What to do if I am going out of state or country?

If you are planning to be out of state / out of country there are a couple of things you will need to keep in mind:

Equipment

We do not recommend using your PALCS devices if you are traveling out of state/country as this greatly increases the chances of it getting lost or damaged (however we understand that this is not always possible). You can access almost all of your PALCS resources from a personal device ( PALCS on Personal Devices ).

At the very least, having a backup device will help make sure you do not lose access to your courses and resources. (We are only able to provide support on PALCS devices, so any troubleshooting we offer would have to be on PALCS devices.)

We CANNOT ship any PALCS equipment outside of the state of Pennsylvania, so any equipment issues/damage will have to be dealt with when you return. If you have any pending equipment issues, make sure to deal with them before you leave. 

Internet

If you are traveling, you will need to ensure that you have a reliable source of internet. A lot of the free internet options (hotel, airports, coffeeshops, etc.) may not work properly on your PALCS device. If you are using a personal phone as a hotspot, be aware that PALCS activities (especially Zoom / Virtual Lessons) can use a lot of data. Even if you have an "unlimited" data plan, your provider may start to throttle you after you reach a certain amount of data usage which would slow you down. We do NOT provide hotspots for international traveling.

If you are unsure if you will have reliable internet, it may be a good idea to download or print out any assignments you will be working on during the time you will be away.

Academics

Make sure to notify your teachers and principal that you will be traveling. Please let them know in ADVANCE to the trip instead of during the trip. (It will be much easier to make plans/changes before you leave. If you do not inform them in advance it may not be possible to accommodate for whatever issues you may have.) Your teachers may be able to provide assignments in advance or change other aspects but that will be at the discretion of the teacher.