Milford
Schools Technology Related
FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)
The
technology department often hears the same questions and requests. The top four
questions follow. We will be sharing more technology information via a monthly email
newsletter in the weeks to come.
Feel free
to send questions to
Ed Keyes keyes_e@milfordschools.org
Q. I
cannot change my screensavers, install or download programs, or play music like
at home. Why?
Q. I have
a copy of Certificate Maker and would
like to have it installed at school. Could you please have a technician put it
on my school computer?
A. Normally when you purchase software
you are paying for the right to use that software on one of your own computers.
We would be in violation of copyright laws to install it on our computer.
The only way around this is for you to
write a letter donating the software to the district and also giving the
district the disks and any packaging you may still have.
A Troubletrakker should be sent requesting installation. The
install will receive a lower response priority than break fixes and district
software installation.
(Be aware
that there are other prerequisite steps outlined in the next question.)
Q. I saw a
great piece of software demonstrated
at a conference. It fits right in with what we do in my class. Can the district
get it for me?
A. Maybe. Software is like textbooks.
We have district adoptions in order to ease training, budgeting, and ensure
comparable educations for all students in the district. Also to be certain that
what is being taught is in line with state and local standards.
So, to get that software you must first
pass two reviews. First, by the Technology Coordinator to ensure that our
operating systems and hardware are compatible and that the software can work
within the restrictions of our security policies. Second, by
the Asst. Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction to be sure that the
software helps to attain our district educational goals.
The second test is the most difficult
because while your software may be great on its own, it may detract from the
time spent on a district initiative (ex. Riverdeep.)
Productivity
software (such as a Certificate Maker) is much easier to get approved.
Finally, if the software passes both tests
the funding of the purchase must be resolved. The district has limited funds
for the purchase of supplemental software. If the staff member owns or is
willing to purchase the software for their own use it must be donated to the
district in order to comply with copyright laws. We have no choice. Again, the
software still must be able to operate within our security policies without
policy modifications.
Q. I have a color inkjet printer I would like to use at school. I know
that the district does not purchase or support inkjets because the cartridges
are expensive but I will buy the cartridges. Why won’t you hook it up for me?
A. In
the past we have not connected staff owned hardware to district equipment due
to the labor costs involved to get them to work with the dozens of different
-2-
types of computers and five different operating systems. By this
summer the district will be on a common operating platform (Windows XP
Professional) and
have a common hardware base (Pentium 4) both of which allow
us to modify past practice.
If you own a scanner, digital camera, PDA,
printer, etc. in almost all cases we will be happy to install it on your school
computer for your personal use. You
must send in a
TroubleTrakker and understand that these requests receive a lower response
priority than break fixes.
Also, you must have connecting cables, power
cords, and installation disks. We can only do the install. We cannot fix
or maintain the equipment.
Q. I
cannot change my screensavers,
install or download programs, or play music like at home. Why?
A. If you have a friend or spouse who works at a
major company or university I think you will find that most have what is
referred to as a “corporate desktop.” That is, a standard appearance, set of
software, and user rights across the organization with some differentiation by
department.
We follow a modified version of this
philosophy and for the same reasons. Protection of the network and reduced
labor to replace a workstation when it breaks.
Protection of the network means doing all
we can to provide safety and the fastest connection speed possible. Screen
Savers that change the background, Weather Station windows, Online Radio
Stations all consume a thing called bandwidth. It is similar to a freeway.
Remember I-275 when it was two lanes? How about when construction was going on
and at times it was one lane? Now it is three but still slows down at rush
hour. We have a set bandwidth (let’s call it three lanes). Great most of the
time but it slows down as more cars use it at rush hour. The programs I
mentioned above are the computer equivalent of cars. The more on the network
the slower everyone goes. Minimize the unneeded and we all can have more speed
for the programs we need to do our jobs.
The reduction of labor cost is made
possible by having a standard “image” for each department or school that can be
loaded on a computer in just a few minutes. If we had to reload personal
programs and settings it would be very expensive. Imagine what the students
computers would look like without controls.
On top of all of the above, our number one
reason for trouble calls is slow performance or logon connection problems. In
most cases we find these machines literally overwhelmed by and infested with
spyware and adware. These are programs that set themselves up in your computer
and become little transmitters sending at least all of your web activity and at
times private information. They overload the local machine and the network.
Unbeknownst to most, they come as part of the package with the types of
programs listed above.
At this time not all staff/teacher/student
computers have restrictive policies that govern what a user can do to them. For
the above reasons the “corporate” desktop will be extended to all workstations
this summer.