You can get to this page from NIST Bookmarks in Google Chrome OR going to blogs.nist.ac.th/technology.

This guide has some basics that teachers should know to get up to speed at NIST. At the start of the year, there is an introductory session which exposes new staff members to this information in a hands-on way. This page is a reference guide to those sessions.

Device Distribution

School Device(s)

• report any damage or theft immediately to tech support
• no liability if accidental (student bumps your desk and laptop falls, etc.)
• your liability is 25% if negligence is involved (leave on the floor where it can be stepped on, spill liquid on it)

Your First Day at School

Technology Support

We want you to know where to get support.

• Our tech support team (IT Department) is there to help you to understand our school systems (troubleshooting, systems, devices, access, etc.). Here is a link which explains Getting Tech Support (this link is also in Veracross) for anything such as printing, network, devices, etc. Located in Secondary Building, ground floor. For urgent support, dial 1442 from your classroom phone. (Link to the staff directory for IT Department)

Set Up Google Chrome and Gmail

We use G Suite for Education which includes GMail as our email service.

• It is best to sign in to Google Chrome when first prompted. (Or use the top right corner or the People menu > Add Person).

Google Drive for School Documents

• The school uses Google Drive for sharing institutional documents. (Note: although we have Team Drives, we do not use them institutionally due to their limitations.) All school documents are placed in school level or department/team folders which are shared with all staff and department staff to make accessing and collaborating on documents easy.

Veracross

Veracross is our central system for nearly everything. As support staff, you will interact every day with it for many other things. You will also use Axiom for administrative tasks in Veracross.

Device Security: Screensaver and Password

Please be sure to set up your device with Hot Corners so that it locks easily when you want it to be locked.

Homework after “First Day” Training

These items are here for you to learn Mac if you are not already familiar with them. If you have been issued a Mac and need to learn about it. Else, you can skip this section.

Gmail Settings

There are some recommendations for setting up your email at this GMail Basics guide.

Getting to Know Your Mac

Even if you already know how to use a Mac, you should review this section.

Multi-Touch Gestures

Tap, scroll, pinch, and swipe your way through your Mac with Multi-Touch gestures, directly controlling what’s on your screen in a more fluid, natural, and intuitive way. Click here for a tutorial.

Set Your Preferences

Learn how Microsoft Windows and Mac keyboards are different and how some keys may function differently between OS X and Windows. Click here for a tutorial. Here is one particularly useful setting that allows you to zoom in your screen while projecting to show students a detail.

Switching From PC to Mac

BootCamp About keyboards and key assignment for Microsoft Windows. Learn how Microsoft Windows and Mac keyboards are different and how some keys may function differently between OS X and Windows. Here is a New to Mac Tutorial which is a rather comprehensive look at how to use a Mac and essential applications.

Mac keyboard shortcuts

By pressing a combination of keys, you can do things that normally need a mouse, trackpad, or other input device. Click image to find more shortcuts.

Your First Week At School

Google Drive for School Documents

If you have used Google Drive before, you do not need to do the complete guide, but here are the most important of the ideas about Drive at NIST.

• Do not synch your Google Drive to your computer unless you need to synch just some specific folders.
• In an institution with many, many files, the “Shared with me” filter loses its utility since so many items are shared with you.

• DO NOT delete or Remove items in “Shared with me” link/filter.

• To make a new team document, navigate to the preferred folder then make the new document. This will not only have it in the correct location, but it will also set sharing automatically.
• We recommend changing this setting permanently (before uploading any files).
  • Go to Drive > Settings >
    
    
  • And tick this box
    
  • This will convert any of your documents as you upload them (MS-Office documents to Google formats and leaves PDF as PDF).

Veracross

Here are some more things for you to do in our central system.

PUT SOME AXIOM TRAINING HERE

Communications

• Staff portal is a one-stop place for important documents, links, and daily/weekly news articles and updates for all staff. This must be read by all staff each day.
• Staff portal also contains links to student and parent news. Teachers need to read the student news to/with their students at the start of each day (check with leadership teams about this).
• NIST News is an all-in-one, email communication every Friday to the parent community. You will also get a copy as staff members.
• Your current NIST photo will be always automatically synched into your GMail account.

Setting Up Calendars

• Links to our one-page school calendars are on our site.
• We use Google Calendar as our personal calendar tool for staff and students.
• We use Veracross for all school events from holidays and field trips to assemblies and university visits.
• Veracross shows these events to the people who need to see them on a five-day calendar on the home page or on the monthly calendar pages.
• You can display the school A-J Rotation Days calendar in your Google Calendar.

Homework After “First Week”

Email & Security Groups

NIST uses groups extensively (e.g. Teachers Y04, Science Dept., etc.) for document sharing permissions and email distribution lists. To find out which groups you belong to, you can go to groups.google.com then click on My Groups. To see members, click on any group then click on members link to view the people in the group.

Printing and Scanning

The school has many networked multi-function printers which also scan and copy. Here is the full guide which explains how to connect your device to a printer near you.

• Please try to find alternatives to printing.
• Printing and copying is 4 THB per page for color and 0.3 THB for black & white.

First Month, Self-paced Training

Bookings & Requests

• You can request/book many things (rooms, photographer, vans, etc.) using the Requests & Bookings menu in the Veracross staff portal.

Google Drive Guide

• If you have not used Google Drive before, please go through our Google Drive Guide for NIST.
• To really delete a file in our shared folders, you SHOULD set Link Sharing to “OFF – only specific people can access” AND remove all persons or groups in the Advanced sharing, then Bin (Remove/Trash) the file. (VIDEO)

Network Access

• Use nistwifi network when connecting any devices.
• If you have visitors, you can get them a pass from either the ELE or the SEC office (for NIST_Ticket wifi) which lasts for 7 days.
• We try to make sure that students and staff share bandwidth with others.

School Device(s)

School Resources

• You can find links to various Resources and Systems at the top of the Veracross portal.
• The school libraries have many online databases and online collections of books.
• The school has a photographer that can be booked to capture photos or video for your events at school.
• Photos are kept on our Zenfolio server.

Backup Your Data

• You are responsible for your own data management.
• Please make sure you use online tools (such as Google Drive) whenever possible so that you do not have to worry about making backups of your computer.
• Google Drive allows unlimited storage for school-based accounts.

Inviting People Using Calendars

Everyone at secondary school has their schedule from Veracross is in their calendars, you can use Find a Time in order to invite people to meetings at a time that works for everyone rather than emailing a bunch of times to find a common time.

Veracross

Here is a video which explains our School Directories where you can browse and search for community members.

Watch this video to learn how to update your directory preferences in order to determine which information will show in Veracross directories.