JonnyAlpha

Our IT Dept tried many things and in the end the only fix was to re install MS Office. All sorted now. We do still have the odd OneNote sync issue, but only a couple of users.

Hi, We have several users in my school experiencing issues with MS OneNote 2016 Desktop App. It opens and then shortly afterwards simply closes. When re-opening you get a message with three startup options - Normal - Delete Cache - Delete Settings. Some users who have had the problem (me included) deleted the cache and then deleted the settings and that resolved the issue. Others however (5 so far) have not have such success. OneNote opens in a browser using Teams or the Online version from the O365 apps pane, but when opting to "Open in the Desktop App" it crashes, so its restricted to the Desktop App. I have raised this with our Off Site IT provider, however they have not resolved the issue and appear to be swamped with calls from other schools that they cover :-( Has / Is anyone else experiencing this issue? Many thanks

Hi, We have recently purchase several Samsung WM65R (65") Flip 2 Screens. I am happy with how to connect a device to the Samsung and use it as a classroom display, but I believe we should be able to stream the Samsung Screen to a mobile device such as an iPad / Windows Laptop or ChromeBook, this would be extremley useful for visually impaired students. I have searched the web for an answer on how to do this but cannot find what additional software we need, or indeed how to do it. I am sure I have seen this done but cannot recall how. The user manual is pretty spares and I believe it depends on whether you wish to share the roll (the screens whiteboard function) or the display. Is anyone here an expert and can help me work this out? Many thanks

Hi, I need some independent advice please. Our school has a Server / Windows 10 Client setup. A year or so ago we bought a new Server and upgraded everything to Windows 10. Our fleet of 60 pupil Laptops is about 6 years old and I managed to get agreement to renew everything. Each pupil has an Active Directory Username and Password and an O365 account which is thier AD username with our domain added to the end. When logging into O365 Teams etc they need to enter thier username and the domain name. Even for Year 5's etc I am finding this a nightmare!!! After researching our requirement I managed to get agreement to buy 32 Fujitsu Core i3 Laptops and 32 ASUS Chromebooks. We have just taken receipt of 32 ASUS ChromeBooks. When discussing whether to get ChromeBooks or Laptops in a meeting with my HT and our offsite IT company, it was sold to us on the basis that pupils would be able to sign into the device using thier existing Active Directory username and password (e.g. username:joeb password:cat123). This was supposed to be a single sign in process, so that when they then opened O365 / Teams etc they would not be prompted for a username or password. Now that the hardware has turned up the IT rep that came to deploy everything showed me that to login to the ChromeBooks, the pupil would enter thier email address and password and IIRC would still have to sign into other MS apps. I have explained that this was not how we believed it would work and this now means that the Chromebooks (that were supposed to be switch on and go) would now be a nightmare for anyone in year 5 and below. I want to make things simple for my teachers, to encourage them to use this technology. So - is there a way of setting up a ChromeBook so that you sign in using a simplified login (e.g. the current AD username and password). Is it also possible for this login to be linked to the full domain name and prevent the user then having to enter an email address and password for O365 online apps?

I use JamF to manage about 90 iPads, simple and effective.

Yes in the 6 months or so that we have been using it, they bolted on Class Notebook and rolled it out for education!! Teams itself is OK, but Class NoteBook is a pain, when it works it's 'OK' but it seems they threw the Microsoft Software guide out of the window and decided to do everything differently and ended up with a very 'CLUNKY' piece of software. We also found during lockdown and high usage, buttons and functionality would suddenly disappear, causing no end of frustration!! What is the main problem is that we can't seem to find anything that gives us the basic functionality of Smart Notebook in the way of a decent digital chalkboard - Microsoft WhiteBoard is just a whiteboard with a few freehand pens, if it had even a straight line or simple shapes and maybe a ruler / protractor it would be a %100 better than it is!!

We were trying to wean teachers away from Smart Notebook by using Teams, but that didn't stop them and now that they don't have to setup remote learning most have drifted away from using Teams altogether - a backward step sadly!!

Keyboards are getting hard to find, doesn't help when you place an order and find that it got 'mislaid' somewhere in school!!! I have just found another 20 from various suppliers and have sent this to our school admin so hopefully this will get us out of the current situation. We (I) have been replacing the teachers devices with SSD drives which has improved them dramatically (but they are newer / better LifeBook A 357s). The pupils devices are A512 (I believe) Core i3 4GB Ram. SSDs may be an options for these. Pupils usernames and passwords are mirrored to O365 but I believe we still boot through the AD and it is this that causes the problem I guess as every time a pupil uses a different device, thier profile has to be downloaded. I'll speak to our offsite IT provider to look at some options. Many thanks

Hi, Our fleet of 60 Fujitsu LifeBook Laptops used for pupils are around 6 years old and keyboards are failing left, right and centre. We recently upgraded the Server and upgraded everything to Windows 10 and since then moved to Teams for remote learning. The Laptops just aren't up to it anymore. I have asked out offsite IT support to stop Teams loading at startup as it's easier and quicker to use the Web version. I have spoken to the SLT on a a number of occasions suggesting that they need to start planning for a replacement but unless I start this off it is not going to happen. The SLT have suggested that we will continue to use MS Teams, but a number of year groups have migrated back to Smart Notebook and storing files on the Server!! I am now looking for upgrade ideas, the HT has and I am sure will mention ChromeBooks again and I will have to explain why this would mean a complete change in the way we currently operate and to do this properly would need a complete business review which no one would do. So what would be a cost effective upgrade to retain a Windows 10 Server / Client setup? Open to any other suggestions?

Hi, When enrolling new DEP devices in JamF, the Device Name column has Do Not Change in it? How can I change the device name? On our old ones, the device name (which was set when the device was setup to differentiate each device) appears on the lock screen. Thanks

Yes - sorry new to this, wasn't sure how to force passcodes? Anyway I set the passcodes myself, to ensure that there was at least some security when handed out. - - - Updated - - - So how do you enforce a passcode in a profile?

Hi, All of our iPads are managed in JamF For Schools. Our IT company normally enrol and set devices up and I am the IT coord (Computing Teacher :-) ) I am familiar with deploying apps etc but now need to enrol and deploy devices as the IT company are mega busy. Question: I need to add PIN numbers to 8 iPads but cannot work out how to do this? Background: We have just received as part of the DfE COVID Technology support packages. I had to get the supplier to add them to the DEP which they did and they appeared in Jam F. I assigned a profile (with assistance from our IT support), added a licence, enrolled them and put them in a group. We have now decided that 8 will be used by Teachers to deliver enhanced digital learning and help with marking work submitted in OneNote. Now that they have been enrolled I can assign staff iPad profile which has a tick in the Passcode field, but I cannot see how to allocate the passcode (a different one for each iPad)

Hi; We are relatively new to MS Teams and need to try and prevent certain activity for specific users. 1. How can we prevent specific / all children creating thier own Teams? 2. How can we prevent all children using thier Office 365 Email address to create online accounts (Instagram, Twitch, TikTok etc)? 3. How can we prevent specific / all children initiating thier own video calls? 4. How can we prevent specific / all children using the chat facility in Teams? Many thanks

The default browser on our school devices is Edge, all converted to a new W10 image about two years ago now. Maybe Edge needs updating. I am using Chrome at home now on a Macbook and same issue?

Not sure if this is an ok question to ask on here. All day today several teachers n my schoolhave been having trouble with OneNote in Teams. The additional menus usually available when clicking the down arrow next to the Help menu is missing and therefore we cannot access key options such as Distribute Pages. Today in one class, all of a sudden while we were talking it reappeared. In another class, closing and reopening Teams restored the option. I put this down to Network Issues however I am sat at home tonight and I am having the same issue on a completely different computer. Attached is the pic showing where the option should be. Any ideas?

That is another option I am considering. Either Pi 400's, Pi 4 Desktops (both with external SSDs, or Pi 4's in an Argon One M.2 case and M.2 SSD Card, then adding a decent low cost monitor, like this. If I have done my sums correctly, one of each setup would cost: Pi 4, PSU, Kbd, Mouse, SSD and Monitor (buying all bits separately): £164.06 Pi 4 Desktop, SSD, Monitor: £190.99 Pi 400, SSD, Monitor: £179.23 Pi 4 Argon One M.2, SSD Card, Monitor: £218.82 Yes this is a workshop involving Kitchen Units with worktops to act as work benches, when sawing and cutting the Pi's and Monitors will be away in the cupboards. Laptops are easier to put away / get out though.

Can't find them anywhere for anywhere near that price?

I would have said around the price of the one I linked, but as its currently unavailable there is now now price :-) They were £350 when I looked. I have found these [h=1]ASUS VivoBook R465JA Full HD 14.0-inch Laptop (Intel Core i3-1005G1, 4GB RAM, 128GB PCIe SSD, Windows 10)[/h] For £399.

Fellow Tech Peeps, I am kitting out a MakerSpace for STEM education / projects at school and will be open to the public once a month at weekends and open at times during holidays. In the MakerSpace we have / will have a Prusa i3 3D Printer, Hobby Lathe, Hobby Pillar Drill, Scroll Saw, Vinyl Printer and Vinyl Bender, Raspberry Pi's. We will also have hand tools / electronic and wood work. The workshop will accommodate up to 10 children at a time. Although we do have Laptops in school (Fujitsu i3 SATA HDD), as they are about 5 years old, I was planning on buying 5 more up to date devices. I had settled on these, but they are now currently unavailable. The Laptops will be used to SSH into the Raspberry Pi's, low level 3D design using TinkerCad, web access, coding (Scratch, Python). Could anyone recommend any decent spec devices for this purpose? I had also considered getting the Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop Kit 8GB version, which I can get for £113 (Educational Account) and then add a monitor? This would save on buying the additional Raspberry Pis, but understand that these are not as capable as a Laptop and would also need SSD drives if I wanted more storage. We are considering a separate NAS box, so the Pi's could use that as storage. Thoughts

Hi, In my School we have iPad Mini Ones which are restricted to IOS 9.3.5 (I believe) and iPad 4s which are restricted to IOS 10.3.3. We have started using Nessy reading and writing and for ease of access the teachers using this in thier class (2 x Y4 classes) are using the iPads. They have reported to me that they cannot access Nessy using either Safari or Chrome on the iPad Mini Ones. In order to start using Nessy in Y3 / 4 / 5 / 6, the school now wants to have 4 tablets in each class (we are a two form entry school so thats 32 tablets. I have been asked to source a solution (I am the Computing Lead / IT Go To and link with the off site IT support. We manage all of our iPads using JamF School (which I find easy to mss manage apps etc) and for ease I believe we should stick with iPads rather than have another different piece of IT to look after ??? To save money - my HT believes that now we have an Amazon account we could look at refurbished products to save money, this may well be true but I have advised that we should identy what the minimum specs are for running Nessy and that will dictate what we can buy. So any ideas what the minimum spec iPad IOS and Safari / Chrome version I need for Nessy? P.S. I don't believe we would be able to get this amount of refurbished or lower spec iPads from any Amazon reseller?

Hi; I have seized a rare opportunity to project manage the conversion of a classroom into a library / maker space. I need some help identifying a reasonably priced 3D printer and CNC Laser Cutter. I have just been offered a grant of £2000 so far but will be applying for more. This is in a Primary School and will be used by small groups and after school clubs. It will also be open to weekend clubs for youths and adults. Many thanks

Well that went completely off topic!! I have asked the school to order Isopropyl Alcohol and Atomiser Spray Bottles, Anti Bac Wipes and Lint Free Cloths (for iPad Screens without covers. I have just been into school and all they had available so far is water based Antibacterial spray and thin J Cloths, I used about three cloths on 30 Laptops and it took about 30 minutes. I have asked what the policy is on cleaning e.g. use a couple of cloths per 15 Laptops and bin them (as they should not be re-used unless washed in a washing machine?

Hi; I need to setup an online booking system for Laptops iPads etc. Need something simple and effective? We have 4 trolleys of 15 Laptops, 9 iPad 4s in a Charging Station and 19 iPad Mini Ones loose :-( We have Office 365, but don't use Teams yet. Any help would be great. TVM

Definately staff - the kids would drink it :-)

I was about to post a thread asking the same question. Key worker children in school are using iPads and Laptops and last time I looked they were wiping them down between use (I am not sure however what they were using, probably Antibacterial Wipes). In this thread it is suggested that Isopropyl Alchohol is the better option, so for current use and with the advent of several classes returning 1st June, should I get my Admin Office to order up a couple of bottles of Isopropyl Alcohol? What about applying it? Paper Towel roll? Thanks