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By The Power of Netbooks
I have the power!!!!!.
Ahh…the net book, the world's latest gadget of technological bliss, or is it? The net book is the new term for tiny laptops that are so compact and portable that it would make a toddler think "this is small". (Insert tongue & cheek here) The VBSD has picked up on the latest trend as well. BJH purchased around 60 at the beginning of the school year at which time our department created a special method to help add them to the domain along with software and streamlined the whole process down to about 60 units in 3 hours. With A.R.R.A money the district is going to play with a few more portable labs for the kids soon. The ideology of having a computer in every kid's hands is now one step closer thanks to these little machines. Some of the key items that make this possible are due to the cost, ranging from 300 - 500 dollars. I love these compact babies but they do lack a little horsepower under the hood. They also have a small 10 inch screen and keyboard. But all in all they are perfect for kids since they adapt to the technological changes much faster than we do. They are here to stay and I hope that in the future that every child will have one in their hands and that we become the first school district in Arkansas to become textbook free and net book immersed.
Helpdesk reaches 10k
10 thousand dineros is still 10k in dineros
Everyone stand and clap for the technology department as they have crossed a new milestone. With just under 4 years we have successfully conquered over 10,000 helpdesk tickets. That breaks down to about 2500 a year and ranging from Apscn, data, software, wiring, and hardware related issues. The 10k ticket goes to Cindy McClurkin and was submitted on 10/6/2009 at 12:15:00 PM. For placing our 10k submitted ticket, she is going to win a small prize kind of like Chick-fil-a's ® 100th customer. We thank you guys for supporting us as we support you. If you are having an issue, please submit a ticket here, so we can get to you as quickly as we can and hit 20k.
Henry aka The new Dell Dude
Dude, you're getting a dell ..............................certificate.
This year our department took the time to advance our craft and our speed. We purchased the Dell's Educational Services which on competition would allow us to be assigned a unique Dell Rep ID. This number gives us the ability to login to the same web site that a Dell rep would use to assist its own customers with. We can now basically skip the whole process of waiting on the phone and better help our staff by cutting out this middle man. In the picture above, Henry is showing off his collection of certificates for desktop, laptop, printer, and switches. There is a total of 6 certifications available including server and power vault. As for Wes, I only have completed the one for desktop support at this time.
VBHS meets Hollywood
All the pretty lights.
As you drive down East Pointer Trail, you may have noticed the new beaming light flashing our school pride. This massive sign can display our most important dates to the public. Our department was just one small crew to work on this project for VBHS. Our part included running the network cable to the machine and then configuring the system. After a bad motherboard was replaced, we finally got the system to run like a turtle on a greased floor on a 45 degree angle. We also installed the software and trained the principal on how to properly use it. The best element of our new sign is the temperature feature, which gives you the exact degree around the high school.
We got your wireless right here, and here, and here and...
We don't need no stinking wires.
We are proud to say that one of our buildings is now on a completely wireless internet system. As you can see from the picture below that BJH has been upgraded with a new wireless system made by HP ®. To date we have installed over 15 access points throughout the building. The picture is only showing 8 of them. The orange-red areas have the strongest signals and the white has the least powerful connections. By making this campus wireless it will allow for students and staff to use the net books and other wireless devices work pretty much anywhere. A lot of people would say, “why don't you make every building this way?”, well that would be a good question. We are constantly trying to upgrade our infrastructure for wireless technology but the cost and the manpower do slow us down. You should always use a wired connection when possible due to the fact wireless technology is constantly improving but it will always be a step behind in the wired world in reliability and speed. I look forward to the next great thing that we will install at your school.
Our Newest Toys
Background servers that grease the wheel
We just wanted to keep you up to date on the latest software or server related stuff that we have or are in the process of ironing out.
- Our Compass server is fully operational and every student in the district has access to it at home or at school, http://compass.vbsd.us . Compass specializes in creating comprehensive solutions to improve student performance.
- Rosetta Stone was recently installed by our team to help the ELL students at the secondary schools. It will host up to 15 students maximum in the system, but it can be upgraded for more. This is an amazing program, heck even NASA uses it.
- Parent Link is the bee's knees of school communications. This site allows us to send out just about any kind of notification to a parent's phone when we need it to. Some notifications are lunch balances, unexcused absents or snow days, and each school can send out special announcements. It even has a parent page that they can use to find more information and make changes: http://vbsd.parentlink.net
- As you may remember, the ADE made some new rules to all school districts about technology. One of the few rules that we had not yet finished was for all middle school kids to have their own computer logon. Our department has picked up the Student CALs at the getting place and they will be added to our system soon, as a matter of fact; they will be launched next week.
The West Wing comes to Adult Ed...
President Robby and VP Henry make a visit
As you may have recalled from the last newsletter, Robby was just coming on board to our department. I thought that I would give you a little update on how much Robby has impacted the district. Since his inception, Robby along with Henry has managed to wire up the new wing of the Adult Education Center. He has also successfully finished the 2nd floor of the FAC with Cable TV and internet drops along with speakers in each of the classrooms held there. The company that we used before Robby was not upholding the quality of work that we value so dear in our department. Our philosophy is, if we can't do it right then we don't do it. Robby is a super funny guy, always making us laugh in our morning meetings. One word of advice though, if he ever says to you, "Hey if I buy you lunch, will you help me for just 20 minutes", Run!
Team Geriatrics, as they call themselves, are usually running around our district making it a better place for computing and communicating. The department is glad to have him and the district has much improved since he moved to our crazy little world.
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VBSD Promo Video Online
The show must go on......online
Every year I work on a promotional video project with Gloria Keifer for the district. This year I felt that it was important for me to redesign the main video section of the DVD. It had been over 3 years since I last shot footage around the district and let me tell you how things have changed. It was amazing how different the district looked and how our attitudes have changed. It took me about 6 weeks to finish the project and I feel this is some of my best work yet. If you would like to see it please see the link below. Be forewarned that it is 32 minutes long so make sure you have the popcorn and whoppers at the ready.
http://www.vbsd.us/districtvideo.aspx
Student Thingamabob
Student Info at the touch of an finger
Student finder, as it shall be named, is a project that we have currently in the works. This project is something that has been brought up at tech meetings that we have had with school staff over the past couple of years. The idea is for a way to search for a child who is attending the school district and pull up information on him or her instantly from anywhere, i.e. sporting events, out of town events, hallways, and parking lots etc. The information then is returned to a staff member thru the system in the form of the students: Picture, school, class schedule, locker info, car tag number, grades, and so on. This information could be used in many, many ways. The system is being built through a local web site which can only be accessed by "select staff only" and SROs of the Van Buren School District. This system can be accessed from any smart phone that has internet access. We are also working on an iPhone app that will make the web site even easier to load. Since this is sensitive data and has to be kept very safe we are using the latest techniques to encrypt the data across the web. This project may be ready after the 1st of this year as time permits.
Neat Tips And Cool Tricks
Shaken but not stirred
Our department got together and came up with a few tips/tricks to help make your day run more smoothly. These will benefit you and us by eliminating a few common issues and help tickets.
- Patrick: Always remember that if you wouldn't want something to be placed on the front page of the local newspaper, don't put it in your school email.
- Henry: On the iPhone, hit the Space bar twice at the end of a sentence. You get a period, a space, and a capitalized letter at the beginning of the next word. And make sure that you actively get the latest OS version for your iPhone by plugging it in to your computer with the latest version of iTunes.
- Brian:
Want to capture what you're viewing on screen? Press the Prnt Scrn (Print Screen) key on the keyboard and open Word or Power Point. Click Edit...Paste or (Ctrl + V).
- Wes: The number of megapixels or the amount of digital zoom does not determine a camera’s picture quality; that’s a marketing myth. The sensor size and optical zoom are far more important items to use when buying a camera or video camera.
- Robby: When working around insulation, protect all mucus membranes i.e... Eyes, nose, and mouth. Be sure to wear a long sleeve shirt at any time when you're working around the ceiling to avoid a serious case of the itchies.
- From All: If you’re having any problems please submit a helpdesk from the machine that is in distress if possible at https://www.vbsd.us/helpdesk
- Here are some great resources for more useful computer tips.
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/tech-tips-for-the-basic-computer-user/
http://www.180techtips.com/
This week in technology history
A lot to learn at the speed of history
On the 25th of October, 1985, the Kosmos 1700 communications satellite was placed into geostationary orbit.
On the 26th of October, 1954, General Motors unveiled it’s V-8 engine.
On the 27th of October, 1980, Dave Gryllis set a new world record bicycle speed at 94.37km/h.
On the 28th of October, 1921, the Tuschinski movie theatre opened in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
On the 29th of October, 1872, J.S. Risdon received a patent for a metal windmill.
On the 30th of October, 1888, a leather tanner named John Loud received a patent for a roller-ball-tip marking pen; the fore-runner to the modern ballpoint pen.
On the 31st of October, 1815, Sir Humphrey Davy received a patent for his miner’s safety lamp.
For more cool information for the day check out this neat little web site below.
http://www.thisdayintechnology.com/
Comments/Ideas Always Welcome...
We are able to fix about 98.4713113% of all problems
We are located at the corner of Industrial Park Rd and S 28th St. Please stop by and check out our office we are proud to show off all of our toys er' I mean machines. You can always call us at 471 3113, or email the whole department at technology@vbsd.us for any questions or comments. Please stop by and we will give you the 10 cent tour. Also to help with some confusion here we are, so you will know who we are.
Sincerely, VBSD IT Dept.
P.S Edited by Lanea Yandell |
