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FACULTY LAPTOP FAQs Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School (RCWJDS) is committed to the integration of technology into the academic programs of the school. At the end of the school year, in June, the laptops and all the cables must be returned in good working order to the school. The questions below address issues teachers may have regarding the laptop program.
What equipment comes with the laptop? Each iBook comes with one battery, a battery charger, and an AirPort card (installed).How fast is my laptop? What operating system is installed on it? How much RAM is installed on it? To answer these questions, click on About this Mac under the Apple Menu in the Menu bar.What software comes installed on the laptop?
Can I upgrade the laptop? Can I change the hardware, such as add memory? No, you may not change the hardware inside the laptop without explicit instructions from the Director of Technology. Periodically, Apple will provide software updates to update the applications on the laptop or the operating system. Please DO install these updates.I was told there are certain settings I shouldn’t change, which are they? Please do not change the setting in the following System Preferences: Network, Sharing, Remote Desktop.Can we load software from home onto the laptop? All the laptops have been carefully tested to assure that they will function correctly when launching applications and accessing the wireless network at RCWJDS. The software that is loaded on the laptop is the software designed for school use. You are allowed to only install software that a) you own or for which you own a license or b) does not interfere with the operation of the original applications installed by RCWJDS. IF YOU DO NOT OWN OR HAVE A LICENSE FOR A PIECE OF SOFTWARE, DON’T INSTALL IT.What happens if I forget my password? Come find the Director of Technology and s/he will reset your password to abcd.Does the laptop have to be transported in a carrying case? Yes. You must carry your laptop in a carrying case whenever you transport it.What if I forget the laptop at home? Forgetting your laptop at home would be very much like leaving your binder at home. You will find it difficult to do your work because all your personal information is saved on the laptop. However, the Director of Technology can loan you a spare laptop.Where should I charge my laptop? You should recharge your laptop at home overnight. Charging at school is permissible, but the cords can be cumbersome.Should I bring my power cord and power brick to school? Yes. Your battery has at most 4 hours of charge in it. If you need to use your computer for longer, you should charge it using the power brick.Can I use my laptop while it is plugged in? You can use your laptop while it is plugged in. Whenever it is plugged in, and the battery is connected, the battery is being recharged whether the laptop is on or not. It is actually preferable to use your laptop while it is plugged in.Where should I store the laptop? In the carrying case inside your classroom. At no time should the laptop be left out on campus. If you are doing an activity that prevents you from keeping an eye on your laptop, it must be locked in your classroom. No one else is responsible for the laptop but you.How should we clean our laptop? You can use a damp, soft cloth to wipe the exterior of the iBook. If that doesn’t clean the exterior, use a gentle, nonabrasive cleanser. DO NOT use a damp cloth or cleanser on the LCD (screen) because it will cause damage. Use a screen cleaner and a tissue to clean the LCD. A screen cleaner can be bought (at a modest price) at any office supply store such as Staples or Office Depot. Limit the need for cleaning by not touching the screen, washing your hands before using your iBook, and not eating or drinking while using your iBook. If you need to have the screen or keyboard cleaned, please come and see the Director of Technology, who has the proper supplies. At no time should you ever use cleaners with ammonia on your iBook! Remember, the cleanliness of the laptop can affect is reliability.Can I personalize my iBook with stickers? No. Do not place stickers or writing on the iBook. This will be considered “user abuse” and you will be responsible for repairs or replacement.Can I remove or change the stickers that are on my laptop? No. Those stickers serve to identify your laptop and act as identification for asset inventory.What should I do if the laptop breaks or malfunctions? Bring it immediately to the Director of Technology and s/he will diagnose it and coordinate its repair. Repairs to the laptop that are not coordinated by the Director of Technology are not allowed.How will the laptops be repaired? Laptops will be repaired either at school, sent to Apple for repair, or you may be asked to visit The Genius Bar at the Apple Store (either Palo Alto or Burlingame) for their services.Are the laptops under warranty? Each laptop is covered by the manufacture’s warranty and an AppleCare extended warranty. Combined, the warranty is valid for 3 years.Who is financially responsible for repairs? If the damage is caused by faulty equipment (dead battery, dead hard drive) our AppleCare extended warranty will cover the cost of repair. If, however, the damage is the result of “user abuse” (e.g., cracked screen, broken case plastics) the financial responsibility will fall upon the teacher. The school will pay for repairs to expedite the process, then give the teacher a bill. The bill needs to be paid by the teacher before the teacher can take his/her laptop outside of the school. In all cases, Apple will have the final say on what is and isn’t “user abuse” as this determines what the warranty will cover.What will the Director of Technology do to help me recover my data if it is lost because of a malfunction of the laptop? The Director of Technology will spend up to two hours attempting to recover lost data. If after those two hours, the data cannot be recovered and the operating system requires repair, the Director of Technology will reformat the hard drive and reset the software to the original settings from the beginning of the school year.I was told it is the teacher’s responsibility to maintain and back-up his/her own data. How do I do that? Teachers can back up their data by burning a CD, uploading files to the server, or emailing data to another laptop.I have a PC at home. Will I be able to transfer documents? These days, with newer software, most documents transfer easily between PCs and Macs, so this shouldn’t be a problem. However, since you will have a laptop to use at school and to take home, you probably will not need to transfer documents between laptops. You should check the documents you plan to transfer between laptops for viruses before you execute the transfer. You can do this with a Virus Protection program like McAfee or Norton AntiVirus.The laptop you were issued this year will be returned to you next year. How do I know which laptop is assigned to me? Will it have my name on it? There is a label on the laptop with your name, computer identification, and an asset tag. The school has recorded the serial numbers to identify the equipment as positively yours. Each laptop is also assigned a digital signature in the system preferences that should not be changed.Can I share the laptop with family members? I do not expect that you will share the laptops with other teachers. However, I do expect that family members will want to share this experience with you and try out the laptops. This will be fine—you’ll probably teach each other lots of things! Remember that the teacher is responsible for the proper care of the laptop no matter who is using it.Will I have access to a printer? Do I have to plug anything in? When you are on the wireless network, you have access to the three black and white network printers in the halls. They are located a) outside the 1st and 2nd grade classrooms, b) outside the 3rd and 4th grade classrooms, and c) outside the middle school classrooms. If you need to print in color, the Phaser 850 is located in the staff lounge. You have to attach the cable to one of your USB ports in order to print. Please print color sparingly because the ink for the Phaser is VERY expensive.Can I print at home? Can I install a printer from home on my laptop? You may install a printer from home on your laptop if you like. Make sure you are using the correct software for your printer that will work on the operating system in your laptop.How do I access the Internet at school? Your laptop is equipped with a wireless network card, called an Airport card that allows you to connect to the school’s wireless network. To check to see if you are connected to the network, click on the Airport icon in the menu bar. You should see “RCWJDSNet” checked.How accessible is the Wornick Day School network from home? RCWJDS wireless network will not be available from home. However, if you are online at home, we expect that you will be able to browse the Internet using your current ISP (AOL, SBC DSL, etc.). Email is accessible on any laptop that has access to the World Wide Web. Just visit http://www.wornickjds.org/upCan I access the Internet from home? You may connect the laptop to the Internet outside of school if it doesn’t interfere with the normal operation of the laptop. You may connect to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider of your choice. The laptop comes with wireless capabilities, a 10/100 Ethernet port, and an internal modem.Can we surf the Web or send and receive personal emails? Our Internet access is designed for educational use only, not private. However, at home you are under your own supervision.Is there any content filtering software installed on the laptop to protect the users from offensive material?No. When the teachers are using their laptops at school on the school’s wireless network they are protected by software installed on that network. However, when teachers connect to the Internet outside of school they are not being protected by the school’s web filtering software. What are the rules for using my email address? Your school email address is to be used for school related business.Can I use my school email account to send personal email? No, you should use a different email account for personal email.During orientation you should have set up MS Entourage to check your email and save it on your laptop. However, if you don’t have your laptop available and you want to check your email, visit http://www.wornickjds.org/up and enter your username and password. How often should I check my email? It is good to get into the habit of checking your email often. You should check it a minimum of once a day. If you leave MS Entourage running while at school it should check your email every 3-5 minutes.Can I use iChat or MSN Messenger? At home it is complete permissible, but at school it is only permissible if it doesn’t interfere with school related business. You should be careful using it at school, as you cannot control what other people send you.Can we listen to music on the laptop? At home it is complete permissible, but at school it is only permissible if it doesn’t interfere with school related business. It is against the law and school policy to download music that has not been paid for. So, if you don’t own the CD or have not bought the music from an online resource, you shouldn’t download the music to your laptop. Remember that listening to CDs (or watching DVDs) uses a lot of your battery’s charge, which may prevent you from using your iBook for classroom work. Save your CD and DVD use to those times when you can be plugged into a wall outlet.Can I play games on my laptop or is it for school use only? You may not play games while you are at school. However, laptop games are very much a part of the digital culture and provide interesting and even productive diversions. When you are away from school you are under your own supervision.Will there be continued instruction on using the computer? Yes. Every couple of weeks or every month there will be an after school in-service on using the software included on your laptop and how to integrate that into your curriculum. Notices will be sent via email. |