ASL network maps

Tech Team Project List

Some tech team projects from the recent meeting:

• Build a tech wish list. Ask administrators and teachers what they need (Survey Monkey?)
• Upgrade internet access (DSL and replace the single device doing routing, DNS, filtering, etc)
• Upgrade the wireless network endpoints for better reach
• Solicit equipment donations from parent community, but ideally off wish list
• Provide instruction for teachers on how to leverage technology in the class room. (Sponsor some to go to the Computer Using Educators Conference?)
• Consider offering tech support to teachers or students (maybe students could do this)
• Write tutorials for parent community (Eg, how to do parental controls on home computers)
• Aveson website redesign (provide design & tech help but older students will run it)
• Document systems. Enable future tech support and tech teams to get up to speed quickly
• Complete deployment of 20 donated desktops (insure laptops are fully deployed at AGLA)
• Hold ‘tech days’ to expose students to technology (robotics, 3D design, video,…)
• Help facilitate AGLA clubs or initiatives

Please add more project ideas as comments!

On using video to reinvent education

This is a TED video about a guy who started making youtube videos to teach his nephews math concepts.  Now they have 2000+ videos and an organization to keep them going.  Very appealing.

 
Here is the site itself.

March 19 Maintenance Day & Laptop Report

• Tony & Brendan added memory to the Dell’s in the B, C and D classrooms to bring them up to 512MB.  This was so they could get OS upgrades to a more current ubuntu release.  Also vacuumed them all out.
• We’ve got some dud keyboards, especially in C4 and a bad mouse in C3.  I’ll try to scrounge a couple from work to bring over.
• A couple of the Dells we worked on do not boot up fully.  OS reinstall?  These are in C4 and C5.
• Liberated the laptops!  There are 18 HP laptops and 22 Macbook Pro laptops that a parent graciously donated to Aveson.  Very current machines but without hard drives.  We struggled to get them unlocked so Robert could try an ubuntu install on the PCs.  The liberation was too late for Robert, but I took a mac and PC home.  The PC is now running ubuntu 10 from a USB memory stick.  There are memory sticks and power supplies for most or all of the PC’s so we can get these out to the classrooms soon.
• FWIW:
  - went to the ubuntu download page here
  -  downloaded 10.04, the most current Longterm Support Version
  - followed instructions to make a bootable CD
  - booted the CD in the laptop, it recognized the USB stick and installed without difficulty.
• Questions on getting laptops going:
  - Are there packages or updates we need to do to these before they’re ready to deploy?
  - Once they’re ready, can we just make copies of the memory stick and be good or do we need to do an install on each machine to deal with different names and the chance of different hardware?
  - Is there a naming convention for machines?
  - DHCP for machines?  Any network settings required?
  - Printer settings required?
  I’ll ask Daniel these and other questions so we can get these machines out in the field ASAP.
• The mac I took home won’t boot (likely power issue).  In general for the Macbook Pro’s we need direction on whether they’ll run ubuntu or a mac OS and if they need hard drives.  Jay will probably be a big help with this.

All in all, a successful day.

Hello Aveson Tech Team

This blog is for the Aveson Technology Action Team.  It’s a public area to accumulate info about tech at Aveson, projects to take on, current priorities, etc.  Hopefully it will develop into a history to get people joining the team up to speed.