- NFT offers for Rounds 26 and 27 in
2012 - Dell will be the supplier for
PC notebooks and Apple notebooks will again also be offered. If you hold
a notebook supplied under the Round 19 lease, which comes to a close
in Semester 1, then your machine will be due for return. Please click on
the link above for details of the replacement offer/deadlines.
Used notebooks are also available for reassignment at all times under the
Pre-leased Notebooks Offer – see the next item for details:
- Pre-leased Notebooks
- used notebooks that are still under lease are
always available for reassignment due to
retirements and resignations.
They are checked, cleaned and re-imaged prior to reassignment, and
are made available for the remaining duration of their lease (rather
than a full three years). A notebook can
usually be forwarded within a week of application. Please click the link for
details and registration forms.
- Training - details of the
Teachers have Class! Professional Learning program are available
here.
- Back up your important files - all participants
maintaining important work-related or personal data (photographs,
teaching materials, personal records etc) should back up their files
regularly. Hard disc drives can and do fail and if your data is not
backed up, the chances of successful data recovery may be slim.
Please note:
-
- External USB hard disc drives are now a popular choice for backup purposes.
- Check to be sure your backups are successful. DoE cannot return notebooks
handed in at the end of a lease for data recovery purposes.
- While a 'best effort' attempt at data recovery can sometimes be made
under warranty, there are some circumstances in which you may have
to pay.`
- "Jumping" cursors - problems have been reported relating to "jumping" cursor behaviour. If you
have a notebook which may be affected by these issues then please see
the NFT Program Frequently-Asked Questions page
for some suggestions. Installing Google's application TouchFreeze is highly
recommended.
- Apple networking - please be aware that Apple notebooks may
not be connected to some DoE networks, and
Departmental applications such as SIS are not available for the Apple
platform. Applicants must determine in advance whether or not their
worksite will support networking of an Apple device. NFT contracts are
considered binding once accepted and the Department may not not cancel
Apple NFT agreements due to network and/or application compatibility
issues at worksites. This continues to apply if you transfer into or
out of a worksite which supports the Apple platform.
- Private offers of leased or
purchase notebooks: - private firms sometimes make offers directly to schools
involving notebooks for private purchase or leasing. Please
be aware that such offers are not endorsed or subsidized by the
Department, nor associated with the NFT Program in any way.
- Occupational
Health and Safety: - if used according to some simple
guidelines available here, notebook computers are not believed to
offer significant occupational health and safety risks.
- Lightning Damage to Notebooks - this is not an urban myth!
Cases of
'zapped' notebooks are commonplace following thunderstorms, due to
power surges through mains power or telephone lines. There could even be a small chance of injury too, so please stay
safe - follow the link for information on how to avoid trouble during
electrical storms.
- Battery Care: - get the most out of your notebook's battery
by reading this. Participants
are requested to follow the manufacturer's instructions for care of
batteries - the document pertains to Acer machines but the
principles apply to many makes. Note that if a battery falls below
around half of the manufacturer's rated life in hours then it may be replaced under warranty - call
the Department's Customer Service Centre on (08) 9264 5555 for further
advice.
- "Dead pixels": - not all notebook computers
arrive with perfect screens but this is not always considered a warrantable fault. Acer's
Imperfect Pixels Policy for PC notebooks
will help you be aware of policy for Acer screens which
are delivered with slight pixel imperfections (or which develop
such imperfections over time). Many manufacturers follow similar
policies.
- End of lease: - participants nearing the end of a lease are urged to read our
brief guide to processes for the
return of notebooks and the issues and problems which can arise.
This is an area in which risks exist both for participating teachers
and the Department as a whole - participants are encouraged to contact the NFT Program
administration team if they have any queries or concerns.
- FAQ for
account/password issues: - all participants are encouraged to download and retain a copy of
this handy guide.
- Privately-owned notebooks: -
please note that at present it is generally not possible/permissible to connect
privately-owned notebooks to DoE networks, for a number of technical
and security reasons. Further information can be found under the
Networks section of the NFT Frequently-Asked Questions page,
here.
Please feel free to contact the Notebooks for Teachers Program
administration team by email if you would like any further information on the program.