Re: intranets

[Harry McGregor <micros@azstarnet.com>]

On Mon, 5 Jul 1999, Malonowa wrote:
> 
> I don't envy your job here!

Considering I am doing this all volunteer... heheh.  I started doing this
as a favor for a friend of mine that USED (when I started he still did)
work for the district, in instructional technology.  I am doing it now
mainly as a linux advocacy effort (I am *not* a programer, so this is my
way of paying back the linux comunity).  Also I do have hopes to get a
project (estimated prive $7M, 102 schools) to do this throughout the
district.  Most elementary school labs (like the one we replaced) are mac
LC (68020) based.

> This is another example of teachers having to
> get around often insane district/national policy - it must be very
> frustrating especially since communication between students is very
> important to their education.

Yep, even though I am not a teacher, I agree with this (I am a technogeek,
by trade).

> I'd be interested to know why the district has this policy about E-Mail.

Wish I did...  The district has also had to impliment a filtering proxy
server (net nag), due to a law suit.  A group of high school students
printed off a bunch of "unaproved, offensive" song lyrics from the
internet, and were suspended (same punishment would have happend if they
hand a notepad of them, and started distributing them that way), some of
the parents sued, stating that they did not alowe their kids to use the
net at home, and it was the schools fault for giving them access to it.

> But students there are allowed to access local web pages?

Local, and general web pages (with the filtering proxy server installed).
In fact part of the reason for the firewall I am installing is to prevent
direct port 80 access from going OUT of the school.  The windows version
(and Mac) of netscape and IE support using an admin kit to disable the
ability to change the proxy settings.  The linux version does not.  I have
of course locked access to the config file (root owned, read only for
students, etc), but it can be run time changed (go into settings, change
it, it works until you close netscape).

If the district found out that it can be bipassed the lab would be closed,
If I can prove that the firewall stops it, then the school has a chance.

> If so, do any of the teachers over there have ideas about how content
> delivered this way could help in their respective subjects?

That might happen in about 2 years.  We still have a few teachers that
belive that Claris Works is the endall beall of word processing.  One
teacher that refuses to bring her students into the lab at all (they are
schedualed for 45minutes a week).  Most teachers were aprehensive about
the change.  The Mac LC lab (localtalk network only, no internet access)
was in place for about 7 years.  It has been an uphill battle, but
any change would have been.  Even going to a new mac platform would have
been a big change.

We did the change, including some hardware for the server, the hubs,
cables, star office license, LP225 projector, HP4000tn laser printer,
14 17" monitors (working on getting more) and upgrade to 64MB ram in each
station (31 computers), for under $10,000USD.

A new mac lab (iMAC for say) would have cost about $60,000
 
> Roman. > > 



		Harry