Essential+Procedures+for+Teachers

=Essential Procedures for Teachers= //__This document covers the protocol teachers will use in signing out, retrieving, storing, charging, etc, etc. Please add or modify Ideas directly on this page -- but add your initials to your comments: Don't be afraid!! Wikis will save all edits and we can restore anything that is lost!!! By the way, the grey line is created manually by inserting the horizontal rule from the tools at the top of the page.__// =__1-9-08 This is the actual document to be distributed to teachers: DRAFT VERSION__=

1. Sign up for laptop carts

 * Navigate to http://psdweb.parklandsd.org/phsweb/cart/ and look at the availability of carts for the desired day.
 * Even if the desired cart is booked, continue to request the cart anyway. //(Changes occur often.)//
 * To request a cart, email phscarts@parklandsd.org and provide the following information: name, phone extension, date needed, periods needed, Cart # desired. __You must give 3 days notice__.
 * Be practical when signing out the carts and do not monopolize. Jason will reply by email and give you instructions.
 * You will sign out the cart for an entire day, BUT indicate which periods the laptops will be used (This allows Jason to have accurate records and can explore the possibility of sharing.)
 * In the event that a cart can be scheduled for two teachers in the same day, Jason will make that decision and will contact you about a sharing arrangement. If you hear nothing, check the online calendar and it is yours for the day. __Do not arrange cart sharing by yourself.__
 * If you are a traveling teacher and you pass between wings, you will need to request carts for each wing. This year our carts are married to a specific wing because of the network setup.
 * CARTS MAY NOT BE SIGNED OUT BY OR FOR A SUBSTITUTE.

2. Pick-up Laptop Cart

 * Carts must be __picked up by teachers before homeroom/ 1st period__ to reduce interruptions in the cart home base room.
 * NO STUDENT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, MAY TRANSPORT CARTS.
 * When the cart is settled in the room, plug in both electric plugs, the network cable (red jack), and unlock the cart.

3. Review rules and distribute laptops to students

 * Review the student rules and expectations prior to distribution.
 * NO STUDENTS MAY DISTRIBUTE LAPTOPS.
 * The teacher should methodically remove the laptops from the cart and distribute them to the students by row, asking them to log in right away. This will prevent taxing the wireless network with simultaneous logins.
 * __A student must use the same laptop all year in your class__. This should promote student responsibilty because the computer is attached specifically to his/her name. //(The laptops are all numbered for easy distribution.)//
 * One suggestion is to use the pentamation numbers by making a chart: In TAC, click on Score, Printable, Roster Only &; Grid. This will list all of your students. You will have 5 columns- print this at the start of the school year and use it to record book numbers and LAPTOP numbers. You will have to add students to your class, but this will ensure that the students will maintain the same number all year.

4. Log off laptops

 * LOG OFF the laptops __with five minutes left in the period.__ (Wait until the Login screen appears before moving them.)
 * Only the last class of the day should SHUT DOWN the computers.
 * Return all laptops to the cart and plug them in to charge. (This way, they can be accounted for __prior__ to students leaving the room.)

5. Return Laptop Cart

 * Carts must be __returned no later than 3:05 PM__ so that the home base teacher can inventory laptops and go home in a timely manner.
 * When the cart is settled in the room (original location), plug in both electric plugs and lock the cart.
 * Cart Facilitators should notify Jason Henry if the cart is returned in an improper fashion.

5. Report problems and request maintenance

 * Please report any problems immediately to Jason Henry

Can we add---mg **Melissa -- sounds good, do you want to take this one if there is more?** jk if the printer needs paper or toner notify the cart facilitator. OR leave note on cart. ??????? if a student has an issue with a computer let someone know. I agree, are we to get paper from the planning rooms or from Maryanne? lp I think teachers should be reponsible for getting their own paper from planning room for their day's use --jk

This document is thorough, but wordy for a handout. Could we make it a bulleted list for the teachers?--LW A bulleted list sounds great for the web page or a rough guide, as long as it is accompanied by a thorough explanation to knock down the many questions. --jk i agree that it seems wordy, but we could have these rules for handout, to file. and post a bulleted list on the cart and webpage. mg

=The following are random topics discussed prior to, and during the composition of the above document:=

Students use the same laptop for every session.
On first thought, I think that prior to having classes use laptops, each teacher should assign each student a laptop number that they will use each time laptops are used in that class. Teachers would record the numbers in a format similar to their textbook numbers. That way, if there is a problem with a computer, it may be traced back to a student if needed. ws ---The number could be based on the class list in pentamation. The first student on the list could be #1. If a student drops the class, that number can be recycled. But the other numbers do not shift. The same student uses the exact same laptop throughout the entire year. --- jk MG --- In TAC, click on Score, Printable, Roster Only &amp; Grid. This will list all of your students. You will have 5 columns, you should print this at the start of the school year use it to record the book numbers and LAPTOP number. You will have to add students to you class, but this will ensure that the student will maintain the same number all year. I think that the laptop assignments are a great idea. But I do think that we need those lists to be done before you may sign up for a cart. It's not going to take long for these things to get broken.--rr

Teachers should sign out laptops using a specific email address.
and be posted on a web site so that teachers have an abilty to look at the schedule and request carts from home or work. An single email address such as //laptops@parklandsd.org should be used so that all requests go to that email. That way the time of request can be tracked exactly and there is a fair and equitable procedure. These ideas were produced in a brief discussion between our CFF team last Friday. --- CFF group by jk MG http://psdweb.parklandsd.org/phsweb/cart/ cart sign out webpage for your look. It is a work in progress so please let me know how it looks. thanks MG

All day cart signouts vs. per-period cart signouts?
It is suggested that we sign out carts on a full day basis. However, at our last meeting we uncovered some issues. All day signouts will be a problem for traveling teachers who move to different wings, where the carts will not work. --jk as per dec 19 meeting

Monopolizing Carts
---I think the bigger problem that we need to address first is the fact that there are some who will try to monopolize the usage of the carts. Last year there were people who signed up for computer labs for a half of a month in a row for six periods a day. I feel it necessary to come up with a plan to prevent this. I had the idea of a "cap" on usage where you can only sign out the cart twice a week. I know that there are people who will have activities that last longer than two periods but I think its time to realize that we have a large amount of teachers who all will want to use this equipment. --rr

Logging off versus shutting down laptops?
At the end of class, should students log off or shut down completely? Shutting down completely will require the next class to reboot, taking an amount of battery energy and reducing the hours of operation. Logging off requires much less energy. --jk

Proposed Procedure for Requesting Laptop Cart -- Edit this as you see fit:
notes taken from december 19 meeting--lw 1. Email phscarts@parklandsd.org and provide the following information: name, phone extension, date needed, periods needed, Cart # desired. You must give 72 hrs. notice and may not sign up for carts more than 2 weeks ahead of the needed date. -- jk revised 2. Cart administrator (Jason) will reply by email within 16 hrs. Two scenarios: -Full Day, Single Teacher Signouts --- Must pick up the cart __prior__ to the beginning of the first period and you must return the cart by 3:05 PM. --jk -Signout Team --- This is a plan where we pair up 2 teachers per day, possibly 3. The on-line signup chart asks teachers to sign up per-period across a 9 period day. Jason looks at the requested periods and forms a team of 2 teachers for that day. He emails both of them, passing on the responsibility to coordinate transfer times, pick up and return of the cart. Both teachers accept the responsibility of overseeing the cart for the day. The rule is that it must be picked up prior to first period and returned no later than 3:05. (The team should get top priority if too many bookings, because they will share the equipment and are also willing to take the responsibility as a team)--jk

3. Carts cannot be used by any substitutes.

MG What if we placed a hanging clipboard on the cart. It would contain the schedule of the cart that day, Jason's phone number if there are any issues, maybe Dan Topp's too. And a place to list any issues that the teacher might have but that are not urgent enough to call and might forget. The schedule can be printed out by the people who host the cart.

**Proposed Laptop Usage Procedures for Teachers -- Edit as you see fit:**
notes taken from december 19 meeting--lw 1. After verifying location of cart on website, pick up cart. No students may pick up carts! 2. Unlock cart. 3. Plug in both power cords on laptop cart and plug cable into red network outlet. 4. Assign each student the same laptop # each time, all year (use pentamation class list). 5. Teachers shall hand out laptops to students (no students may do this!) 6. Review laptop usage rules with students. 7. Report problems immediately to Jason Henry? 8. Log off laptops with 5 min. left in period, and collect them in a systematic order (teacher returns them to cart, not students). No student may leave the room until all laptops are returned and placed into the cart. 9. Unplug Cart 10. Lock cart? 11. If the next person using cart does not show up, return cart to home base.(assuming we have per-period signout versus full day signout--jk

4. Collect Laptops 5 minutes before the end of the period.
//While writing this, I am just thinking --- do teachers really need to collect laptops and put them in the cart between every class if they are staying in the same room and continuing class in the very next period? **I think students and teachers need to get in the habit of cleaning up and taking care of the laptop cart. It is easier to account for them and a safer location for the laptops..-jh** .How about they close the lid and have kids move away from the desks and wait at the door so that the teacher can count laptops? **Sniz was always against students gathering by the door. -jh** who is really going to collect laptops, store them, then distribute them in 3 or 4 successive periods ?--jk// MG-i feel it is unsafe to have students walk around the room at the end with backpacks on with laptops on the desks. our desks are tilted and small so big backpack can knock things off of desks. as well as when student line up at doors they overcrowd into halls and into the classroom where a student waiting to leave can knock something off of a desk. an applied class and an honors class will behave in different ways so maybe an honors class would be able to handle different instructions but i think the teacher needs to know the class. the teacher is going to need to determine what is the best method for their class. lets remember that we can't make a rule for every situation. we need to think of this as guidelines. we need to tell them what not to do, but this is a learning process for all. --mg plus if we are giving out numbers based on our roster the kids are not at the same desk and will have to move them around anyway. so now we have students looking at which number is where and moving it anyway to another desk. if they are stored away then that student knows they have the correct number.mg

I think that they should be collected to charge, even if it's only for a few minutes. Plus, a teacher has to give a certain numbered laptop to each student.--LW True, but the same number student can be assigned to the same seat. It would probably happen that way naturally anyway, if seated alphabetically.--jk we don't all seat alphabetically -- mg laptops could be assigned by seats as effectively as by name--jk

Doesn't it seem that placing them in and out of the cart several times per day significantly increases the handling time and possibility of dropping them, as well as loss of class time? It seems to me that they are more likely to get broken when constantly moved. --jk I see both concerns but I really think we should state they should be returned. Then we know all are accounted for. I know sometimes at the end of my class students are hovering around my desk and asking questions so I can't see what is always going on. If we put them away then they can get charged and we can also see that they are all ok. In addition, you can then set up your class and introduce the lesson with the students paying attention to you. However, I also agree it would depend on each class. Therefore I think we should list in the guidelines that they are to be put away but we know teachers will use their discretion as teachers aren't going to follow all the guidelines if we want them to or not. lp

__Folks, I'm outvoted -- l'll edit this when I get a chance to say that we need to return laptops to carts between classes-1-11-08 j__

A couple of grammer notes and one substantive addition: Under #1: 5th or 6th bullet - "check the online website and see IF IT IS YOURS for the day." Further down: "this allows Jason.....and TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF SHARING" (rather than "and can explore...) - gotta be parallel! One substantive comment: you may want to put Jason's contact number or e-mail on there, since you ask teachers to contact him with problems. - ams