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New Teacher Orientation

Prairie Grove School District

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Technology Staff

Ray Ruland

Network Administrator

ray.ruland@pgtigers.org

Miles Eubanks

Systems Administrator

miles.eubanks@pgtigers.org

Shawn Witt

Director of Technology

shawn.witt@pgtigers.org

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Interesting Facts

  • 1,800 total computers (K-12)

  • 200 iPads

  • Projectors & document cameras in every classroom

  • 89 Mbps Internet Connection

  • Video stream events

  • Google Apps

  • Campus-wide wireless internet

  • Fiber LAN

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Technology Work Orders

How to access the work order system from the district website:

www.pgtigers.org >Teachers tab >Technology Work Orders

Direct Link:

http://workorder.pgtigers.org:9675/portal

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How to Login to the Work Order System

Your login for the work order system is exactly the same as your computer login.

Login Troubleshooting:

*Your computer password may be expired.

*Make sure you did not add “@pgtigers.org” to the end of your username.

*Is caps lock on?

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About the Work Order System

When you submit a work order, it instantly emails the technology staff.

It also notifies you when we have replied to, or closed, your work order. So, please check your email for replies to keep track of your requests.

We often reply to your ticket to ask you questions or to let you know if we have to order a part.

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When to Submit a Work Order (Examples)

  • Projector doesn’t turn on.

  • Speakers won’t work.

  • Computer doesn’t turn on.

  • No internet connectivity on your computer.

  • Classroom phone not working.

  • Old/unusable computers, etc.

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When to Not Submit Work Orders

Requests for things such as SmartBoards, Promethean boards, iPads, and laptop carts. These needs should run through your building principal.

I will gladly help you by gathering quotes for these types of items. So feel free to reach out to me if you need help or advice. Email me at shawn.witt@pgtigers.org.

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Final Thoughts on Work Orders

If you need help, if something is broken, or if one of your computers are slow or unusable, please submit a work order.

Every year we find out about something that hasn’t worked for half of the school year, but no one ever told us. We can’t help if we don’t know there is a problem.

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Classroom Arrangement

I understand a room layout may not be ideal from one person to the next. However, we spend a lot of time and money moving cabling every year.

At the beginning of the year, we are simply too busy doing other things to move cables. If you really need cabling moved during the school year, we can discuss it with your principal. Otherwise, please submit cabling requests for the next summer break.

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Calling the Tech Office

Please understand we are often working on work orders, on the phone with support or vendors, or working on projects throughout the day. If we are available, we will answer our phone. A lot of emergencies can be prevented with proper planning.

If you do call the office and we don't answer, please leave a voicemail. If you do have a dire emergency, please contact your building principal so they can contact us.

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PD Training

My intention is to offer at least one training opportunity per month because we feel it is important to provide staff members with an opportunity to learn new skills.

We will email training information out to you throughout the school year.

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Network Logins and Passwords

Most usernames are firstname.lastname for the computer and email. The only exceptions are for those who have identically spelled names.

Passwords are synchronized between your computer login and email. So when you change your computer password, it will automatically sync to become your email password too. If you have manually set your email password, this sync will override it.

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Login Security

Computer passwords must be complex. Meaning, they must be at least 8 characters long and contain a capital, number, or special character.

For security reasons, your computer account will be locked out if you, or someone else, attempts to login with your account incorrectly three or more times in a row.

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Teacher Gradebook

As of July 2013, we began using eSchool as our Student Information System (SIS). Therefore, you will be using Teacher Access Center (TAC) for your gradebook. Parents will be able to check grades as well with Home Access Center (HAC).

You will have to create a VPN connection to access TAC from home. State restricts access to school IP addresses only for security reasons.

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Student Accounts

We create computer and email accounts for students down to 2nd grade. We encourage you to allow your students to login with their own accounts as much as possible.

Librarians, lab teachers, and most teachers with mobile laptop carts have the ability to reset student passwords/unlock their accounts. These users cannot change faculty passwords.

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Printing

Many of you have printers on your desk. We print to copy machines now, so we no longer provide ink/toner for classroom printers. If you feel you need a classroom printer, contact your building principal to ask about having ink provided.

Exceptions:

We do provide toner for libraries, offices, and computer labs.

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District Software Provided

  • CompassLearning

  • Discovery Education

  • Google Apps

  • Telephone Notification System

  • Read180
  • District Music Server

  • Lightspeed

  • MS Office Purchase Program

  • Destiny Library Management

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Final Thoughts

  • Please be patient.

  • Submit work orders when you need help.

  • Plan and prepare, to help limit emergencies.
  • Remember that we have a fixed budget.

  • Try to troubleshoot as best you can before submitting work orders.