Q: What is the login requirement for accessing the workstation?

 

A: These laptops can be used both at school and at home. When at school, you can login via the school network with your employee # and password. At home, you will

be required to login using a local account.

 

 

Q: Can we take these home?

 

A: Absolutely, yes you can.

 

 

Q: Do we have to take them home?

 

A: No, you don’t. If you do not feel comfortable taking these out of the building, then simply do not. However, it is requested that you keep it locked safely under lock & key

in either a locking cabinet or file drawer in your desk. This will help mitigate any theft or vandalism and give you peace of mind.

 

 

Q: What do I do if something happens to the laptop at home? At school?

 

A 1: If anything happens to the laptop that involves theft or the laptop is missing. You are required to file a police report immediately, please do not wait to return to school the

following business day to report the problem. It must be reported to the authorities immediately and a copy of the police report must be submitted to Administration. If there is

a car accident and the laptop gets damaged or if the laptop is stolen from a vehicle, then you would include the laptop information as part of the police report and insurance

claim for damages.

 

A 2: If anything happens to the laptop at school (Palm Lakes Elementary) or another MDCPS site, then it must be reported immediately to both Administration at Palm Lakes Elementary

and the immediate supervisor for the MDCPS site you are visiting. The school or site will take care of all the paperwork and police reports that must be filed.

 

 

Q: If the laptop gets damaged, who do I go to?

 

A: If anything happens to the laptop, please do not feel embarrassed or shy about coming to see Mr. Vigo or Administration. With these devices shrinking in size and becoming more

and more portable, accidents will happen. However, being able to properly fix or repair any damage will depend on the extent of the damage and the time frame in which it is reported.

There is a 3yr warranty on these notebooks and it covers everything except the Screen. Under the terms of the warranty anything deemed to have been caused by misuse (spilled liquids

or food) or “Acts of God” (lightning storms) are also not covered, so we ask that you please not eat or drink anything around the laptop and treat this as you would any other electrical

appliance in the household, like a TV.

 

 

Q: Will these be on the property control forms as part of the annual property audit?

 

A: Yes, they will be on the Property Control Audit that is conducted yearly. We are requesting that when filling out the PC forms, to please write the make/model of the laptop

“Dell Latitude D630” for the description and please fill in the serial # (a.k.a.  “service tag”) in the PC# column. The “Service Tag” can be found on the underside of the laptop on a small

white sticker strip that has a barcode on it. Underneath the barcode are the words “SERVICE TAG” followed by a seven (7) digit alpha-numeric code. This 7-digit code is the notebook’s

service tag and serves as it’s serial # as well.

 

 

Q: Can I do personal work from the laptop? (Ex. Personal email, work for school (University), plan my next vacation, junior’s research paper/homework, loan it to a friend/family member).

 

A: Please note, that although the laptops are being assigned to you, they are still property of MDCPS and not yours to keep and subsequently do with it what you wish as if it was your own.

With that said, all the same rules apply to using the off-campus computers and they do the on-campus computers. These laptops are to be used to Educational purposes only and work-related.

The exception here I would list as school work (University or Advancing Education) as that can apply to Professional Development, which falls under the educational purpose umbrella. Furthermore,

since these laptops are signed out to you and tied to your employee #, you are held responsible for what happens on those workstations. The stance that MDCPS has taken is that you DO NOT

allow anyone other than the person whom the laptop is signed out to, use the laptop. This is the rule of thumb we were told to abide by.

 

 

Q: How do we get internet access on the laptop from home?

 

A: The laptop comes with both a wireless and wired network connection for DSL/Cable broadband users. If you have a wireless connection, feel free to add the wireless profile to the laptop so that

you may access internet wirelessly. If you are a dial-up user, there is a 56k Modem connection on the back port of the laptop that allows a telephone line to be used for internet access.

 

 

Q: I turned on the laptop and I got a message to connect to wireless internet, but I do not have wireless at home. Is it okay to go ahead use the connection anyways?

 

A: Legally speaking, absolutely not under any circumstances unless you have the owners permission. Doing so is a violation of federal law and is considered trespassing onto someone else’s

network. In other words, it is like stealing someone else’s internet connection/bandwidth and using it for your own means. You can only legally connect to your own personal wireless network or

to a public “wifi” network that is free for users such as those found in Starbuck’s, airports and various Shopping Malls.

 

 

As an addendum to that, at Palm Lakes Elementary we DO NOT currently have a wireless or wifi network setup. We are looking to procure the equipment needed to create one and are evaluating

our options, given the recent moratorium on spending. ITS is assisting us with this procurement as best they can.

 

 

Q: Can I install my own software on the laptop? Printers? Scanners? Digital Cameras?

 

 

A: Personal software installation will still need to be cleared by Administration. Mr. Vigo has a Software Request Form that needs to be filled out by the teacher, listing the software title and rationale

for using the software. Administration will determine its educational value and approve or deny the request. Upon approval, Mr. Vigo will install the software. As for installing peripheral devices such as

USB drives, printers, scanners, etc from home. Please feel free to do so, if you feel comfortable doing it. If not, then feel free to see Mr. Vigo in Room C10 and he will assist you.

 

 

Q: I have typed up some stuff on Microsoft Word 2007 on the laptop, but when I try to open it Microsoft Office 2003, it can't open because of the software compatibility. Is there anything that I can do to make them compatible?

 

A: Office 2007 uses a new file extension (.docx for Word 2007) that is not compatible with older versions of Office by default. There is a very simple fix however, to enable compatibility. When you are ready to save your document, simply give it a name and in the box labeled "Save as type" select "Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)" and click save. This will save the file in such a way as that it will be compatible with any version of Office from '97 to 2007. This will need to be done everytime you go to save a new file you've just created.

 

 

To set it as the default, then open Word 2007 and click the Office logo in the top-left handside of the screen. From the drop-down menu, select "Word Options". In the new box that appears, click on "Save" from the navigation bar. Now, under the heading "Save documents", find the "Save files in this format:" selection and click the drop-down menu, select "Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)" and click "OK" to save your changes.

 

By doing this, you will now automatically save any future work to the (.doc) compatible format. Note though, that this change needs to be done only once per application (Word, Excel, Powerpoint).

 

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