Saturday, 1 June 2013

Connecting your Mac to DET Wireless Network


Macintosh
Connecting to DET Wireless Network

1.              Open “System Preferences”


2.         Open “Network”



3. Under Location, “Edit Locations”






4. Click on the “+” and name the new location “DET wireless” or “School Wireless”



Click “Done”


5. Select “Wi-Fi”




6. From the drop down menu select “DETDATA”

7. You will be asked to enter in the WIFI password for this network.  You can obtain this from your school IT Coordinator. 

8. Click “Apply”

9. Click “Advanced”


10.  Click on “Proxies”


11. Tick “Web Proxy HTTP”

Enter in the details as follows”
Web Proxy Server:                 proxy.det.nsw.edu.au
Port:                                        8080
Tick:                                        “Proxy server requires password”
Username:                              Your DET username
Password:                               Your DET password

12. Tick “Secure Web Proxy HTTPS”

Enter in the details as follows”
Web Proxy Server:                 proxy.det.nsw.edu.au
Port:                                        8080
Tick:                                        “Proxy server requires password”
Username:                              Your DET username
Password:                               Your DET password


13. Click “OK”


14. Click “Apply”

Note:
You may want to add a new location and name it “Home” so that you can easily switch between home and school when you take your laptop to and from work.  If you keep the proxy settings set when you try to use a different network you will not be able to connect to the internet.  So rather than having to un-tick the proxy settings between different locations you will just have to select the location you’re at from the drop down menu and click apply.  That will automatically turn off the proxy settings when you select your current location.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

DET NSW Email Configuration on iPad/iPhone/iPod/Mac Mail

I finally figured out how to add my DET email address using ios Mail app....this will also work on Mac Mail.   So now my Mail on my Macbook Pro checks my DET email address as well as my iPad and iPhone.  So much more convenient than having to log into my DET account 10 times a day!!

Here are the instructions: 


1. Tap “Settings” in your home screen


2. Tap “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”


3. Tap “Add Account…”


4. Tap “Microsoft Exchange”

5. Enter in the following details”
Email: Your DET email address
Password: Your DET password
Description: This can be whatever you want…ie “Work Email” “School Email” “DET Email” – anything.
Tap “Next”

6. In the next sceen all you will need to enter in is your username and the server.
Your username is your DET ID BUT put @det at the end!!
Username: detid@det
Server: mobile.det.nsw.edu.au
Tap “Next”


7. Account details will be verified, if you have entered all details correctly each box will be given a quick tick then the next screen will load!!

8. Turn them all on.
Tap “Save”


9. There is your new email account.

10. Tap “Mail” from your home screen.
It will take 5 minutes to populate with all your emails etc.  Just be patient. 

Monday, 11 March 2013

Computer Lab Solution for Classroom Management


The school I am currently working at has just set up their first computer lab.  After being appointed IT teacher I was looking for a more effective way to deliver lessons to a class of 30 students.  I was looking for some type of management software where I could view and control student screens.  After a lot of research and viewing several Computer Lab management solutions my decision was to go with Net Support School.  It was the more expensive option but very much worth it.  The speed of installation was a bonus right from the very beginning.  However the amazing thing about it, and this is truly amazing for a windows computer, it simply worked.  I didn't have to do a thing.  It found all the computers in the computer lab in seconds.  Installation on 30 computers took me less than 1 hour to complete from start to finish.  There were no complicated settings to enter and absolutely no frustration.

I had previously tried unsuccessfully to get SmartSync working in our lab on the trial version, absolute nightmare.  It was complicated and beyond me - and that's coming from someone who considers herself to be pretty computer literate.  The setup time involved in having to go individually to each computer and enter settings was unrealistic.

NetSupportSchool was a huge outlay financially for this school, especially being a public school, however the benefits are definitely worth it.

It is going to take me some time to use the application to its full potential as there are so many features, but so far the features I am using most are:

Logging into computers - because the computers are visible from the time they are on the log in screen. The best thing this application has over others is that it allows you to take over the computer before it is logged into.

Desktop view - (I can view all student desktops all at once)
Desktop share/control/watch - (I can take over, share or watch a student's desktop)
Send/Collect work - (I can send out work to student computers and once saved I can collect these back up again - all documents are all placed in folders with the students' name on them).
Screen lock/unlock - Lock and unlock all student screens (handy when you are talking and you want students to listen).
Broadcast message - You can broadcast a typed message to appear on all student screens - I used this during a lesson to provide students with my email address.  I've also used it to end lessons.  Kids love the novelty of it.
Power Off computers - This feature will turn all or selected computers in the class off.

These features are just the basic ones which I have figured out how to use on the run.  There are so many more features which I am sure I will begin to use in time, although, the above features alone make it well worth the financial outlay in my opinion.

Connect your Mac to DET NSW Network Printer

This is another solution which took myself and the amazing Regional Support guy a lot of time and effort to figure out...it actually took a few months of thinking, trial, error and frustration to arrive at a solution.  

Before you begin ensure you have handy the IP address of the printer you're trying to connect to.

  1. Open the ‘System preferences’ menu
  2. Click on the ‘Print & Scan’ option
  3. Press the ‘+’ symbol then Add printer or scanner
  4. Select the ‘IP’ option (at the top of window) ***
  5. Protocol needs to be set to ‘Line Printer Daemon – LPD’
  6. Enter the IP Address of the printer in the ‘Address’ field
  7. Click the ‘Use’ menu
  8. Click the ‘Select printer software’ option
  9. Locate the printer model in the list and ensure to select the second option listed
  10. Click ‘OK’ then ‘Add’ then ‘OK’ again
  11. Open a document or browser and press the ‘Command + P’ keys
  12. Click the ‘Show’ details
  13. Locate the drop down menu titled Safari and select the ‘Job accounting’ option
  14. Click ‘User Details Setup’ option
  15. Click the radio button for ‘Always use default user details’
  16. Change the ‘Job owner name’ field to be ‘enter owner name’
  17. In the ‘User ID’ field enter the code used for the copier
  18. Click ‘OK’ and you’re ready to print
  19. Save the presets as "Black and White Copier" or whatever you will remember the printer by.  That way every time you print to that particular printer you will be prompted for a password without having to perform steps 13-->18!!
Please note that the ‘Accounting’ settings need to be saved as a preset in order for them to be remembered for future printing jobs


***If "IP" is not visible hold down control and click on the window/toolbar of window and select "customise toolbar".  Drag down the "IP" menu item so it is in the toolbar.

Mac accessing DET NSW Drives from DET NSW Network


Macintosh
Connecting to DET Servers

This took me & one amazing guy from Hunter Regional Support a lot of time and effort to figure out.  




1. Ensure you’re in finder

(you can do this by clicking anywhere on your desktop – the menu bar will say “Finder”) 




2. Hold down the keys Command K

 command + K

OR Click on “Go” "Connect to Server"


 












3. To access the school's faculty drive:

Enter in the server address for your school’s Faculty drive.


smb://<schoolcode>dip000sf001

replace <schoolcode> with your school's 4 digit code.

Press Connect or “Enter”
 









This will mount the drive on your desktop. 


4. To save the server as a Favourite, click the plus button.
The connected server will mount on the desktop just as an external Hard Drive would. 


 










5. To access your personal drive on the server put in the following address:


smb://<schoolcode>dip000sf001/staff/<youruserID>

Eg: smb://2532dip000sf001/staff/user.id


*****When you are asked for your user ID and password it is your Network ID NOT your User ID******



Your password will be your usual det password.

Your personal staff folder will open in a new window.  It will not mount on the desktop as a server.


iPads on NSW DET WIFI Network

You must enter into the iPad's settings:

Settings-->WIFI--->Click on the little blue " > "next to the DETDATA network (which you should already be connected to).

Scroll down to HTTP Proxy and select "Manual"

Enter in the Proxy settings below:


Server: Proxy.det.nsw.edu.au
Port: 8080
Authentication: Yes

Username and password are your DET portal ones.