[Year 12 IT Apps] OT: NSSCF 1:2 ratio and 1:1 Yr9-12

Wed Oct 28 17:52:55 EST 2009

Thanks Laurie, I am getting a few enquiries about this off list .. I'll be
organising something at Westall one day soon, probably after school on a
Monday evening to be announced. One of the Techs got excited about
explaining it all, I'll see if I can get somebody from Monash and Sun to
come over and explain the deails.

Sorry all, I know it isnt quite on topic but virtualisation and cloud
computing is the new hot topic and a lot of what we are doing spans this. At
the very least it could be good background for some of us to see how it is
done with a hands on visit. I'll acknowledge that other schools such as
Kevork are already doing this kind of thing (and perhaps even doing it
better than we are ;-)

Regards Roland

2009/10/28 Laurie Savage <sav at pvgc.vic.edu.au>

>  Impressive!
>
> Laurie
>
> *From:* itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:
> itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] *On Behalf Of *Roland Gesthuizen
> *Sent:* Tuesday, 27 October 2009 6:38 PM
>
> *To:* Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
> *Subject:* Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] OT: NSSCF 1:2 ratio and 1:1 Yr9-12
>
>
>
> A sun thin client server .. actually we could run anything on them,
> windoze, SLED, ubuntu etc .. They go with the little kiosk boxes that will
> last for decades, just plug in keyboard / mouse and away you go. Some of you
> saw this set in operation by NetworkHelp at the VITTA conference last year
> when they were running the cyber cafe computers outside the trade area. Am
> trying to source a mounting bracket that I heard you can use to bolt these
> to the backs of LCD monitors sounds like a good idea when I saw something
> similar with what you can do with an Apple MacMini.
>
> This term we are going to do a huge shuffle on our network to rationalise
> what is running on what hardware with dozens of vlrtual machines to juggle.
> Kevork gave me some good clues with his setup at Forest Hill, the other
> clues I got from Monash Uni. Most of them are small footprint debian linux
> computers, others run Win / Novell. Each has a job to do. Currently have a
> Sun 4150 and purchasing a Sun 7110 Unified Storage system<http://www.sun.com/storage/disk_systems/unified_storage/7110>to host the machines. Virtualising our network was one of the most sensible
> things we have done in the past few years. Brave step forward but you need
> the right hardware in place.*
>
> Regards Roland*
>
> 2009/10/27 Laurie Savage <sav at pvgc.vic.edu.au>
>
> Hi Roland,
>
>
>
> What is driving the Sun thin clients. Some years ago the State Library had
> them as kiosks running on ?Solaris, but they’ve all gone now.
>
>
>
> Laurie
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:
> itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] *On Behalf Of *Roland Gesthuizen
> *Sent:* Friday, 23 October 2009 3:21 PM
>
>
> *To:* Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List; eLearning mailing
> list
> *Cc:* Don Collins
> *Subject:* Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] OT: NSSCF 1:2 ratio and 1:1 Yr9-12
>
>
>
> G'day Colin, I might bounce your question and this reply to the eLearning
> and other mailing lists.  Details and my contribution is below.
>
> Regards Roland
>
> 2009/10/22 Colin SYMONS <CSY at gwsc.vic.edu.au>
>
> Sorry for the off topic discussion, if there is a better forum to air it
> let me know Kevork. We are in the process of discussing how we are going to
> meet the 1:2 ratio and best work towards meeting the mandated 1:1 ratio of
> computer/companion devices for yr9-12 students. I was wondering if other
> schools are working their way through this and how you are intending to
> address the requirements. Below are some of the questions we are currently
> pondering and would be interested in your responses.
>
> What combination of desktops, notebooks and netbooks are you going to use
> to meet the 1:1 ratio?
>
>
> We will have about 180 iMac desktops (existing), and plan to buy 75 Macbook
> laptops, 75 netbooks and a swag of assorted thin Sun clients. For obvious
> reasons they will be located according to use (Sun thin clients as kiosks
> and 6 x 13 laptop trolleys in staff rooms and 6 x 13 boxes in library). No
> new labs, just filling in some gaps. Oddly enough, we reckon that we can
> assemble the small sets of 13 netbooks into adapted book boxes for loan from
> the library. Am using 13 as a working number for each set.
>
>
> Do you envisage parental contributions to support the program? If so, what
> proportion of cost is being considered? What if they don't pay?
>
>
> Parents paying? Not likely ever here ..
>
>
> Do the students have ownership and take them home or does the school house
> and recharge them?
>
>
> Only the netbooks and only if the teacher signs them out, counts and
> returns them (excursion, overnight etc.)
>
>
> How do you plan to sustain the program after the initial purchase?
>
>
> Federal or divine intervention come to mind or perhaps a direct appeal to a
> small deity. Seriously though, if the machines start to fail we remove a
> class set to canabolise parts for the others. Eating our liver might seem
> odd but it has worked for graphical calculators to date. Kind of why the
> bulk of stuff we have is on a rolling lease. We have had a great experience
> with the robust and well built Macbooks so we are buying these up (big price
> fall just now!) .. and buying the cheapest cheapest for the Netbooks. Got
> some great cues and clues from a great school visit to Coburg SHS and
> talking to Principal Don Collins.
>
>
> How are you also intending to delivering the NSSCF requirement of 1:2
> across 7&8?
>
>
> We are not locking the junior kids out of rooms or away from the trolleys
> .. that is just plain mean spirited. In practice the users can loan the gear
> across the curriculum and gauge how it is being used. A gentle tap on staff
> shoulders might be all that is needed to encourage use by a cohort.
>
>
> Some technical support is being provided, how do you intend to manage this?
>
>
> We have a good lockdown system for the iMacs with OSX (and automated
> reimaging), Novell Zenworks handles the security on the Windoze side, dont
> laugh but the lockdown Ubuntu Netbook remix with a USB key or Internet
> access to the home directory or Moodle is all we need for the Netbooks ..
> (we avoid pretending that they are anything more than just a browser /
> office mix hence our decision to keep them cheap cheap)
>
>
> We are a large school and this would mean an additional 1300 -1400 computer
> devices. What management issues do you see arising at your school?
>
>
> Electrical (get those points in now) .. trolley storage, we can put two
> trolleys of 13 into the footprint of an existing teacher desk.  Wireless ..
> don't hold your breath. A place to service equipment, store parts and tools.
> Putting in place an apprentice ICT technician and student trainee has been
> the best thing we have ever done! We coordinated this through a group called
> Apprenticeship Plus and fund it out of our existing program.
>
>
> Already we have compiled detailed planning notes, training schedule and
> established a team list with Google Docs. I would be happy to outline how
> this works (or further share) if anybody is interested.
>
> Regards Roland
>
> --
> Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
> http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au
>
> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
> Mead
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> IT Applications Mailing List kindly supported by
>
> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/infotechindex.html
> <http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html%20>-
> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
>
> http://www.vitta.org.au - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers
> Association Inc
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> IT Applications Mailing List kindly supported by
>
> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/infotechindex.html
> <http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html>-
> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
>
> http://www.vitta.org.au - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers
> Association Inc
>
>
>
>
> --
> Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
> http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au
>
> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
> Mead
> _______________________________________________
> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> IT Applications Mailing List kindly supported by
> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/infotechindex.html
> <http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html%20>-
> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
> http://www.vitta.org.au - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers
> Association Inc
>  _______________________________________________
>  http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> IT Applications Mailing List kindly supported by
>  http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/infotechindex.html
> <http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html> -
> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
>  http://www.vitta.org.au - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers
> Association Inc
>

-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.edulists.com.au/pipermail/itapps/attachments/20091028/93c139c6/attachment-0001.html