Monday - Office
Tuesday - Office
Wednesday - Saturday - TIE Conference - Technology professional development
Monday's notes:
Monday, Monday, Monday...
Man, the advantage to focusing most of my attention on one project is that I got a bunch of it knocked out. Still a long way to go and a short time to do it (oh, I know what you THOUGHT I was gonna say). Converting revamped technology training modules into our new Moodle format. Whew!
Looks like overtime will be calling my name tomorrow evening! At least I should be able to finish things up from the house.
Why "most of my attention?" Spent the day swapping emails and phone calls with Sharon and Cari on various tech issues. CRAZY DAY! Despite it all, I am very glad to be employed! Oh yeah, and Verizon's area-wide blackout didn't help. Haha!
I helped Sharon at Blevins with various Tech Plan questions, E-Rate questions, and a few other technical issues.
I helped Cari with Exchange issues - her server ran out of drive space, so we freed up space and remounted the Exchange Store. We also worked thorough some Active Directory problems as well. We also covered E-Rate bids, RFP's, and other technical issues.
Verizon had a major network issue with their wireless network in our area this morning, so I spent some time on the phone with their support folks.
I am working on the Co-op's Tech Plan and the State Tech Coordinator Grant Proposal as well.
So, what'd YOU do today?!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Week of January 27 UPDATE
Wednesday - Traveled to Bradley to help troubleshoot several issues and run a cable in one of their labs. We had to install DyKnow monitoring software, which turned out to be much more involved than we had anticipated. In fact, we ended up removing the installation at least once (I think maybe twice) before we got it right. Let me just say that I miss the days when thousand-dollar software came with a PRINTED manual. We had to locate and replace a wire that was causing a video issue in the distance learning lab. We also looked at several other technical issues as well.
Thursday - I drove to Fouke to help troubleshoot network issues. The tech and I looked at their backup configuration and made sure that it was backing up everything it was supposed to be. We went through the Middle School trying to find a possible network loopback, but did not find one. There is something going on, and I let the tech know that the co-op would be getting an Etherscope soon and that I would bring it to troubleshoot as soon as it arrived. in the meantime, I offered suggestions for manually hunting down the problem. The "old school" method is to unplug cables one at a time until things settle down. If EVERYTHING is unplugged before the network settles, then plug things back in one at a time and monitor the situation. It is long, tedious work with a lot of network connections to go through.
They have Xirrus wireless and one array keeps rebooting itself, but does not log the boot loop in its diagnostics. I can only assume that the system is rebooting before the diags can be recorded.
The tech asked me to research the following: 1) Cloud-based backup for Netware, 2) Multi-sheet document scanner for record keeping, 3) Info regarding migration from Groupwise to Google Apps for Education. I will have those to them next week.
Friday - Went to Blevins to help troubleshoot network issues and other problems. They had a lightning strike take out one of their T1s. The telco replaced the line, but the internet connection was no where near up to speed (running about 26k/sec). We had DIS on the line and Warren helped us narrow down a couple issues. One issue surfaced in the form of the video LAN and the Data LAN being on the same physical network. After a LOT of sneakernet, we found the problem (a wire plugged into the wrong place) and fixed that. As for internet connectivity, it turns out the line was not provisioned correctly on the telco end. Aonce both of those were resolved, the district was running at near 3-meg capacity.
Additionally, I had a list of things the techs wanted me to look over, so I did. A MacBook had a CD stuck in the drive and it would not eject. The system was "hosed" and would not boot beyond the spinning grey circle. Holding the EJECT button whole booting did not work. Holding COMMAND-OPTION-F-O never put me in Firmware Mode, so that was no good. I finally took a stiff piece of cardboard and stuck it in the drive. When the system tried to boot, the CD was held in place by the cardboard. The system tried to read the disc 3-4 times. After that, the CD eventually ejected from the system.
I helped set the password expiration period to 90 days (it had been set to 42 days).
I helped set up two printers as DHCP reservations.
I showed the tech how to DENY requests for IP addresses in the DHCP server module. I love that feature of Server 2008 R2! Wahoo! They had a LOT of iPhone, iPod, Android, etc users snagging up IP addresses.
We worked on a couple other issues, then I headed to the office.
At the office, I worked on updating the Operations Guide for the Conference Room - added a cheat sheet for multiple screen scenarios. I posted the 2012-2013 DL Calendar to the ARDL portal, answered phone calls, emails, voicemails, etc.
Thursday - I drove to Fouke to help troubleshoot network issues. The tech and I looked at their backup configuration and made sure that it was backing up everything it was supposed to be. We went through the Middle School trying to find a possible network loopback, but did not find one. There is something going on, and I let the tech know that the co-op would be getting an Etherscope soon and that I would bring it to troubleshoot as soon as it arrived. in the meantime, I offered suggestions for manually hunting down the problem. The "old school" method is to unplug cables one at a time until things settle down. If EVERYTHING is unplugged before the network settles, then plug things back in one at a time and monitor the situation. It is long, tedious work with a lot of network connections to go through.
They have Xirrus wireless and one array keeps rebooting itself, but does not log the boot loop in its diagnostics. I can only assume that the system is rebooting before the diags can be recorded.
The tech asked me to research the following: 1) Cloud-based backup for Netware, 2) Multi-sheet document scanner for record keeping, 3) Info regarding migration from Groupwise to Google Apps for Education. I will have those to them next week.
Friday - Went to Blevins to help troubleshoot network issues and other problems. They had a lightning strike take out one of their T1s. The telco replaced the line, but the internet connection was no where near up to speed (running about 26k/sec). We had DIS on the line and Warren helped us narrow down a couple issues. One issue surfaced in the form of the video LAN and the Data LAN being on the same physical network. After a LOT of sneakernet, we found the problem (a wire plugged into the wrong place) and fixed that. As for internet connectivity, it turns out the line was not provisioned correctly on the telco end. Aonce both of those were resolved, the district was running at near 3-meg capacity.
Additionally, I had a list of things the techs wanted me to look over, so I did. A MacBook had a CD stuck in the drive and it would not eject. The system was "hosed" and would not boot beyond the spinning grey circle. Holding the EJECT button whole booting did not work. Holding COMMAND-OPTION-F-O never put me in Firmware Mode, so that was no good. I finally took a stiff piece of cardboard and stuck it in the drive. When the system tried to boot, the CD was held in place by the cardboard. The system tried to read the disc 3-4 times. After that, the CD eventually ejected from the system.
I helped set the password expiration period to 90 days (it had been set to 42 days).
I helped set up two printers as DHCP reservations.
I showed the tech how to DENY requests for IP addresses in the DHCP server module. I love that feature of Server 2008 R2! Wahoo! They had a LOT of iPhone, iPod, Android, etc users snagging up IP addresses.
We worked on a couple other issues, then I headed to the office.
At the office, I worked on updating the Operations Guide for the Conference Room - added a cheat sheet for multiple screen scenarios. I posted the 2012-2013 DL Calendar to the ARDL portal, answered phone calls, emails, voicemails, etc.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
January 23-27, 2012
Monday - Office
Tuesday - Office
Wednesday - Bradley
Thursday - Genoa (possibly)
Friday - Office
Monday, spent the morning in the office then headed to Fouke to look at a DL problem. Turns out, they do not have a mic mixer for their ceiling mic. Talked to the tech support folks, they will be in touch. From there, headed to Prescott to look at their DL issue (remote control). I thought the problem was related to the plate in the top of the C20, but instead, the issue was much simpler. Inside Tandberg remote battery compartments is a switch. The switch regulates how much power is being used for the IR output. By default, it is set on low. That works well for close-up remote needs and/or incandescent lighting. For fluorescent, though, you need to flip the switch to HIGH power. So, I flipped the switch and it works great. I had forgotten that was even in the battery compartment until yesterday.
Tuesday, heading out to Hope ECH to troubleshoot connectivity and SmartBoards. We'll see what the rest of the day holds...
Problem at Hope ECH is directlt related to a coupler being used between two pieces of network wire. I will most likely run a new line so that we do not have this problem in the future.
The smartBoard problem was a result of screen resolution to the projector. I adjusted the resolution so that the display would show the entire desktop area, filling the projection screen (it had been "squished" due to a much higher resolution). This fixed the SmartBoard problem.
Installed Apple TV on the TV in the Asst Director's office. AppleTV, at the time of this writing, does not have alive weather program. Seriously!? Lame. So, I contact Weather.com to encourage them to work with Apple on getting a channel on the system. No, I am not going to jailbreak the AppleTV. I shouldn't have to, and besides, this is a company installation.
Worked with Prescott via phone regarding their technology survey results.
Worked with UACCH regarding an RUS grant for which we are a partner. They needed a specific invoice and copy of payment for the grant. I ran that over as soon as I had a copy.
Working on other daily tasks as well - email, phone calls, etc.
Tuesday - Office
Wednesday - Bradley
Thursday - Genoa (possibly)
Friday - Office
Monday, spent the morning in the office then headed to Fouke to look at a DL problem. Turns out, they do not have a mic mixer for their ceiling mic. Talked to the tech support folks, they will be in touch. From there, headed to Prescott to look at their DL issue (remote control). I thought the problem was related to the plate in the top of the C20, but instead, the issue was much simpler. Inside Tandberg remote battery compartments is a switch. The switch regulates how much power is being used for the IR output. By default, it is set on low. That works well for close-up remote needs and/or incandescent lighting. For fluorescent, though, you need to flip the switch to HIGH power. So, I flipped the switch and it works great. I had forgotten that was even in the battery compartment until yesterday.
Tuesday, heading out to Hope ECH to troubleshoot connectivity and SmartBoards. We'll see what the rest of the day holds...
Problem at Hope ECH is directlt related to a coupler being used between two pieces of network wire. I will most likely run a new line so that we do not have this problem in the future.
The smartBoard problem was a result of screen resolution to the projector. I adjusted the resolution so that the display would show the entire desktop area, filling the projection screen (it had been "squished" due to a much higher resolution). This fixed the SmartBoard problem.
Installed Apple TV on the TV in the Asst Director's office. AppleTV, at the time of this writing, does not have alive weather program. Seriously!? Lame. So, I contact Weather.com to encourage them to work with Apple on getting a channel on the system. No, I am not going to jailbreak the AppleTV. I shouldn't have to, and besides, this is a company installation.
Worked with Prescott via phone regarding their technology survey results.
Worked with UACCH regarding an RUS grant for which we are a partner. They needed a specific invoice and copy of payment for the grant. I ran that over as soon as I had a copy.
Working on other daily tasks as well - email, phone calls, etc.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
January 16-20, 2012
Monday - CLOSED
Tuesday - AM - Office (Meetings), PM - Bradley
Wednesday - Office (Meetings)
Thursday - Office (TIE projects)
Thursday - Office (TIE projects)
Friday - AM - Office (Conv w/ Debbie Coffman), PM - Moodle (Facilitator Training)
Tuesday - Meet with USAble, TIE Meeting, then Bradley in the afternoon
Wednesday - Work on TIE Projects, E-Rate, etc in AM then travel inservice at 3pm
Thursday - Work on TIE projects, then other projects as time allows
Friday - 9-12 Conversations with Debbie Coffman, then Facilitator Training (Moodle Course) and other projects in afternoon
Friday, January 13, 2012
Definitely Friday the 13th
Started the day by working on iPad 1st generation units. The original plan was to hook up all of them (about 10 units) to a Mac and reset them all then update them all - in one fell swoop. Turns out the 18-port USB hub (yes, powered) does *NOT* charge iPads. I was pretty sure I checked that specifically when I ordered the thing. I will need to revisit that.
So... I get to do one at a time. Why not 3 or 4? Well, the computer would not let me restore more than one at a time. Maybe this is normal, and multi-syncing is just that - syncing, not restoration. I dunno, and it doesn't matter now.
After the 1st Gen iPads were done, I visited with our Early Childhood Coordinator about volume purchasing a particular app. So far, that app is not in the volume buy program. I have contacted the authors to see if they will put it in there. Not sure how that would work, since all purchases are in-app only. Guess we'll see.
The same person also had an issue with her ZAGG Logitech Keyboard for her iPad 2 - it would randomly start repeating characters infinitely - or until you pressed a different key long enough for things to stop repeating.
Turns out, that is a know/common issue with these, as seen on the various forums I visited trying to find a solution. I called ZAGG and since we bought them from CDWG, we had to use an alternate registration method. Here's the kicker: the Logitech Keyboard is *NOT* in their list! I chose what I *thought* was the keyboard - instead, that turned out to be a protective shield. PROBLEM!
Well, we powered off the keyboard, forgot the connection, powered off the iPad 2, and waited for a minute or so. Then, we powered up the iPad 2 and made sure it would work sans any bluetooth keyboard. Yes. Then, powered up the keyboard and established a connection. Worked. Tried to replicate the problem. No go. That's a good thing! The keyboard was no longer acting all wonky and possessed. We'll keep an eye on it for a week, then see where we need to go, if anywhere.
And all of this happened before lunch!
What does the afternoon hold? Who knows - guess we'll find out soon!
So... I get to do one at a time. Why not 3 or 4? Well, the computer would not let me restore more than one at a time. Maybe this is normal, and multi-syncing is just that - syncing, not restoration. I dunno, and it doesn't matter now.
After the 1st Gen iPads were done, I visited with our Early Childhood Coordinator about volume purchasing a particular app. So far, that app is not in the volume buy program. I have contacted the authors to see if they will put it in there. Not sure how that would work, since all purchases are in-app only. Guess we'll see.
The same person also had an issue with her ZAGG Logitech Keyboard for her iPad 2 - it would randomly start repeating characters infinitely - or until you pressed a different key long enough for things to stop repeating.
Turns out, that is a know/common issue with these, as seen on the various forums I visited trying to find a solution. I called ZAGG and since we bought them from CDWG, we had to use an alternate registration method. Here's the kicker: the Logitech Keyboard is *NOT* in their list! I chose what I *thought* was the keyboard - instead, that turned out to be a protective shield. PROBLEM!
Well, we powered off the keyboard, forgot the connection, powered off the iPad 2, and waited for a minute or so. Then, we powered up the iPad 2 and made sure it would work sans any bluetooth keyboard. Yes. Then, powered up the keyboard and established a connection. Worked. Tried to replicate the problem. No go. That's a good thing! The keyboard was no longer acting all wonky and possessed. We'll keep an eye on it for a week, then see where we need to go, if anywhere.
And all of this happened before lunch!
What does the afternoon hold? Who knows - guess we'll find out soon!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Days go by
Tuesday - Traveled to Arch Ford Co-op for the monthly Specialists/Tech meetings and mini training sessions. Bob Cochenour and I did a session on things you can do in Google Mail. I had WAY too many things on the agenda, so we hit about half of those. We may do another session down the road some time.
Wednesday - The techs had a work day to figure out our grant proposals and the state tech plan. The meeting was held back at Arch Ford, but I attended over videoconference and Jana from Camden joined me here rather than drive all the way to Plumerville (2.5 hours+ drive each way).
Thursday - I've been working on my ISA server and looking at which servers can finally be put to rest. So far, I shut down two. I will move some resources from one of the servers and then either shut it down or consolidate resources from other servers onto it. I have spent any time not working on my servers helping Bradley with theirs. They have some weird email issue going on and I have been troubleshooting it remotely. I was supposed to go there today, but with my server acting a little off, I needed to kill two birds from one pond - or something like that.
There appears to be some kind of email spamming/blacklist issue, but they do not actually appear on any public blacklists. It's a mystery.
<hr>
For those interested, here are the rough notes of the Google Mail session:
Google Mail Tips and Tricks
Priority Messaging - Mail Settings > Inbox > Inbox Type (Classic, Important, Priority, etc)
Importance Markers - Mail Settings > Inbox > Show/Hide markers
Chat (Hide the Chat box) - Mail Settings > Chat > Chat: On or Chat: Off
Conversation View - Mail Settings > General > Conversation View: On or Conversation View: Off
Labels - Organize your email, can apply multiple labels to same message
Filters - Apply labels and perform other actions based on content, sender, etc (creating rules)
Use Labels, Filters and Archiving to organize your mail:
Create a label (Ex: Director)
Create a filter (Ex: Label all mail from boss as "Director" - from the previous step)
Skip Inbox (Do not show this message in the Inbox, but apply the label to show in labels list)
Archiving is *NOT* deleting! Archiving just 'hides' the message from your Inbox. Archived messages will still show up in searches and in labels.
Google Labs
Bob demonstrated/discussed several handy Google Labs items for mail:
The following items were *NOT* covered in the session due to time, but were on the agenda:
Advanced mail searching:
Use quotation marks- "meeting agenda" will return mail with those exact words in that exact order
Subject
- subject:Google Calendar *or* subject:"Google Calendar"
-- The first will retrieve subjects with "Google" or "Calendar"
-- the second will retrieve subjects that contain "Google Calendar" together
From (To: works the same way)
- From:<name> or From:<email@address.com> (Can also use quotes!)
-- From:David Henderson (All messages from any "David" or "Henderson"
-- From:"David Henderson" (All messages from David Henderson)
Find UNREAD messages- is:unread
-- Returns all email that has not been read yet!
Labels (Can use quotes!)
- label:<label name> <keyword(s)>
-- label:0_Lindy "pay raise"
-- label:"Disaster Recovery" approval
Filename
- filename:<filename.extension> *OR* filename:<extension>
-- filename:test.doc (all emails with test.doc attached)
-- filename:pdf (all emails with PDF attachments)
Attachments
- has:attachment (can be used with other search terms)
-- from:cooptc has:attachment
Use "AND," "OR," "-"- label:cooptc -has:attachment (all mail from COOPTC without attachments)
- from:"David Henderson" and filename:pdf (all pdfs from David Henderson)
Use "anywhere" to search ALL mail (including spam, trash, inbox, etc)- in:anywhere
-- in:anywhere from:phoebe (Searches all mail, labels, etc for mail from phoebe)
Specify special folders (inbox, trash, etc)- in:inbox
-- in:inbox subject:meeting (finds messages ONLY in the Inbox with "meeting" in subject)
Combine search areas and terms- label:e-rate OR from:becky.smith@somewhere.gov (All E-rate labeled messages plus all mail from becky)
- subject:e-rate from:becky.smith@somewhere.gov OR belinda.jones@somewhere.gov (Subject is E-rate AND the mail is either from Becky or Belinda)
Wednesday - The techs had a work day to figure out our grant proposals and the state tech plan. The meeting was held back at Arch Ford, but I attended over videoconference and Jana from Camden joined me here rather than drive all the way to Plumerville (2.5 hours+ drive each way).
Thursday - I've been working on my ISA server and looking at which servers can finally be put to rest. So far, I shut down two. I will move some resources from one of the servers and then either shut it down or consolidate resources from other servers onto it. I have spent any time not working on my servers helping Bradley with theirs. They have some weird email issue going on and I have been troubleshooting it remotely. I was supposed to go there today, but with my server acting a little off, I needed to kill two birds from one pond - or something like that.
There appears to be some kind of email spamming/blacklist issue, but they do not actually appear on any public blacklists. It's a mystery.
<hr>
For those interested, here are the rough notes of the Google Mail session:
Google Mail Tips and Tricks
Priority Messaging - Mail Settings > Inbox > Inbox Type (Classic, Important, Priority, etc)
Importance Markers - Mail Settings > Inbox > Show/Hide markers
Chat (Hide the Chat box) - Mail Settings > Chat > Chat: On or Chat: Off
Conversation View - Mail Settings > General > Conversation View: On or Conversation View: Off
Labels - Organize your email, can apply multiple labels to same message
Filters - Apply labels and perform other actions based on content, sender, etc (creating rules)
Use Labels, Filters and Archiving to organize your mail:
Create a label (Ex: Director)
Create a filter (Ex: Label all mail from boss as "Director" - from the previous step)
Skip Inbox (Do not show this message in the Inbox, but apply the label to show in labels list)
Archiving is *NOT* deleting! Archiving just 'hides' the message from your Inbox. Archived messages will still show up in searches and in labels.
Google Labs
Bob demonstrated/discussed several handy Google Labs items for mail:
- Auto-Advance (automatically move to next message)
- Background Send
- Default "Reply to All"
- Multiple Inboxes
- Preview Pane
- Right-side Chat
- Other Labs were covered as well, but time limitations kept me from keeping notes!
The following items were *NOT* covered in the session due to time, but were on the agenda:
Advanced mail searching:
Use quotation marks- "meeting agenda" will return mail with those exact words in that exact order
Subject
- subject:Google Calendar *or* subject:"Google Calendar"
-- The first will retrieve subjects with "Google" or "Calendar"
-- the second will retrieve subjects that contain "Google Calendar" together
From (To: works the same way)
- From:<name> or From:<email@address.com> (Can also use quotes!)
-- From:David Henderson (All messages from any "David" or "Henderson"
-- From:"David Henderson" (All messages from David Henderson)
Find UNREAD messages- is:unread
-- Returns all email that has not been read yet!
Labels (Can use quotes!)
- label:<label name> <keyword(s)>
-- label:0_Lindy "pay raise"
-- label:"Disaster Recovery" approval
Filename
- filename:<filename.extension> *OR* filename:<extension>
-- filename:test.doc (all emails with test.doc attached)
-- filename:pdf (all emails with PDF attachments)
Attachments
- has:attachment (can be used with other search terms)
-- from:cooptc has:attachment
Use "AND," "OR," "-"- label:cooptc -has:attachment (all mail from COOPTC without attachments)
- from:"David Henderson" and filename:pdf (all pdfs from David Henderson)
Use "anywhere" to search ALL mail (including spam, trash, inbox, etc)- in:anywhere
-- in:anywhere from:phoebe (Searches all mail, labels, etc for mail from phoebe)
Specify special folders (inbox, trash, etc)- in:inbox
-- in:inbox subject:meeting (finds messages ONLY in the Inbox with "meeting" in subject)
Combine search areas and terms- label:e-rate OR from:becky.smith@somewhere.gov (All E-rate labeled messages plus all mail from becky)
- subject:e-rate from:becky.smith@somewhere.gov OR belinda.jones@somewhere.gov (Subject is E-rate AND the mail is either from Becky or Belinda)
Monday, January 9, 2012
January 9-13, 2011
Monday - Office
Tuesday - State Tech Meeting
Wednesday - Office/Open
Thursday - Office/Open
Friday - Office
Monday: I spent the morning working on several projects. First, I helped get our bookkepper's office back in order after the floor waxing over the weekend. Yes, I did that last Monday, too. Only this time, we had a different set of rooms to set back to rights because the floor guy didn't realize his key would open all the doors. I started working on our Moodle server to add content (create a course). During that, my Director came in and wanted help with her iPad2 - FaceTime, accounts, etc.
I went back to Moodle to finish creating the course I am working on. We are moving the TIE program modules from word/pdf handouts to a mixed-mode enviroment for in-class/asynchronous professional development. Basically, the courses are taught in a classroom setting and we use Moodle for content delivery and online discussion during the course. The State requires 6 hours of "seat time" for professional development, so this is a way to get the physical requirement taken care of while letting the participants have the freedom to complete many of the tasks at their own pace. During the course of the day (most are 1-day sessions), the facilitator brings the group back together for in-class discussion. This is the first time we are trying this arrangment, and I'm anxious to see how it all plays out this summer.
While working on the Moodle course (we will have dozens uploaded/modified before a February meeting), I met with our Early childhood coordinator about Apple Volume Licensing. We bought some vouchers, and now just have to wait for them to be delivered before we can redeem them. Seriously!? In today's age of full-on electrnic purchasing, why on earth does Apple may you buy phyiscal vouchers to redeem!? Ugh.
After that was done, I returned to the Moodle module. One area of concern raised up as forums and discussions. As it turns out, "Guest Access" is not available for those sections. There are two solutions: 1) Require each user to sign up for access, or 2) do not hold online discussions and make them in-class only. We're not sure which route we're taking yet. The whole state has several statewide Moodle-based rollouts, and requiring participants to register on each of the Moodle servers is a bit much, in my opinion.
Oh, I forgot, I also worked on a user's Google Calendar. The events would show up on her phone, iPad, etc, but not in the online calendar. The problem? It was hidden online. In "My Calendars," the user has de-selected the default calendar. I reselected the box, and everything showed up. Awesome!
Now, lunch break and the rest of the afternoon (for Monday)!
While working on modules for Moodle, I encountered a few .pages files that were created on a Mac. I am using a PC and my MacBook doesn't have Pages on it, so I was a bit stumped as to what to do (short of asking the author to export them as PDF). Instead, here is a solution: change the extension to .ZIP and open the files with Winzip or whatever. Inside there, you will find a folder called "QuickLook." Inside Quicklook, you will find a PDF of the .pages document! Bingo! Copy and paste the content, and you should be good to go.
Tuesday - State Tech Meeting
Wednesday - Office/Open
Thursday - Office/Open
Friday - Office
Monday: I spent the morning working on several projects. First, I helped get our bookkepper's office back in order after the floor waxing over the weekend. Yes, I did that last Monday, too. Only this time, we had a different set of rooms to set back to rights because the floor guy didn't realize his key would open all the doors. I started working on our Moodle server to add content (create a course). During that, my Director came in and wanted help with her iPad2 - FaceTime, accounts, etc.
I went back to Moodle to finish creating the course I am working on. We are moving the TIE program modules from word/pdf handouts to a mixed-mode enviroment for in-class/asynchronous professional development. Basically, the courses are taught in a classroom setting and we use Moodle for content delivery and online discussion during the course. The State requires 6 hours of "seat time" for professional development, so this is a way to get the physical requirement taken care of while letting the participants have the freedom to complete many of the tasks at their own pace. During the course of the day (most are 1-day sessions), the facilitator brings the group back together for in-class discussion. This is the first time we are trying this arrangment, and I'm anxious to see how it all plays out this summer.
While working on the Moodle course (we will have dozens uploaded/modified before a February meeting), I met with our Early childhood coordinator about Apple Volume Licensing. We bought some vouchers, and now just have to wait for them to be delivered before we can redeem them. Seriously!? In today's age of full-on electrnic purchasing, why on earth does Apple may you buy phyiscal vouchers to redeem!? Ugh.
After that was done, I returned to the Moodle module. One area of concern raised up as forums and discussions. As it turns out, "Guest Access" is not available for those sections. There are two solutions: 1) Require each user to sign up for access, or 2) do not hold online discussions and make them in-class only. We're not sure which route we're taking yet. The whole state has several statewide Moodle-based rollouts, and requiring participants to register on each of the Moodle servers is a bit much, in my opinion.
Oh, I forgot, I also worked on a user's Google Calendar. The events would show up on her phone, iPad, etc, but not in the online calendar. The problem? It was hidden online. In "My Calendars," the user has de-selected the default calendar. I reselected the box, and everything showed up. Awesome!
Now, lunch break and the rest of the afternoon (for Monday)!
While working on modules for Moodle, I encountered a few .pages files that were created on a Mac. I am using a PC and my MacBook doesn't have Pages on it, so I was a bit stumped as to what to do (short of asking the author to export them as PDF). Instead, here is a solution: change the extension to .ZIP and open the files with Winzip or whatever. Inside there, you will find a folder called "QuickLook." Inside Quicklook, you will find a PDF of the .pages document! Bingo! Copy and paste the content, and you should be good to go.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Finally Friday!
Whew! What a week back after the holiday!
Today, I talked with the Director about cell phone plans and contacted our rep in response to the conversation. We also discussed several issues related to the bill itself (mainly regarding employees and text messaging - the employees reimburse the co-op for such 'extras'). We also revisited our policy of blocking recurrent cell programs (horoscopes, etc), just to be sure things were not coming through - they are not.
I have a webex at 9:30am to discuss Fortinet for firewalling/filtering/etc.
I am leaving at noon for personal business.
Today, I talked with the Director about cell phone plans and contacted our rep in response to the conversation. We also discussed several issues related to the bill itself (mainly regarding employees and text messaging - the employees reimburse the co-op for such 'extras'). We also revisited our policy of blocking recurrent cell programs (horoscopes, etc), just to be sure things were not coming through - they are not.
I have a webex at 9:30am to discuss Fortinet for firewalling/filtering/etc.
I am leaving at noon for personal business.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
January 5th, 2012
Spending much of the day working on email and phone support. Also working on the grant evaluation for my position. I am presently reworking a TIE module as well. Met with the Director regarding a weird heating/hvac issue and regarding a new pricing plan for our cellular phones. Did some troubleshooting regarding the fax machine in the main office, and helped with various small tech 'fires' in general - iTunes, burning video to DVD.
The 2nd half of the day still awaits!
I had a user with a file that had a WPD extension. Normally, this would be a WordPerfect file that could easily be opened in Microsoft Office or Open Office or a myriad of other programs. Nothing worked. Instead, all we got was jibberish. I even tried zamzar.com to convert it to Word, and that produced garbage.
After searching the net, I found a program called "Wintext!" Wintext will take ANY file and extract any viable text from it. With that program, I was able to pull out the text the user needed.
The file can be had from here:
http://www.softoxi.com/download-wintext.html
The 2nd half of the day still awaits!
I had a user with a file that had a WPD extension. Normally, this would be a WordPerfect file that could easily be opened in Microsoft Office or Open Office or a myriad of other programs. Nothing worked. Instead, all we got was jibberish. I even tried zamzar.com to convert it to Word, and that produced garbage.
After searching the net, I found a program called "Wintext!" Wintext will take ANY file and extract any viable text from it. With that program, I was able to pull out the text the user needed.
The file can be had from here:
http://www.softoxi.com/download-wintext.html
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Wednesday
When I arrived, I started working on building a report for target testing data. The data was sent in Excel, which I imported into Access, created a count query and a report to go with it, then converted the report to pdf for distribution to appropriate personnel.
Drove to Fouke with the Distance Learning Coordinator to look at a couple of tech issues in the DL lab.
We installed a HDMI cable to connect a 2nd TV to the codec. The image appears the same on both monitors. This is not normally what happens. After quite a bit of experimenting, there was no way to get the image to show in-class on one screen and incoming on the other. There must be a setting somewhere I am missing. I will check out a similar system at another campus, take notes and revisit the system at Fouke.
We installed a document camera on the codec. For some reason, when selecting "presentation," the system switches to a dual-screen mode showing the far site and near site but does not switch to the document camera. Using the remote, however, the facilitator can switch to the document camera manually. While not ideal, this will serve to meet the needs until we get the remote/configuration figured out.
Talked briefly with the Technology Coordinator and Ass't TC regarding tech plans, e-rate, A-Plus learning, and connecting Macs into the Active Directory.
Visited with the Supt and other staff before we left campus.
At the office, I worked on grant evaluation procedures, e-rate, and addressed/replied to work-related emails.
Drove to Fouke with the Distance Learning Coordinator to look at a couple of tech issues in the DL lab.
We installed a HDMI cable to connect a 2nd TV to the codec. The image appears the same on both monitors. This is not normally what happens. After quite a bit of experimenting, there was no way to get the image to show in-class on one screen and incoming on the other. There must be a setting somewhere I am missing. I will check out a similar system at another campus, take notes and revisit the system at Fouke.
We installed a document camera on the codec. For some reason, when selecting "presentation," the system switches to a dual-screen mode showing the far site and near site but does not switch to the document camera. Using the remote, however, the facilitator can switch to the document camera manually. While not ideal, this will serve to meet the needs until we get the remote/configuration figured out.
Talked briefly with the Technology Coordinator and Ass't TC regarding tech plans, e-rate, A-Plus learning, and connecting Macs into the Active Directory.
Visited with the Supt and other staff before we left campus.
At the office, I worked on grant evaluation procedures, e-rate, and addressed/replied to work-related emails.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Internet Safety
Started the day by working on the HIPPY digital copier. After the holiday break, the machine would not print over LAN. I could web into it and look at all the settings, etc, but I could not print to it. Not sure what was different today, but I shut it down, waited a few minutes, and rebooted. Before trying to print, I waited for the "Initializing Network" to disappear. When I printed to it, everything worked.
This afternoon, I went to Lafayette Schools to present an hour-long talk on Internet Safety. It went "okay" from my own person feelins about it. I certainly see some areas of improvement, and I was actually surprised that my "condensed" version actually took the entire hour! I really thought I would end up short. Nope. A couple of nice discussions and a lot of info certainly made for a packed hour. As I said, several things need to be tweaked in the preso, though.
For those interested, here are my scattered (and rough) notes:
Internet Safety Topics to cover:
1. Internet safety is a lot like 'real world' safety, a lot of the same rules apply:
--- Be careful when talking to strangers
--- Don't give out your address, phone number, school, real full name
--- Tell an adult if you see something that doesn't seem right or makes you uneasy
--- evaluate a source. don't just assume it is legitimate.
2. Just because the slide is broken, we don't keep kids off the playground. Some kids are going to try out the slide anyway! What do we do with them? Check they are okay, dust them off, scold them/punish them, make sure they understand the lesson learned.
3. CIPA - Child Internet Protection Act - Schools and Libraries take measures to help keep kids away from inappropriate and/or harmful content. Can we block everything? No. Should we block everything? No.
4. COPPA - Children's Online Privacy Protect Act - All kids 13 and under are required to have parental permission before signing up to join sites or enter contests - Facebook, Twitter, Club Penguin, Disney, whatever.5. Supervision - We can't be benchwarmers. Put the computers where we can see them. get up, move around. If a kid closes a window, ask what he's doing. If s/he won't say, open the browser and look at the history. What policies are in place? Which are enforced? Do they need to be evaluated?
5a. Establish computer use guidelines, time restrictions, etc. Use a TIMER if you have to.
6. Listen to the student - If a student reports something has happened or is happening, listen to them. Take them seriously. Check it out, or have authorities check it out. Save/forward copies of inappropriate exchanges/conversations. Most email programs will let you paste a picture
directly. Hit the "Print Screen" button (usually in top right corner) then open email and click EDIT then PASTE.
7. Bookmark student sites for easy access - Emily and the "Bunny Club" - Disney game, but also can be an adult web site!
8. Never respond to threatening email or message. Save it, forward it, report it. Do not respond to it.
9. NEVER meet in person. If a "friend" posts a phone number and asks your child to call, that could be a sign. KNOW your kids friends. Once a child calls a number, the person on the other end has the child's number through caller id!
10. Know your child's passwords, email addresses, logins. check their phone regularly. As a parent, you have the right, especially if child is minor. If they are on facebook, friend them on facebook. If they dont like it, tell 'em "tough." Remember, they need us to help them,
protect them.
11. Blogging/posting status/etc - Post where you WERE, not where you are going. I am bad about this. I have tried posting after-the-fact instead of in-the-moment. Kids should never use full names. If using names, stick to first names only. Check privacy settings - monitor
comments, etc.
12. Child email - ZooBuh, Kidsafemail, Hotmail, Google - monitored email.
13. Once it is online, it is ALWAYS online. Think before you post. Don't post or send a photo of yourself without checking with an adult - parents, family, etc. Don't post pictures of family and friends without permission!
14. NEVER give out your password, credit card, etc unless you are the one to initiate the transaction! You will *NEVER* be asked by your bank,
your ISP, by anyone for this information. Even over the phone, do NOT give out your password. If they say they need it to access your account, tell them to change the password on your account and let you know what they changed it to. They do not need your password to change it, if they are legit.
15. (Added after the preso): Colleges, employers, community will look at your online presence. What you post can affect your future. Be smart about what you post, or be prepared to address/answer for your words, photos, etc.
Resources:
Netsmartz.org
iSafe.org
Kidshealth.org
Safekids.com
Disney Internet Safety
Internet Safety Games
This afternoon, I went to Lafayette Schools to present an hour-long talk on Internet Safety. It went "okay" from my own person feelins about it. I certainly see some areas of improvement, and I was actually surprised that my "condensed" version actually took the entire hour! I really thought I would end up short. Nope. A couple of nice discussions and a lot of info certainly made for a packed hour. As I said, several things need to be tweaked in the preso, though.
For those interested, here are my scattered (and rough) notes:
Internet Safety Topics to cover:
1. Internet safety is a lot like 'real world' safety, a lot of the same rules apply:
--- Be careful when talking to strangers
--- Don't give out your address, phone number, school, real full name
--- Tell an adult if you see something that doesn't seem right or makes you uneasy
--- evaluate a source. don't just assume it is legitimate.
2. Just because the slide is broken, we don't keep kids off the playground. Some kids are going to try out the slide anyway! What do we do with them? Check they are okay, dust them off, scold them/punish them, make sure they understand the lesson learned.
3. CIPA - Child Internet Protection Act - Schools and Libraries take measures to help keep kids away from inappropriate and/or harmful content. Can we block everything? No. Should we block everything? No.
4. COPPA - Children's Online Privacy Protect Act - All kids 13 and under are required to have parental permission before signing up to join sites or enter contests - Facebook, Twitter, Club Penguin, Disney, whatever.5. Supervision - We can't be benchwarmers. Put the computers where we can see them. get up, move around. If a kid closes a window, ask what he's doing. If s/he won't say, open the browser and look at the history. What policies are in place? Which are enforced? Do they need to be evaluated?
5a. Establish computer use guidelines, time restrictions, etc. Use a TIMER if you have to.
6. Listen to the student - If a student reports something has happened or is happening, listen to them. Take them seriously. Check it out, or have authorities check it out. Save/forward copies of inappropriate exchanges/conversations. Most email programs will let you paste a picture
directly. Hit the "Print Screen" button (usually in top right corner) then open email and click EDIT then PASTE.
7. Bookmark student sites for easy access - Emily and the "Bunny Club" - Disney game, but also can be an adult web site!
8. Never respond to threatening email or message. Save it, forward it, report it. Do not respond to it.
9. NEVER meet in person. If a "friend" posts a phone number and asks your child to call, that could be a sign. KNOW your kids friends. Once a child calls a number, the person on the other end has the child's number through caller id!
10. Know your child's passwords, email addresses, logins. check their phone regularly. As a parent, you have the right, especially if child is minor. If they are on facebook, friend them on facebook. If they dont like it, tell 'em "tough." Remember, they need us to help them,
protect them.
11. Blogging/posting status/etc - Post where you WERE, not where you are going. I am bad about this. I have tried posting after-the-fact instead of in-the-moment. Kids should never use full names. If using names, stick to first names only. Check privacy settings - monitor
comments, etc.
12. Child email - ZooBuh, Kidsafemail, Hotmail, Google - monitored email.
13. Once it is online, it is ALWAYS online. Think before you post. Don't post or send a photo of yourself without checking with an adult - parents, family, etc. Don't post pictures of family and friends without permission!
14. NEVER give out your password, credit card, etc unless you are the one to initiate the transaction! You will *NEVER* be asked by your bank,
your ISP, by anyone for this information. Even over the phone, do NOT give out your password. If they say they need it to access your account, tell them to change the password on your account and let you know what they changed it to. They do not need your password to change it, if they are legit.
15. (Added after the preso): Colleges, employers, community will look at your online presence. What you post can affect your future. Be smart about what you post, or be prepared to address/answer for your words, photos, etc.
Resources:
Netsmartz.org
iSafe.org
Kidshealth.org
Safekids.com
Disney Internet Safety
Internet Safety Games
Monday, January 2, 2012
January 2-6, 2012
Welcome to the new year!
Monday - Office. I will spending the day getting back into the swing of things after the holiday break. I helped move furniture back into place since our floors were waxed over the break. I attempted to contact USAC regarding one of my 470's, but they are closed for the New Year holiday. I will try again on Tuesday. I have been catching up on email and phone messages.
Tuesday - Will contact USAC regarding 470. Will work on Tech Plan. Will file 470 for additional bandwidth. Will provide Internet Safety training for Lafayette County Schools on their campus.
Wednesday - Will head to Fouke for troubleshooting/installation in their DL lab.
Thursday - Office.
Friday - Office. I have a conference call with a vendor regarding possible new firewall/routing solution.
Monday - Office. I will spending the day getting back into the swing of things after the holiday break. I helped move furniture back into place since our floors were waxed over the break. I attempted to contact USAC regarding one of my 470's, but they are closed for the New Year holiday. I will try again on Tuesday. I have been catching up on email and phone messages.
Tuesday - Will contact USAC regarding 470. Will work on Tech Plan. Will file 470 for additional bandwidth. Will provide Internet Safety training for Lafayette County Schools on their campus.
Wednesday - Will head to Fouke for troubleshooting/installation in their DL lab.
Thursday - Office.
Friday - Office. I have a conference call with a vendor regarding possible new firewall/routing solution.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)