[DRAFT] Technology Overview for Students
Welcome to Newburyport Public Schools!
Newburyport Public Schools is a Google for Education district. You have access to all of the tools provided in Google Workspace, including Gmail for your school email, Google Classroom, Google Meet, and many others. Whenever possible, you are encouraged to use these tools.
We use a Single Sign-On (SSO) service for school accounts, called Okta, which syncs usernames and passwords across multiple applications. In effect, you have a single account for most services. For example, your computer login and all the Google apps share the same account.
Setting Up Your Account
To get setup, please log into your new account on a school PC or Chromebook. Typically, your username is your first initial, last name, and the last two digits of your graduation year. For example, if John Smith was a student graduating in 2021, their username would be jsmith21. For this initial login, your password is identical to your username.
If you're having trouble logging in, you can submit a ticket to the NPS Technology Helpdesk.
When you log in, you will see a message telling you to change your password. It's entirely your choice, but please choose a password that is secure and can not be guessed. Your account is vulnerable to the whole world and the only thing securing it is your password. We recommend you visit How Secure Is My Password? and check how long it would take a standard desktop computer to crack what you've chosen.
After completing the following steps, in Google Workspace you can also turn on “two step verification.” This will send you a text message every time a new computer tries to access your account, giving you the opportunity to deny it.
If you're logging into a PC in one of the school buildings, please open Google Chrome and go to our SSO sign-in page for the next step: sso.newburyport.k12.ma.us
If you're logging into a school Chromebook, the next step is an automatic prompt.
After logging in, you will see a welcome message from our SSO portal that asks you to enter a secondary email and choose a security question and answer. Providing this information allows you to reset your password and unlock your account yourself. Your secondary email should be a personal account you have access to.
After you enter a secondary email and choose a security question, click on Create My Account. Our SSO portal, Okta, will send you an email asking you to confirm your secondary email.
Next, you will be prompted by Google to agree to their terms & conditions for Google Workspace. Once you accept, you will be redirected to Google Drive.
Your account is now set up and ready to use.
Resetting Your Password
If you are unable to access your account after it's been setup, you can unlock it or reset your password from any web browser using our SSO portal. Instructions are located on the How To Reset Your School Account Password page.
Your email address begins with your username, and ends with the domain name @newburyportschools.com. For example, if John Smith was a student graduating in 2021, their email would look like this jsmith21@newburyportschools.com.
Gmail is used for all district email accounts. For clubs and extracurricular activities, teachers or staff may send you emails through Google Groups.
Every email account in the district is listed in contacts. If you start typing in the “To” box in Gmail, a search will begin. When you see the right account, click on the name and the “To” box will be filled in. To view all contacts, you can visit the Google Contacts page and click on 'Directory'.
Teachers and staff are all also present in contacts. All teacher and staff emails end with @newburyport.k12.ma.us, while student emails all end with @newburyportschools.com.
Follett Aspen
Aspen is our Student Information System (SIS). You may hear teachers andstaffand staff refer to it by its old name, X2. For security purposes, Aspen usernames and passwords are maintained separately. There is no syncing between your Aspen account and your school account. Aspen usernames and passwords are given out separately.
We try to make your Aspen username identical to your school username, but this is not always possible. The initial password is usually identical to your Aspen username. To request your Aspen credentials, or for help logging in, please submit a ticket through the NPS Technology Helpdesk.
Aspen is used by many schools, so you need to make sure you are logging into the one specifically for Newburyport. The correct link is: ma-newburyport.myfollett.com
If you need information on using Aspen, there is a 'Help' dropdown on each page. You can also visit Follett's 'Student & Families' page for Aspen video tutorials.
How To Get Tech Help
We have an automated ticketing system that will contact everyone in the tech department to ensure the fastest service. Emailing a technician directly can result in delays if the tech is out of the office or working on another problem. To get help, please submit a ticket through our NPS Technology Helpdesk.
While you can submit a ticket without signing into our Helpdesk, we recommend using the Google login option and signing in with your school email. This will allow you to track the status of your tickets, submit updates, etc., without anything getting lost in your inbox. Click on the following text for a direct link to the Google login option for our Helpdesk.
When submitting a ticket, please tell us what the issue is, being descriptive as possible. Include any error messages and any troubleshooting steps you might have performed. Also, include what room you are in and what time you are available for support. Submitting a ticket and then entering a parent meeting or leaving for a half day will result in the techs having to visit you more than once. To maximize our technician’s time, we try to prevent as many return trips as possible.
If you're submitting a ticket on behalf of a student, please include their name and username. We can't help if we don't know exactly who we're supposed to be helping. Since you submitted the ticket, we often will only be communicating with you. Please make sure you pass on any relevant information to the student in question.
We can often fix problems remotely, so even if you don’t see a technician, keepKeep an eye out for emails and messages from the Helpdesk. They could be requests for more information, a request for you to perform a task such as rebooting the computer, or notification that your problem was solved.
If you need immediate support, our number is: 978-465-4440 ext. 5555. We do, however, recommend using our ticketing system in 99% of cases, as this will ensure the entire department sees your request and that it can be quickly directed to the right person. Often, the person you're calling for will not be at their desk, and submitting a ticket ensures they will see your request as soon as possible.