now offers content and advice for all visitors, including parents and community, but also offers components that are Staff only. This new content, referred to as Inside the department, is only accessible to staff following successful DoE logon. You'll find it is better organised than before and it's well worth getting to know it. The A to Z section is a great place to start your familiarisation journey. You'll also notice that Search is very prominent on the new website and importantly, it's effective too, in helping find what you are looking for - just be aware that it's possible to search content that is only inside the department, or all public content. As expected, getting different results with these two search options is normal. Inside the department is yours. Take a look around.

CCS - Group 2 announced

The exciting Connecting Country Schools (CCS) project continues to gather pace with the next group of schools announced. Targeting 13,000 learning spaces in over 900 schools in regional and remote NSW, CCS is delivering high-performance wireless infrastructure for all learning spaces. Following success at the initial pilot sites in Term 4, as reported in Technology News for Schools, the extended pilot of 45 more schools will be completed in term 1. We are now pleased to announce Group 2 schools - 100 in total across the state, are now commencing the CCS process. The project team will liaise closely with all schools on the delivery and installation process, with the project expected to complete for all included schools in mid-2019.

Mobile robotics at Urunga PS

Help! I lost a file on an eT4L share

Did you know that on eT4L, individuals are able to recover files they accidentally deleted, or even older versions of documents they had previously saved? The eT4L Server takes regular, hourly snapshots every school day of all the files and folders in Home Drives (U:), Faculty shares (T:) and Collaboration (P:). If you can't find the file you need and you know where it previously was, do this:

Locate the folder that contained the missing file

Right-click on it and choose Properties

Click the tab labelled Previous Versions

Find the folder by date/time that has the file you need and open it

Copy the version of the file you wish to restore to the Desktop or another location.

Uh oh! I lost a whole folder!

You're in luck. Whole folders that were deleted can also be recovered. Just go to the Properties of the parent folder where the now missing folder was located and then follow the same steps above. If you are still stuck and need help with finding/restoring files on your eT4L server, log a call with EDConnect, providing clear details of your query.

ICT Thought of the day

If the cord on my mouse is its tail, what part of the mouse am I touching?

Miss the Google / MS webcasts?

In February, both Google and Microsoft ran two great webcasts for DoE schools to introduce them to Google Team Drive and Microsoft Teams for Education, both now available for students and staff. They focused on the educational and administrative benefits these tools bring to schools and offered an opportunity to ask questions via the online chat function in the webinar. In case you missed them, both were recorded and in just a half hour each, you'll be able to catch up!

Remember to check out T4L watchLIVE to see all past webcasts and to find out what's coming up to book into your diary! Brekkie with a Tekkie is on this week too.

Maintaining device batteries

Most modern devices, regardless of whether they are laptops, tablets or smartphones, contain Lithium-ion (or Li-on) batteries. They've developed a long way since the 1990's when mobile devices started to appear, containing Nickel-Cadmium (or Ni-cad) batteries. Unlike Li-on, the older style batteries suffered badly from "charge memory" - but there are tips for prolonging the life of your newer device batteries. With teachers and students always demanding more from mobile technologies, healthy batteries are critical. To help clear the confusion around what's the best way of maintaining them, the CSIRO recently published an article full of useful tips. By answering some of the frequently asked questions, they dispel the myths and reinforce best practice.

What's making Chrome go slow?

Many staff and students use Google Chrome as their main browser, particularly if they are regular users of G Suite. But on occasion, Chrome may become sluggish or certain tabs may become non-responsive. But just like Windows, did you know Chrome has its own Task Manager? You'll find it at the top-right under the ⋮ menu, inside the More Tools option. Selecting Task Manager will open a new window showing every open tab and every running Chrome Extension. Beside each are the total amount of memory and CPU power each is using - and even how much network traffic they are generating. Interestingly, you'll quickly note just how much memory each of your extensions is taking up. You can end processes straight from the Task Manager, or you can start to consider whether you really need all those extensions.

Moving G Drive to a Team Drive

At the Google webcast, one of the questions raised was:

I currently have folders located in my own DoE Google Drive, that I shared with other staff at my school. How can I easily move those shared folders to our new Team Drive?

Obviously, it's preferred that team documents to be stored in the cloud are in a Team Drive rather than a personal Drive. But enabling the option to move shared folders that you own, requires a call to EdConnect (ph. 1300 32 32 32) to log a ticket. Your request should state:

I would like to move shared folders from my personal Google Drive to a Team Drive and need Data Migration turned on in the DoE Google Admin Console.

Your call will be logged and escalated to the correct team for action. Once resolved, you will be able to move your shared folders to Team Drive using drag-and-drop in your browser.

New HP Chromebook

During March, we can expect to see the new HP Chromebook 11 G6 EE appear in the DoE Online Catalogue for discretionary purchase! This is the first standard Chromebook offered that includes an 11.6" touch screen. With 2GB RAM, 16GB onboard storage and two-year on-site warranty, the new model provides schools with an affordable mobile platform ready to be enrolled in the department's Google domain. Pricing will be provided through the DoE Online Catalogue upon release.

The new HP Chromebook 11 G6 EE with touch screen

Don't forget interactED!

The old Computer Coordinator Days were a great way to keep school staff updated, but now they're having a major revamp! The ITD School Support and T4L project teams and their partners are hosting a great new conference roadshow for schools all over NSW, starting with interactED: Newcastle - on Wednesday, 4 April (week 10). For all of our schools in the Hunter area (and others prepared to travel), we're putting on a comprehensive day of networking and learning organised into three streams: School Leadership, Technology Coordination and Using Technology. Click the link to find the complete agenda outlining the three streams and a link to register your place. The registration fee of just $35 covers morning tea, lunch and event costs. Don't miss it!