Re: site servers
Alan Feldman (Alan_Feldman@terc.edu)
27 Mar 1997 17:07:33 U
Reply to: RE>site servers
Let me respond to one piece of this question --
> * What pitfalls are there to server implementation
> and maintenance? What works and what doesn't work
> in your experience?
In our work in the DoDEA schools in Hanau, there was been an email capacity
(cc:mail) for over a year. Just in the past few months, a LAN has been
finished with 8 drops per classroom and a minimum of 2 computers per
classroom. All teachers now have Internet (incl email) access to their
desktops, and students have access in their classrooms as well as labs and
the library.
The administrative load has increased enormously over this period of time,
and the district person assigned to meet this need has had to work past any
normal limits to meet the demands. A sys admin person has been hired by DoDEA
and will be starting early in April; we all have our fingers crossed that she
will have the requisite skill set.
This example illustrates a more general issue -- that predictable needs such
as this one are not addressed until after the equipment (LAN) is up and
running. Do other people find large districts operating in this way? How can
decision-makers be educated about what are really entirely predictable needs?
I'm hopeful that, since this is a demonstration for all of DoDEA, that the
same mistakes will be avoided in the future implementations.
Another related issue -- we have had much success in helping teachers see new
roles for students in the area of tech support. So far, this is confined to
the use of applications; one fifth grade class, for example, has become the
experts in Hyperstudio and will teach it to any teachers, students, or
classes. We are looking at extending this -- at least for middle and high
school students -- to sys admin tasks as well. We are aware of some models
for this; does anyone in our group have experience with this?