FAQ for Dell Latitude Laptops
Elkins Pointe Middle School
Personalized Learning: 1 to 1 Devices
- Device Deployment Date: October 18, 2016
- Please return signed Device User Agreement forms (orange packet) by October 13, 2016.
To Volunteer to help with the deployment, click on the link below:
A LAPTOP FOR EVERY STUDENT
Will the device be theirs until they leave Elkins Pointe?
The device assigned to the student will be their device until they graduate EPMS. However, this device is not their personal property. The device will be turned in during the summer, stored and be reissued every year. For example, a 6th grade student will have the same device for all three years. Upon graduation the device will return to EPMS. The device will not follow the student to high school. A new device will be issued in the high school.
Do parents sign a form for each child?
Yes
Do parents sign a form each year?
Yes. Parents will need to sign a new Device User Agreement for their child for each school year.
When are Device User Agreement forms due for the 2016-2017 School Year?
The signed permission forms are due by October 13th.
Will the students receive their same laptop back the following year?
Yes! Please urge your student to treat their laptop with the utmost care.
Will the laptop bag be provided by the school?
Yes. (See more on carrying cases below)
Do students get to keep the bag?
No, the bag remains with the device. However, the same bag will be returned to the student from year to year. Please urge your student to take care of the carrying case because it will remain with the device for three years.
How will each one be labeled?
Each laptop will have an Elkins Pointe label, bar-code, and student’s name.
Who owns the lap top and do we get to keep it when we go to high school? (Asked by students)
The laptop is the property of Fulton County School, and specifically, Elkins Pointe Middle School. Although the laptop is issued to the student for the duration of their term at EPMS, it is not theirs to take on to the next school. Each school deploys their own device. For example, Milton High School is deploying the Windows Surface.
APPS, BLOCKING EXPLICIT CONTENT, WEBSITE CONCERNS, ETC.
Can students put other apps on the devices?
No
If my child logs into personal wifi at home, will they have ability to download app and remove before the next day?
The students will not have the ability to install any software. All software installations will be approved and handled by either Elkins Pointe MS and/or the Fulton County Schools IT Department.
Are there filters for explicit content? Will the web browsers have a block to block inappropriate websites?
Yes, FCS has key words blocked and known inappropriate websites.
What websites are currently being blocked?
Most video sites, including YouTube, as well as Adult, Social Media, and certain Entertainment site are all blocked.
Will the web browser controls be in place when the student is using laptop at home?
Yes, the devices are programmed to automatically be rerouted through the FCS server. For example, if the device has travelled with the student to grandma's house in another state the web browser will sling to the FCS server from grandma's internet connection.
Is anyone watching the sites the students are visiting and how often are the laptops monitored?
Sites are blocked, not monitored. Meaning we have a list of inappropriate, video and social media sites that we block. This list will have more sites added over time. But no one will be actively monitoring a student’s browsing history, unless they repeatedly attempt to access known inappropriate sites. At which time the students laptop will no longer be authorized to access WiFi.
CARRYING CASE
Will students be issued a carrying case?
Each student will receive a black carrying case designed to go with the Dell Latitude. The case has padding, handles, a carrying strap. It also has pockets large enough for a cell phone an some small personal times. The case and laptop are small enough to insert inside a backpack.
Is the case a gift to the student?
No, the case is the property of Elkins Pointe Middle School. The case will stay with the laptop. Although the case is not gifted to the student, the case assigned to the student will remain with the student for the years at EPMS. Students are expected to keep the case free from debris, food and liquids.
Can the student decorate the case?
No. However, students may clip a decorative luggage tag to the bag because the item is easily removed. Likewise, students are not permitted to decorate their laptops with stickers, magnets or markers. Students may purchase a decorative skin, which can be easily removed.
We specifically bought a backpack that has a laptop section, can he please use this protection for this expensive equipment throughout the school day as it provides superior padding to the smaller bags?
Each student will be issues a carrying case specifically for the Dell Latitude.
CHARGERS
When should we keep the charger at home?
KEEP THE CHARGER @ HOME...EXCEPT FOR DURING STANDARDIZED TESTING DAYS! There were 1,000+ chargers issued on deployment day. The school mandates to keep the charger at home WITH EXCEPTION OF TESTING DAYS.
When does the school want my child to bring their charger to school?
Your child should bring the charger school for ITBS, GMAT & STAR testing only. During testing time it is important that all laptops are charged! Please have your child charge their laptop fully the night before testing, and to bring the charger just in case their laptop required additional charging.
Is it really my child's "homework" to charge their device every night?
Yes, charging the laptop is every EPMS student's responsibility each night. Charging laptops at school will not be permitted. It is the responsibility of the students to power-down their computers and charge them each night. We do not have 1,000 outlets at school, and it would be hazardous to have a jumble of wires all over school.
Are the chargers bar-coded?
The chargers are NOT bar-coded. Please take a moment to tape a slip of paper (i.e address label) with name and contact info on the charger. Please consider using the parent's last name & cell number as the contact. All chargers look alike so please find a way to mark your child's charger. Note: there are two components to each charger, so perhaps a piece of electrical tape to make a tab would be a good idea.
What is the battery life of the laptop?
approximately 10 hours , which is sufficient to get through the day. Students are asked to exercise good habits and power down their laptops when they are not in use. This preserves the battery.
How much does the charger cost to replace?
Chargers are $40 to replace, and the battery life of the laptop is 10 hours. This all adds up to keeping the charger at home, in one spot, marked with contact info for when your student needs to travel with the charger.
CONNECTIONS, LUNCHTIME & PE...WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE LAPTOP?
What will they do with the device while in Connections classes?
It will vary per the connections class. Some classes like band might have the students hang the laptop bags on the back of their chair. Other classes will have shelves installed. We have ordered new lockers for PE so students can lock the bags and devices away while participating. Until the lockers arrive, current lockers will be used, and the locker room doors will be locked by the PE teachers.
What happens when students go to lunch?
The laptops will be locked in the Advisement classroom during lunch. Laptops will not be permitted in the lunchroom.
DAMAGE
What constitutes as damaged?
By “damaged” the school system means physically damaged. Defective hardware such as motherboard and Solid State Drive (SSD) are covered under warranty. Damage resulting from physical misuse, whether intentionally or due to negligence, is not covered under warranty and is classified as damage under the “Device User Agreement”.
How will you know if the student is responsible or if their is an operational issue?
Damage will be accessed on a case by case basis. If the damage is due to an operational issue not related to the student, the repair will be taken care of by our tech department. If the damage is due to misuse (i.e. if the student drops the laptop), this damage will be assigned to the parent.
If the hardware and motherboard are faulty, who's responsible?
In this situation, FCS will be responsible for the repair.
DECORATIONS & ID TAGS
How will each computer be be labeled?
Each laptop will be labeled with the students' names. Each laptop will have a corresponding barcode. This barcode will match the serial number and also be paired with the internal tracking device.
Are we allowed to place our own sticker on the laptop?
No. Most stickers and tapes use an adhesive that leaves residue which requires scrapping or special chemicals to remove (possibly leaving marks). But, peel away laptop skins that leave no marks or residue can be used.
Is my student allowed to personalize her laptop using press on gems (i.e. bling/rhinestones), decorative glitter tape, etc. ?
No. Your student may purchase a decorative skin only. Students are not permitted to decorate their laptop or case using stickers, labels, gems/bling, decorative duct tapes or any other permanent their device. This goes double for their carrying bag.
Will the carrying cases have a tag?
Yes, all carrying cases will have a luggage tag. Students are welcome to use a second, decorative luggage tag in addition to the one issued. Students should not remove the tag that is issued with the carrying case.
DELL LATITUDE SPECS
Amount of memory inside the device?
4 GB of memory
500 GB of storage
Which Dell Latitude will they be/size?
Dell Latitude 11. It has an 11.6” screen.
Height: 0.90"
Width: 11.85"
Depth: 8.35"
Weight: 2.98 lbs
What software comes installed with? (i.e. version of Word, etc)
Fulton County Schools has researched key applications which will be pre-installed on each device. This includes standard applications like Office 365 (word, excel, power point), Adobe Reader, a photo editor, etc.. Additional applications may be reviewed and added to facilitate learning. When teachers or schools would like to have an application added to devices they will submit a service desk ticket. No one other than an authorized school official may add or delete applications from a district-issued device.
Is there virus protection software?
yes, Windows Defender has been installed. Updates will be automatic.
EMAIL & LOGON INFO
What is my students logon and password?
The student's logon is: student’sID#@fcstu.orgStudent’s and their password is the student's birthdate (mm/dd/yyyy - without the slashes))
For Example: If Student ID# is 1234567891, and birthdate is July 4, 2001, the user name and password would be as follows:
Username: 1234567891@fcstu.org
Password: 07042001
How will my student know their logon and password?
Your student is already using their logon and password at school.
Will parents be able to view the test and other student work?
Because parents know their student's ID# and birthdate, parents can logon to Office365 and peruse their files.
Can student's change their password?
Students should NOT change their password. Students should also be proprietary about their login and password. Students should never share their student ID#. This number should be a sacrosanct as the student's Social Security number.
Will the school assign email addresses to students?
Each student has an email address already. It is their student ID#@fcstu.org
Will teachers communicate through personal email?
Teachers will only contact students via their fcstu.org email address.
What restrictions will be on email? Will students be able to email each other?
Currently students can only email their teachers and not each other. FCS has it under consideration that students may in the future be granted the capability to email each other.
Can students use outlook for other email addresses?
Yes, student will have the ability to add addition email address to their Outlook application. But all school/class communication will be to/from the students Fulton County Schools email address.
Can students begin emailing the teachers?
Yes, student can email teachers. As good digital citizens, students are asked to use restraint in the frequency they email their teachers and to have an expectation of one business day turn-around.
INTERNET & SERVER
What happens if you have no internet?
Every laptop has Office 2016 installed. Students will be able to work in Word, PowerPoint, Outlook… which will save locally on the machine until the laptop has internet access again. At that time, Outlook and OneDrive will send/receive emails and sync files respectively.
If we take it out of town, can we still access the server?
Yes. Fulton County School utilizes the Cloud version of Office 365, so the students can access their files and send communications from anywhere in the country.
LOST OR STOLEN
Can you track the devices?
Yes, FCS uses a mobile device management product that allows us to track the location of a device that is lost or stolen.
If the laptop is lost or stolen, what is the school's protocol?
Contact the school immediately to report that it is missing, then file a police report.
Should the device get lost, stolen, or broken will loners laptops be available immediately while waiting for repair or replacement?
There will a limited amount of Dell Latitude Laptops to be used as replacements. Their are some desktop computers in classrooms. If necessary, we can issue an iPad as a last resort.
Are we concerned with laptops bring stolen in school? If a laptop comes up missing at school, who's at fault?
We are less concerned about student laptops being stolen than being left some place inadvertently by the student. If the laptop was left behind by the student, the responsibility will rest with them.
If replacement computer is issued, how will that work?
Mr. Broomes, EPMS Tech Specialist, will walk you through the process in the event a replacement is needed.
OFFICE 365
Are students going to be encouraged to keep files and such on their laptop or encouraged to put everything up into the 'cloud' each day?
Students and staff are both encouraged to save all files to Office 365’s cloud. This allows them access their files from any device and from anywhere.
Can we consider giving parent administrator access to their child's 365 account?
Parents will not have their own Office365 account, and this will not replace the ways that teachers currently communicate with parents. But parent can login to their student’s Office 365 accounts using the student’s login information.
How much room is on the laptop for saving homework and assignments?
(ANSWER COMING SOON...on the amount of storage inside the Dell Laptop) Fulton County has provided a OneDrive for Business account for every student that includes 1 TB of space. Their OneDrive account will remain with the student from grades K-12.
Can students use their Office 365 on their own device?
Yes. each student has up to five licenses they can install on a variety of devices, i.e. smartphone, tablet, desktop or laptop at home. Students can also use any device to access their OneDrive files from anywhere in the planet. Students are encourages to store their files in the OneDrive, and use the on-line applications of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. Email may also be accessed using Office365 from any device and from any location with WiFi. This is the benefit of the cloud.
OUTSIDE DEVICES & OPT OUT
The only other device that will be permitted is a Dell Latitude laptop. Parents are welcome to purchase a Dell laptop on their own if they feel more comfortable with this option. Because the Dell laptop is essentially a teaching tool (like a textbook), this is the expectation in the classroom. Lesson plans, activities in the classroom are contingent upon the Dell Latitude. Parents will need to ensure that is they provide their own Dell Latitude laptop, it is loaded with the same software package as the laptops provided by FCS.
Can my child use their own laptop during class time?
Your child can use her own laptop at school during class time. The laptop must be a Dell laptop. Every student will be able to install Microsoft Office on up to 5 personal devices, and most of our teachers use websites or free software downloads for classwork. Please Note: Fulton County will not provide technical support for personal devices. Any troubleshooting, installs, and/or technical issues will have to handle by either the student or parent.
What happens if I choose to opt out and do not provide my own device for my child?
If you chose to opt-out and do not provide your own Dell laptop, your child will have to use one of the classroom desktops instead. Each classroom has between 3 – 5 desktop computers.
My child has an iPad, can he use his iPad in place of the FCS device?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Elkins Pointe conducted an extensive parent, teacher and student survey in May 2016 to select the device we will be using for Personalized Learning. Our SGC voted to select the Dell Latitude based on the survey. It is important for classroom instruction that all students are operating on the same type of device. Our teachers cannot support multiple types of devices, as they are trained only on the Dell Latitude.
PERSONALIZED LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM & STANDARDIZED TESTING
How much of the day will be devoted to using laptops?
Teacher decision. Classes will use them All, some, or none of each day.
How will the new technology be incorporated into the curriculum? Is it solely a teacher driven decision or is there consistency across subject or grade level lines?
Students will now be able to complete activities in class that used to be rare due to the lack of technology available. Teachers will be decide how they will incorporate it in their classes, however, subject areas will have some consistency due to the fact that they work together in PLCs.
Will future assessments be offered on the lap top?
The ITBS test was just given on the laptops, the STAR assessment and the Milestones assessment will be given on the laptops.
Will there be a required amount of time on or time off that the teachers will follow?
There is not currently a time on/off guideline
PRINTING
There should be little or no printing at home because assignments can be submitted using Office365 OneDrive or be emailed directly to the teacher.
What if we would like to connected a printer at home?
If you would like to connect your home printer, our Tech Specialist Granville Broomes can help by adding a printer to your child's laptop.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILY
The student is responsible for bringing their laptop to school everyday.
Where will the students charge their laptops?
Laptops are to be charged at home every night. The battery life is 10 hours. Bringing a fully charged laptop to school is not only they student's responsibility, but the student's homework each night. All chargers should remain at home. It will be the responsibility of the student to place an name and address label on their charger. The replacement cost is approximately $40. For these reasons, the chargers should remain at home.
Will cell phones be allowed at school?
Cell phones are permitted in school and can be used at specified times.
TECH SUPPORT, STUDENT SUPPORT & TROUBLE SHOOPTING
Where will students go for help each day?
The iSchool students are in Café Elan before school each day and can come for help during connections. Any major issues can be taken to the media center. But, in our experience MOST problems are resolved after restarting the devise.
Who are the iSchool initiative students and how were they selected?
Teachers nominated students who are tech savvy and show an interest in helping others. They are then interviewed and go through a training program run by the iSchool initiative.
Will there be tech support available for those times when the student's laptop won't boot up one day or they are having other technical issues, like multiple crashes?
There will be various levels of tech support during school hours. This includes a full time technology specialist located in the building.
How are computer upgrades handled?
Mr. Broomes, EPMS Tech Specialist, will be in charge of computer upgrades done locally at our school. District-wide upgrades will be handled directly by the FCS Tech Department, and they will be sent automatically. The laptops will automatically update regardless of whether Mr. Broomes or the District programs the update.
VIRUSES
What about viruses?
FCS county has installed virus protection software with automated virus definition updates. However, please caution your child against sharing flash drives...just like a toothbrush, flash drives should not be shared!