01 Sep Using The New Teacher Laptops
DON’T touch or press on the screen. If you have seen those ugly black spots appear on a screen, it’s because someone pressed the screen when pointing at something or when adjusting the screen angle. The LED nodes “pop” and then bleed. Keep your screen looking nice by NOT TOUCHING IT. It’s not a touch screen.
DON’T stack heavy objects on top of the computer. Often times we see these crammed into a bag with a bunch of heavy books that put their weight on the lid. This can result in black lines that grow across your screen. The pressure flexes the display causing a fracture of the LED panel.
DO restart your computer. Often times I see many staff go weeks without restarting. This causes things to stop working properly. And as the old IT joke goes, “Have you tried turning it off and back on?”. This is where that came from.
DO take care of it to the best of your ability. These computers need to last 5 years, and repairs can be expensive. We also recommend not letting family members use these machines. They aren’t personal devices. They are work computers.
DON’T place open beverages near computers. The biggest issue we have seen resulting in full replacements is that people like to put their coffee/water/wine next to their computer while working.
DON’T block the vents. When I computer over heats it can really wear the machine out faster. Using the computer on a blanket or pillow suffocates the machine by blocking the airflow. If you turn the machine over, you will see the vents. This also means don’t place objects directly behind the machine which is the hot air vent.
Please log in for the first time IN DISTRICT. If you don’t, it can’t create the account on the computer and verify the user. So in other words, you will get home and not be able to log in. So please log in here on our wireless before leaving.
The computer has updated software! First thing you will notice is Windows 10. It’s like getting a new car. You know how to drive it, but you need to know where the button is to turn on the headlights. It’s really not different at all. We have also loaded Microsoft Office 2016, Google Chrome, and the Epson Easy Interactive Tools onto the machine.
My Computer/This PC. On Windows 10, This PC (on your desktop) will bring you to a window that contains all of your folders (documents, pictures, downloads, etc.) as well as any network drives (Your H drive, the S drive, etc.) as long as you are in district. Remember, if you are in district and you don’t see your network drives, Shutdown your computer completely. Power it back on and log back in. Voila! They should be there.
No more physical dock! Instead you plug in a single cable (called USB-C). This cable goes to a “hub” where all of your connections come together (monitor, projector, internet). It also powers the computer. That means the charging cable that comes with your computer is for you to keep in your bag to take home and to meetings.
The New Start Menu. The new start menu can be a bit confusing at first glance. But here is how you log out, shut down, restart, or switch users. First click on the start menu. To log out or switch accounts, click on the circle with the person icon (mine has an actual photo set instead of the default, yours will be different). This will bring up a menu giving you options. (Left photo). To shutdown, restart or sleep, click the power symbol at the bottom. (Right photo).