SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Springfield Public Schools are offering tech support after some students and families experienced technical issues on the first day back to school remotely Tuesday.

Springfield Public Schools started remote learning on Tuesday and due to there being some issues the district is offering technical assistance with their new Family Tech Help Desk starting Monday September 21.

Springfield Public Schools spokesperson Azell Cavaan told 22News one of the more common issues were families not having Wifi service at all, “If you’re having this issue, Springfield Public Schools recommends to contact your child’s school and request what’s called a Comcast Internet Essentials Code. Once you have the code you can call Comcast and they’ll make sure you have the proper service.”

Workers of the Family Tech Help Desk will help our families with technical assistance for students using a number where they can call for live assistance when they face a problem with laptops, as well as a chat option on a website and the option to receive technical assistance via email.

The Family Tech Help Desk team will be able to respond to requests in both English and Spanish from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Another solution to any tech issues can be found by going to a school’s parking lot.

“You can also simply just walk or drive to the closest Springfield Public School to your home, it doesn’t have to be the school that your child is enrolled in. Go into that parking lot and just log in there,” said Cavaan.

Below is a list of answers to some problems related to technology and remote education that students may experience:

  • How does my student register at Unified Classroom? When students login to Unified Classroom, they must select ′′ Log in with Microsoft ′′ to make their credentials work
  • How do I get help with technological problems? Students in need of technical assistance should access the Microsoft Teams department. The technology department is currently working on requests made today to respond to them as quickly as possible. To access Microsoft Teams, visit the following link http://bit.ly/spsMSteams. Keep in mind that, starting this coming Monday, September 21, students and families will have access by phone among other options through the new Family Support Help Desk. For more information on Family Support Help Desk read above
  • If your student has difficulty logging into your SPS-provided laptop, such as if you’re getting an error that says ′′ Domain Not Available “, here’s a quick fix. You will first have to drive or walk to the SPS school closest to your home, so your student’s laptop can connect to SPS WIFI. Once at school follow these steps and then return home:
    • 1) Click the WIFI icon at the bottom right corner of the screen
    • 2) Conéctese a SPSWIFI
    • 3) Log in to your computer
    • 4) Restart the computer
    • 5) Log in again
  • In our home, we have no internet service. What can I do? Families without Internet service at home must contact their student’s school to request a Comcast Internet Essentials code. Once your family has a code, you should contact Comcast Internet Essentials to coordinate service via Comcast using that code. The code provided to you will alert Comcast Internet Essentials that your home service is provided at no cost to you

Comcast Internet Essentials Reminders:

  • Only one code per family/home regardless of the number of students residing in the home
  • Families already paying Comcast / Xfinity customers can’t access this program
  • If your family was previously provided with a hotspot (T-Mobile or Sprint), make the necessary arrangements to return it to your child’s school after your Comcast service is enabled

More information on technology resources for remote learning can be found on the Springfield Public Schools website.