EPORTAL TRAININGOCT. 1, 2014

BRIEF REVIEW OF THE EPORTAL TABLET

• ePortal tablets are basically hardware based web browsing devices

• Use the same way you would Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome on your PC

• Although Android based, there is no support for apps

• Website access is managed via URLs represented by tiles on a dashboard (URL = Uniform Resource Locator or web link)

• Internet access is still protected by ENA firewalls and proxies just like any other device on the ECS network

LOGGING ON TO EPORTAL

• https://eportal.ecschools.net

• Use same username as Windows logon

• Use the provided hardened password

USER ACCOUNTS

• Accounts will be created for any teacher that wants to actively manage dashboards for themselves or others

• Requests for an account can be submitted the usual way by clicking the Technology Request link under quick links at http://www.ecschools.net

ORGANIZATIONS

• An organization is a group of managed tablets

• Tablets are organized by school: ESE, HME, WSE, TAD, etc.

• All organization configuration is handled by the Technology Department

• The most important thing to understand about organizations is that when dashboards are added, removed or changed for a particular organization, *ALL* devices in that organization are impacted.

DASHBOARDS

• A dashboard is collection of tiles

• Each dashboard can hold up to twelve tiles

• A tile is a pictographic representation of a URL

DASHBOARDS, CONT.

• Dashboard creation and editing

• Enhanced mode vs. classic mode

• Deleting tiles (isn’t as easy as it should be yet)

• Turning dashboards on and off

• Testing dashboard changes

• Sharing dashboards

• Dashboards already shared within an organization

• Sharing allows one school to share dashboards with another

DASHBOARDS, CONT.

• Device groups

• Each ePortal cart is grouped for easy dashboard deployment

• Instantly push configuration changes to a specific cart or tablet

DASHBOARDS, CONT.

• It is important to note that all users within an organization have full rights to dashboard management within that organization

• This means each authorized user can edit other user’s dashboards

DASHBOARDS, CONT.

• To reduce the total number of dashboards and keep the tablets manageable, it is good practice to encourage more savvy users to assist consolidation of redundant dashboards or tiles

• Too many dashboards can become unwieldy since the tablet must be swiped like the pages of a book to navigate them

• Ten dashboards means ten swipes to get to the last one!

DEALING WITH PROBLEMS

• Raise tickets as usual to deal with any of the following issues:

• Hardware failures of the tablets or keyboards

• Website issues or incompatibilities

• Dashboard management problems

• The Technology Department will interface directly with MXN Corporation support for hardware replacements and to troubleshoot compatibility problems

DEALING WITH PROBLEMS, CONT.

• Typical problems with hardware:

• Bad digitizers

• Can affect just an area of the screen or the whole screen

• The screen doesn’t recognize when it is touched

• Bad keyboards

• The plug can break and should be handled gently

• Keys can fall off but can usually be gently popped back in

• Ideally, students shouldn’t be handling the USB port on the tablet

DEALING WITH PROBLEMS, CONT.

• Office suites don’t run particularly well

• Google Docs

• Mobile version runs but is sluggish

• Requires a user account per class

• Office Live

• Doesn’t work at all

• Traditional labs or laptop carts are probably better for writing assignments that require advanced formatting

DEALING WITH PROBLEMS, CONT.

• Logons can be cached, sometimes making it difficult to change users once logged on to a website

• This has been reported to MXN as an urgent issue since it may break some websites

• When available, a log off link on the affected page should allow a new user to subsequently log on

DEALING WITH PROBLEMS, CONT.

• If a tablet becomes frozen, hold the power button for a few seconds to power it off (a click may be heard)

• Tapping the power button will prompt for a reboot or shutdown if a website becomes unresponsive

WARRANTY

• All hardware is warrantied for 2 years from the date of purchase

• As most tablets were purchased early this year we still have more than a year of warranty left

• Please open tickets for the replacement of all defective hardware while the warranty is still in force

• After the warranty period, defective ePortal tablets can only be replaced by purchasing new ones