pete

For those of you running 3CX at a MAT level, how do you have it structured? I'm torn between: 2x offsite instances (primary and failover) that everything connects to. Possibly with a local failover box for extension <> extension calls on larger sites if the fibre connection goes down. Onsite systems at both secondary schools that are aware of each other that primaries connect into that and if one secondary school system is unavailable it tries the other.

Similar issue here if I use Firefox 81.0.1 + Smoothwall - I can highlight the email, but the "submit" button down the bottom does nothing. In Chrome 85 + Smoothwall, it works.

For anyone thinking of using Schoolcloud's Video Parents' Evening option, check the networking requirements here: https://support.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/article/825-video-appointments-network-requirements Short version - you'll need to sling in a change request/adjust your firewall rules if staff are running the parents' evening while at school.

Scenario: iPads bought under VPP, running iOS 14.0.2, synced via Apple School Manager to Jamf School for device-specific settings. User authentication to AppleID/iCloud/Google/OneDrive/Office 365 is via AzureAD and this works. Problem The Files App is very flaky (intermittent - sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, no consistent error messages) when accessing: Local iPad storage OneDrive Google Drive iCloud storage Dropbox (as a test of a different storage provider) However, if we use the dedicated application for OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox the user experience is stable, files go back and forth correctly and it behaves as it should. What we've checked Filtering / HTTPS Interception - nothing that we can see coming from the devices is being blocked Jamf profiles - no settings blocking storage providers Azure AD authentication logs - no failed logins or otherwise from the users we're testing with. Anecdotally, pre-iOS 14 devices were stable/usable in the Files App. But I don't have sufficient data to definitely point the finger at iOS 14 Testing at home / work - behaviour in Files App is consistently unstable. Dedicated storage apps have no problems. Any ideas? At present I'm trawling through profiles in case there's something obscurely labelled / introduced for 14.0 that's responsible.

The "if you subsequently test negative, you still have to wait the full quarantine period" aspect is problematic: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54250736 What will this alert say? The notification will tell the recipient to go into self-isolation for a fortnight - and trigger the start of the app's countdown clock. But the recipient is not told who triggered the alert. And the authorities cannot identify either party, although they can track how many people have been told to self-isolate. Even if the recipient has no symptoms or a subsequent negative test result, they must stay at home for the duration. I am aware the tests aren't foolproof and depend on the stage of infection, but compared to manual track and trace (where you can go back to work if have no symptoms and test negative), this is problematic and will lead to employee <> employer grief.

I'll also recommend Dave. He's not necessarily the cheapest, but after getting evaluation hardware from a few other suppliers, the hardware supplied is in better condition and the customer service is worth the extra cash. He also does a better job of correctly checking HP part compatibility than HP documentation.

As a longer-term solution, ask the company who supports your fire alarm whether it supports school bell functionality. If it does, it's just a case of adding a timer (think domestic boiler).

A quick glance at the support site mentions this: https://support.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/article/801-video-parents-how-to-attend-appointments-over-video-call

^ We issue laptops to teaching staff, so we're happy for staff to run their meetings from home provided the camera doesn't see anything untoward.

What're they using on the backend for the video chat? and how did your lot get on with the "video calls end at the appointed end time" setting?

You've more chance of seeing Half Life 3 than SIMS 8.

We may (if Google Forms / Microsoft Bookings doesn't suit our needs) be in the market for something that: Is cross-platform (apps are fine, but it needs to have a website too) Doesn't require parents to have Yet Another Login (Ideally) can add appointments to parent's calendar and the teacher's calendar Teacher is set as the owner of the event (so they can add remote video meeting details, for example) I'm poking around the various "booking" offerings, but an idea of what to avoid would be appreciated. cheers Pete

Just started Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

^ Yeah, I tried to be vague so as not to spoil surprises. I should also mention that in the society of the trilogy it's considered perfectly acceptable (if not an actual requirement) to murder your own children if they show signs of being a magic user. It's a very Joe Abercrombie-style world rather than a hopeful one.

I've just had a chat with one of our suppliers and they mentioned these: https://content.hikvision.com/en/core-technology/colorvu for low-light areas to avoid the "your corridor's a bit dark, I'm flipping to infrared mode" from IP cameras. Has anyone got them installed and how effective are they at providing decent colour video in low-light / night-time, assuming some ambient light from outdoor lighting or similar?

The Obelisk Gate by N.K Jemisin (Book 2 of the Broken Earth trilogy). Synopsis (for trilogy): A post-multiple apocalypses earth(?) is plagued by seismic activity after someone destroyed or relocated the moon. That leads to long periods every few decades / hundred years where food is scarce, cannibalism is accepted as a means of surviving and the social structure is largely based around surviving the next apocalypse. Magic users are blamed for all of the above by the general populace, treated as second-class citizens and murdered if they look at anyone funny. However society depends on those magic users to quell/minimise seismic activity in order to not die in volcanic eruptions so they use selective breeding to have a stock of magic users for that task. The protagonists are those magic users.

It's not permissions-based on local AD (anyone with an AD account can read it), so it shouldn't be in Azure. Changes can take a while to filter through Azure though, so if they're hitting a different set of servers to you they may not see the change yet.

I went in 2020 and would have gone in 2021, partly due to a change in role (herding 4 schools now) but mostly because I spot things I wouldn't otherwise be aware of. As others have said, BETT is a cramped sweaty plague zone at the best of time - there's no way I'm visiting in the middle of flu season during a global pandemic.

And to save you some grief, it'll only let you download those .pst files if you're using Edge (unless something's changed dramatically since new Chromium-based Edge came out).

I'd say given you're discussing bear awareness communications on an educational IT forum their announcement was spot-on.

I assume you've already tried the camera app in Windows 10 and it hasn't been able to use it? We've found it's a 50/50 success rate with our older microscopes, depending on how close to a generic webcam the camera is.

This sounds like a generic "swap out the faulty hardware for a known-good device" customer satisfaction problem. What has the leasing company come back with if you sent something like: Hi, The contract between us is for the provision of a car in good working order in exchange for X/month. In light of my experience with this particular car, I'd like evidence that it is in good working order. Could you forward on the technician's report from the recent service (date) at $garagename please? I have asked $person at $garagename for it, but they're unwillingness to discuss how or indeed whether they've fixed the problem. Thanks YourName

We allow BYOD for Y12 & Y13 students and they sign an "I agree not to be a muppet" (I paraphrase) agreement that builds on the existing AUP. It's a mix of "protect yourself", "remember you're at school" and "ensure you get work done using your device". From memory it includes: While it may be (in our case) their device, it's using the school network and we treat misconduct as we would on a school computer. You are responsible for the care and maintenance of your device. This includes charging it and having it ready for use. "My device is broken/flat/at home" is not an acceptable excuse for missing homework or requesting a coursework extension. If you lose the device, you must let us know and change your password (cached radius credentials) Your device must support a screen lock (and you must use it) You are strongly encouraged to turn on device encryption (if not already enabled) We don't support eReaders, at all. Or games consoles. Do not bring inappropriate content into school on your device. Devices or students whose activities impinge on others' use of the network will be kicked off the network. Your device will be kicked off the network if you attempt to use hotspot mode. It is your responsibility to provide your work in a format that's accessible to your teacher for marking. Ensure you close any inappropriate browser tabs before walking into wireless range of the school. We mention the last point in Y12 & Y13 assemblies at the start of every year: Students using their personal devices on the BYODSSID wireless network are reminded to close any questionable browser tabs before coming into school. Your device will automatically refresh any tabs you have open the first time you use the Internet/connect to a network. Should this happen while in range of the school wireless and your browsing habits are a little more wide-ranging than the school's Acceptable Use Policy requires, neither you nor your Head of Year will enjoy the conversation in which they reiterate home/school boundaries. Bandwidth: Depending on your connection, look at traffic shaping rules into place for the BYOD network. Otherwise around Patch Tuesday (Microsoft) or iOS release dates the bandwith can get hammered by BYOD clients downloading updates. Videoing teachers: Handle it the same way you would if a student recorded a teacher using their mobile and uploaded it to YouTube/TikTok/whatever? At least with a managed tablet you have an audit trail and can remote wipe it. Kindle Fire: Though it was a few models ago (Kindle Fire HD IIRC), we found Kindle Fire's pretty lacking when it came to anything but media consumption. A couple of students used them for BYOD and our support position swiftly became "your parents bought terrible hardware, that's not our problem to fix".

^ Yeah, I'm leaning towards their storage herders complaining about a bunch of freeloaders completely blowing through storage growth predictions and this is a way to slow down the problem.

We may be leasing ~40 iPads for a specific course over two years. Enrolled in DPP with Jamf for herding and Managed Apple IDs against Azure AD for (among other things) the extra iCloud storage. For those of you leasing iPads, who're you using and what do you like / dislike about the provider? We have a couple of resellers quoting and we're currently red-penning their proposals.