LMBR applications and Win 10

When Windows 10 was launched for devices at eT4L schools, the advice provided at the time was to avoid installing the update on computers used for LMBR applications. This may have led to some confusion around compatibility. As further clarification:

Windows 10 was thoroughly tested against all DoE critical applications with Internet Explorer 11 set as the default browser. It passed all tests including SAP and ebs4

Both Edge and IE 11 are installed and available as part of Windows 10 in DoE, but IE 11 is set as the default browser

It should also be noted that some LMBR functionality will not work in alternative browsers such as Edge or Chrome as they do not support active controls (eg vendor/travel acrobat forms will not open in SAP)

Schools should consider carefully which devices they deploy Windows 10 onto if they have not yet had LMBR deployed. The reason for this is that the current support materials and training are based on Windows 7 and IE 11. If users are still relying on using support materials, it may be better to stay on Windows 7 until they become proficient.

Based on this information, if the school does wish to update LMBR computers to Windows 10, the Citrix agent will also need to be deployed via UDM to allow access to OASIS or ebs4.

30000 Windows 10 depoyments at 1450 schools achieved Feb 2

eT4L Primary server refresh

There has been further progress in the plans for replacing the eT4L server in all primary schools, as indicated in our previous newsletter. Initially, schools in the Macquarie Park and Ultimo education areas will be scheduled for this four-phase rollout:

Phase 1 - Delivery of a replacement server and UPS to all primary schools in the two education areas

Phase 2 - A visit by our support team to ensure adequate space, power and network connectivity exists to allow for both the old and new servers to temporarily sit side-by-side

Phase 3 - Physical installation of the new server and UPS by our service providers, followed by remotely-administered migration of data and content from old to new server

Phase 4 - Decommissioning of the old eT4L server and UPS and removal from the school.

As your primary school is scheduled for each phase, you will be directly advised and your assistance will be requested to ensure a smooth completion of each phase. Further updates will also be provided in this newsletter as the project develops.

Warranty for eT4L Servers

To ensure continuity of service, ITD teams proactively monitor the services and hardware of your school's eT4L Server. If a hardware fault occurs, an EDConnect ticket is generated by ITD in the Principal's name and Dell is contacted on the school's behalf to undertake maintenance under warranty. Dell will then contact the school to request and arrange access to the eT4L Server within school hours. Once on-site, they will work with ITD teams to complete the repair. In the event of a hardware failure, it is important that schools work with Dell to allow for service of your eT4L Server at the agreed time. Rescheduling or delaying service may lead to school-wide technology issues, ranging from poor performance to extended service interruptions. If schools have any questions or concerns regarding hardware service, please contact EDConnect on 1300 32 32 32.

Image - eT4L Server warranty repair process

My Guide - Stay safe online

In the lead-up to Christmas, a large increase in online scams and frauds were reported to Australian Government authorities. The Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) received 2,608 reports of online scams and fraud in just the first three weeks of December 2016. This threat reinforces the importance of safe online security practices. As the new year and term one commences, it is important to continually be vigilant against cyber criminals. To help protect you and your students against online threats, Stay Smart Online has developed My Guide. It features tips and techniques to help you stay secure when working, socialising or just browsing online. Consider including this resource as a staff meeting topic and a classroom lesson.

Google G Suite notifications

Since the department roll out of G Suite (Google Apps for Education), email alerts and notifications from different Google products were not delivered to staff. Notification emails sent from these apps expect to go to a staff Google inbox address which doesn't exist. Recently, an associated problem was resolved to allow Google Calendar invites to arrive in DoE mailboxes. Working with Google and Telstra, ITD implemented this solution, allowing Google alerts from other apps to be delivered:

Google Classroom - Teachers will be alerted when students submit online assignments or post a question

Google Drive/Docs - Requests from students/staff to share files or folders

Google Plus - Email notifications now work for your department Google Plus social network

YouTube - Staff publishing videos will receive associated notifications

Learn how to change notification settings for your account. Consider creating an inbox rule in Outlook to automatically manage notifications.

Google email notifications and alerts image

Kids Can Code! - resources

Microsoft recently shared a useful set of links to their free products that support students in K-12 and their teachers to learn how to code. Why not take a look at what they offer?

Student web publishing and WiX

Many schools use web publishing as a student/lesson activity in both primary and secondary schools. Online tools like Microsoft Sway, Google Sites and Adobe Spark (13+ only) are popular for this purpose. Some schools are also using commercial web host providers like Weebly and WiX. While Weebly offers an education service that with parental consent, caters for students under the age of 13, the terms of service for WiX clearly state that it can only be used by individuals at least 18 years of age.

ICT Thought of the day

If I'm ever actually the millionth visitor to a website and legitimately win a prize, I'll probably think it's spam and never claim it.

eT4L Win 10 and OneDrive client

Many staff in schools who exclusively use a specific Windows 10 computer built from their eT4L server, have worked out how to setup the included Microsoft OneDrive for Business client. This allows them to locally sync the files and documents in their Office 365 OneDrive cloud storage. If you haven't setup this client yet, it's better to wait because Microsoft are about to release a new version of their OneDrive for Business Next Generation Sync Client. This new tool converges the features of the OneDrive Client and the Office Sync tool and we expect it to address several issues reported by users. Following testing, ITD will prepare to deploy the new client together with a quick reference guide to assist staff with appropriately setting it up with their Office 365 accounts. Keep an eye out for an update to this great news!

MacOS Sierra at eT4L schools

As reported in the final issue of news.T4L in 2016, the MacOS 10.12 (Sierra) build for Apple Macs was rolled back following the identification of an issue with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. The issue has now been resolved and Sierra is again available for deployment to eligible Macs in your school.

Apple Caching Server fact sheet

In addition to MacOS Sierra for Macs, the Apple Caching Server build which was also mentioned in our previous newsletter, is still in place and available for deployment to Mac Minis. Schools with large iPad and Mac fleets that have deployed one of these servers have seen immediate benefits as the load on their school's internet link is greatly decreased. To further explain the benefits of installing an Apple Caching Server in your school and to get instructions for how to deploy one, read this new fact sheet.

Adobe Trial Licence issue

As advised in issue 17, with the release of Adobe Creative Cloud and Acrobat DC, there is an ability to logon using school computers to personal Adobe Cloud accounts. This then results in the installed Adobe products becoming unlicenced for subsequent users of the computer. To resolve this issue if it occurs, a task called AdobeLicenceDOE-AdobeSerialization has been included in Software Center on eT4L PCs and is scheduled to run periodically. Alternatively, ICT coordinators listed as eT4L device managers in AMU, can selectively run the task at any time from Software Center to fix this issue on any affected PCs.

SPA rollout in primary schools

The cutover of the remaining 1,000 primary schools to Secure Proxy Authentication (SPA) is recommencing in week 4 and is scheduled to be completed in week 7. Entire principal networks are being cut over at the same time and each school is being notified two weeks prior to their scheduled date via email to the Principal and School email accounts. Support resources are supplied to assist schools to manage the change locally to ensure a smooth transition for students and staff. Essentially:

If you are using a Windows or Mac computer that has been eT4L-built (managed), then once logged onto the computer, you will no longer be prompted to access the internet on any browser. You will still authenticate to Portal as usual, but never again for the proxy and internet access.
If you are using any unmanaged device, you will be prompted for internet (proxy) access and you will need to add @detnsw to your username. However, for some BYODs like Windows 8.1 or 10, or Macs or iPads, because they are designed for a single user, when you save your credentials (with the @detnsw) the first time, the device will remember them, saving you from re-entering it all the time.

PDF School Plans - quick lookup

Most schools would use AMS on the Web from the staff portal to access their school plans in PDF format. A new quick lookup interface for the files in AMS on the Web is now available for use at school. Just select your school from the appropriate list and your site's PDF plans will be displayed automatically. In addition, this lookup tool offers a quick way to find your site on Google Maps.

DER NSW program close-down

As part of the final phase of the DER NSW program close-down the following work has been completed:

The Computrace agent has been successfully disabled on over 280,000 remaining DER devices. The Computrace software was used to remotely “lock” a lost or stolen device.
The Digital Education Revolution – NSW webpage currently hosted on the DoE Intranet will be removed during term 1 2017. All documentation on the site will be archived.
The graduation process is still available for schools that plan to provide devices to Year 12 students, however schools should graduate all of these devices as soon as possible as the service will also be decommissioned.
All outstanding EdConnect support tickets for DER will be reallocated to the applicable ICT support team.

G Suite Transformation Gallery

What can schools and teachers do with G Suite? It's one thing to make a large suite of online tools available to all schools, it's another to know how to use and what to do with them. Sometimes all teachers need is an idea to run with. The G Suite Transformation Gallery is exactly that - a place full of ideas for applying G Suite to transform your work. While many of the examples are not education specific, you can filter by multiple categories and find great ideas and instructions that you can easily follow. If you find a great, collaborative use for G Suite, why not share it in the department's Google Apps group in Yammer? And don't forget, if you are after more ideas, the department’s Learning Systems unit has developed the Learning tools selector to help teachers make informed decisions about all available technologies they use in the classroom.