About your Windows laptop dock
Some District Windows laptops use a laptop dock to simplify the connection of the laptop to other components of a full workstation. The idea is to connect the laptop to the dock with one connection; the dock then passes that connection through to multiple other devices, such as external monitors/IFPs/TVs, power supply, keyboard, mouse, document or web camera, etc. While connected, the laptop can optionally be tucked fully out of the way and the workstation used much like an old-school desktop computer, but the laptop can also be disconnected and taken offsite as a portable device. As well, the dock can facilitate a shared setup since one could connect laptop A for a given period, and then swap it out for laptop B, just by connecting the one cable.
The District's Dell laptop docks
Around the District, our Dell laptop docks vary a bit in size, shape, and exact arrangement of connection ports, but for the most part they share a few things in common and look pretty similar. Here's an example of a recent model.
Features of your dock
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USB-C host connection. The hard-wired cable (the one you can't pull out) is the one cable you connect to your laptop. Everything you need--charging power, video display, audio, USB connections (to e.g. keyboard, mouse, cameras, flash drives, etc.) goes through this one USB-C connection (second picture above).
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Power button. The dock's power button is in a corner of the top face. (This is useful if you usually have the laptop closed up.)
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Monitor/video connections (V in the picture). The dock can support multiple monitors. (Depending on your exact dock model, you may see DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, or VGA ports; your available monitor(s) may require an adapter to convert from one of these display types to another.)
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Power input (P in the picture). The dock's power supply is big enough to run and charge both your laptop and connected devices.
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Network (N in the picture). This is usually unnecessary (and fewer wires is better), but the dock can provide a wired network connection.
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USB device ports (U in the picture). A dock is a USB hub for your laptop, with a few USB-A and (on newer docks) USB-C ports available.
Windows display settings
Users of a dock should understand the basics of modifying Windows display settings. Aside from understanding how to detect, arrange, and extend multiple displays, the big thing to know is that Windows will "remember" its display settings for two different "states" or conditions: laptop-lid-open, and laptop-lid-closed. So, when you go to configure display settings, remember to configure both states. (Friendly advice: you should do this even if you "always" use the laptop only in one state or the other. :-)
Things to remember
Think of your dock as a port extender. The dock, itself, does no computing, although it does have a simple device firmware that can be updated or repaired if something goes wrong. A dock can provide a laptop access to more ports than the laptop actually has built-in, and it also provides the simplicity of channeling many different port services through its single USB-C connection with the laptop.
Some docks do not have an onboard audio jack. Newer docks may not have the old-school 1/8" (3.5mm) TRS (stereo) jack for an analog audio cable. If you don't have audio speakers that can connect natively by USB, work with the school's front office to acquire a USB-to-1/8" adapter.
These docks are not supported for Chromebooks. These Dell USB-C/Thunderbolt docks are intended for use with our Dell USB-C capable Windows laptops, which represents most of our Windows laptop fleet. (Some of our oldest models still use the coaxial, "barrel" connector for power, but most can now accept USB-C docks.)
Questions?
If you have further questions about or problems with your dock, by all means contact the Helpdesk.