Category: ICT Moray

Dear Colleagues’

ICT have been made aware that the Security Certificates used by iPads are due to expire on the 7^th of July. This means that after the 7^th of July your schools iPads will be unable to connect to the Internet until they have the new Certificate installed.

Under normal circumstances, the Learning Technicians would assist schools with this but as currently there is no one in post, ICT have made the following arrangements to assist schools:-

Please follow this link to a  “How to install new certificate from Meraki MDM” document which gives details on installing the new Certificate. As part of the process, the iPad will need to connect to a new Wi-Fi network, which will now be visible in your school. The SSID is IOS-ICT and the WPA2 password which has already been sent to your school.

This Wi-Fi network will only be available for a short period of time to allow these updates to take place. This network will then be monitored to verify that all iPads have been updated on the Meraki system. 

If the Certificate is not updated by the 7^th July the iPads will need to be returned to ICT or taken home to connect to a home broadband Wi-Fi connection to allow the update.

We apologise for the short notice at this very busy time of year for schools due to the fact that ICT Support have only just been made aware.

If you require any further information or would like to discuss the matter further please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards David McKay

david.mckay@moray.gov.uk

 

Windows 10 is being rolled out with all new machines from this summer to ensure that schools stay abreast of new technology. The configuration has been tested within several schools and has been tailored to suit Educational requirements. Below are some of the questions that you may have:-

Can I still have Windows 7 installed on my devices?:– No. The new hardware will not run windows 7.

Will Windows 10 be installed on all the computers in the school?:- All new computers will have windows 10 installed and schools can request to have additional computers in a room upgraded to windows 10 where there would be a mixture of windows 7 and windows 10. This will ensure that Teachers and Pupils will have a standard to work with within a single location.

ICT will then schedule the upgrade of all Windows 10 PCs which are under 5 years old. There are currently no plans to upgrade PCs which are over 5 years old.

Will everything work from the start?:- There has been in-depth testing and the majority of issues should have been found. However, only once schools start using them on mass will some of the smaller issues show up. These will be dealt with as quickly as possible after they have been raised as calls with ICT.

What if my software will no longer run on Windows 10?:- Unfortunately there is no going back. Windows 10 is here to stay. If you find software that is not compatible with Windows 10 you may have to contact the supplier to see if there is a newer version which is suitable.

If you would like the answer to any other questions please feel free to use the comments section and we will endeavour to reply as quickly as possible.

 

All schools received the paperwork for their 2019 allocation of PCs and Interactive panels at the end of April. 77% of schools have returned their requirements to ICT and the orders are now being processed.

For the remaining schools ICT have now received information from Scottish Procurement to say that there may be Intel constraints that will affect orders, as below.

National Frameworks for Mobile and Desktop Client Devices – Education Last Order Dates

Please be advised that, due to the ongoing Intel constraints, it is recommended that orders are placed with HP by Friday 7 June to minimise any potential impact on delivery.

To try and ensure that your schools PCs are available for a summer install we would be grateful if you could provide your requirements as soon as possible.

If your school does not require the allocation this year please let ICT know so that the equipment can be re-allocated to another school.

Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact ICT.

 

“As per the email that was sent to all nominated school IT Administrator accounts late yesterday afternoon, we believe that the issue affecting desktop shortcuts and icons etc. is now resolved.

All associated incidents have therefore now been closed – please contact the ICT Service Desk if, for some reason,  your specific issue remains unresolved and the incident will be reopened.”

 

ICT are continuing to work closely with Microsoft to diagnose this complex fault and have asked for a further escalation within Microsoft in order to find a resolution to the problem.

An email was sent out earlier in the week to all technicians and school admin accounts with details of a workaround to the problem.  If you require assistance with this please raise a call on the ICT Servicedesk portal

ICT have also made provision for Students to gain access to standard programs by using the icons in the Desktop folder located in the Student(in) shared folder.

‘ICT have been working closely with Microsoft to diagnose the fault and the matter has now been escalated within Microsoft in order to find a resolution to the problem.

An email was sent out yesterday to all technicians and school admin accounts with details of a workaround to the problem.  If you require assistance with this please raise a call on the ICT Servicedesk portal.’

‘Students can now also gain access to standard programs by using the icons in the Desktop folder located in the Student(in) shared folder.’

 

‘The schools network continues to be affected by a fault which prevents the display of customised icons and shortcuts on users’ ‘Desktop’ and ‘Start Menu’.  ICT staff are treating this problem as a matter of priority and a support call has been logged with Microsoft Technical Support to resolve this as soon as possible.  Further updates will follow in due course.’

 

 

Dear Colleagues,

Safer Internet Day (SID) 2019 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 5th February 2019 and this year the focus is consent online.  You can access free education packs for SID 2019 here.  Each pack comes with some activities, lesson plans, posters and even a presentation which can be used in an assembly.

Schools and ELC’s can register as a Safer Internet Day 2019 Supporter here.  Please visit UK Safer Internet Centre for more information.

Although SID has a particular focus each year, please remember the wider context of Internet Safety and Cyber Resilience.  This is also an opportunity for us to reflect on our own practise e.g. locking computers, dealing with fraudulent (phishing) emails etc.  There will be an increased focus on cyber resilience across the authority this year so look out for more information in the coming months.

We’d love to hear what plans you have to promote this in school so please get in touch at learntech@moray.gov.uk or share your photos via Twitter and tag @DigiLearnMoray.

We are changing to the new Service Desk which will make it easier for to log calls and give you access to view their progress. Your school will be going live on the new desk from Monday 21^st January. Please raise all new calls using the new system from then on. Over the weekend of the 19^th January ICT will change the ‘Log ICT Service desk call’ link on your desktop to the new Service Desk. In the meantime please use the link below and create a favorite for temporarily access.

http://moraysrv121.moray.gov.uk:8080/SunriseLive/web/SContacts

The username for your school is your full admin email address (i.e. admin.aberlourp@moray-edunet.gov.uk). All admin staff who log calls are to use the same account unlike the existing Service Desk where you log them in your own name. This will give you the ability to view the progress of calls that were logged by your colleagues where applicable.

You will receive an email to the admin account giving an initial password which will require changing the first time you log in.

Instructions on changing your password and using the Service Desk are in the attached user guide.  Sunrise Customer How To Guide

If you have any problems or questions please let me know.

The current support agreements for iPads means that ICT configure the iPads to connect to the schools WiFi and schools then support the iPads once they are connected.  This therefore means that the creation of Apple IDs and the downloading and purchasing of apps etc is carried out by the school.

 

Currently to download apps on an iPad, the iPads must be signed in with an Apple ID which acts as an Apple User Account.  Apple has notified users that to comply with their Terms and Conditions, each iPad must be signed in with its own Apple ID.  Therefore, at the moment, the only way for schools to download and purchase apps would be to create an Apple ID per iPad.  Any apps would then have to be downloaded/purchased on each iPad individually.  This could take a considerable amount of time depending on the number of iPads your school has. Unfortunately this means that schools will not be able to receive the educational discount if bulk purchasing apps (20 or more).  There is also the risk that if we move to a different solution going forward, any purchases schools have made will be lost as Apple will not transfer purchases.

 

There are possible solutions which would give a more managed approach but these all have cost and resource implications. This will be discussed at the next Education & ICT Strategy Group meeting.

 

Please see table below for an overview of the existing situation.

 

Task	Current Situation
Creation of Apple IDs	Manually created by the school, 1 per iPad
Bulk app purchases	No
Receive educational discount on apps	No
Deployment of apps	Manually downloaded/purchased on each iPad individually by the school

 

Please consider this information carefully before purchasing iPads for your school before any Authority Wide Management Solution is considered.

 

If you already have iPads and are looking for guidance in the creation of Apple IDs and downloading apps, please contact the Moray Digital Learning Team at learntech@moray.gov.uk we have also attached “A Guide to creating Apple ID’s” for information. A Guide to Creating Apple IDs