Distributing new student user acconts

[Edwardjr]

I was just wondering, how you guys give out new year 7 student user accounts?

 

Currently we print off the details on to sticky labels and then give to tutors to stick in the back of diaries and I'm starting thinking this is quite a cumbersome way of doing this (creating the labels and the fact they can be compromised easily by others)

 

So, how do you do it?

 

 

 

I look forward to your responses,

 

 

Edward

[Norphy]

We set their usernames to be their student ID numbers (letter followed by five numbers, it's printed on all of their ID cards) and set the passwords to be their date of birth (DDMMYY). The first time they log in, they change it and ten minutes later they rock up to the helpdesk and say "My password don't work sir innit"

[pete]

We mail merge a CSV into a one-page A4 sheet with their login and initial password that covers what and where things are, who to ask for help with X etc.

 

They get a lesson on their first day for IT orientation where these are handed out. I sit in on or run two of them, my technician does the other two. Emphasis is on choosing a good password (and time to do so), making sure they can get onto email/VLE/homedir etc and then we talk through the AUP, a copy of which they take home for their parents to sign.

 

It's also a good time to discover that the primary school have been spelling their name incorrectly, or that despite actually being called Cyril, they only answer to "Tom".

[kernewek-sam]

Teachers ans TA's are given a spreadsheet with full name, username. Then we set the same generic password for all, which they are then forced to change when they first log in. Yes you do get the odd one who sets their friends password but that's easily changed. This is all usually done in July when they come in for 1 day, for an sort of induction day.

[6Foot2]

We E-Mail the details to Head of Year 7 and those staff who will see year 7 in IT lessons first.

[Sylv3r]

All users take the form of:

 

Year of Entry + Surname + '.' + initial

 

12Smith.J

 

Then everyones password is set as password - the kids in Year 7 I don't think are clever enough to change other passwords of students in their year group. All students logon for the first time in their ICT lessons in the first week and are prompted to change their password to something new - any password 'issues' we have in the first couple of weeks are generally after they have changed the initial default password to something else which they forget!

[witch]

We E-Mail the details to Head of Year 7 and those staff who will see year 7 in IT lessons first.

 

That's what we do and the teacher stands over them whilst they write their password in their planner - whilst being told about safety and how you never write down your password.....

[6Foot2]

That's what we do and the teacher stands over them whilst they write their password in their planner - whilst being told about safety and how you never write down your password.....

 

That confuses me too.

[john]

I've had a few ways of doing it over the last 4 years, including sticky labels, me and my tech going to the 1st IT lesson of each new intake class, big sheet given to all IT Staff to use, form tutor lists etc... and last years was the best which was the sticky labels. We piloted it last year as we had a new LAN so everyone was new passwords and we had the usual new in-take as well so did the stick label mail-merge method and it worked well. Usernames follow a pattern and passwords are based around the users date of birth from the MIS (which is great bar when that is incorrect and not been spotted for years!)

 

This year, I have around 350 new intake (school expansion due to closure of other schools) and we have opted for the sticky labels again for Y7,8,9 and 12 and as I spoke to the member of staff who is responsible for the Homework Diarys I have a little space, ironically sticky label sized, for sticking said label so it cannot be used to cover the Periodic Table or other key info area like they did last year Doh! It will only take 5 minutes to sort them out as I use Wisesofts Excel sheet to add all my new users so just save that and then run a quick mail-merge from that or I can do it straight from Serco with some SQL guruness to sort the usernames out but excel is just as quick

[kernewek-sam]

any password 'issues' we have in the first couple of weeks are generally after they have changed the initial default password to something else which they forget!

 

Ahh the fun of the first few weeks in September

[ADMaster]

I use a combination of their name and student number which is information teachers have in the grade book and that the students should have memorized or have on their ID.

I use last name + first initial + last four of ID.

 

This serves three main purposes;

1. students and teachers can easily calculate the username.

2. There is a very minimal chance of having duplicates.

3. I can easily find the students in AD by last name, when I get a ticket about password resets.

 

I emailed this formula and default password to all the teachers just before school starts, even though this has been the formula for a few years, I still get questions on what new student usernames are.

[twin--turbo]

LOL...

 

Student: "Sir, I need to change my password"

Me: "Why?"

Student: "It's the same as Jonno's"

Me: "Why would that matter?"

Student "Cos we have the same password, he knows it."

Me: "But if he does not know your password, how does he know it's the same"

Student "It's the same so he knows it."

Me: "He can't know your password"

Student: "but he know it's the same"

Me: "How?"

Student: "We compared them"

Me: "So, you showed him a password he had no idea what it was, he read it and now he knows it, the fact that it's the same of yours hardly matters."

Student "But it's the same, so he knows what it is..."

Me: "Sigh......."...

 

 

Rob

[laserblazer]

I can see his point. Jonno's the last person I would want knowing my password.