Saw the digial copier tech working on one of our copiers at the end of the day on Tuesday. I asked if there was something I could help him do. He said the copier had quit sending page counts. We talked about subnets, firewalls, etc and I told him i would work on it Wednesday.
On Wednesday, I brought up the web interface for the copier and started going through the settings. Everything looked okay to me on the surface. I decided to do a line-by-line analysis of the configuration. Sure enough: smtp had been disabled, thus preventing the copier from sending email to anyone.
I changed that, and everything seems to be working fine (I scanned-to-email a document to myself).
On another note: the auditor returned the findings of our disaster recovery plan, and we scored 93%! That is excellent. There were three dinged areas, each of which is easily rectified: job descriptions need to be in the plan, cross-training for critical areas of management, and a written server recovery procedure.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monthly Area Tech Meeting
We held our monthly area tech meeting today, covering the following topics:
- ArkansasIDEAS, specifically the new commoncore site: http://www.arkansasideas.org/commoncore/
- Arkansas iTunesU
- NetQos offering from the state dept
- Various iPad/iPod apps (listed below)
- Apple TV demonstration (wifi features and AirPlay demo while showing apps listed below)
- Tech plans, erate
- Dirty Santa gift exchange (4 participants, made for a quick game)
Apps demonstrated (and some I remembered after the meeting)
- Presidents vs Aliens - Learn about Presidents, knock out aliens. What's not to love?
- Moxie 2 - Use randomly offered letters to build on/change existing words.
- StoryCubes - Shake your iPad/iPod, roll the dice, and build a story!
- Word Ball - Touch letters to build words. Forget to use certain letters long enough and they disappear!
- 7 Little Words - Use clues to build words with letter tiles
- Chicktionary - Make words using, well, chickens and eggs
- SparkleFish - Use the microphone to record verbs, nouns, etc and create funny adventures
- ToonTastic - Create cartoons, while learning the keys to good storytelling!
- Find My Friends - Pretty much what it says.
- ABC News - Again, pretty much what it says
- FluentNews - A news aggregation app
- Google - Yes, there is an app for Google. Give it a whirl!
- iCard Sort - Create word decks, sort into categories and more. Take snapshot of a worksheet then make it interactive as an iCard sort!
- ACE Multiply - Learn about matricies and find ways to solve them
- Calc Made easy - Very handy and advanced calculator with note-taking capability!
- http://www.techchef4u.com/ - Recourse for all kinds of apps, reviews, etc
- http://www.iear.org - Reviews education apps
Enjoy!!
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Week Ahead
Monday - Office today. I will be working on Apple Volume Licensing (continuing to work on it, anyway). I also am hoping to get one of the iPad 2's configged the way we need it, then restore that one's setup to the other dozen or so we have to roll out before the Christmas break.
Tuesday - Local area tech meeting
Wednesday - Office. The board meeting is on Wednesday, but I'm not sure what my level of participation is as of yet. We'll see!
Thursday - SWAEC Christmas party
Friday - General office-related work, prepping for end-of-year routines: yearly backup, server storage cleanup, migrate user home folders to new server. Once that is done, I hope to install ISA on the old home folder server to provide a more stable firewall environment. That will also free up the current ISA server for decommisioning. Should be a fun Friday-before-the holiday.
Tuesday - Local area tech meeting
Wednesday - Office. The board meeting is on Wednesday, but I'm not sure what my level of participation is as of yet. We'll see!
Thursday - SWAEC Christmas party
Friday - General office-related work, prepping for end-of-year routines: yearly backup, server storage cleanup, migrate user home folders to new server. Once that is done, I hope to install ISA on the old home folder server to provide a more stable firewall environment. That will also free up the current ISA server for decommisioning. Should be a fun Friday-before-the holiday.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Updates for the week of December 9, 2011
Monday - Went to Blevins to install a new print server since DIS no longer provides those. The software that HP uses is VERY finicky and we eventually got into the JetDirect through Chrome or Firefox or something non-IE. In the meantime, the Epson 4000EX/FX/whatever has a problem in that the main power connector loses contact as the wide-carriage return jostles the printer all over the place. We think we got it stabilized, but I believe there is a serious manufacturing defect there.
Tuesday - Went to Arch Ford for mini sessions and state tech meeting. I will post those notes from my iPad this weekend.
Wednesday - Spent the day troubleshooting various issues and getting the ball rolling for Apple volume purchasing. What a nightmare THAT is, especially when you are the one person running it all - Apple doesn't like you to be the only one. Evidently, bureaucratic red tape is their comfort zone.
Thursday - Ran between CWT and CCSS for a while there. Helped folks get set up and going in each session then checked with CWT every once i a while since I was attending the common core institute. For the record, the CIV was awful as far as video quality. As for program content, the presenters are so well-versed in CCSS they forget the rest of us are still trying to figure out how to tread in the waters. It moved way too fast and was a bit scattered for some of the participants at our site. Phoebe put together a summary sheet that she mailed to the participants and we are building a 'clearinghouse' page to house the various and sundry sites.
Friday - I drove to Bradley to help with some technical issues. This included:
Tuesday - Went to Arch Ford for mini sessions and state tech meeting. I will post those notes from my iPad this weekend.
Wednesday - Spent the day troubleshooting various issues and getting the ball rolling for Apple volume purchasing. What a nightmare THAT is, especially when you are the one person running it all - Apple doesn't like you to be the only one. Evidently, bureaucratic red tape is their comfort zone.
Thursday - Ran between CWT and CCSS for a while there. Helped folks get set up and going in each session then checked with CWT every once i a while since I was attending the common core institute. For the record, the CIV was awful as far as video quality. As for program content, the presenters are so well-versed in CCSS they forget the rest of us are still trying to figure out how to tread in the waters. It moved way too fast and was a bit scattered for some of the participants at our site. Phoebe put together a summary sheet that she mailed to the participants and we are building a 'clearinghouse' page to house the various and sundry sites.
Friday - I drove to Bradley to help with some technical issues. This included:
- Helping the tech re-establish printer connectivity with several machines. After I had done the first two, I showed her how to do it - teach her to fish, as it were.
- Helping the tech get her firewall rebooted according to an email from the tech support folks she deals with. It is Linux based, so some of the commands were a bit foreign to the tech. We got it going, though.
- Working with the tech and a vendor to purchase SQL Server Standard for a new program the district wants to implement. To say the least, that was the hardest part of the day, only because the vendor could not wrap his brain around what we wanted. Also, it appears the vendor never processed the PO for SQL Server. Yoy.
- Examining the distance learning lab. They have a touch panel that has gone out. I re-routed several cables and connections to get them up and going, but we will need a few more parts to completely disengage the touch panel and the control unit attached to it. As it is, though, the faciliatator can use almost every function.
- Attempting to install Smart Notebook on a computer but it needed XP SP3, so the tech was going to take care of that
- We also talked about 470's, P1, P2, and other E-Rate related items.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Notes from AESA in Colorado Springs
Here are my notes (raw and not really cleaned up) from the 2011 AESA Conference:
Twubs - twitter with auto hashtag and easy follow that same hashtag
==== NEW SESSION ====
National Education Tech Plan
Visionary Leadership - Kevin Honeycutt's Preso
==== NEW SESSION ====
Twubs - twitter with auto hashtag and easy follow that same hashtag
You have a friend request - social networking session
@jenwoodley24
@iamDublin - PuppyTweets - tweets what your pet is doing or when s/he barks.
93% of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media. - cone, sept 2008
As ESAs, we have to fish where the fish are - where our students, parents, grandparents are! We have to give them what THEY want.
FB and Twitter (IOWA), number of blogs that feed into the FB and Twitter pages (Twitterfeed, etc).
Raise awareness, build relationships, increase website traffic, interact with those we server, network, and share.
goal - build a better base of supporters and 'tribes' - for us, a potential launching pad for entrepreneurial endeavors.
Facebook - Average user is connected to 80 community pages and groups.
Users will NOT go to the website. Bring the info to them and drive them to the website.
Post daily to social media - it is a commitment. Need a plan. News, Workshop delays/closings,, crisis management, event ads/coverage, program service, ask questions, resources/tips, changes, insights/expertise
Follow the districts in your area and comment on their posts. Building relationships.
Have a policy, have a plan.
Twitter - follow and be followed - choose educational leaders, tech folks, teachers, etc.
Put your logo, info about esa, easy to find and access
extend the functionality to your web site. Embed the twitter feed to the webpage.
Policy - Posting Guidelines - post these to the FB page (See Iowa's for example). Each month, post a reminder about guidelines. HyperAlerts will email a screenshot and comments. also use Google Alerts, etc. Twilert will notify you of hashtags you regularly use. #gpaea, example (swaec, #swaec)
tweetdeck - keep an eye on your social media activities in one place.
Can be done with a 15-minute commitment.
ian jukes - end of the office
Plan - Make a topic list, identify resources, dont stress, schedule posts in advance, be spontaneous
HIPPA, COPPA, FERPA, etc - Media releases? No names, etc. Cannot say "get well soon, so-and-so"
==== NEW SESSION ====
Creating a network to work on/with national tech plan.
Implementation plans should be created for the implementer.
1. Context - Change of priorities, Technology integration, New paradigm, Need for new strategies and partnerships
NETp - Productivity, Infrastructure (human resources, not tech infrastructure), Teaching, Assessment, Learning
--What we have already and what we can do collectively to improve productivity at district and school levels
2. Challenges - Need for research-based models, prompt implementations, Lack of effective communication, need for shared resources
3. Opportunities - common vision, collaborations, collective expertise, existing resources ready for garnering
4 - Commitment - Availability to participate, help with design, serve as pilot site, ability to contribute ideas and resources, ability to invite existing partners
Mutually beneficial and cooperative among participants. Regular and pervasive communication - overboard at first. Impact on ESAs.
CIV, conference, repository of resources and tools - wiki etc,
shared services
==== NEW SESSION ====
iear.com - iPad/iPod apps for education, reviewed
toys to tools - tools turned into toys to teach children
digital legacy - everything i can google about you.
tame the tool - find a tool, password protect the channel, etc
ask 'how will we' not say 'we cant do this' - who signs the check?
the coming jobs war -
a whole new mind, dan pink
the game crafter, tastebook, spoonflower, pikistore, shapeways
kids passed paper notes - we didnt ban paper! Get up! Walk around!
dont post unless you cite a valid source
Have older students teach younger students (read, etc)
==== NEW SESSION ====
Friday, Dec 2 notes
Dr. David Sousa
Educational Neuroscience (Mind, Brain, and Education)
Educational Neuroscience (Mind, Brain, and Education)
Teaching is the only profession whose job it is to change the human brain every single day.
Teachers are brain-changers!
Memory Systems - working memory, long term memory; 5-7 chunks; 3-4 chunks today (technology at fault?); Kids learning where to find info, not the info itself. Keep info within working memory limits - less is more
Emotions - Learning takes place in the emotional part of the brain. Make emotion connections between students and content; Students/parents/etc want teachers to be caring. Emotional needs not being met at home anymore;
Language acquisition - 3-10 yr olds; more boys get visual, spatial, temporal skills faster and easier than young girls; young girls get spoken language skills faster and easier; of course boys will be below bar for language; same vice versa for spatial testing
Learning to read - No reading areas of the brain; other parts of brain must be brought in. 'reading problem' is misnomer and no way to fix it. visual processing (see the word), Auditory, cognitive processing; "what do i see; what do i hear; what does it mean?" phonemic awareness (ear buds - damage to ears); Phonics (code/sounds-letters); vocabulary (comprehension); fluency (practice); pick the best parts of various programs to build a cohesive program
Attention - Attention span has not changed but demands on attention have. Brain does not multitask. Alternate tasking or sequential tasking; always a loss when you 'multitask.' Get distractions out if there is something you must do. always a loss when try to focus on multiple things.
Learning math - number sense is innate capability; symbol processing, visual processing, language processing; vocabulary may actually be the reason for limited math skills; show how math applies to society and other disciplines;
Power of the arts - every culture has had music, art and dance! STEM should be STEAM! enhance spatial skills; arts helps us to keep with it; go back, try again.
creativity can be taught!
==== NEW SESSION ====
NAMTC Preso
AlleghenyCONNECT - Consortium of edu orgs/ edu content development system.
Tanzanian students want to be taught how to work for themselves. That is what we should be doing! We should not be teaching our students how to go to work for someone else, but rather how to use their passions and skills to start their OWN businesses1
TWICE - interactive conference repository
Work out a collaboration between school in Ark and PA. Talk about Wal-Mart, Bill Clinton, Diamond Mine.
Search cilc for programs offered by Adora Svitak - 13 yr old!
This week...
Monday - help install new print server at blevins. Then go to office to write up operations guides for conference areas.
Tuesday - arch ford for monthly state tech meeting.
Wednesday - office. Install additional a/v wiring in conference areas.
Thursday - classroom walkthrough
Friday - bradley
Monday, November 28, 2011
Week of 11-28-2011
Monday - In the office. I answered voice mail and email from the previous week. I ran out to the Hope early childhood program to troubleshoot a computer problem. Turned out the maintenance folks had cleaned over the holiday break and knocked the power cord loose on a video distribution box. I employed the help of the DL Coordinator and we updated printer drivers in the APSCN mini lab. I worked with our bookkeeper to locate various items requested on the auditor inventory pull (three servers, an Opscan scanner, a projector, and a partridge in a pear tree.... Sorry, couldn't resist the holiday spirit there! I have talked with no fewer than three vendors and I shared the USAC E-Rate Window announcement via Twitter and FaceBook. I helped a staff member point her home page to the company's new website address. As this post was created at 10:30am on Monday, there is still a full day of tech ahead. This post may or may not be updated to reflect everything done today (hopefully, I will!!).
A few of our DTU-16D's have been acting a bit weird - namely, when an internal extension pages directly to certain phones, a loud buzzing sound could be heard in the background. After swapping units, I narrowed the issue down to the base/handset itself. Luckily, I have a couple left from the old building and took care of the main users with the issue. I have a repair/exchange in place for the two phones, so that should be fixed when I get back into the office next week.
Tuesday - OUT
Wednesday-Friday - I will be at the AESA National Conference in Colorado. I will be co-presenting with Harry Dickens in one session and helping to man the technology for Phoebe in another session. I will also be attending various breakout sessions, including the 2011 Digital Jam hosted by Kevin Honeycutt. I will be posting updates to twitter (@davidinark), FaceBook, and at least one of my personal blogs (http://www.poppedinmyhead.com).
A few of our DTU-16D's have been acting a bit weird - namely, when an internal extension pages directly to certain phones, a loud buzzing sound could be heard in the background. After swapping units, I narrowed the issue down to the base/handset itself. Luckily, I have a couple left from the old building and took care of the main users with the issue. I have a repair/exchange in place for the two phones, so that should be fixed when I get back into the office next week.
Tuesday - OUT
Wednesday-Friday - I will be at the AESA National Conference in Colorado. I will be co-presenting with Harry Dickens in one session and helping to man the technology for Phoebe in another session. I will also be attending various breakout sessions, including the 2011 Digital Jam hosted by Kevin Honeycutt. I will be posting updates to twitter (@davidinark), FaceBook, and at least one of my personal blogs (http://www.poppedinmyhead.com).
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Moodle Monday
Phoebe asked me to generate a list of TIE modules with their authors/editors as we move into a new phase for the TIE program. The modules will be retooled for a hybrid environment using the Moodle CMS program.
Last Friday, I installed Moodle on a server we have and then I spent time on Monday working out kinks. The main one being mail delivery (or the lack thereof). I installed Moodle on a Windows server. The included mail subsystems with Moodle would not play nice with our Google Apps account. So, I finally managed to get that working after quite a bot of tinkering with ini files and php configs. I do need to make a couple of tweaks for security, but that should be a simple doing compared to the hoops I had to jump through in order to get mail working.
I suppose there are more effective ways to get mail delivery working, but my way works and I could not find a comprehensive solution online. I wrote up my solution and posted it to our locally held techblog: techblog.k12.ar.us
I also made a tech support visit to the early childhood program in Hope. Not sure what was going on, but they had intermittent Internet connectivity issues. Possibly weather related.
Tuesday, I have a presentation project to finish for Phoebe. I also have a phone call with George Lieux scheduled for the morning regarding the new direction of TIE, and possibly a call with Harry Dickens and Kevin Honeycutt regarding the upcoming AESA conference.
The offices are closed Wed-Fri for Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday
Had the November area tech meeting. We covered IDEAS, MyEvent updates, new wireless in Co-op main building, iPads and bulk purchasing apps, had a vendor discussion/presentation regarding maintenance and E-Rate. This was done over CIV with a direct connection to the vendor's system.
After the meeting, several techs stayed to work on disaster recovery and/or tech plans.
I adjusted the time and timer settings for our parking lot lights. i also installed a new access point in the "attic"
Friday's plan: upgrade the active directory on my 2003 servers in order to prepare for the move to the new 2008 server. Once that is done, I plan to fire up the new server and start moving data to the new box.
After the meeting, several techs stayed to work on disaster recovery and/or tech plans.
I adjusted the time and timer settings for our parking lot lights. i also installed a new access point in the "attic"
Friday's plan: upgrade the active directory on my 2003 servers in order to prepare for the move to the new 2008 server. Once that is done, I plan to fire up the new server and start moving data to the new box.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
So much for that...
Well, today's agenda was SUPPOSED to be upgrading the 2003 Active Directory to 2008 in preparation for the new server. Turns out, I have an old/dying DVD drive in the old server and had to order a refurb/used one. So, until that comes in, I won't be upgrading AD any time soon.
I did get a Moodle Server up and running (can't remember if I wrote about that or not), and the domain works. So, on to other projects!
I did get a Moodle Server up and running (can't remember if I wrote about that or not), and the domain works. So, on to other projects!
As matter of record
The machine that gave me fits on Monday/Tuesday finally succumbed to a complete Windows reinstall. As a matter of recording everything I did, I offer the following:
PC had random pop-up windows, evident of traditional malware infection. As a matter of course, I fired up ComboFix to clear the infection. ComboFix ran for a time, but froze up the computer. i have seen this happen before, and the general "fix" is to reboot the machine and start ComboFix again. Did that. Froze up again. Not good.
I managed to get MalwareBytes installed and updated, then ran that on the computer. That program found one infection and supposedly cleaned it. Upon reboot, however, the machine exhibited the same behavior as before.
I noticed that iexplore.exe was showing up in the Task Manager as soon any user logged in, though the process was not found in the registry as part of any normal start-up locales. It occurred to me that I needed to delete the dllcache files, so I did. The program would still fire up on its own. I renamed iexplore.exe in the Program Files folder, but it would reappear in a matter of moments.
Upon the suggestion of a local tech, I installed Avast free and ran the Boot-up Scanner. That found several infections and supposedly cleaned them. However, upon reboot, the problem returned immediately.
After doing some research, I ran GMER with the suggested settings (see below) and the program found no altered files. I tried to run TDSSKiller but the program would never launch - just show a brief hourglass then do nothing. Even in Safe Mode, Killer would not execute.
At this point, I had spent almost the entire day on Monday and a good hour or so on Tuesday working on this. It was time to blow away Windows and reinstall. I saved the user's Favorites to a flash drive (or tried to. After Windows was reinstalled, the Favorites folder was not on the drive, even though the system had said it copied it. Must have been something with the infection).
I spent the next hour or so putting Windows back on, getting the computer into the Domain and installing our standard software (along with her printer software). When reinstalling Windows, I deleted *ALL* the listed partitions, then did a long format on the drive. Neither of those may have been required, but I wasn't taking any other chances. I was tired and ticked - not a good combination for infections.
*GMER suggested settings: UNCHECK Modules, Process, Threads, Show all, and Files. DO check IRP Hooks and NTAPI Registry scan
PC had random pop-up windows, evident of traditional malware infection. As a matter of course, I fired up ComboFix to clear the infection. ComboFix ran for a time, but froze up the computer. i have seen this happen before, and the general "fix" is to reboot the machine and start ComboFix again. Did that. Froze up again. Not good.
I managed to get MalwareBytes installed and updated, then ran that on the computer. That program found one infection and supposedly cleaned it. Upon reboot, however, the machine exhibited the same behavior as before.
I noticed that iexplore.exe was showing up in the Task Manager as soon any user logged in, though the process was not found in the registry as part of any normal start-up locales. It occurred to me that I needed to delete the dllcache files, so I did. The program would still fire up on its own. I renamed iexplore.exe in the Program Files folder, but it would reappear in a matter of moments.
Upon the suggestion of a local tech, I installed Avast free and ran the Boot-up Scanner. That found several infections and supposedly cleaned them. However, upon reboot, the problem returned immediately.
After doing some research, I ran GMER with the suggested settings (see below) and the program found no altered files. I tried to run TDSSKiller but the program would never launch - just show a brief hourglass then do nothing. Even in Safe Mode, Killer would not execute.
At this point, I had spent almost the entire day on Monday and a good hour or so on Tuesday working on this. It was time to blow away Windows and reinstall. I saved the user's Favorites to a flash drive (or tried to. After Windows was reinstalled, the Favorites folder was not on the drive, even though the system had said it copied it. Must have been something with the infection).
I spent the next hour or so putting Windows back on, getting the computer into the Domain and installing our standard software (along with her printer software). When reinstalling Windows, I deleted *ALL* the listed partitions, then did a long format on the drive. Neither of those may have been required, but I wasn't taking any other chances. I was tired and ticked - not a good combination for infections.
*GMER suggested settings: UNCHECK Modules, Process, Threads, Show all, and Files. DO check IRP Hooks and NTAPI Registry scan
Monday and tuesday
Well, I spent nearly the whole day on monday troubleshooting an infected machine to no avail. Tried running tdsskiller and it would not launch. Decided that reinstalling windows would be best solution. Who knows what the rest of Tuesday will look like.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Recapping... 10/19-10/26 and 10/31-11/13
In addition to daily duties, these are the highlights of days gone by:
*Note: At various times during this period, I was out sick. I have emails confirming this, as well as emails detailing some tasks not specifically outlined here. i will happily share any of that information with personnel in authority as needed/requested.
10/19 - Participated in the Prescott Schools Technology Committee Meeting.
10/24 - Worked with Blevins to get printers working at the district. Turned out to be an issue with wireless access points handing out "bad" addresses on the network. Resolved all but one a/p issue, but that a/p could not actually be physically located. Resolved issue in software, rebooted workstations. Set up reservations in dhcp. Then traveled to Fouke to work on various Server 2008 issues, tech plan items, and other issues.
10/31 - out sick
11/02 - Went to Txk ECH to work on laptop. Ended up bringing laptop back for complete factory restore.
11/03 - Lewisville ECH and Bradley Schools - Went to Lewisville to troubleshoot computer problems. Resolved settings in Adobe in order to make SEAS work via web browser. Also installed/set-up SmartBoard. From there, went to Bradley in order to resolve connectivity issues. Like Blevins (above), we found wireless access points handing out "bad" ip addresses. Evidently, a power surge over the previous night had reset the access points to hand out ip addresses. in one case, we resolved an ongoing issue (thought it had been an infected machine, but turned out to be an access point handing out ips). We also looked at other server issues, worked on e-rate (specifically BEAR form info), and took care of local work orders.
11/04 - Returned the Txk ECH laptop to the classroom, reinstalled the printer and tested everything. Looks great.
11/08 - Talked with Paul Glen, CEO of LeadingGeeks regarding communication differences between "techies" and "non-techies" for a book he is writing with a partner. The interview/conversation lasted about an hour. I also evaluated Xirrus and AeroHive for enterprise wireless solutions in our main building. Evaluated a couple quotes for Crestron installation of a control panel system for our conference rooms.
11/09 - Met with Lindy and Phoebe regarding several tech issues and topics. Ultimately decided to table the Crestron/automation project and move forward with AeroHive.
11/10 - Monthly Board meeting. Presented "app of the month." Covered FlipBoard and "This Day in History."
11/11 - Met with Lindy, Phoebe and Trish regarding TIE schedules and meeting agendas. Installed CWT on iPad and iPod for workshop. Worked on Operations Guides for various presentation rooms at co-op. Ordered parts to help clean up the wiring in the main conference center.
*Note: At various times during this period, I was out sick. I have emails confirming this, as well as emails detailing some tasks not specifically outlined here. i will happily share any of that information with personnel in authority as needed/requested.
10/19 - Participated in the Prescott Schools Technology Committee Meeting.
10/24 - Worked with Blevins to get printers working at the district. Turned out to be an issue with wireless access points handing out "bad" addresses on the network. Resolved all but one a/p issue, but that a/p could not actually be physically located. Resolved issue in software, rebooted workstations. Set up reservations in dhcp. Then traveled to Fouke to work on various Server 2008 issues, tech plan items, and other issues.
10/31 - out sick
11/02 - Went to Txk ECH to work on laptop. Ended up bringing laptop back for complete factory restore.
11/03 - Lewisville ECH and Bradley Schools - Went to Lewisville to troubleshoot computer problems. Resolved settings in Adobe in order to make SEAS work via web browser. Also installed/set-up SmartBoard. From there, went to Bradley in order to resolve connectivity issues. Like Blevins (above), we found wireless access points handing out "bad" ip addresses. Evidently, a power surge over the previous night had reset the access points to hand out ip addresses. in one case, we resolved an ongoing issue (thought it had been an infected machine, but turned out to be an access point handing out ips). We also looked at other server issues, worked on e-rate (specifically BEAR form info), and took care of local work orders.
11/04 - Returned the Txk ECH laptop to the classroom, reinstalled the printer and tested everything. Looks great.
11/08 - Talked with Paul Glen, CEO of LeadingGeeks regarding communication differences between "techies" and "non-techies" for a book he is writing with a partner. The interview/conversation lasted about an hour. I also evaluated Xirrus and AeroHive for enterprise wireless solutions in our main building. Evaluated a couple quotes for Crestron installation of a control panel system for our conference rooms.
11/09 - Met with Lindy and Phoebe regarding several tech issues and topics. Ultimately decided to table the Crestron/automation project and move forward with AeroHive.
11/10 - Monthly Board meeting. Presented "app of the month." Covered FlipBoard and "This Day in History."
11/11 - Met with Lindy, Phoebe and Trish regarding TIE schedules and meeting agendas. Installed CWT on iPad and iPod for workshop. Worked on Operations Guides for various presentation rooms at co-op. Ordered parts to help clean up the wiring in the main conference center.
A new approach to Keeping Up
Okay, I have not posted an update on what I've been doing in my job since late October. The "after-the-fact" approach is not working at all.
So, I am going to try a new approach: Task Listing
I will post what my goals are for the day, week, etc. and we'll go from there.
So, starting with today:
Monday - Set up equipment (iPad/iPod) for CWT training; Work on technical aspects of Phoebe's presentation for later this month; Post recaps of the past month work of work; Follow up on AeroHive wireless purchase; Look into ASA server being offered to us by one of our districts; Talk to CentruyLink regardin a phone line at one of the early childhood sites; Talk to George regarding Moodle and the TIE program; Transport backup offsite
Tuesday - Upgrade Active Directory on 2003 servers; join the 2008 server to the domain; promote 2008 server; decommission various servers; set up recording of Advanced Erate videoconference; work on LMS server (Moodle)
Wednesday - Install AeroHive wireless network (assuming it arrives); Continue work on LMS server (Moodle); Meet with Prescott Technology Planning Committee
Thursday - Area tech meeting and tech plan/ACOOP work day
Friday - Possibly schedule a school visit
Friday, October 28, 2011
10/28/2011
I am home sick today, but because Verizon and Alltel merged, there is a problem with our ERate invoicing. Because of THAT, we cannot yet get our reimbursements from Verizon. It was an issue that I thought had been resolved. I was wrong. So, while sick, I am now working with USAC, Verizon and whomever else to get this resolved. I had to file an extension, which will hopefully be approved by USAC until this gets figured out.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
10/27/2011
I will catch up with missed days in another post.
Today, I took a laptop and wireless printer to one of our early childhood programs, installed them. I also created a user account on one of the ech computers in that same facility.
After that, I went to Fouke Schools. We worked on users, groups, shared folders, permissions, a little bit of group policy. I also helped them with questions regarding subnets and expansion of their commodity internet.
Following that, we worked on permissions issues on the mac server. Turned out to be a problem between the user and their home folder. When deleting a user on a mac server, be sure to also delete/rename that user's home folder before attempting to create another user account with the same name.
Talked on phone with Bradley regarding ERate.
Once back at the office, I worked on E-Rate (BEAR forms etc) until end of day.
Today, I took a laptop and wireless printer to one of our early childhood programs, installed them. I also created a user account on one of the ech computers in that same facility.
After that, I went to Fouke Schools. We worked on users, groups, shared folders, permissions, a little bit of group policy. I also helped them with questions regarding subnets and expansion of their commodity internet.
Following that, we worked on permissions issues on the mac server. Turned out to be a problem between the user and their home folder. When deleting a user on a mac server, be sure to also delete/rename that user's home folder before attempting to create another user account with the same name.
Talked on phone with Bradley regarding ERate.
Once back at the office, I worked on E-Rate (BEAR forms etc) until end of day.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
10/07/11 - 10/18/11
10/7 - Had an aerohive demo for possible wireless solution at the co-op main building. Took care of general troubleshooting and other daily tasks.
10/10/11 - Installed new CIV systems at Blevins as part of RUS Grant.
10/11/11 - Installed new CIV systems at Prescott as part of RUS Grant. Also worked with Doug on a couple Sharepoint issues that seem to center on a webpart for slideshows. The java script used evidently clashes in some systems with the code for rich-text editing. Working to find another slideshow solution.
10/12/11 - Met with the Business, Technology, and Education Advisory Council for UACCH. Had a very open, frank conversation regarding skills needed, classes and topics to be taught. Met with Curtis Stout Company to evaluate a possible Crestron solution for the co-ops main conference center.
10/13/11 - Met with various staff and performed daily tech activities, troubleshooting etc.
10/14/11 - Went to Bradley to help with various issues: SmartBoard, graphics issues, wireless, and other areas of needed assistance.
10/17/11 - Performed daily tech activites, upgraded iPad to iOS5, worked on two laptops and replaced a desktop. Checked one of the smartphones for problems. Temporary solution was to disable shortcut keys. Phone is eligible for upgrade/replacement.
10/18/11 - Replaced a bulb in Hope ECH classroom, present to the board the "App of the Month" - AudioNote, examined an older laptop for possible replacement.
10/10/11 - Installed new CIV systems at Blevins as part of RUS Grant.
10/11/11 - Installed new CIV systems at Prescott as part of RUS Grant. Also worked with Doug on a couple Sharepoint issues that seem to center on a webpart for slideshows. The java script used evidently clashes in some systems with the code for rich-text editing. Working to find another slideshow solution.
10/12/11 - Met with the Business, Technology, and Education Advisory Council for UACCH. Had a very open, frank conversation regarding skills needed, classes and topics to be taught. Met with Curtis Stout Company to evaluate a possible Crestron solution for the co-ops main conference center.
10/13/11 - Met with various staff and performed daily tech activities, troubleshooting etc.
10/14/11 - Went to Bradley to help with various issues: SmartBoard, graphics issues, wireless, and other areas of needed assistance.
10/17/11 - Performed daily tech activites, upgraded iPad to iOS5, worked on two laptops and replaced a desktop. Checked one of the smartphones for problems. Temporary solution was to disable shortcut keys. Phone is eligible for upgrade/replacement.
10/18/11 - Replaced a bulb in Hope ECH classroom, present to the board the "App of the Month" - AudioNote, examined an older laptop for possible replacement.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
10/3/11 - 10/6/11
Monday - came to office until 10:30am then went home sick.
tuesday - Genoa Central middle school and elementary school video installs. Then, went to the high school to work on two video systems there. Reconfigured main DL for 100/Full connectivity and changed IP information on the new system for virtual field trip use (or class use via V2IU connection in Little Rock).
Wednesday - Attended ACOOP training on new DRP software from state. in the afternoon, installed the portable video unit for the co-op. Went to UACCH to help with that video unit install. Hit a few glitches there, but got them ironed out. Left UACCH with installer and headed to Nevada Schools. There, we installed the new video unit.
Thursday - Spent most of the day providing tech support to Fouke for a new server application install. Also handled email correspondence regarding video issues at Bradley. Scheduled the monthly area tech meeting. Talked with several vendors. Set up an on-site visit for Prescott on Friday after a meeting I have with a wireless (wifi, not cell) vendor. Installed a new network printer in the specialists' area. Hunted down a rogue wireless access point on the network. Well, "rogue" is a bit strong. It was one that had been misconfigured and I set it to right. Explored a couple of iPad apps for tech usage, but found them lacking (sorry, the names of the apps escapes me just now). Oh yeah, had to hunt down a telephone extension issue that turned out to be an issue with the placards we use to display people's extensions - a lot of troubleshooting and wire-moving for not, it seems. Emailed to several lists - cooptc, sys_admin, etc regarding various issues and topics. Experimented with various DHCP scenarios on our server. Researched various ISA 2006 settings and scenarios, user permissions issues, etc.
tuesday - Genoa Central middle school and elementary school video installs. Then, went to the high school to work on two video systems there. Reconfigured main DL for 100/Full connectivity and changed IP information on the new system for virtual field trip use (or class use via V2IU connection in Little Rock).
Wednesday - Attended ACOOP training on new DRP software from state. in the afternoon, installed the portable video unit for the co-op. Went to UACCH to help with that video unit install. Hit a few glitches there, but got them ironed out. Left UACCH with installer and headed to Nevada Schools. There, we installed the new video unit.
Thursday - Spent most of the day providing tech support to Fouke for a new server application install. Also handled email correspondence regarding video issues at Bradley. Scheduled the monthly area tech meeting. Talked with several vendors. Set up an on-site visit for Prescott on Friday after a meeting I have with a wireless (wifi, not cell) vendor. Installed a new network printer in the specialists' area. Hunted down a rogue wireless access point on the network. Well, "rogue" is a bit strong. It was one that had been misconfigured and I set it to right. Explored a couple of iPad apps for tech usage, but found them lacking (sorry, the names of the apps escapes me just now). Oh yeah, had to hunt down a telephone extension issue that turned out to be an issue with the placards we use to display people's extensions - a lot of troubleshooting and wire-moving for not, it seems. Emailed to several lists - cooptc, sys_admin, etc regarding various issues and topics. Experimented with various DHCP scenarios on our server. Researched various ISA 2006 settings and scenarios, user permissions issues, etc.
9/29-9/30 2011
Thursday, Sept 29 - Spent part of the day off and on researching and ordering various replacement items and equipment. Spent the better part of the morning meeting with the Director and Assistant Director over various issues - parking light timer, surveillance video, personnel matters, etc.
Cleaned my office since I had been out much of the previous few days. While doing so, I answered emails, conducted support via phone and text. a LOT of emails regarding distance learning connectivity and quality issues.
Friday, Sept 30 - Honestly, I don't remember what I did. A review of emails dated from that day shows a LOT of troubleshooting various distance learning network issues with a couple of schools - Bradley in particular. This was done through DIS, the school, and other personnel related to the process (AT&T, UACCH, etc).
I updated the trainer for an upcoming ACOOP training (the training took place on Oct 5).
I also spent a bulk of Friday at Blevins working on a variety of network, server, and desktop issues.
Cleaned my office since I had been out much of the previous few days. While doing so, I answered emails, conducted support via phone and text. a LOT of emails regarding distance learning connectivity and quality issues.
Friday, Sept 30 - Honestly, I don't remember what I did. A review of emails dated from that day shows a LOT of troubleshooting various distance learning network issues with a couple of schools - Bradley in particular. This was done through DIS, the school, and other personnel related to the process (AT&T, UACCH, etc).
I updated the trainer for an upcoming ACOOP training (the training took place on Oct 5).
I also spent a bulk of Friday at Blevins working on a variety of network, server, and desktop issues.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday and Wednesday
Tuesday - Worked on several issues at the co-op. Spent much of the day talking with DIS and Bradley regarding their CIV troubles. Also fielded calls from several schools for technical assistance. I modified the configuration of the ISA server and will continue to tweak things, trying to get the most out of our Internet connection, firewalling, etc.
Started reviewing video regarding an issue at the co-op. This continued to Wednesday.
Wednesday - I spent much of the day handling two main issues at the office: parking lights and electronic surveillence. Both of these tasks invloved the security camera system we have to a certain extent. The parking lights have been an issue since we moved into the new building. Turns out the timing mechanism was not set properly at the manufacturer. Once I figured out just where the "current, real time" should be set on the thing, I moved to making sure th elights came on and went off at the specified time. Before I could do that, however, I used the security tapes to review previous nights' recordings of when the lights turned off. The lights were set to come on during the latter part of daylight hours, so the camera did not really pick that up. But, at night, one can clearly see when the parking lights go out for the night.
The other part of my main duties on Wednesday centered around video review of certain areas of the building. I am not going to discuss what areas nor the nature of the review, but let me say that going through WEEKS of video, even within a confined time period during each day, is a time-consuming endeavor. I am now adding "video security inspector" to my list of "other duties as assigned."
I also served as liasion between DIS and Bradley regarding their video system issues.
Of course, there were mundane, ordinary issues to take care of, including the hard drive death in a staffer computer. Nothing like the smell of little blue smoke in the morning... Or something like that.
Started reviewing video regarding an issue at the co-op. This continued to Wednesday.
Wednesday - I spent much of the day handling two main issues at the office: parking lights and electronic surveillence. Both of these tasks invloved the security camera system we have to a certain extent. The parking lights have been an issue since we moved into the new building. Turns out the timing mechanism was not set properly at the manufacturer. Once I figured out just where the "current, real time" should be set on the thing, I moved to making sure th elights came on and went off at the specified time. Before I could do that, however, I used the security tapes to review previous nights' recordings of when the lights turned off. The lights were set to come on during the latter part of daylight hours, so the camera did not really pick that up. But, at night, one can clearly see when the parking lights go out for the night.
The other part of my main duties on Wednesday centered around video review of certain areas of the building. I am not going to discuss what areas nor the nature of the review, but let me say that going through WEEKS of video, even within a confined time period during each day, is a time-consuming endeavor. I am now adding "video security inspector" to my list of "other duties as assigned."
I also served as liasion between DIS and Bradley regarding their video system issues.
Of course, there were mundane, ordinary issues to take care of, including the hard drive death in a staffer computer. Nothing like the smell of little blue smoke in the morning... Or something like that.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Testing, testing. Is this thing on?
Monday, Trish and I headed to Bradley with various equipment in tow. Our goal: test the local network for video connectivity issues.
I borrowed a fiber/CAT5 tester from the local college's telecommunications department. Once we arrived, we hooked the tester up to one run of fiber. the tester consists of two end pieces - once each end of the cable to be tested is plugged into each end of the fiber, the system runs a variety of tests. the first test checks for the maximum throughput speed (up to 1000Mbps). The next series of tests runs 'dummy data' between the connections in an effort to see what actual traffic the line can handle.
Over the course of several hours (most of the day, actually), we ran tests on each of the four fiber connections (each one for a different video system). Each and every time, the tests came back with flying colors - 1000Mbps and "pass" every other test. We also tested the CAT5 connections to ensure they, too, were operating at maximum ability. They were. Again, 1000Mbps and "pass" all the other tests.
This tells me that the issue is not a local one. However, just to be sure, we also swapped out the core switch that connects the various video systems to the rest of the world. After swapping out the switch, everything ran just as it had before. Again, this indicates to me that the issue is not a local one (or at least not a local one that I can tell).
While there, we also went to each distance learning classroom and configured the laptops for connectivity, printing, etc. We finished in each room except for Lab #3. That will get done next time I am at the school (thinking Wednesday).
Anecdotally, we noticed that the data connectivity seemed to be running pretty slowly (I downloaded required software and it showed to be running at T1 speeds versus the 10Mbps they have added). Something seems amiss on the data side.
the school is set up such that the data traffic and the compressed video traffic are not on the same LAN. once the data hits the router, it is no longer a school-fixable issue - we call in the support from the state folks.
once back at the co-op (about an hour leftof the work day), I kicked out an email to appropriate personnel regarding our findings at Bradley. I also created a quick network map of the video LAN to help with troubleshooting and forwarded that on to DIS personnel.
I borrowed a fiber/CAT5 tester from the local college's telecommunications department. Once we arrived, we hooked the tester up to one run of fiber. the tester consists of two end pieces - once each end of the cable to be tested is plugged into each end of the fiber, the system runs a variety of tests. the first test checks for the maximum throughput speed (up to 1000Mbps). The next series of tests runs 'dummy data' between the connections in an effort to see what actual traffic the line can handle.
Over the course of several hours (most of the day, actually), we ran tests on each of the four fiber connections (each one for a different video system). Each and every time, the tests came back with flying colors - 1000Mbps and "pass" every other test. We also tested the CAT5 connections to ensure they, too, were operating at maximum ability. They were. Again, 1000Mbps and "pass" all the other tests.
This tells me that the issue is not a local one. However, just to be sure, we also swapped out the core switch that connects the various video systems to the rest of the world. After swapping out the switch, everything ran just as it had before. Again, this indicates to me that the issue is not a local one (or at least not a local one that I can tell).
While there, we also went to each distance learning classroom and configured the laptops for connectivity, printing, etc. We finished in each room except for Lab #3. That will get done next time I am at the school (thinking Wednesday).
Anecdotally, we noticed that the data connectivity seemed to be running pretty slowly (I downloaded required software and it showed to be running at T1 speeds versus the 10Mbps they have added). Something seems amiss on the data side.
the school is set up such that the data traffic and the compressed video traffic are not on the same LAN. once the data hits the router, it is no longer a school-fixable issue - we call in the support from the state folks.
once back at the co-op (about an hour leftof the work day), I kicked out an email to appropriate personnel regarding our findings at Bradley. I also created a quick network map of the video LAN to help with troubleshooting and forwarded that on to DIS personnel.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday and Friday
Thursday - Met at Arch Ford Co-op to learn about the online testing component of D2SC's program.
Friday - Headed to Bradley to downgrade the software on the new codec. Still had quality issues, so examined and changed settings on various media converters, switches, etc. The quality improved on the receiving end (that is, what we could see) but was still awful on the transmitting end (what the other sites saw). We've got some kind of issues going on there.
While testing, I ended up contacting ASMSA about a class that was not coming up and after some more troubleshooting, they had to delete the system from their MCU. After that, the MCU found the Bradley equipment again and everything (other than quality) seemed to be working.
I went around and checked various connection settings n the other three systems. I also helped troubleshoot a desktop problem which turned out to be a loose cat5 end at the desktop.
I am borrowing a fiber/copper tester from the local college and will head to Bradley on Monday so that I can run various tests.
Friday - Headed to Bradley to downgrade the software on the new codec. Still had quality issues, so examined and changed settings on various media converters, switches, etc. The quality improved on the receiving end (that is, what we could see) but was still awful on the transmitting end (what the other sites saw). We've got some kind of issues going on there.
While testing, I ended up contacting ASMSA about a class that was not coming up and after some more troubleshooting, they had to delete the system from their MCU. After that, the MCU found the Bradley equipment again and everything (other than quality) seemed to be working.
I went around and checked various connection settings n the other three systems. I also helped troubleshoot a desktop problem which turned out to be a loose cat5 end at the desktop.
I am borrowing a fiber/copper tester from the local college and will head to Bradley on Monday so that I can run various tests.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Tuesday, Wednesday, and breaking through
Tuesday, Trish and I traveled to Fouke to meet with the SKC installer. When we arrived, he had already assembled most of the equipment. While he was finishing up, I started dismantling the old system - pulling wires out of the ceiling, etc. We employed some of the football players to pull the large screen TV off the table. The maintenance guy helped with some of the ceiling cabling work.
The system needed a ceiling mic adapter and the one that was sent to the school was a 'do-it-yourself' soldering job. Not happening. In the meantime, we ran into the same problem that we had in Bradley: no go on connectivity. I had DIS on the phone and they tried all kinds of troubleshooting. In the end, we hooked up the old system to get classes going again. Frustration levels were getting higher.
Back at the office, I worked on our firewall issues, and had to delete and recreated our Sharepoint Central Administration site. I'm not sure what happened there. As best I can figure, there was a SQL glitch preventing the site from actually displaying. A few command line entries and a server reboot later, it was back and happy!
Wednesday, met SKC and DIS at Genoa. We spent much of the morning troubleshooting connectivity issues when trying to add the new system into the mix. Turned out to be a bad switch. In the meantime, this new system had the same problems already seen: no connectivity. Luckily, Max with DIS brought a system with him - same model but running older software. He connected his system and it fired right up! So, Chris (SKC) downloaded a downgrade and pushed it out to the video unit. I am SEVERELY condensing time here, but once the new (er, old) software was dropped into place, the system fired up. Well, they also had to UNPAIR the touch panel from the codec. In any case, we had both systems up and running by about 1:30pm or so. Chris and I headed to Fouke. The software was installed and that system worked great! Also, Chris had received the correct cabling for the microphone and we connected it during class. The teacher said everything sounded fine and we left at the end of the day, knowing what we needed to do to the Bradley system. I will take care of that on Friday.
The system needed a ceiling mic adapter and the one that was sent to the school was a 'do-it-yourself' soldering job. Not happening. In the meantime, we ran into the same problem that we had in Bradley: no go on connectivity. I had DIS on the phone and they tried all kinds of troubleshooting. In the end, we hooked up the old system to get classes going again. Frustration levels were getting higher.
Back at the office, I worked on our firewall issues, and had to delete and recreated our Sharepoint Central Administration site. I'm not sure what happened there. As best I can figure, there was a SQL glitch preventing the site from actually displaying. A few command line entries and a server reboot later, it was back and happy!
Wednesday, met SKC and DIS at Genoa. We spent much of the morning troubleshooting connectivity issues when trying to add the new system into the mix. Turned out to be a bad switch. In the meantime, this new system had the same problems already seen: no connectivity. Luckily, Max with DIS brought a system with him - same model but running older software. He connected his system and it fired right up! So, Chris (SKC) downloaded a downgrade and pushed it out to the video unit. I am SEVERELY condensing time here, but once the new (er, old) software was dropped into place, the system fired up. Well, they also had to UNPAIR the touch panel from the codec. In any case, we had both systems up and running by about 1:30pm or so. Chris and I headed to Fouke. The software was installed and that system worked great! Also, Chris had received the correct cabling for the microphone and we connected it during class. The teacher said everything sounded fine and we left at the end of the day, knowing what we needed to do to the Bradley system. I will take care of that on Friday.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Mondays are... Mondays
Spent Monday morning working on various issues at the co-op. I created an installation checklist for the CIV systems that some of my area schools are receiving through an RUS grant. Turns out, much of the information I had was incorrect. Lovely.
I had to then battle a firewall issue in which Blackboard chatting is being blocked at the co-op. I have yet to figure out just which rule is preventing the chat. Even disabling most of the rules has not cured the problem. Frankly, after the bottlenecks and other issues, I think it's getting close to time to ditch ISA 2006 for good. The main issue is that it routes the 6 or so web sites we run through one IP. I prefer it that way so that we keep our servers out of the public hacking eye (er, mostly). In any case, it is time to research something else.
I spent the afternoon at Bradley, helping them work on a few issues before their new video system arrived. Once it did, we unboxed it. We waited for the installer to get there, but it was now 2:30 or so, and we decided to put the thing together ourselves. I had to leave just after three to pick up my daughter, so I left the folks working on it. The installer came just before three. I got a call later that night that the system would not register nor connect to the state video network. I will be going back to Bradley within the next day or so to get it working.
I ran back to the co-op for a quick stop after Bradley on my way to pick up my daughter from church. I had a switch at the office I wanted to take home to troubleshoot. Turns out, the switch just needs to be "decommissioned." It's loud (fans), has bad ports (at least one set of four) and it keeps rebooting itself. At least now I know!
I had to then battle a firewall issue in which Blackboard chatting is being blocked at the co-op. I have yet to figure out just which rule is preventing the chat. Even disabling most of the rules has not cured the problem. Frankly, after the bottlenecks and other issues, I think it's getting close to time to ditch ISA 2006 for good. The main issue is that it routes the 6 or so web sites we run through one IP. I prefer it that way so that we keep our servers out of the public hacking eye (er, mostly). In any case, it is time to research something else.
I spent the afternoon at Bradley, helping them work on a few issues before their new video system arrived. Once it did, we unboxed it. We waited for the installer to get there, but it was now 2:30 or so, and we decided to put the thing together ourselves. I had to leave just after three to pick up my daughter, so I left the folks working on it. The installer came just before three. I got a call later that night that the system would not register nor connect to the state video network. I will be going back to Bradley within the next day or so to get it working.
I ran back to the co-op for a quick stop after Bradley on my way to pick up my daughter from church. I had a switch at the office I wanted to take home to troubleshoot. Turns out, the switch just needs to be "decommissioned." It's loud (fans), has bad ports (at least one set of four) and it keeps rebooting itself. At least now I know!
Monday, September 19, 2011
9/14-9/16 2011
Wednesday - Met with the Board of Directors regarding CIPA, Internet Safety, RUS Grant CIV system installs, monthly tech meetings, Website requirements, Disaster recovery training.
After the meeting, I went to Blevins to help with various network related issues. We also tried to hunt down a rogue wireless device, but by then school was out. I believe the device is a 'hockey puck' portable wifi spot that someone brought and plugged in to the network. We will try again another day.
Thursday - Met with Jeff Madlock of Hope Schools regarding disaster recovery testing, policy, Apple Lion server and other tech-related issues.
Also met with representatives from Howard Technology regarding a touch panel control unit for our conference rooms. They will put together a quote and get back to me. In the meantime, I will call in 2 or 3 other vendors for quotes as well.
Had some issues in the computer lab, so I spent the bulk of the afternoon ironing those out. For the most part, Parallels would not print. Installed correct network printer drivers on the machines and took other measures to help keep the lab up and running. Mostly, I disabled some software updates and changed a few settings to help make the virtual environment more stable and efficient (memory settings, full-screen options, etc)
Friday - Spent the day in Fouke. We installed Server 2008 on two servers, created a secondary Domain Controller, and did some troubleshooting in a lab. We had to make a few changes to the DHCP settings, and they will need to make some more as well, as the pool has filled up. It is amazing how many devices they have! Talk about tech in schools! We also took care of some other network issues (DNS, subnets, etc)
After the meeting, I went to Blevins to help with various network related issues. We also tried to hunt down a rogue wireless device, but by then school was out. I believe the device is a 'hockey puck' portable wifi spot that someone brought and plugged in to the network. We will try again another day.
Thursday - Met with Jeff Madlock of Hope Schools regarding disaster recovery testing, policy, Apple Lion server and other tech-related issues.
Also met with representatives from Howard Technology regarding a touch panel control unit for our conference rooms. They will put together a quote and get back to me. In the meantime, I will call in 2 or 3 other vendors for quotes as well.
Had some issues in the computer lab, so I spent the bulk of the afternoon ironing those out. For the most part, Parallels would not print. Installed correct network printer drivers on the machines and took other measures to help keep the lab up and running. Mostly, I disabled some software updates and changed a few settings to help make the virtual environment more stable and efficient (memory settings, full-screen options, etc)
Friday - Spent the day in Fouke. We installed Server 2008 on two servers, created a secondary Domain Controller, and did some troubleshooting in a lab. We had to make a few changes to the DHCP settings, and they will need to make some more as well, as the pool has filled up. It is amazing how many devices they have! Talk about tech in schools! We also took care of some other network issues (DNS, subnets, etc)
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Monday and Tuesday, September 12-13, 2011
Monday, I spent the day troubleshooting via phone and email while getting caught up on some office things that needed to get done. I also ran a few local network tests in preparation for DIS to come on Tuesday. I also reminded the Supts and school techs about the September 15 deadline for the website requirements signature page to be signed and posted online. This triggered a discussion about the signature form and pertinent Commissioner's Memos. After some digging, I came up with a form for schools to use based on sample forms provided by Hope and Nevada. I am thankful to those schools for helping me out - helping us ALL out!
Tuesday, worked with DIS on troubleshooting our local network problems. The issues boiled down to folks streaming radio stations and video. We also had an inordinate amount of software updates running all at the same time, clogging the network. We also checked for loopbacks, and spent quite a bit of time on trying to get 1-to-1 NAT working on ISA 2006. We think we have a solution, but I will have to test it after hours.
Tuesday afternoon, I spent time with Prescott Schools, working on various Sharepoint issues - one regarding group permissions and site settings, and the other regarding the use of SSL for intranet access.
Tuesday, worked with DIS on troubleshooting our local network problems. The issues boiled down to folks streaming radio stations and video. We also had an inordinate amount of software updates running all at the same time, clogging the network. We also checked for loopbacks, and spent quite a bit of time on trying to get 1-to-1 NAT working on ISA 2006. We think we have a solution, but I will have to test it after hours.
Tuesday afternoon, I spent time with Prescott Schools, working on various Sharepoint issues - one regarding group permissions and site settings, and the other regarding the use of SSL for intranet access.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Catching up... again.
Monday, August 29 - OUT
Tuesday, August 30 - Attended the "Get Motivated" seminar at Verizon Arena
Wednesday, August 31 - OUT
Thursday, September 1 - Blevins schools, worked on several server issues, workstation issues, networking issues all day
Friday, September 2 -
Monday - September 5 - Office Closed for Labor Day
Tuesday, September 6 - State tech meeting at Arch Ford Co-op
Wednesday, September 7 - Office and then to Hope Schools to help with conversion from Exchange to Google Docs, discuss iPad implementation, then office in afternoon to troubleshoot local network issues.
Thursday, September 8 - Help set up for a workshop at co-op. At 1030am, vendor shows up to install/connect new 6 Meg IMA! After brief delay, 6 Meg IMA up and running after lunch. Reconfigured local network and performed other troubleshooting tasks at co-op.
Friday, September 9 - OUT, though came in to office for a bit in order to restore connectivity to APSCN printer following the reconfiguration from the previous day.
Tuesday, August 30 - Attended the "Get Motivated" seminar at Verizon Arena
Wednesday, August 31 - OUT
Thursday, September 1 - Blevins schools, worked on several server issues, workstation issues, networking issues all day
Friday, September 2 -
Monday - September 5 - Office Closed for Labor Day
Tuesday, September 6 - State tech meeting at Arch Ford Co-op
Wednesday, September 7 - Office and then to Hope Schools to help with conversion from Exchange to Google Docs, discuss iPad implementation, then office in afternoon to troubleshoot local network issues.
Thursday, September 8 - Help set up for a workshop at co-op. At 1030am, vendor shows up to install/connect new 6 Meg IMA! After brief delay, 6 Meg IMA up and running after lunch. Reconfigured local network and performed other troubleshooting tasks at co-op.
Friday, September 9 - OUT, though came in to office for a bit in order to restore connectivity to APSCN printer following the reconfiguration from the previous day.
Friday, August 26, 2011
8-26-2011
Started the morning by meeting with our workforce ed coordinator at prescott schools. We will meet with the tech next week regarding wireless access in the business lab so the teacher/students can use the ipads provided through workforce ed.
drove to office. met with fire extinguisher tech, who checked our equipment and verified operation.
talked on the phone with harry dickens regarding a grant and app development. also discussed his book - 40 ipod/ipad apps for high school.
spent a couple hours helping a new contractor with our air filters.
worked on target testing documents for the testing web site hosted here at swsc.
took care of regular daily duties and activities.
drove to office. met with fire extinguisher tech, who checked our equipment and verified operation.
talked on the phone with harry dickens regarding a grant and app development. also discussed his book - 40 ipod/ipad apps for high school.
spent a couple hours helping a new contractor with our air filters.
worked on target testing documents for the testing web site hosted here at swsc.
took care of regular daily duties and activities.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
08/25/2011
Went to the office first. Helped set up a CIV with DVD recording. Headed to Bradley.
Dropped off math manipulatives for the high school and a bag of snacks for the ECH program. I am a man of many hats and talents!
In Bradley, talked with various DL personnel regarding connection issues, quality issues, etc. All the issues seem to be outbound-related. That is, the quality and connections are perfectly fine coming INTO the campus, but the other end(s) of the CIV are getting pixellation, stuttering, etc.
The tech and I ran a few local tests - internal network calls only, and everything ran smoothly, looked good, sounded good. The issue appears to be external, but we will see what DIS says after their testing and analysis.
The tech and I worked on several other issues: server backups, network wiring traces, hardware/software troubleshooting, etc.
I left Bradley and headed to the Lewisville ECH. They are having connectivity issues, but the bigger items are related to the computer being put on the school's local domain. That seems to have messed with some of the permissions and settings for the local user (even when not logged into the domain). I am working on those and think i have most of them pinned down and fixed.
After Lewisville, I went back to the office to drop off equipment I picked up and to pick up equipment to take with me to the Prescott schools, which i will be visiting in the morning.
Dropped off math manipulatives for the high school and a bag of snacks for the ECH program. I am a man of many hats and talents!
In Bradley, talked with various DL personnel regarding connection issues, quality issues, etc. All the issues seem to be outbound-related. That is, the quality and connections are perfectly fine coming INTO the campus, but the other end(s) of the CIV are getting pixellation, stuttering, etc.
The tech and I ran a few local tests - internal network calls only, and everything ran smoothly, looked good, sounded good. The issue appears to be external, but we will see what DIS says after their testing and analysis.
The tech and I worked on several other issues: server backups, network wiring traces, hardware/software troubleshooting, etc.
I left Bradley and headed to the Lewisville ECH. They are having connectivity issues, but the bigger items are related to the computer being put on the school's local domain. That seems to have messed with some of the permissions and settings for the local user (even when not logged into the domain). I am working on those and think i have most of them pinned down and fixed.
After Lewisville, I went back to the office to drop off equipment I picked up and to pick up equipment to take with me to the Prescott schools, which i will be visiting in the morning.
08/18/2011 - 08/24/2011
I have been way too busy to log what I've been doing! This is a summary of where I have been and what I have been doing:
8/18 - Spent the bulk of the day taking care of in-office stuff, but had to run to the Lewisville ECH program to help get them going after their computer had been joined to the local network's domain.
8/19 - Blevins - Worked with their techs resolving some active directory issues and helping move key user data from the local desktop to the new home folders on the network. Also did some connectivity troubleshooting. Oh, there was also a statewide DNS issue, so I had to run back to the co-op to resolve internet access issues. Once that was taken care of, I went back to Bradley to finish up the day there.
8/22 - Ran to Blevins to troubleshoot a distance learning issue. Turned out to be a remote control/video input issue.
8/23 - Ran to Lewisville ECH to troubleshoot issues with Vinelands II. Had to disable UAC and give specific permissions to the user account.
8/24 - Set up a new laptop for a co-op employee, headed to Blevins to help with software distribution/installation over the network and trouble shoot a desktop issue in which a user had added "-extoff" to the end of their IE shortcut, forcing the program to run without add-ons. Fixed it by removing the switch at the end of the command line.
In the meantime, I talked with DirecTV and DiSH regarding TV programming for the co-op as well as take care of everyday issues that arise at the co-op.
8/18 - Spent the bulk of the day taking care of in-office stuff, but had to run to the Lewisville ECH program to help get them going after their computer had been joined to the local network's domain.
8/19 - Blevins - Worked with their techs resolving some active directory issues and helping move key user data from the local desktop to the new home folders on the network. Also did some connectivity troubleshooting. Oh, there was also a statewide DNS issue, so I had to run back to the co-op to resolve internet access issues. Once that was taken care of, I went back to Bradley to finish up the day there.
8/22 - Ran to Blevins to troubleshoot a distance learning issue. Turned out to be a remote control/video input issue.
8/23 - Ran to Lewisville ECH to troubleshoot issues with Vinelands II. Had to disable UAC and give specific permissions to the user account.
8/24 - Set up a new laptop for a co-op employee, headed to Blevins to help with software distribution/installation over the network and trouble shoot a desktop issue in which a user had added "-extoff" to the end of their IE shortcut, forcing the program to run without add-ons. Fixed it by removing the switch at the end of the command line.
In the meantime, I talked with DirecTV and DiSH regarding TV programming for the co-op as well as take care of everyday issues that arise at the co-op.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
08/17/2011
Started the morning in a meeting in which I found myself pointing most of my fingers at myself, then to Fouke for a day of troubleshooting Xirrus wireless, dns issues, dhcp issues, etc. Think we have them worked out. :-) Tracie will let me know, I'm sure! :-) Then, on way home, AT&T showed up at office to install additional bandwidth. Our building is the LAST possible connection on that leg, and one of the t1's failed to light up. He'll be back in the AM to try and "boost it" (whatever that is in T1 terms).
Monday, August 15, 2011
8/12/11
Started the day by working on several co-op issues before attending our annual "back to school" staff meeting. During the meeting, I had several calls from a district regarding distance learning issues. After I presented my part regarding network ethics, changing passwords, etc, I worked with our DL Coordinator and their tech to try and solve the problems.
After an hour or so, I decided I would head down to Bradley to help them. I had already told Prescott I would come there to help with THEIR distance learning issues. I called Prescott to let them know I would be late. About the time I got to my car, Bradley called to tell me they got it working. I headed to Prescott. On the way, Bradley called and things were not working, but we thought we could solve them over the phone. We were half right. I told them I would be there Monday.
In Prescott, the tech and I had to do some network restructuring to get their new DL system online, but it went smoother than expected! That opened up time to look at several other issues they were having. We knocked a few of those out, and the tech gave me permission to install Triptico on my wife's computer! Awesome!
After an hour or so, I decided I would head down to Bradley to help them. I had already told Prescott I would come there to help with THEIR distance learning issues. I called Prescott to let them know I would be late. About the time I got to my car, Bradley called to tell me they got it working. I headed to Prescott. On the way, Bradley called and things were not working, but we thought we could solve them over the phone. We were half right. I told them I would be there Monday.
In Prescott, the tech and I had to do some network restructuring to get their new DL system online, but it went smoother than expected! That opened up time to look at several other issues they were having. We knocked a few of those out, and the tech gave me permission to install Triptico on my wife's computer! Awesome!
8/11/11
If memory serves, I spent last Thursday taking care of a few things around the office and then I headed to Blevins to help work on Active Directory issues. I also installed some new RAM in one computer. I worked with the techs there and we moved several machines off of Novell and on to Windows.
One machine had a SEGina.dll error that prevented us form logging in. Turns out, that was caused by SynchronEyes software. I booted in safe mode but could not remove the software. So, I pulled up the registry editor, searched for instances of the errant program and removed them. After a reboot, the system let us log in, remove Netware and join the domain.
One machine had a SEGina.dll error that prevented us form logging in. Turns out, that was caused by SynchronEyes software. I booted in safe mode but could not remove the software. So, I pulled up the registry editor, searched for instances of the errant program and removed them. After a reboot, the system let us log in, remove Netware and join the domain.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
8/10/11
Went to the office in order to help get a couple workshops up and going. After that, headed to Fouke.
At Fouke, I helped correct a few issues with the server - dns, dhcp, looked into some sophos issues. Then went to the business lab to determine why some machines were not joining her domain. After troubleshooting dns, tcpip, forwarding, lookups etc, I finally found the culprit - incorrect subnet mask on her server. The district had recently switched subnets and this server still had the old mask. Once that was fixed, the machines joined in with no problems! Awesome.
After that, helped troubleshoot some issues with a new Xirrus installation. Well, tried to help anyway. After poking around inside the configuration program for several arrays, we managed to get everything to look correctly as far as configs, but still have issues in one building with at least two (if not three) arrays. We even pushed the radios to 5ghz-only mode and that did not work. I called our local sales guy who said he would call the Xirrus reps and get someone to fix it. The tech had already spent more than 10 hours of phone time and webex time trying to solve the issue (among other issues).
During my time at Fouke, I also took several phone calls - from Blevins and Bradley - regarding troubleshooting etc. i also handled a multitude of text messages throughout the day relating to various school issues from various districts (blevins, fouke, the co-op itself, mainly).
I helped the district set up a template for active directory users and set up shares for home folders. Oh, also repartitioned a drive to make better use of the storage space.
On the way home, I spent time on the phone with the rep who sold Xirrus, talked to my director, and had conversations with Blevins and our DL coordinator.
At Fouke, I helped correct a few issues with the server - dns, dhcp, looked into some sophos issues. Then went to the business lab to determine why some machines were not joining her domain. After troubleshooting dns, tcpip, forwarding, lookups etc, I finally found the culprit - incorrect subnet mask on her server. The district had recently switched subnets and this server still had the old mask. Once that was fixed, the machines joined in with no problems! Awesome.
After that, helped troubleshoot some issues with a new Xirrus installation. Well, tried to help anyway. After poking around inside the configuration program for several arrays, we managed to get everything to look correctly as far as configs, but still have issues in one building with at least two (if not three) arrays. We even pushed the radios to 5ghz-only mode and that did not work. I called our local sales guy who said he would call the Xirrus reps and get someone to fix it. The tech had already spent more than 10 hours of phone time and webex time trying to solve the issue (among other issues).
During my time at Fouke, I also took several phone calls - from Blevins and Bradley - regarding troubleshooting etc. i also handled a multitude of text messages throughout the day relating to various school issues from various districts (blevins, fouke, the co-op itself, mainly).
I helped the district set up a template for active directory users and set up shares for home folders. Oh, also repartitioned a drive to make better use of the storage space.
On the way home, I spent time on the phone with the rep who sold Xirrus, talked to my director, and had conversations with Blevins and our DL coordinator.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
08/09/11
Had a great time with the Lafayette County Schools Elementary teachers today! Similar to yesterday's workshop: Triptico, Digital Sandbox, iPod/iPad Apps, JeopardyLabs, MangaHigh (Lite versions for Elem). It's hard to get people OUT of their seats! This was one tech workshop that wasn't "sit-n-get" man!! :-)
Returned to Co-op to train some staff on troubleshooting the multi-conference room arrangement.
Returned to Co-op to train some staff on troubleshooting the multi-conference room arrangement.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
08/04/2011
Started the morning with a meeting about air conditioners at work, helped get an early childhood classroom up and going w/their technology, then spent the day at Blevins with Sharon Ricks and Steve (along with Grant and Neil from DIS) helping with server settings and getting computers onto the domain. Whew! Again, schools keepin me busy! Love 'em!
08/03/2011
Spent the day helping run wires, terminate ends, and do some compressed interactive video network troubleshooting at Bradley. Whew! My area schools know how to keep me busy. I love em!
08/02/2011
Tuesday - Taught a workshop covering Arkansas iTunesU, ArkansasIDEAS, and the Arkansas Digital Sandbox.
08/01/2011
Monday - Worked at Blevins, helping them start upgrading machines to Windows 7 and getting computers joined to the new domain.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
07/27/2011
Wednesday morning, helped get workshops up and going. At 10am, I met with rep from Howard tech regarding Xirrus wireless solutions and Extron speaker/control solution for our new facilities.
Spent afternoon at Blevins, mapping out the rollover from Netware to Windows. We plugged in the Windows server and ran around releasing and renewing IP addresses on the machines currently in use. also set printers to static IP addresses and reconfigured the software on machines that print to those printers.
Spent afternoon at Blevins, mapping out the rollover from Netware to Windows. We plugged in the Windows server and ran around releasing and renewing IP addresses on the machines currently in use. also set printers to static IP addresses and reconfigured the software on machines that print to those printers.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
07/26/2011
Spent the day in Bradley again. We worked on several issues including the computers and a network printer in the middle school lab. We worked on computers in the elementary school, too. One of the video systems had a power supply go out in it, so we found a replacement from another computer and swapped the PSU. We spent quite a bit of time examining the new DL room to be outfitted with CAT5, etc. They also got a new phone system installed this week, so we took part in some of the informal training going on.
Monday, July 25, 2011
07/21/2011
Last Thursday, I taught a session on Internet Ethics in the morning and a session on Social Networking for the Classroom in the afternoon.
After the workshops, I hooked up digital pocket cameras for a workshop on Monday. The cameras needed to be charged and the software needed to be installed on the Macs for use in the workshop the next week.
After the workshops, I hooked up digital pocket cameras for a workshop on Monday. The cameras needed to be charged and the software needed to be installed on the Macs for use in the workshop the next week.
07/25/2011
Drove straight to McRae Middle School to deliver several boxes of binders and books for a workshop taking place there today.
At the office, I talked with the presenter for a pocket camera workshop and we needed to update the software on the cameras being used. So, me and the DL coordinator and the presenter fired up Windows in Parallels and installed the correct software.
After that, Trish (DL Coordinator) and I headed to Bradley. in Bradley, we connected a new swicth and media converters to the video network in preparation for new equipment coming through an RUS grant. Once that was done, we went to the closet where the fiber terminated to install another media converter and switch. This allows for the video system to come online and for 24 computers to be installed in the new dl room.
After that, we went to an extsing dl room in order to disassemble a video system in order to reconfigure the hardware arrangement. The remote for the system would not work because the equipment had been installed backward in the podium. We fixed that, ran a couple test calls, and tied up loose wires, etc.
In the next dl room, we tied up loose wires and verified that things were working. The touch panel is having issues and we may need to update the software in both the codec and the touch panel this year.
There were three netbooks giving the local tech fits, so I helped get those situated and joined them to the domain.
I am scheduled to return on Tuesday with a Windows 7 DVD to reinstall software on a laptop and to run cabling for the new dl room.
At the office, I talked with the presenter for a pocket camera workshop and we needed to update the software on the cameras being used. So, me and the DL coordinator and the presenter fired up Windows in Parallels and installed the correct software.
After that, Trish (DL Coordinator) and I headed to Bradley. in Bradley, we connected a new swicth and media converters to the video network in preparation for new equipment coming through an RUS grant. Once that was done, we went to the closet where the fiber terminated to install another media converter and switch. This allows for the video system to come online and for 24 computers to be installed in the new dl room.
After that, we went to an extsing dl room in order to disassemble a video system in order to reconfigure the hardware arrangement. The remote for the system would not work because the equipment had been installed backward in the podium. We fixed that, ran a couple test calls, and tied up loose wires, etc.
In the next dl room, we tied up loose wires and verified that things were working. The touch panel is having issues and we may need to update the software in both the codec and the touch panel this year.
There were three netbooks giving the local tech fits, so I helped get those situated and joined them to the domain.
I am scheduled to return on Tuesday with a Windows 7 DVD to reinstall software on a laptop and to run cabling for the new dl room.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
July 20, 2011
Started by installing flash and firefox on macbooks in the distance learning lab.
One macbook has dead battery. ordered new one from apple.
Began work on moving active directory from 2003 schema to 2008 schema for new server. original plan was to virtualize everything, but i dont think that will be necessary at this point. I am leaving hyperv running on the server in case i decide to move that direction in the future. found a nice step-by for this: http://www.anitkb.com/2010/03/preparing-your-active-directory.html
Well, actually, I started my work day at home - I had to convert a segment of video on vhs over to dvd so that our math specialist would have it for her workshop.
yesterday, the vendor had to reschedule for the wireless walkthrough. instead, i met with the folks at uacch regarding bids for the new video systems several area schools will receive as part of an rus grant. also, bcs came and installed our new voicemail module. turns out we went from 2 open ports for vm to 8 open ports! this will help should we ever move to an automated attendant system.
if this headache and sickness in my stomach doesn't go away soon, this may be a short day for me. ugh.
One macbook has dead battery. ordered new one from apple.
Began work on moving active directory from 2003 schema to 2008 schema for new server. original plan was to virtualize everything, but i dont think that will be necessary at this point. I am leaving hyperv running on the server in case i decide to move that direction in the future. found a nice step-by for this: http://www.anitkb.com/2010/03/preparing-your-active-directory.html
Well, actually, I started my work day at home - I had to convert a segment of video on vhs over to dvd so that our math specialist would have it for her workshop.
yesterday, the vendor had to reschedule for the wireless walkthrough. instead, i met with the folks at uacch regarding bids for the new video systems several area schools will receive as part of an rus grant. also, bcs came and installed our new voicemail module. turns out we went from 2 open ports for vm to 8 open ports! this will help should we ever move to an automated attendant system.
if this headache and sickness in my stomach doesn't go away soon, this may be a short day for me. ugh.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
July 19, 2011
Installed GEOGEBRA on Macs in lab.
Talked to DIS about our connectivity issues - they have a possible solution but need to discuss with ADE.
Tested WAN connectivity while dialed into a video conference - no measurable difference.
New voice mail system should be installed today.
Scheduled to meet with Howard Technology and Xirrus to do a site survey of our building - looking at better coverage solutions.
Offered suggestions to help a school get started with Facebook:
http://thislooksgood.posterous.com/using-angry-birds-to-teach-math-history-and-s
Talked to DIS about our connectivity issues - they have a possible solution but need to discuss with ADE.
Tested WAN connectivity while dialed into a video conference - no measurable difference.
New voice mail system should be installed today.
Scheduled to meet with Howard Technology and Xirrus to do a site survey of our building - looking at better coverage solutions.
Offered suggestions to help a school get started with Facebook:
I would create a page instead of a group. People can LIKE the page and getAs a side note, I had someone ask me how one would tie Angry Birds into classroom lessons. i just happened to have saved this page that offers up some excellent ways to do just that:
updates that are posted there. Some schools create one page for the
district and then separate pages for each building. Then, assign "admins"
to oversee the pages (you do that in FB). Once the page is created, spread
the word and have people LIKE the page(s). Actually before that, I would
ask a couple folks (non page admins) to LIKE it and make sure they are getting
any updates being posted. Once you know everything works, spread the
word. In the page settings, you can set who is or is not allowed to post
new contect (pictures, posts, etc). I believe anyone can respond to an
existing post, no matter who posted it though. A couple schools I have
talked to about this had early issues with inappropriate content, but that was
handled with the person/people specifically and the content removed by one of
the page admins. I think it is a great way to reach out to parents,
students and community members because you are PUSHING the info to them. I
One school used theirs a LOT during the bad weather for closures, etc. Yes,
they still did the TV thing and the radio thing, but the word spread much more
quickly through FB than any other manner. They even have a phone system
that calls folks but people knew about the closure from FB long before they got
that phone call!
http://thislooksgood.posterous.com/using-angry-birds-to-teach-math-history-and-s
July 18, 2011
I spent the day teaching iPad Apps for Education to a group of 25 participants. I will edit this post later and put in some of the apps we covered.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
7/12/2011
I have to go back and post Monday's work info.
Tuesday, I taought a six-hour workshop on Arkansas Ideas portal. It went VERY well (after we fixed a few logins) and the participants loved the online courses available to them. Many said they would take classes outside of required credit hours just for the knowledge and info alone! Awesome!
Tuesday, I taought a six-hour workshop on Arkansas Ideas portal. It went VERY well (after we fixed a few logins) and the participants loved the online courses available to them. Many said they would take classes outside of required credit hours just for the knowledge and info alone! Awesome!
Friday, July 8, 2011
July 7, 2011
Aside from helping to get a couple workshops off the ground and locking the digital thermostats, I spent the entire day cleaning up and cleaning out the tech closet attached to my office.
Just more than a year ago, we packed up everything from the old building and moved it to our new facility. Among the packed items: lots and lots (at least a dozen if my memory serves) of boxes with random "stuff" in them. Some of the boxes had cabling (network, RG6, Composite, Component, unknowns, etc) while several had software piled in them: some in boxes, some on spindles, most just tossed in loosely. I went through each box and if I did not recognize the software (i.e. it was unlabeled), I put it in the computer to see what it was - was it worth keeping, in other words. I threw away all kinds of junk and duplicate copies of various restore discs - seriously, do we need 30 copies of Dell 755 system recovery discs!? I threw out software from 1996. Seriously? Why keep this stuff? I chunked anything that no longer applied to the hardware we own or the software we use - recovery discs from computers we no longer have, etc. It's amazing what we keep in the name of "We may need that one day" or, even worse, "do you know what we paid for that!? In 1994!?" Nope, and I don't care. If we're not using it, it found its way to the circular file (or the literal recycle bin for some things).
During the day, I also met with Lindy and Phoebe regarding different projects, discussions, etc. For the most part, though, I spent the bulk of my 10-hour day cleaning and organizing.
Just more than a year ago, we packed up everything from the old building and moved it to our new facility. Among the packed items: lots and lots (at least a dozen if my memory serves) of boxes with random "stuff" in them. Some of the boxes had cabling (network, RG6, Composite, Component, unknowns, etc) while several had software piled in them: some in boxes, some on spindles, most just tossed in loosely. I went through each box and if I did not recognize the software (i.e. it was unlabeled), I put it in the computer to see what it was - was it worth keeping, in other words. I threw away all kinds of junk and duplicate copies of various restore discs - seriously, do we need 30 copies of Dell 755 system recovery discs!? I threw out software from 1996. Seriously? Why keep this stuff? I chunked anything that no longer applied to the hardware we own or the software we use - recovery discs from computers we no longer have, etc. It's amazing what we keep in the name of "We may need that one day" or, even worse, "do you know what we paid for that!? In 1994!?" Nope, and I don't care. If we're not using it, it found its way to the circular file (or the literal recycle bin for some things).
During the day, I also met with Lindy and Phoebe regarding different projects, discussions, etc. For the most part, though, I spent the bulk of my 10-hour day cleaning and organizing.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
July 6, 2011
Started the morning by installing the new switches in the first floor closet. Once they were done, I started playing with VLAN configuration. It did not go well. Off and on throughout the day, I played with various settings, eventually spending more than an hour on the phone with SMC and about 30-45 minutes on the phone with DIS. At 5:15pm, though, it was up and running! Turns out to be a multi-step process not readily explained in the help guides. Ultimately, though, it boils down to to creating the VLAN number you want, assigning the proper ports, then going into an additional setting and assigning the port(s) to the specific VLAN you want those ports to use. Frankly, that seemed like doing double duty since I had to already assign a port to the VLAN, but whatever.
Now, we can connect a videoconferencing unit to ANY network jack in the building and with a few clicks, have it on the state video network. Previously, I had to go to the closet, move patch cables around for the duration of the conference then move them back when it was over. Now, I can do it from any machine on our network. Sweet!
When I wasn't trying to figure out the VLAN, I finished installing software on a new employee's laptop and cleaned another employee's computer from a major infection. Thanks to Combofix, though, I believe it has been wiped off the machine. I also ordered some new equipment for various employees (and a voicemail upgrade to replace the dying one we currently have). We've got a lot of Act 1747 (etc) stuff that needed updating, so I made several changes to a couple of the sites we host from SWAEC.
Those are the big-ticket items I can recall right now. Of course, as always, there was answering tech support calls, answering emails, etc.
Now, we can connect a videoconferencing unit to ANY network jack in the building and with a few clicks, have it on the state video network. Previously, I had to go to the closet, move patch cables around for the duration of the conference then move them back when it was over. Now, I can do it from any machine on our network. Sweet!
When I wasn't trying to figure out the VLAN, I finished installing software on a new employee's laptop and cleaned another employee's computer from a major infection. Thanks to Combofix, though, I believe it has been wiped off the machine. I also ordered some new equipment for various employees (and a voicemail upgrade to replace the dying one we currently have). We've got a lot of Act 1747 (etc) stuff that needed updating, so I made several changes to a couple of the sites we host from SWAEC.
Those are the big-ticket items I can recall right now. Of course, as always, there was answering tech support calls, answering emails, etc.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Starting a New Year
This is the first post of my new work year. Hopefully, keeping up with my daily activities will go better this fiscal year than last.
We were out Monday for the 4th of July holiday.
Tuesday (up to 11:35am) - Swapped out core switches in upstairs closet. Downstairs closet will be completed once I receive the missing rack mounts from the manufacturer. After that, I began work on a laptop that has Windows 7 Home Premium installed. I tried to update to KMS code we have for the co-op. That did not work at all.
I purchased a Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade from Microsoft. The license number works, but the upgrade itself failed several times with no helpful error at all (just says failed). I decided to download/install any outstanding updates to see if that has any bearing on the update at all. once of the updates is Win7SP1, and I have a feeling that might be a prerequisite for the upgrade. Who knows.
During this, I have been talking with our early childhood director about moving a smart board from one school location to another district.
12:15pm - Update on Win7 Upgrade: The Service Pack 1 install seems to have done the trick. Following the SP1 install, I tried the Anytime Upgrade and it eventually siad, "downloading 2 updates" which it had never said before failing before this. After all that was said and done, the machine rebooted a couple times as it installed/updated various files, etc. After that, though, Windows 7 welcomed me with the "Windows 7 Professional" script at the bottom of the logon screen! Tip: Make sure you are at Win7 SP1 before trying to Upgrade!
I met with a couple techs from Prescott for lunch. After lunch, I spent the afternoon running COMBOFIX on every computer in the distance learning lab and in the APSCN lab. Some machines had infections, most did not.
I am still having a VERY frustrating issue with my network jumping from 3Mbps down to 28k then back up again. So far, I can't find any rhyme or reason for it, but according to DIS, the problem is local. I'm not sure that's true. I cannot help but think this is a telco connectivity issue. Until I can prove it, though, I have to keep plugging away.
We were out Monday for the 4th of July holiday.
Tuesday (up to 11:35am) - Swapped out core switches in upstairs closet. Downstairs closet will be completed once I receive the missing rack mounts from the manufacturer. After that, I began work on a laptop that has Windows 7 Home Premium installed. I tried to update to KMS code we have for the co-op. That did not work at all.
I purchased a Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade from Microsoft. The license number works, but the upgrade itself failed several times with no helpful error at all (just says failed). I decided to download/install any outstanding updates to see if that has any bearing on the update at all. once of the updates is Win7SP1, and I have a feeling that might be a prerequisite for the upgrade. Who knows.
During this, I have been talking with our early childhood director about moving a smart board from one school location to another district.
12:15pm - Update on Win7 Upgrade: The Service Pack 1 install seems to have done the trick. Following the SP1 install, I tried the Anytime Upgrade and it eventually siad, "downloading 2 updates" which it had never said before failing before this. After all that was said and done, the machine rebooted a couple times as it installed/updated various files, etc. After that, though, Windows 7 welcomed me with the "Windows 7 Professional" script at the bottom of the logon screen! Tip: Make sure you are at Win7 SP1 before trying to Upgrade!
I met with a couple techs from Prescott for lunch. After lunch, I spent the afternoon running COMBOFIX on every computer in the distance learning lab and in the APSCN lab. Some machines had infections, most did not.
I am still having a VERY frustrating issue with my network jumping from 3Mbps down to 28k then back up again. So far, I can't find any rhyme or reason for it, but according to DIS, the problem is local. I'm not sure that's true. I cannot help but think this is a telco connectivity issue. Until I can prove it, though, I have to keep plugging away.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
June 22, 2011
Wednesday found me running all over the place, literally. Got to the office and helped set up the programs I could at 730am. Most presenters do not show up until 830a or 845a, and on Wednesday, I was long gone by then.
Trish and I drove separate cars to Historic Washington State Park in Washington, AR. The site was presenting a 3-hour multi-faceted program to various sites around the state. I have to say, this is one of the coolest things I've seen. A couple presenters dressed in character and presented their program in Civil War era costume, speech, and props. They showed the teachers around the state how to spin yarn, make thread, and more! We did hit a few snags and I spent most of time there troubleshooting and getting the programs up and running.
One issue: the mic was not plugged in completely. We also had to adjust lighting. The other sites could see and hear us, but we could only hear them. This was okay since we were presenting. ("we" is actually the Washington staff, not me and Trish!)
After several calls to AT&T, though, we did manage to get the remote sites to show up. Just as that was getting under control, I got a call from the co-op that one presenter was having trouble with her Mac. She did not know how to move the DVD player to the extended desktop because her projector is set up to mirror her desktop. I walked them through that, but by the time I got to the co-op, they had to swap computers anyway. Not sure what was going on there.
I worked on the grant for DL equipment - gathered invoices and copies of checks - then took the info to the UACCH offices. One conference room was warm according to the participants, so I grabbed a ladder and checked the vents to make sure cold air was blowing - it was.
I checked on the distance learning program we were hosting to make sure everyone was doing well. They were.
I ordered new switches for the network core in the building. This was a project I had wanted to start back when we moved in, but we were watching dollars to make sure we had enough for emergency building fixes, etc. I felt very fortunate that I had money in my budget to upgrade the core (I had just brought the equipment from the old building), adding management to our central network. This will provide major flexibility! Layer 2/3 switching will let me plug a compressed video system into any live jack and with a few clicks, I can have that system live on the "video network."
As it turns out, the switch upgrade was also part of our grant matching, so I kicked out a copy of the invoice and carried over to UACCH.
I managed to get a Server 2008 training set up with DIS, too! Wahoo! That is a HUGE plus. I also held multiple email conversations regarding cell phones, erate, grant evaluations, budgets, etc.
Whew! BUSY day!
Trish and I drove separate cars to Historic Washington State Park in Washington, AR. The site was presenting a 3-hour multi-faceted program to various sites around the state. I have to say, this is one of the coolest things I've seen. A couple presenters dressed in character and presented their program in Civil War era costume, speech, and props. They showed the teachers around the state how to spin yarn, make thread, and more! We did hit a few snags and I spent most of time there troubleshooting and getting the programs up and running.
One issue: the mic was not plugged in completely. We also had to adjust lighting. The other sites could see and hear us, but we could only hear them. This was okay since we were presenting. ("we" is actually the Washington staff, not me and Trish!)
After several calls to AT&T, though, we did manage to get the remote sites to show up. Just as that was getting under control, I got a call from the co-op that one presenter was having trouble with her Mac. She did not know how to move the DVD player to the extended desktop because her projector is set up to mirror her desktop. I walked them through that, but by the time I got to the co-op, they had to swap computers anyway. Not sure what was going on there.
I worked on the grant for DL equipment - gathered invoices and copies of checks - then took the info to the UACCH offices. One conference room was warm according to the participants, so I grabbed a ladder and checked the vents to make sure cold air was blowing - it was.
I checked on the distance learning program we were hosting to make sure everyone was doing well. They were.
I ordered new switches for the network core in the building. This was a project I had wanted to start back when we moved in, but we were watching dollars to make sure we had enough for emergency building fixes, etc. I felt very fortunate that I had money in my budget to upgrade the core (I had just brought the equipment from the old building), adding management to our central network. This will provide major flexibility! Layer 2/3 switching will let me plug a compressed video system into any live jack and with a few clicks, I can have that system live on the "video network."
As it turns out, the switch upgrade was also part of our grant matching, so I kicked out a copy of the invoice and carried over to UACCH.
I managed to get a Server 2008 training set up with DIS, too! Wahoo! That is a HUGE plus. I also held multiple email conversations regarding cell phones, erate, grant evaluations, budgets, etc.
Whew! BUSY day!
June 21, 2011
Tuesday, I spent the day offering tech support to the various programs being offered. This included set up of PA systems, getting laptops hooked up for presentations, and monitoring the distance learning video conferences we had going on. I also began work on my annual grant evaluation. At 4:00pm, Trish and I headed to the UACCH office to meet regarding a distance learning grant we are receiving (along with six of our area schools).
June 20, 2011
Monday after vacation, I started the day by helping other presenters get their programs started. Then, from 9a-Noon, I taught our early childhood teachers, staff and paraprofessionals how to use their iPads and we checked out all kinds of pre-k apps. It was a lot of fun!
In the afternoon, I demonstrated the iPad to Career and Technical Education teachers. We then looked at Google Apps and Google Docs.
In the afternoon, I demonstrated the iPad to Career and Technical Education teachers. We then looked at Google Apps and Google Docs.
June 10 - June 19, 2011
My family and I drove from Prescott, AR, to Washington, DC, and spent the week in our nation's capital! It was awesome! Feel free to read about it at my personal blog: http://www.poppedinmyhead.com/
Thursday, June 9, 2011
June 6 - June 9, 2011
This week has been BUSY with workshops! This is the first week of summer workshops at the co-op, so in addition to TEACHING workshops this week, I have been helping keep the technology up and running for everyone else's workshops as well.
As for me, on Monday, Harry Dickens taught an iPad workshop in which I served as a co-teacher (when I wasn't taking care of burned out air conditioners and other issues). We had 50+ people in the workshop and it was a lot of fun! I'll post a list of Apps here later.
Tuesday, I held a SurveyMonkey workshop in the morning and an "Arkansas History Through Technology" workshop in the afternoon. Those resources are here: http://www.delicious.com/david_henderson/arkansas
Wednesday and Thursday - Teaching "Technology Coordinator 101" to a group of folks new to the position. We're covering E-Rate, terminology, IP addressing, switching, wireless, tech plans, site notebooks, DIS Helpdesk, and much much more during the two-day workshop!
As for me, on Monday, Harry Dickens taught an iPad workshop in which I served as a co-teacher (when I wasn't taking care of burned out air conditioners and other issues). We had 50+ people in the workshop and it was a lot of fun! I'll post a list of Apps here later.
Tuesday, I held a SurveyMonkey workshop in the morning and an "Arkansas History Through Technology" workshop in the afternoon. Those resources are here: http://www.delicious.com/david_henderson/arkansas
Wednesday and Thursday - Teaching "Technology Coordinator 101" to a group of folks new to the position. We're covering E-Rate, terminology, IP addressing, switching, wireless, tech plans, site notebooks, DIS Helpdesk, and much much more during the two-day workshop!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday
Before I made it into the foyer of our new building, I was met at the door. Today would be busy. First, a question about setting up email on a smartphone immediately followed by a request to help get things going in the computer lab.
Once the Macs were turned on, logged in, and running, I went to my office to start the day. Frankly, I don't remember the order of things. This is a basic rundown of my day...
I got a printout from our bookkeeper for the 2010-2011 E-rate year regarding our wireless bills. I spent a long time culling through the printout in order to determine which phone payments were ineligible (Pre-K is not eligible for E-rate in Arkansas), which part of the remaining bills were ineligible (the staff pays a portion of the phone bill for their phones), and which part of the bill was ineligible due to equipment purchases (the cost of the phones is not eligible). Once all THAT was done, I jumped on USAC and started my BEAR form (probably one of the most aptly-named forms ever). Actually, it wasn't bad. Really.
I talked on the phone for an hour with a district regarding several issues they have, and we made a list for me to look at once I can get on-site: Auto-flat-forwarding in Groupwise, Google Apps, server specs, iPhone configuration utility, and a hose of thngs that I wrote down but can't remember just now for inclusion in this post.
I emailed our KEY guy about additional keys that need to be made for our building. He is out of pocket until after the holiday.
I took a message from a Verizon E-Rate rep about our 2009-2010 Alltel/Verizon reimbursements (or lack thereof) and HIS people were out until after the holiday.
Did I mention I had jury duty earlier this week? Well, I have to call on Monday to see if I have it again NEXT week.
I checked the timer on the parking lot lights. The timer is messed up and we've talked to an electrician and our architect about it. Seems to me this would be an easy fix. But, then I'm just the tech guy, right?
I installed Vineland-II on a laptop that was then used in a workshop on Friday. During the day, I checked in on the workshop to make sure things were going well. At one point, I realized that some additional software needed to be installed on the instructor's machine. In a lab of computers, the one at the front, away from the other machines, tends to get overlooked when rolling out a software install. that's what had happened here. Easy fix!
I served as mediator between a school and ADE regarding Cognos printing. Well, I did that until I put the two people in direct contact with each other. I don't mind serving as go-between on issues, but there comes a point where having the parties talk directly to each other makes more sense.
I still have to install the new server at the office. I have to figure out when *that* is going to happen. UGH.
I also had planned to help a school set up a new server, but with jury duty killing the day we had set up this past week, it looks like they are going to turn in a ticket to DIS. This is one of those times when I wished I had been able to help. At the same time, I hope it shows that we state techs have so much going on that it takes SEVERAL agencies just to keep the schools up and running technologically. While on paper it may seem as though there is "duplication of services," the simple fact is this: There is no duplication, rather there is a multi-facted system of support. In short, it takes a village to help our schools, and each member of that village brings different skills, perspective, and resources to the table.
We finally received a credit on our local/long distance bill from AT&T for E-rate in 2010-2011 up to this point.
I met with the Director, Assistant Director and several content specialists regarding some of the summer inservices coming up.
I posted new target testing information (guidelines and other documents) to the target testing web site and edited various web pages to make the new info easier to find.
I used a trick I found online to reset the battery on one of the Flip UltraHD cameras we have. It would not charge the battery. Here is the fix that worked: Remove the battery pack, plug the camera into the computer, once seen as a device put the battery back in (yes, while plugged into the computer), eject the device from the computer, plug the camera back in, watch the battery start to charge!
I posted several modules related to Common Core on the TIE web site for use in summer professional developments.
I helped several people obtain their SPIN so they could sign up for/log in to the IDEAS portal.
Talked with a Verizon rep regarding several phones having network-connectivity issues (read, phones showed NO service). The fix? Remove the battery and reboot - twice. Man, I have come to HATE these Samsung Fascinate phones. They are junk compared to the Motorola Droids we had prior to changing over. I am more patient about phones than anyone else on staff, and even I am at my wits end. For the record, I have contacted our account rep and am sending a list of phones and issues to her after the holiday.
I have been working on an E-Rate PIA request regarding Pre-K facilities in my service area. We do not count Pre-K students in the overall student counts sent to USAC, but a simple statement to that effect has no weight evidently. So, I get a list of Elementary schools and have to say whether the Pre-K program is inside the building, has its own building or both/neither. I have no idea what difference it makes. But, I play along as best I can. All this for plain old telephone service, long distance, and cell phones. Really? You'd think after all these years, basic Priority One requests would just "happen." Nope. Welcome to hoop-jumping 101.
Throughout the day, I answered emails, telephone calls... Oh wait, I forgot about this:
A school called to say they had received a letter from a nearby university's legal council regarding "hacking" of their library web site. In the letter, the school was accused of having three different IP addresses attempting to access the online library system. TWO of those addresses didn't even belong to the school The 3rd one was the router from the school, which means a computer on that campus was trying to. The campus? An elementary school. So, who would try this? ow about a former university student trying to get into the library through his/her previous account? Yeap. Now, the main issue I have is the fact that this became the school's problem. Maybe it's just me, but if someone is trying to "hack" the univ's system, that is the univ's issue, NOT the schools. Besides, had the univ actually, um, CALLED the school to talk about it first, the whole thing would have been cleared up in two seconds. Let's just say the district's legal council will most likely be sending a response.
At the end of the day, I updated some of the software in the computer and shut the machines down for the weekend.
Once the Macs were turned on, logged in, and running, I went to my office to start the day. Frankly, I don't remember the order of things. This is a basic rundown of my day...
I got a printout from our bookkeeper for the 2010-2011 E-rate year regarding our wireless bills. I spent a long time culling through the printout in order to determine which phone payments were ineligible (Pre-K is not eligible for E-rate in Arkansas), which part of the remaining bills were ineligible (the staff pays a portion of the phone bill for their phones), and which part of the bill was ineligible due to equipment purchases (the cost of the phones is not eligible). Once all THAT was done, I jumped on USAC and started my BEAR form (probably one of the most aptly-named forms ever). Actually, it wasn't bad. Really.
I talked on the phone for an hour with a district regarding several issues they have, and we made a list for me to look at once I can get on-site: Auto-flat-forwarding in Groupwise, Google Apps, server specs, iPhone configuration utility, and a hose of thngs that I wrote down but can't remember just now for inclusion in this post.
I emailed our KEY guy about additional keys that need to be made for our building. He is out of pocket until after the holiday.
I took a message from a Verizon E-Rate rep about our 2009-2010 Alltel/Verizon reimbursements (or lack thereof) and HIS people were out until after the holiday.
Did I mention I had jury duty earlier this week? Well, I have to call on Monday to see if I have it again NEXT week.
I checked the timer on the parking lot lights. The timer is messed up and we've talked to an electrician and our architect about it. Seems to me this would be an easy fix. But, then I'm just the tech guy, right?
I installed Vineland-II on a laptop that was then used in a workshop on Friday. During the day, I checked in on the workshop to make sure things were going well. At one point, I realized that some additional software needed to be installed on the instructor's machine. In a lab of computers, the one at the front, away from the other machines, tends to get overlooked when rolling out a software install. that's what had happened here. Easy fix!
I served as mediator between a school and ADE regarding Cognos printing. Well, I did that until I put the two people in direct contact with each other. I don't mind serving as go-between on issues, but there comes a point where having the parties talk directly to each other makes more sense.
I still have to install the new server at the office. I have to figure out when *that* is going to happen. UGH.
I also had planned to help a school set up a new server, but with jury duty killing the day we had set up this past week, it looks like they are going to turn in a ticket to DIS. This is one of those times when I wished I had been able to help. At the same time, I hope it shows that we state techs have so much going on that it takes SEVERAL agencies just to keep the schools up and running technologically. While on paper it may seem as though there is "duplication of services," the simple fact is this: There is no duplication, rather there is a multi-facted system of support. In short, it takes a village to help our schools, and each member of that village brings different skills, perspective, and resources to the table.
We finally received a credit on our local/long distance bill from AT&T for E-rate in 2010-2011 up to this point.
I met with the Director, Assistant Director and several content specialists regarding some of the summer inservices coming up.
I posted new target testing information (guidelines and other documents) to the target testing web site and edited various web pages to make the new info easier to find.
I used a trick I found online to reset the battery on one of the Flip UltraHD cameras we have. It would not charge the battery. Here is the fix that worked: Remove the battery pack, plug the camera into the computer, once seen as a device put the battery back in (yes, while plugged into the computer), eject the device from the computer, plug the camera back in, watch the battery start to charge!
I posted several modules related to Common Core on the TIE web site for use in summer professional developments.
I helped several people obtain their SPIN so they could sign up for/log in to the IDEAS portal.
Talked with a Verizon rep regarding several phones having network-connectivity issues (read, phones showed NO service). The fix? Remove the battery and reboot - twice. Man, I have come to HATE these Samsung Fascinate phones. They are junk compared to the Motorola Droids we had prior to changing over. I am more patient about phones than anyone else on staff, and even I am at my wits end. For the record, I have contacted our account rep and am sending a list of phones and issues to her after the holiday.
I have been working on an E-Rate PIA request regarding Pre-K facilities in my service area. We do not count Pre-K students in the overall student counts sent to USAC, but a simple statement to that effect has no weight evidently. So, I get a list of Elementary schools and have to say whether the Pre-K program is inside the building, has its own building or both/neither. I have no idea what difference it makes. But, I play along as best I can. All this for plain old telephone service, long distance, and cell phones. Really? You'd think after all these years, basic Priority One requests would just "happen." Nope. Welcome to hoop-jumping 101.
Throughout the day, I answered emails, telephone calls... Oh wait, I forgot about this:
A school called to say they had received a letter from a nearby university's legal council regarding "hacking" of their library web site. In the letter, the school was accused of having three different IP addresses attempting to access the online library system. TWO of those addresses didn't even belong to the school The 3rd one was the router from the school, which means a computer on that campus was trying to. The campus? An elementary school. So, who would try this? ow about a former university student trying to get into the library through his/her previous account? Yeap. Now, the main issue I have is the fact that this became the school's problem. Maybe it's just me, but if someone is trying to "hack" the univ's system, that is the univ's issue, NOT the schools. Besides, had the univ actually, um, CALLED the school to talk about it first, the whole thing would have been cleared up in two seconds. Let's just say the district's legal council will most likely be sending a response.
At the end of the day, I updated some of the software in the computer and shut the machines down for the weekend.
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