Central Office of Technology
2019-2020 Staff Computer Network User Guide/FAQs

Welcome! The purpose of the POBCSD Central Office of Technology is to lead, provide vision, advocate, manage, budget, implement, support, and sustain all district-wide Educational Technology related resources and initiatives.  From classroom to boardroom - in collaboration with my dedicated staff, district and state-wide technology teams - our passion for cultivating the critical “triangle of success” between teacher/staff, student, and parent/community keeps us focused on our bottom line: “how technology affects the life, education, health and safety of children in the 21st century."

The POBCSD Strategic Long-Range Technology Plan provides a collaborative vision and blue print designed to meet the diverse needs of all students and staff. It is strategically developed in direct alignment with Board of Education goals and policy; administrative and student/parent/teacher curricula-driven needs and the prerequisite budget/funding, equity, infrastructure, and professional development required to support and sustain all Educational Technology related initiatives.

In addition, this Web page provides links to all planning, policy, project updates, safe computing, E-mail, Website tips and training resources; including, instructional videos for Smartboards, Infinite Campus, Microsoft Office Applications, lesson planning, Castle Learning, Library Media Center online resouces/research databases, and even a virtual tour of our Newsday acclaimed district Website.   Enjoy your visit! 

Click here to access the latest Frequently Asked Questions Staff Training Document  

I am pleased to report at this time we have successfully entered the final phase of our summer implementation comprised of joining all district-wide computers to our network and testing them to ensure all is ready for the opening day of school.  In addition, during the first few weeks of September there will be a final fine tuning of our new system in response to any other feedback and requests we may receive from returning staff members.

2-      Onsite Building Training/Support:  Onsite building training dates are being confirmed with each building principal for the start of the school year. These sessions are designed for hands-on training for any staff member who may require assistance and will take place at each school building location inside instructional computer labs and administrative offices. In addition, our highly dedicated building-based Computer Aides will continue to be available to provide “just-in-time” support to help resolve technical and training related issues in concert with the remainder of our extraordinary Central Office of Technology Team.

3-      Direct Microsoft Office Application Phone Support: CALL TOLL FREE 1-855-240-4407.
As part of our collaborative effort with Microsoft, our district has a received a special grant that provides “free” 24/7 access to expert live phone support for all staff members. This help desk resource is a perfect resource for any “how-to” type questions related to the new Microsoft Office 2013 Suite and Microsoft 8.1 environment –  including applications such as Outlook (email), Word, and Excel, for example.  A unique high-tech feature of this service provides you with a qualified training specialist who will be able to shadow your live computer session and help you through any issue you are having as if he/she was working with you inside the same room. Please note there is no cost or time limit for each call and support is guaranteed to be provided until you determine your question has been appropriately answered.

Please keep an eye out over the next few weeks for additional information about our new computer system and I am confident that – as a team working in the positive collaborative spirit of POBCSD – we will successfully get through this most welcomed change of new technology together and get back to our purpose of education and building futures together.

Technology Update 
COMPUTER REFRESH IMPLEMENTATION FAQs 

Over this summer our district will be embarking on a major technology initiative comprised of refreshing district-wide instructional and administrative computer work stations from grades K-12.  This means the remaining 1,041 computers that have not been upgraded to date will be replaced and all district-wide computers will receive a major software upgrade with the latest Microsoft Operating System and Microsoft Office Suite. This critical computer hardware/software refresh will greatly enhance computer performance required to meet the progressing 21st century digital centric instructional and administrative needs and digital security of all students and staff members.

With this most welcomed initiative comes a few important changes that, as a district staff member, you will need to familiarize yourself with in order to ensure as seamless an implementation and end-user experience as possible.  Although our team has been working hard to proactively anticipate as many possible issues that can arise from a district-wide technology implementation of this magnitude – as with any change related to today’s emerging technologies and its impact on how society understandably adapts to change in general – we will continue to work together to help iron out any unforeseen issues and potential bumps we may encounter along the way.

Ongoing communication with all POBCSD stakeholders will be the key to a successful implementation for our district.  The purpose of the following FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) section of this correspondence is to help set clear expectations as to what this implementation means to all staff related end users of our computer network.  It will be become a living document posted on our district’s website in addition to providing ongoing training resources so any additional questions or concerns can be addressed as we progress.

COMPUTER REFRESH IMPLEMENTATION FAQs