Skip to main content

Using Pando & Aspen to Manage Our 1:1 Chromebook Program

Using Pando & Aspen to Manage Our 1:1 Chromebook Program

Aspen is our district's Student Information System, and we use it for almost every aspect of our business as a school district. We use Aspen and Pando together to run our helpdesk. Pando is one of the built in tools in Aspen that helps us manage our 1:1 Chromebook environment.  Everyone in our district uses Aspen, and can submit a helpdesk ticket within the application.

How to Submit a Helpdesk Ticket:

The video clip below illustrates the simple process of submitting a Helpdesk ticket.



Using Pando: A Quick Overview

Using Pando for our district means that a relatively small work group can organize, evaluate, and attack our Helpdesk needs for approximately 4,500 end users.  All of our tickets are concentrated in one area, and our end users receive automated updates as their ticket is processed. Our district has been using Aspen/Pando as our helpdesk solution since August of 2010. This short video explains the power of using Aspen/Pando to meet the diverse needs of our district.

Reports & Notifications to End Users

We've logged almost 19,000 tickets over the last seven years. In the illustration below you can follow the helpdesk ticket creation at 1:12 PM on 2/16/2017 to it's final resolution at 4:39PM on 2/16/2017.
Anthony submitted the ticket. It was initially handled by Deborah, and she assigned it to Frank. Once Frank identified the solution an automatic report was emailed to Anthony regarding the ticket outcome. This straight forward, but powerful solution allows us to review and analyze our end user's needs.

Analyzing HelpDesk Tickets

In fact, we're able to query any of the data that is collected regarding our helpdesk requests. If I wanted to see which building in the district is experiencing the most issues regarding printing I can quickly find that information. The illustration below allows us to see that the majority of printing issues are at our high school, and middle school facilities.

Ticket by Staff Member

In addition to reviewing the types of issues we're seeing in our helpdesk, We can also review the number of tickets in the queue for each member of our staff. This tool ensures that we can work as a team, and provide additional support to any of the staff that may be overwhelmed. Not only can we review the number of tickets each team member is working on, but we can analyze the issues their trying to rectify.  In the illustration below is a breakdown of tickets serviced by our Management Information System Coordinator. Over the last 100 tickets grade book, and grades have represented 35% of the tickets assisted on during that time period. It's a great way for the district to ensure that our level of expertise matches the the requests we're seeing in the helpdesk queue. 

Pando & Aspen

The integration of Pando within Aspen allows our district to manage over 4,500 Chromebooks for all of our students, and every employee including substitutes. In essence this means that everyone in our district is connected. All of our employees log into their Chromebook, and Aspen every single day. They have access to all of their essential functions, and can request the assistance they need when problems arise. Our small technology staff is able to meet their needs, because we have the right tools to organize our response. I'm not sure we'd be able to get the job done without spending a lot more of our limited resources.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Use Your Chromebook to Make Phone Calls

Use Your Chomebook to Make Phone Calls Since the district has moved over to a new phone system many of our classrooms no longer have the ability to dial an outside line. One way to get around this problem is to use your Chromebook to make a phone call. You can access Google Voice through your gmail account, or use Google Hangouts to make a call. There are several ways to initiate a phone call. Follow these simple directions to place your call. Click on Google Hangouts or Google Voice Simply click on either the Google Hangouts icon, or the Google Voice icon once you've accessed your gmail account. If you haven't setup your Google+ account you will have less features when using the Google Hangouts option. If you click on the Google Voice option you can simply type in the phone number that you want to call, or search for a number in your contacts. Phone calls made in the United States are free, and you can add money to your Google Voice account for international cal
8 comments
Read more

How to Check if your Chromebooks is a Managed Machine...

Is Your Chromebook a Managed Machine? Enrolled Devices: As we get closer to PARCC testing it is important insure that your Chromebook is enrolled in our domain. Enrolling the device in the domain insures that you will have the  appropriate Test Nav application on your device.  It is possible that some of the devices in your classroom didn't get properly enrolled. Review this blog to learn how to check whether or not your students' machine is enrolled properly. Check Your Device Settings: Check your settings by clicking on the Settings Taskbar on your Chromebook. Once you click on the settings tool bar you will be able to discover whether or not the Chromebook is managed. The picture below shows an unmanaged machine. The video below shows you how to check the tool bar settings. The picture below shows a managed machine. The video below shows you what the settings look like on a managed machine. Is Chrome OS Up to Date? It is al
3 comments
Read more

Using Aspen for Staff Attendance

How to Use Aspen for Staff Attendance & Substitute Replacement The West Warwick Public Schools partnered with Follett many years ago to use the power of Aspen for staff attendance and substitute replacement. We have three different workflows that staff members use for attendance and replacement purposes. Each one of the workflows will be explained below. How to Fill-out the Staff Absence Request Workflow in Aspen If a WWPS employee is going to be out for any reason that doesn't require approval they fill-out the Staff Absence Request Workflow. Sick, personal, bereavement, family illness, district sanctioned professional development, IEP meetings, and religious days are all examples of absences that do not need administrative approval. Staff members simply need to fill-out the Staff Absence Request Workflow. View the directions below for the one-step process. Once a staff member completes the Staff Absence Request Workflow an attendance record is created that al
1 comment
Read more