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Advanced Educational Technology

Course # 21.596

John Studach

December 10, 1996

Final Summary Report

The vision of how this class was designed to unfold presented us (the students), you (the professors), and them (the Horace Mann Community) with an extraordinary opportunity to put into practice a great many of the thoughts and ideas we had developed over the past semester. As it turned out, it was a much better test of the real world than anyone could have imagined. At times that was very disappointing. In the final analysis that dose of realism was invaluable. Few of us will go charging off with blinders on expecting everything to turn up roses.

Rarely do university students and faculty get such an ideal laboratory environment where they can do, test, and learn. On paper everything was in place; access to a very receptive yet untainted school (no formal previous networked environment or established computer culture in place); an administrator who is highly committed to infusing technology into all levels of the school; a well-articulated conceptual framework for what the American University faculty collaborators would like to achieve; the necessary resources already in place or pledged that will be necessary to have a reasonable chance of realizing the vision within the prescribed time period necessary to test and implement the plan; the backing and access to a phenomenal array of resources and volunteer labor through the university; interest and support from private corporate entities who expressed a desire to donate high-end equipment and connectivity; and an affluent school community with a great deal of contacts and clout.

One of the most important intangibles was the opportunity to do some good in the community as well as to accumulate some goodwill and capital within the neighborhood. Such a golden opportunity makes the work more palatable. In short, at the beginning of the semester this was win-win-win situation.

On a personal level this class offered me with a wonderful opportunity to accomplish some of my own goals which include; establishing a long-term relationship with Horace Mann as a resource and collaborator in learning from an networked environment and serving as a provider of health promotion information; having an educational site to learn as much as possible about making the transition from theory to practice; and the chance to explore new areas in computerization and networking that I was aware of but did not really understand. I am very aware of the realities and some of the barriers of working in an urban school with a long history and firmly established culture. Although each member of the school faculty was excited at some level about the chance to work with computers they were certainly not ready to fully embrace or make a full scaled leap into technology as suggested in "The Children's Machine". I wanted to see and be a part of what could happen in this ideal laboratory situation.All thoughts, examples, and recollections given below are meant to be delivered in a constructive way. Nothing that is written is intended to be belittling, trivializing, or negative for anyone or any decision related to this project. My observations are offered as part of the learning and evaluation process.

I. Goals

In an attempt to make it easier to track the progress of reaching the goals of assignment, I have listed my original goals in plain text and made the comments on about how and whether each of them were accomplished in bold.

Goals and Objectives for Advanced Educational Technology

Goal: To increase my personal and the teachers and administrators competencies, skills, and understanding of the installation, uses of and maintenance of a networked environment for the Horace Mann School. This goal includes a conceptual and theoretical framework for the networked environment with a heavy emphasis on the practical applications and uses for classroom teachers and administrators in the performance of their duties.

On a personal level I feel that I made a great deal of progress in understanding some of the issues, barriers, and realities of preparing for an infusion of technology at a school from an administrators perspective. I had three unique vantage points; as the primary developer of the schoolwide network teacher support component, as an assistant in the wiring and installation process, and as a conceptualizer of the framework and process of getting the network operational and developing the fundamental support systems. Therefore I was able to see and experience some of the best teaching experiences possible in this project. As always I learned more from my mistakes, disappointments, and problems than from doing things I already knew. Teaching others such as the session I did on networking for our class was also a great way to bring clarity to my overall understanding and the ability to convey it to others.

The Mann project is particularly interesting because it is being driven primarily through the efforts of a group outside the school. The principal, Sheila Ford is a full-fledged partner and the most ardent support in this process. However it is the leadership of Dr. Barlow, her volunteers, and classes, and Dr. Irvine, her expertise, and students who are the ones that assumed the responsibility for making this project happen. In public educational institutions this is rare.

The ambitious plan called for the network and high-speed communication link through American University to be operational in time for the testing the system and training of the Mann teachers by the end of the semester.

During the course of the semester I had several conversations with a friend whose company wires, and retrofits computer networks for organizations. From him I learned two important lessons. First, the professionals are highly qualified individuals who make a living doing the work right, on time, and within the limits of the bid. The one professional volunteer who led this effort did things so fast, easily, and well that a two-hour job didn't end up taking the whole day. Usually it took less time even though he would make time to teach the rest of us along the way.

Networking companies are acutely aware that if they do not satisfy their clients they will be out of business. They hire people who have the expertise and know the right way to wire a building to meet the present and projected needs of the customer and they have the right tools to drill through thick concrete walls, snake wire through difficult structures, and test all points in the system once they are installed.

On the three occasions I was able to help the crew that volunteered to do the networking for Mann, I came to the realization that the best way to wire a school was to hire professionals. Money could be saved in the short term, but a great many times volunteers and amateurs often spend an inordinate amount of time and energy doing things or the final results do not meet the needs of the school for the future. For example, professionals would not have left several of the classrooms with fewer drops than projected computers. They would have made sure that all drops were live. Most importantly they would have finished the project on time. Time was critical for some phases of this project.

The second thing I learned from my "source" was that wiring was only part of the installation process. He was very dismayed when he talked to me about the great many schools that were being wired for "Netdays". From his prospective he felt that no matter how well intentioned the efforts and volunteers were a great deal of damage was being done in some schools. He knew that when wires were installed without comprehensive long-range plans, adequate training and technical support some times that did more harm that good. People developed unrealistic expectations of grand accomplishments and progress. The result frequently was motivation disappears, and frustration, anger, and other forms of negative fallout are common. He has seen the effect of poor planning of technology in business environments many times, and schools certainly do not have the same sense of urgency as business. His observations are very much in line with what we have discussed in class, experienced through the course of the semester and read in our class texts.

On a personal level I learned a great deal over the semester from setting up and administering the class internet server. Some of the problems such as the difficulty in serving some of the gif's are still unsolved. Others such as replacing a hard drive that crashed (and was regularly backed up) in the middle of the semester, reconfiguring the remote user interface, revamping the plan for security and access to files, and developing the universal and standard systems were a great success. I certainly did not do it alone. I did read to help me in many situations, but I had access to a "professional" and was smart enough to used him. He made me look good, and I learned a great deal working with, talking to, and observing the problem solving approaches he used. I learned some of my most important lessons from hearing his rationale about how to avoid pitfalls and why not to do something.

At the group level I also learned a great deal. Some of the problems arose because there were so many chiefs and Indians in this project. At times there were inconsistent and mixed messages. I think this is inevitable in any project such as this. The secret for an administrator of a project like this is to try to minimize the fragmentation. Two factors are critical in this instance. First, regular, groupwide, and consistent communication is essential. This can be in the form of person-to-person communication, through phones conversations, in team meetings and/or electronically. Access to and a commitment by the all of the chiefs and indians to use a common form of communication such as e-mail would have been a great asset.

Second a shared vision, written plans with goals, action steps, and deliverable dates are important for a complex project. It was particularly apparent that in a situation like this these plans must be dynamic. When major events change, plans need to be revisited and revised quickly. Changes must be communicated to the key individuals involved at each level. To keep the enthusiasm and motivation high a commitment to and understanding of the new vision is vital.

Group

Objective- Post as a web page by Nov. 14th a group to discuss an strategic analysis of Horace Mann technology initiative and begin to devise an implementation plan. This was never accomplished in the way I had envisioned. I felt that if everyone knew the big picture it would help all of us to work toward the common goal more efficiently. My plan was to break down the plan into action steps. I was never able to maneuver myself into a position where I could facilitate this objective.

Objectives: To meet with my Mann counterpart to determine their needs, aspirations, preferred working style, and schedule. I had some superficial conversations with Sheila Ford but could not get a conversation going at the depth that would have allowed me to meet this objective. I could not find a tactful and politically astute way to learn all I needed to know.

Objectives: To establish a working plan to accomplish our individual and mutual goals and objectives. Again this objective is unmet. I was able to indirectly gather much of the philosophical information I needed, but I did not get the in-depth material from each of the three primary project leaders.

Objectives: To record and document my and our progress to determine the effectiveness of our efforts. I was able to document the number of people who put their files on the class internet project server, but not the number of hits on the individual pages. We had chosen NetPresenz as the FTP server and I did not look into or launch any webstat program. Often administrators find the logs are a very valuable tool for determining demand, and also monitoring the types of use that are taking place. If there are security breaches, and other unwise or unauthorized uses, the log is the only trail that an administrator has at their disposal. Safety and security are extremely important issues for network administrators, and beginners and amateurs often neglect this element in their planning.

The final count on who has pages on server is as follows:

• internet10/teched.html - Mindi's Educational Links and Such - Links to Universities and Math and Montgomery County
• internet11/homepage.htm - Ray's information, references, and resources
• internet12/homepage.html - Caroline Dickey's 3rd Grade Home Page - lots of extensive linkages nationally
• internet13/edlink.htm -Honest Dan's Education and Technology Resources Page - teacher oriented pages
• internet14/tutorial.html - National Cathedral School HTML Training Page - newer version probably elsewhere
• internet15/book.htm - Maya Bitsadze's Bookmarks - one of the first - extensive and colorful with animated gifs
• /page.html - Welcome To Mrs. Katz's and Ms. Linn's Class
• internet16/index.htm - Welcome to the Wonderful World of Photography! Michael Pollak - lots of images
• internet18/judiespg.html - Judie Gordon's Home Page - kids and parents links - and a nice wedding picture
• Internet 20 - Administrators pages

Objectives: To devise a way to share our knowledge and experiences with our colleagues. At the end of the first class I put together a class e-mail list and that proved useful for communicating with classmates during the course of the semester. However the list was underutilized. One thing that I realize in retrospect is I didn't check to see who was not using e-mail. I also did not survey the class and/or teachers to determine their preferred mode of communication. That also is essential information for an administrator. It would be a crucial step before or at the very beginning once the network is operational. I never got responses from messages I sent to Sheila Ford, so I don't know if she didn't get the mail, or had no response.

Individual

Objectives: To learn how to devise and carry our a strategic implementation plan.I was able to draft a plan and action steps, but in isolation, it was of relatively little use. I think it would be very useful for the key administrators to reevaluate the initial plan and update it in light of all the progress that has been made, and the unpredictable events that have transpired.

Objectives: To learn the administrative, technical and problematic issues involved in installing and maintaining a networked environment. Here is where I made my biggest strides. In the three times I was able to work with the networking people I learned a great deal about how to properly design and install a network. My greatest education however occurred as I grappled with the issues related to trying to solve and work in and with different subgroups at an administrative level. The personal and intrapersonal dynamics that are involved rival any technical solutions that need to be developed.

Objectives: To collect written and other documentation on planning, installation, maintenance of a networked environment. I failed to amass a comprehensive list of resources, links, and tools that an administrator would need in order to know to manage their own shop. From my previous conversations with other webmasters I was already aware of the value of having tight and lean servers, but not necessarily the ones with the most horsepower. I knew about webstats, autoreboots, server management software, webserver configuration, and other issues. I had also learned through painful experiences the necessity of backups and limiting access to the management side of a server.

Objectives: To learn through experience how to troubleshoot, a networked environment. There is no better teacher than successful experiences troubleshooting. Swapping of hard drives after the server crash, revamping of the security and access privileges on the server, and the preparation for and installation of the universal system on the "internet machines" in the math lab taught me a great deal.

Objectives: To assess the impact and effectiveness of a network in a school environment. Although the internet network is not operational, the intranet is. From talking to teachers I can project some of their hopes about how it will be once the cable is hooked up. First, the students will be tremendously excited. We could see this when we were setting up the math lab. Cool!!! was the operative word of the day. Decisions about the standardization and other critical issues that will affect the whole school have yet to be made. Among these are security and virus protection. At the moment these plans are underdeveloped. Sharing conventions, protocol, and rules of common courtesy among and between users and machines will need to be established. Instruction for students and especially teachers about what it means to be "networked" and how to best work in a open sharing environment will need to be developed. It will be best for all of the support pieces to be in place prior to the plugin date. Additionally periodic inservice sessions for users will have to be developed. Ideally a range of options for learning the essential will need to be developed that meet the learning style and level of technical sophistication or phobia for the different kinds of users.

Technical support and maintenance plans are two glaring issues that do not seem to be in place at the moment. Any school that has a network already operating knows the importance of these considerations.

All of these issues should not dampen the spirit or enthusiasm of the project. There is a great number of reasons for hope. The professors and principals have an extraordinary vision. They have some novel plans for the future, such as parent and neighborhood academy courses, internet classes, and student technology clubs that will bring a great deal more support, interest, use, and money.

Action Steps - Most of the steps below were drafted on the assumption that the cable has been connected by now. I still feel that it is not too early for the administrators and planners to start addressing and planning for these steps for they will help make the transition and overall project better.

1. Revise/update the Horace Mann Technology Strategic Plan. Not accomplished. The only Strategic Plan I saw for Mann had nothing about the overall plan for the future. It had four levels for instructing users, but they were all variations of beginner skills. There was a good sequence for presentation projects - letters, newsletter, pictures, scanner, to book publishing by grade level.

2. Conduct a comprehensive survey of hardware, software, and infrastructure with a statement about short and long term needs. In progress. I had worked with Dr. Barlow to construct a spreadsheet with all of the relevant information. The information could then be part of the long range budgeting process.

3. Conduct a survey of the users to determine their short and long term needs, goals, and aspirations. I began but did not complete an informal survey.

Below are some of my thoughts from the first class - September 10

• 1 on 1 instructors for teachers
• make teacher independent from us
• what would be meaningful for them
• how do we get them invested in the process
• their programs - Claris works, Quark, Word
• how to make a standard environment
• how to handle backups - security etc.
• do we require a users/drivers license
• develop a young cybernauts club

4. Conduct a survey of support, assistance, and inservice options currently available with a statement about short and long term needs. In progress.

5. Develop a plan for extension of services e.g.. Internet classes for parents, community users etc. To do.

6. Assess the feasibility of peer education, student and/or parent technology interest clubs, and training and support options, etc. To do.

7. Plan for the strategic and sequential integration of technology across the curriculum. In progress.

Below is a short list of issues that have been identified and need to be addressed:

• security - network, student etc.
• virus prevention - centralized plan and rules and acquisition and/or purchase of software e.g.. SAM $50/CPU --> look for educational/bulk discounts
• development of an administrators bible/handbook
• inventory of all machines, software, infrastructure
• purchases and acquisitions
• additional hubs
• virus software
• additional cards
• more RAM
• additional drops, drop lines
• software
• network/administrators tools
• issue: system standardization/environment vs. each unique machine
• non-networked machines
• support systems/manuals
• issues about offering support/expertise for other DC schools
• naming conventions, IP addressing system, ....
• matching machines with users demands
• setting up/using printing/printers
• connecting/using external devices - CD-ROM's, scanners.....
• setup/use of the math/internet room
• network configuration plan/system
• teachers support
• service contract
• multimedia/teleconferencing

8. Convene a "barrier breakers" task force. To do.

9. Develop a short and long budget plan. To do.

10. Investigate opportunities for community involvement, educational partnerships, and corporate support. To do.

11. Plan for offering "how to" and "lessons learned" expertise to other schools. In progress.

12. Develop policies that address security, safety, privacy, and other personal issues. In progress.

13. Develop a plan for strategic expansion. To do.

14. Develop on-line support, information, and resources information on the Mann website. In progress.

II. Technical introduction

Much of what has been written above also applies to this sections. Because of the unique nature of my role in the class, I have documented some of the significant events through my e-mail logs below. Some additional thoughts are given in bold.

E-mail log

Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996

Subject: Developed and distributed a class e-mail list - An important communication link.

Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 13:34:14 +0100

Subject: To Access the Internet Project Server with FTP - sent to the users to learn the FTP process. The instructions had been developed and tested on experienced users. This time the majority of users were novices. Most people were successful. It was interesting that very few approached me for help.

Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1996

Subject: Maya's home page is up http://www.nchf.american.edu/internet15/book.htm - Maya has come a long way since the beginning last semester.

Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1996 14:03:36 +0100

Subject: how to upload

From Sarah to the class on how to upload and she put it on her home page.

Date: Tue, I Oct 1996 17:32:14 -0400 (EDT)

Subject: Posting Pages - Dan

"After several more hours work than I expected, I finally got my web page up. Here a tip that took me two hours to iron out, but should make life easier for those of you working with the Netscape3.0 editor. Instead of following the various instructions to put your page up, use the "publish" command on the File menu. Here's the tricky part. You have to type in exactly this information (except type in your own number)

ftp://147.9.72.36/lnternet Project/sharedfolder/pub/Internetl3

user name: Internetl3

password: userl3

Once I figured all of that out, it took 90 seconds to upload my files.

It also automatically made my image tags read the new directory for my image files. Good Luck." - Dan tried something new. A painful experience for Dan but he turned his efforts into a very important learning experience for the rest of the class.

Date: Sun, 13 Oct 1996 14:12:31 -0500

Subject: mann setup - beware i'm thinking out loud.

we got some more of mann hooked up today. the pro is bringing in some more

routers and cards next sat. morning to finish it off. i got the impression

that dr. barlow may or may not find some other csis and/or ed. tech

students useful to finish off next sat. - if they want to learn. i guess

she'll be speaking to you. then he'll get a hookup date from bell atlantic.

i suggested that they look at virus scan software and all outside disks get

scanned before they are put in any machine. dr. barlow is considering

it.

they are also considering what to do with e-mail. we have put our e-mail's

for users on a server and they access it that way. is that a good idea for

mann until they get the cable so the teachers can check mail using/sharing

the erol's account? does that fit into the overall scheme of things.

dr. barlow says that we can put the mann template - how to wire your school

- up as a home page so that other dc schools can do it too. your thoughts?

i have been working on a template for sharing that can be used for all

machines. i'll check it out with you and johno before we finalize it.

then i'll be willing to write up a sheet for the teachers if that's a good

idea.

• Control panels
• users and groups - mann and guest
• sharing setup - file sharing on
• program linking on
• Name Horace Mann
• password
• Name xxxx1
• Network - ethertalk
• Sharing share this item and its contents
• owner - Horace mann
• users and group - none
• Chooser
• appletalk active

i hear you're learning director. very cool huh!! i'm anxious to see what

you know. I am beginning to identify some of the important issues network administration and some of the thorny issues such as standardization.

Date: Mon, 21 Oct. 1996 17:01:39 -0500

Subject: Mann computer survey

here is the beginnings of the Mann computer survey

that was in a Excel spreadsheet manninventory.exc - The beginnings of an inventory that I tried to develop with Dr. Barlow. She has a good and logical naming convention.

Date: Tue, 29 Oct 1996 20:31:04 -0500

Subject: page update

i've updated the appleshare page, but am having trouble with the images.

but the url is http://www.nchf.american.edu/internet20/appleshare.html

i'll get it right - As an experienced web page designer, I knew big images would be counterproductive.

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 16:05:40 -0500

Subject: success

john and i went into the math lab and installed a universal system that

fits on those teeny lc's - they can only have one app open at a time.

we could only load netscape 1.1 because 2.0 or higher won't work with the

ram available.

there are 5 machines that also need eithernet cards in that room.

we can do some similar work throughout the school, but we need to talk

about what impact having a universal system will mean on what is already

there. john's advice is to have it all the same to start with so installs

are easy, and trouble shooting will be minimum - other wise countless hours

can be spent fixing each problematic machine. but before we mess with

anyone's machine they need to know the ramifications of anything new.

maybe that is all clear.

obviously we need to talk to sheila again. The math lab is fully "internetable". It was a great experience trying to get Netscape to run on 4Mb of RAM. It can be done!

Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 14:52:43 -0500

Subject: shallow thoughts

thanks for your counsel and advise on how to help and be a good citizen for

the Mann installation. i have to attend to some class stuff today, but

will work on some goals, objectives, plan, issues, concerns type stuff and hopefully have them ready by fri. i'll send them to you and we can go from there

among the list will be; the list has been given in #7 above

i'm studying the cgi stuff now, i'll let you know if i'm crying or rejoicing - My first attempt at applescripting. A tool which I don't understand yet, but I can see could be will a tremendous asset to technophobics and/or advanced teachers and students.

Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 10:45:03 -0500

Subject: issues update

set out my goals

this list is by no means complete aka - draft, draft ... but it's beginning

thoughts

let me know what you think --. .. how i can be so useful etc. - detailed discussions given above.

Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 11:45:17 -0500

Subject: webpage help - comments please

i've got pretty close to finished with the basics page. now i need

feedback about what's right, wrong, not working, ..... and sometime at someone's convenience i can find out how the printers are being

setup/accessed and then work on getting instructions for that section. i'm open to all suggestions. http://www.nchf.american.edu/internet20/mannbasics.html - the first attempt was poor and full of gif glitches. Now I'm basically pleased, and hope it will continue to be expanded and improved.

Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 11:55:40 -0400

Subject: Re: webpage help - comments please

hey john, cute page... i think you want to call them support angels (rather than angles (John's dyslexia surfaces).. but that's cool too). i will let judith and sheila take a look and give you feedback on specific (who to call for help on campus, etc.) and the like... and i will give it a closer look at the page when i get back

also, if you could look into doing a cuseeme type of thing without ip - addresses Is that possible?

as well as think of a way we can get Netscape 3.0 gold onto some

machines on campus, that would be great. - isn't 3.0 freeway for educational institutions?

III. Network administration

As an excuse to learn more about network administration I did several web sessions, I also signed up for several seminars at the Apple headquarters in Reston and participated in some of the IBM teleconferences. At each of them I collected a wealth of materials, much of which will be read and experimented with at the end of this semester. Of particular interest was the presentation and handouts from the - CCC group.

From my experience in getting machines setup and connected to Eaglenet, a great many problems will have to be solved when that happens. My appraisal of the networking staff is that they have a workable install solution for systems and machines that fit their cookie cutter mold. In situations such as Mann, where there is a hodge-podge of hardware and software, their installs often cause more problems than there were when they stared. This highlights the push for standardization of machines and universal systems. Moving in this direction would make troubleshooting and technical support a great deal easier. The install could be mass-produced in an assembly-line fashion. Trying to deliver a successful install on all of the machines currently in Mann could be an installers nightmare. This is especially important given that the support staff has comparatively little (successful) experience with Macintoshes.

The downside of universal systems is that data and applications currently on each computer would have to saved and reinstalled once the universal system is installed. This move would come at a heavy price for some teachers. An important question is whether it would be better to do now or later?

Finally, below are some of the issues I have been working on or have identified as important to the Mann project;

• build an administrator bible
• mass production of the process - external drives, standardization,
• security
• virus checking
• standardization
• stabilizing servers
• working around gatekeepers
• working with volunteers who were vital

Mann basics - how to get on-line, e-mail, webpages, using a network, how to print

Conclusion

In closing I have included three quotes from Negroponte in "Being Digital" that were meaningful to me in the Mann Project.

"knowledge officer --- you change the intelligence from the transmitter to the receiver" (p. 18)

"New information and entertainment services are not waiting on fiber to the home: they are waiting imagination". (p. 30)

"look at our goal and what happened, more importantly what we learned". (p. 7)

It light of these quotes we can view our efforts from a different perspective. This was in part an ideal constructivist exercise.

This page was designed by John Studach Last updated on April 9, 1997

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