TLT 450: Technology in school settings

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1. 

   First, that was a pretty sweet presentation! I don’t think I could pull off this as well as Michael did: good delivery, good pacing, great examples. It definitely gives me a lot of thoughts about teaching/learning online, but no questions about the topic…. So: Here’s one little slice of experience I had with software licensing issues, and specifically people’s attitudes towards the topic: A teacher-ed student I taught a number of years ago wrote a paper for me in which he said that in his future classroom he intended to have a home-brewed computer lab: he would build a bunch of computers from scrap parts and load them with bootlegged Microsoft software. Whoopsie! So: Definite thumbs-up for his energy and attention to the digital divide issue, but…somebody’s cruising for trouble when there’s a technology audit! In my explanation, I tried to point out to him that while yes, I applaud his intention, there’s three things to consider: the legal issues (copyright), the ethical issues (theft), and alternative strategies (why not load with freebies like Linux, OpenOffice, etc.?). He was AMAZINGLY resistant to this–batted down the ethical issues (Microsoft has more money than they need already), said his legal defense would be the purity of his intentions, and was oddly confused about the concept of open source. Anyone experienced this pattern of beliefs/behaviors?

   Comment by tchammond — November 20, 2007 #
2. 

   Maybe it is just me being too harsh but if I had a teacher-ed student that wrote up a proposal like that one that Dr. Hammond described, I would applaud if for his energy, but probably fail him for the proposal because of the legal issues. When MP3 started to be downloading/uploaded back in the late ’90s, users started to become aware about the legality behind using music, video, and software in illegal fashions. The student broke the “I didn’t know” barrier when they proposed using bootlegged Microsoft and then continued to back his proposal saying that Microsoft has too much money is no excuse as a defense

   Anyway, LU deals with software licensing all the time, specifically when we have a client with a laptop. The majority of official LU purchased computers are added into AD (Active Directory) which gives users access to floating (hundreds can install but only X amount can run software at the same time) volume licensed software. LU AD laptop users think that they can install this software and then run the software off campus. It doesn’t work because the user needs to have access to an automatically mapped network drive in order to run the software.

   LU uses a combination of programs (KeyAccess and Prism) to monitor and install floating volume licensed software and the majority of high-education institutions do not take licensing as seriously as LU does. It is actually these two programs that are delaying Windows Vista from being rolled out on campus because they are not compatible yet with our setup. KeyAccess allows network administrators to monitor who has used software and how often it is used.

   Comment by dabrace1984 — November 20, 2007 #
3. 

   While I’ve never experienced an external audit, we do internal audits at our school for hardware and software licencing. Shockingly, we’ve never had or conducted a security audit that I’m aware of – probably because our “IT” staff consists of me and one other person at our main campus (we’re a small private school) and that position has a LOT of turn-over. It’s really scary. I can’t imagine what would happen if there was some major failure – the data is backed up daily with a copy off-sight, but I’m not sure the recovery process has ever been tested! Makes me glad I’m not in charge! Seriously though, this presentation was excellent and I TRULY learned a lot. It’s definately a topic I need to learn about even though my position is primarily a teaching position.

   Comment by Terri Miquel — November 20, 2007 #
4. 

   This was my first time to learn about technology audits, too. One thing that I was amazed to hear that actually grades can be lost or changed by someone if you do not have a strong tech security audit system in your school. If I am a student in a school where some of the grades are lost due to technical problems, I would feel that my school is a weak school that cannot even control data. Such kind of an thing can be really embarrassing for the school and will give damage to the reputation of the school. Therefore, I absolutely agree that keeping a backup is very important in order to avoid having such serious problems in a school setting.

   Comment by Demet Metan — November 22, 2007 #
5. 

   I think tech audits are very useful for any organization as it helps to identify the focus areas for future technology use. In Maldives, technology audits are very rare even in the government and this has lead to number of problems. Audits are seen as a threat to authority and only in very few schools will do an internal audits such as hardware and software audits. As Michael mentioned in his presentation, its is important everyone including administration understand the purpose of tech audits and how it can improve management of technology.

   Comment by Ali Shameem — November 23, 2007 #
6. 

   I have truly enjoyed your tech audit presentation. It made very clear what tech audit is and what it is not. It also provided enough information to help even a novice understand what to expect and how everyone in the district can play a role in technology audit. The closest to an audit I have had was when I “inherited” a hardware inventory on my penultimate job. Most of the equipments listed in the database are either not existing, are not in use, or sitting in the artic or basement. To update the inventory I had to first redesign the interface in Filemaker Pro, creating more relevant fields for our present need and also including a field to indicate retired equipments, warranty information, name of assigned user, location, and a field for tracking repair or support history. I also had to go from rooms to offices and physically collect and update serial, year of purchase, and asset tags. It took me days if not weeks to get to all the equipments, but it was worth it at the end. We had to lay a rule that no new equipment is assigned to any user or location before it is entered into the new database. I was then able to generate reports as needed for decision making, but the initial work was not the most enjoyable.

   Comment by bolutbte415 — November 24, 2007 #
7. 

   I have no experience with the tech audit. But Michael’s presentation gives me an idea of what it will look like. The deliver of Michael’s presentation is amazing. Using flash file is a brilliant idea. The quality of the movie is great and it does not have a big file size like other movie formats. Only one problem – there is no fast forward or backward control. If I want to replay a certain part of the presentation I have to wait for it. And once the part I want to see passes I have to restart the presentation all over again. Does anyone have this problem?

   Comment by pchu — November 25, 2007 #
8. 

   Peicheng,

   Good question. When the flash file is packaged and distributed through our LMS, the controls are there by default. When not using the LMS, you need to put them in manually. I neglected to do that. If I get a moment, I will edit the presentation and add the controls.

   Michael

   Comment by Michael — November 26, 2007 #
9. 

   I thought this was really neat to have a presentation done this way. It was easy to follow and he had a lot of information. I really thought your presentation was interesting especially with the examples that you gave to go along with the presentation. I liked the example you gave with disaster recovery plan with the teacher’s grades. It is great to have a plan but like you said the plan needs to be tested to know that it will work if a problem occurs. I know currently at our school the technology department is doing a software audit to see what programs teachers use or don’t use. Audits seem to be a very useful tool for technology departments.

   Comment by Becky Doersam — November 26, 2007 #
10. 

    Well done Michael! I really enjoyed the ease of your presentation. I think this was a topic appropriate for the delivery method enhanced. Audits seem to be an issue for administrators rather than teachers. Has there been a case where teachers have been audited? Yet, very important to know about what is expected to have at hand when audited.

    Comment by Alex Rolón — November 26, 2007 #
11. 

    It is necessary to take technology audits to make sure the information systems are safeguarding assets, maintaining data integrity, and operating effectively and efficiently.
    But who is qualified to do this job? Since auditors will be responsible for evaluating the controls affecting the recording and safekeeping of school technology, it is better professional people who have detailed knowledge regarding both the computer and network systems and audit aspects. The sure thing is that regular checking up could be done by the school technology staff.

    Comment by Lifang Chang — November 26, 2007 #
12. 

    Although I work in a school district, I have never seen an audit be done on our technology. I have never been asked or questioned about the technology that I have or use in my classroom. I never realized that I wasn’t able to buy a software program and upload it onto my laptop computer that was supplied to me by the district. I’m glad I know that now. I figured that with licensing, the district would be accountable though for using the hardware and software properly. I think it’s smart for Mac to check up on the school districts, because you know that people would share without paying for the license. I can’t even imagine how much it must cost for a school district to buy into a hardware/software program that is provided to all the teachers and students. Technology is definitely the wave of the future, so I’m happy to say that my district is on top of things in regards to technology. I would think that my district does an internal audit often in order to prepare to the external audit. Is there a certain time in the year that you can expect to receive an external audit, or is it really random throughout the year. I think that this is something that the students should know about, so that they don’t download anything they’re not supposed to be downloading. Great presentation Mike! Thanks for the information!

    Comment by srg205 — November 26, 2007 #
13. 

    I do not have personal experience with audits, however, for the reasons Micheal pointed out in his presentation, I have never installed the grading program I have on my work computer. I purchased it several years ago and have purchased the upgrades. Since I’m not willing to hand over my license to the college, I just do all my grades at home. Also, I frequently print out a copy of the grades so that I always have a hard copy back up if anything ever happens to the program or my computer that might cause me to lose the grades. I think it is very important to have a backup plan in place and check that it works. My office mate lost a bunch of his stuff earlier this semester when his computer was corrupted and they were unable to retrive many of his files.

    Comment by Carol Reed — November 26, 2007 #
14. 

    Very good presentation, Michael.
    I believe that disaster recovery became a huge issue after 9/11. Not only was lots of data lost in the form of computer technology, but also in the form of old style paper/file cabinet record keeping. You’ll be happy to know that LU has a good disaster recovery plan, and tests it every year. However, if you went here before 1980, I hope you kept your diploma b/c if there is a huge fire, there is a chance your records could be lost b/c they are not all electronic yet. So as you can see, the old method has faults too. Guess what would be lost if your secondary school had a fire or flood – all paper records that aren’t backed up electronically or with copies elsewhere. Just thought I’d mention that…
    As for Dr. Hammond’s comment about the bootlegging student. I sometimes think that that is the world we’ve come to. Everyone wants stuff for free. We glitz and glamour at the likes of the Paris Hiltons (who are rich and have done nothing) and all the other stars out there who are on every Internet site, newspaper, reality show, etc. that we turn to. With all this technology out there and all the money the rich are making (and getting richer and prices rising), some people feel it’s their way and their right to get something. It could be challenging to change someone’s mind.

    Comment by Trish — November 26, 2007 #
15. 

    Excellent on-line presentation and it arises new thoughts in our mind. It arise a lot of thought about how school personnel and teachers handle technology efficiently. A well designed technology audit really can help school district board to determine whether the investment in educational technology is paying off where it matters more students’ achievement. According to Michel’s story, it is very offensive for school if the grade records are lost, so maintaining disaster recovery process seems to me most important aspect for school. Internal technology audit must be robust, effective as well as defensible to cope with the school technology management.

    Comment by jhumur — November 27, 2007 #
16. 

    I agree with Demet that the changing of grades section of the presentation was very eye-opening. How embarassing would it be for a school if something like this occured and it got spread through news or media.

    Comment by matt — November 28, 2007 #

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