Weekly discussions |
| Week Three Topic You’ve Come a Long Way Baby So, my question is how do you think these trends will affect our students and the role of computer networks in education. After all these systems are very dependent on the internet in order to get and deliver the data that the user will see. The ability to access video by cell phone and the internet has become a two-edge sword in the classroom. In the assets column, educators are able to create and show their own instructional information in a way that is much easier than in years past. We can access many web sites that have video that is applicable to our classes. GPTV, NOVA, History Channel are but a few of the places that offer video streaming for classroom instruction. I have found a portable cell phone blocker that I am considering purchasing for my classroom. Shhhh, that’s a secret though. JR |
| Week Four Topic Highways and Rules of the Road After you have read this information I would like for you to find a good web site that explains how a computer works that is appropriate for elementary school students and post this to the discussion board. I too have a dinosaur of a computer up in the attic. I bought a used XT-Turbo that had a 20 mb hard drive and an amber monochrome monitor. It was mostly used to get me through Southern Tech without having to live in the computer lab. I did, however, use Prodigy for email and internet and even ran an early CAD program on it. $1,000.00 used!!! I'm not much on sites for elementary grades. I think the "How Stuff Works" section on computers is probably too advanced. www.kids-online.net has some suitable sections on computing that is probably more age specific. JR |
| Week Five Topic Operating Systems and Applications As with last week I would like for you to find a good link that explains the concepts behind networking in such a way that an elementary school student might understand the basic principals. Sorry, I struck out on this one. The "How Stuff Works" site is very informative, but probably to advanced for elementary students. I did find several sites that offered how to hack your school network. They were mostly bogus searches, nothing of any great content. JR |
| Week Six Topic Technologies for Long-Distance NetworksDiscussion This week I would like for you to do a bit of research in terms of purchasing equipment for an imaginary network This network has 23 employee workstations and 25 lab workstations. I assumed 4 workstations in the media center. Since the media center is currently wired with Cat 3 cable, I intend to keep the existing switch for these 4 workstations. I also plan to use the existing racks and server cabinets.
JR |
| Week Seven Topic Technologies for Educational NetworksDiscussion There are many “sociality” technologies available for education. Some examples include microscopes that interface with a computer, Lego mindstorms, graphic calculators, etc. For this week I would like for you to find two such technologies (you can use one of the samples listed above) and do a little research on the topic. Make an initial posting which describes one of your two technologies, how it could be integrated into an educational curriculum, and what support issues it would create. The first technology item that I would like to describe is the large format digitizer. The ones that I have direct experience with are made by GTCO. These digitizers allow a designer to trace from an existing paper drawing and create a new CAD file. The construction industry uses them to perform quantity takeoffs of materials. The paper drawing is attached to the digitizer and then using an estimating software the different parts of a building is "measured" with the digitizer. The estimating software then totals and prices the pieces. Most digitizers are connected to the workstation by a USB port. Drivers must be installed. Settings and calibrations must be made within the various software programs that will use the digitizer. Support from IT is minimal after installation. I have used a large format digitizer in the classroom to teach an introduction to building and earthwork estimating to my advanced students. The second technology in a CNC (computer numeric control) milling machine. Think of this as a router that is controlled by the computer. A 3-D design is created using a design software program such as Autodesk Inventor. The file is saved as a certain type of file depending upon the type of mill used. The mill is controlled by a proprietary software that takes the part file and processes it in a way that the mill can remove material from a piece of stock and create the part. Support for this is typically beyond what most IT technicians can perform without specialized training. Most vendors will setup the machine as part of the purchase. JR |
| Week Eight Topic Technologies Unique to Educational Networks Continued Discussion One of the big battles in educational technology is which computer platform (Macintosh vs. Windows vs. Linux) is best in an educational setting. Each of the three major operating systems have a place in the business world. In an educational setting, the OS’s used should reflect the class being taught. A school should not be 100% PC nor 100% MAC. In my particular class, the Autodesk design software will not operate under a MAC OS even with a windows emulator. As for Linux and other types of OS’s, they are used in a very small percentage of businesses. With the exception of some programming and IT classes, they should not be in the public schools. JR |