“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do,” he told the Stanford grads in 2005.
“If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”
Think Different
RIP Steve Jobs
As most of you are already aware, Apple will have a new operating system release within the next week or so – Mac OS X Lion. This operating system has been radically redesigned at the core. End users will see some noticeable differences in the user interface.
Lion will have Multi-Touch Gestures built in. While users using the traditional keyboard and mouse will not notice much difference, people using the multi-touch trackpad will find many new gestures for zooming, switching between applications, scrolling, etc.
The applications will now open full screen so there are less distractions in the background. And, you can have some applications opened in full screen mode and others in traditional view. Or, keep them in traditional view if that is your preference.
Mission Control gives you a view of everything you have open at one time, more powerful than Expose and easier to launch and navigate. Launchpad allows you to see all the applications you have installed on your computer at a glance. There are other features such as Auto Save, Resume, and Versions that will make everything more user friendly than before.
My experience is all of the new features named above have been easy to learn and very intuitive. I think you will enjoy these and the rest of the 250 new features of Lion.
BUT -
We don’t want you to upgrade to Lion just yet. Some of the other changes made have to do with how Lion communicates with networks. We are working on having Lion fully integrated with our network and our log in procedures. There are currently several people working on the scripting that needs to be done to have a seamless log in procedure where all your network folders mount like we have had this past year. As soon as that is completed and tested, we will be ready to upgrade to Lion. At that point, we will start deploying the upgrades to all district owned computers that can support Lion. The district will have a license for this upgrade and it will not be downloaded from the AppStore.
We have done some testing with Lion and some of the applications currently used in the district. For the most part, if the application is a Universal application, it will work in Lion. If an application depended on Rosetta to run, it probably won’t work in Lion. This would eliminate a lot of the applications that have worked in OS 9 and continued to work in OS X. It has been 10 years since OS X first appeared on the scene, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of the older applications will no longer work.
If you would like to become more familiar with OS X Lion, go to http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/
Many staff members now have Macs that can start up in OSX or Windows 7. To start up your computer and change which operating system you would like to start in, follow this procedure:
1 Start up your computer with the power button while holding down the Option key. This will bring up a window that looks like this
2 Choose the volume you want to boot from and the computer will complete its startup procedure.
If you are already in one or the other operating systems, you can boot to the other operating system by following one of these procedures:
Booted in OSX and want to go to Windows
1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple in the Menu Bar
2 Choose Startup Disk in System Preferences
3 Choose the volume you want to start up in
Note: When you do this, the startup volume you choose will be your default startup volume until you change it.
Booted in Windows and want to go to OSX
1 If you are booted into Windows and want to go to OSX you go to the arrow on the right side of the taskbar
2 Choose the Black Diamond which is the icon for Boot Camp
3 Choose Restart in Mac OS X
This will restart the machine in Mac OSX. Whenever you choose the start up volume this way, the Mac OS X start up volume will be the default startup volume. If you have any questions regarding this information, contact your site technologist or the ISTS Help Desk.
The network upgrade project has reached a milestone. The consultants are gone, training for some of our staff has been held, and we are now managing the network ourselves. The project is much more complex than the average user can imagine.
For employees, as soon as you are entered in the accounting system, there is software that automatically creates a new user account for you and assigns you to the correct site. When a student is entered into Infinite Campus, there is a network account created for that student with user name, password, and correct site. All accounts created are automatically put into the correct security groups which, theoretically, assigns them correct permissions to files and folders on the server. This automation has the potential to save many hours of labor creating and moving accounts. This is one of the really good benefits of the new network. It also is not very visible to the end user. And what about the staff members that might teach at more than one site? Those changes have to be made on a case by case basis, just as they were done in the past.
When the network was originally being set up, we wanted to make sure people had access to what they needed. The access and permissions set on the old network did not transfer to the new network. So, we had a dilemma. Do we grant access to everything to everyone (staff only). Or do we grant access and permissions on a case by case basis. We chose to grant everything initially and fix it as soon as we were notified. This was “ugly”. It took several days to get the different permissions correct. We may still have a few staff members that don’t have the access they need. If you don’t have what you need, contact your technologist or the help desk and we will resolve it as soon as possible.
One of the “bad” things was the change in how users logged in. The machines would no longer log in automatically. The user has to put in their user name and password. Several users are not happy with this. The reason to have things this way is for your security. If your machine automatically logs in as you, anyone has access to all of your personal information that you might be keeping on the computer. Another “bad” part of the users logging in is students having difficulty logging in with their credentials (user name and password). I understand this for younger students (k-2). But my personal opinion is any student from 3rd grade on should be able to accomplish this. I understand it takes longer at first, until they get used to it. And time in the computer lab at the elementary schools is limited to 30 minutes. But, this log in is one the student will use for the rest of their career in the Thompson School District. I think it is a good thing for students to know their 6 digit identification number – they need to put it into the machines in the lunch lines in the secondary schools. I don’t know what else it is used for, but it is like my employee number. It is valuable and should be protected like any other personal information.
Because of this difficulty, many sites asked for and were granted “generic log ins”. This is both good and bad. Let’s talk about the “good”. It made it easier for students to log in. That’s it. No other benefit. What about the bad. Well, users logging in as a “generic” user cannot save to the network. This is because they are not members of any security group. And, if a user is not a member of a security group, there is no access to network share points or home folders. That is the way these type of networks are designed. A second “bad” point of having generic users is any user using this account can lock out all other users of this account. This is usually an unintended consequence of a user logging in with the wrong password. After a certain number of attempts with the wrong password, the account is locked. It must be unlocked by someone in the technology department who has credentials to unlock it. For an account that may be district wide, this can not only affect one site, it can affect the entire district. And, with generic accounts, we have a very difficult time tracing where the problem started. As I was re-reading this part, I decided it can also be classified as “ugly”.
So let’s talk about some other good points. We have some new management tools that allow us to do things that were impossible in the past.
We can set up and deploy software district wide in a very short period of time. An example of this is the deployment of Fasttmath. Previously, we would have had a technologist go from machine to machine installing the software. We sometimes would send a small team of 2 or 3 technologists to install the software and it may take them most of the day. When we got the word that Fasttmath was ready for deployment we launched the installers remotely. Within 30 minutes it was installed on over 50 machines in the district without any manual involvement. Within 24 hours, it was installed on over 400 machines in the district. It is set up, on the Mac side, to be installed by a teacher if needed by launching an application called Self-Service and clicking the install button. It takes about 2 minutes. The Windows side has a similar feature although I am not familiar with exactly how it works.
We can re-image a machine in a very short period of time – without losing anything that currently exists on the machine. In the past, if we had a corrupted operating system, we had to back everything up and reinstall the operating system. Then, we had to reset up the machine. With our imaging tools, we just replace the operating system. The user files stay put. This is a very good thing. Many members of our department have not seen this in action yet. Those who have seen it are excited about having this tool available to them.
Another “good” tool at our fingertips is the ability to configure desktops, docks, web browsers, and applications so there is a consistent experience for all users. This can be deployed either per user group or computer group (it really shouldn’t be done on both at the same time). One of the biggest concerns in the past has been students changing docks and desktops and causing issues for students that follow them. We have the ability to customize the user experience to fit the needs of the different sites, and even different labs within the different sites. In the past there have been all sorts of attempts to use 3rd party software to configure the machines and keep them consistent. Some of these, such as Deep Freeze, had unintended consequences. Software updates and anti-virus updates weren’t allowed to be deployed on machines. Other problems, including decreased performance, resulted. With these new tools, those issues are a thing of the past.
But these new tools have brought with them some unintended consequences. For Mac laptop users, there is an issue of much slower log in times away from district sites. The reason this is happening is complex. It has to do with some hidden applications running in the background that allow us to use the tools mentioned above and how the internet works. We are currently working with the vendor of this product and other network engineers to find a solution to this problem. As soon as this is resolved, we will deploy the solution.
So, all in all, there is a lot of change. I have embraced it and am excited about the possibilities. I wonder if you were aware of some of these changes? Now that you are aware of them, how will you try to deal with them? Will you attempt to move forward and change, or will you continue to do things as you have always done them?
As the beginning of the school year draws near, staff and students prepare to return to their buildings and get back into the routine of schools days. Yes some things are familiar and the same as they left them in May. But somethings are different. Students have advanced a grade level in their school or even to a different building. Teachers have changed classrooms and/or buildings. Some of your colleagues have retired or have been victims of declining enrollment or funding. So there is change happening.
From the technology standpoint, there have been changes also. During the summer my colleagues and I, along with the assistance of an army of consultants and engineers, have been busy changing the backbone of the network that controls access to the servers, internet, and computers. We have replaced the old file servers with up to date equipment that has more storage for users than they could ever imagine. The tools we will use to manage this network are more powerful than anything we have ever had access to before. We have migrated terabytes of data from old servers to new and upgraded individual computers to modern operating systems. We have installed more memory in over 900 machines throughout the district. This is a major change!
But all along, our goal was to make the change to the end user as minor as possible. We tried to consider the uniqueness of every site and user in our planning. We have had countless meetings, discussions, conversations, and notes discussing how to configure things so that end users will see little difference. We have had some of the best minds available to give suggestions on how to accomplish this goal. The end result is users will see a change. One of the things the user should notice is they don’t run out of space when they log in – a good change. They will also notice there is no more automatic log on – good or bad depending on your point of view. The end user should have access to all the files and folders they need with the new system. Up front, we will have some tweaking to do to get the permissions set where they need to be. The desktop for students on the Macs will no longer be managed locally (on the machine). Those settings will be managed by the server. We are not quite to the point we are ready to do that. It will come shortly after school starts. Our immediate goal is to get everyone logged into the server the new way.
These are just a few of the changes that are here or are coming. As I said in a previous post, the way we used to support technology in the district ended on May 21, 2010. The way we support technology has under gone a major change. In my opinion, how we use technology should also under go a major change. Use the minor changes you see with the new network as a catalyst to change how you think about and use technology in the classroom and in your daily life.
The people who read blogs usually have started that change. Encourage your colleagues and students to start changing. Help them to see how and why they need to change. Because, in my opinion, changes in technology will continue to come and probably more rapidly than we care to think about.
Education is, and should be a learning environment. An accepted definition of learning is to gain or acquire knowledge of, or experience in, (something) by study, experience, or being taught. I believe that learning involves change. If I am gaining or acquiring knowledge, I am certainly changing.
Working in the technology field, I am used to change. If nothing else, I can count on Apple to release two or three upgraded computers a year, a new iPhone every year (for the last three years running), new products periodically (MacBook Air – 2008, iPad – 2010), and numerous software updates (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, iWork 08, iLife 08, iWork 09, and iLife 09 to name a few) every time I turn around. My job requires I learn these technologies so I can support them.
Usually, each one of these changes makes the technology easier to use. But some of them demand different ways of thinking about things. With a computer, I have access to parts of the operating system so I can fix problems or customize things the way I want them. With other hardware (iPhone, iPad) I don’t have this access. I have to change my thinking (learn) to accept these differences. This enables me to see the possibilities this new hardware has in our environment.
Over the last 90 days, I have been changing and learning more than I ever thought possible. My involvement in the network upgrade project currently happening in the district has demanded that I change. I needed to start to learn new management software so that I am able to provide support for our end users. I have started to learn programming languages at a depth I have never needed in the past. And, I have learned that I don’t know all the questions I need to ask to get all the answers I need.
The new infrastructure we are putting in place is going to require change and learning from all of our department’s staff and, hopefully, all staff in the district. Our department is going to have to learn new techniques for supporting technology. These techniques will require a different way of thinking about support. As I told several of my colleagues in a recent training, “the way we have supported technology in this district in the past ended May 21, 2010. Supporting technology in our district is going to involve a paradigm shift. ”
But what does it mean for staff and students outside our department? What change and learning will the end users have to face? What change and learning will the end users want to have? Will the new network infrastructure have an impact on student learning? If so, what will it be? And, most importantly, are these the right questions to be asking? I would welcome any comments on this post.
I think it is important that we, as a district, are on the same page when it comes to using technology. After all, technology is but a tool. And I know very well, from a previous career in the automotive repair field, having the right tools and using them properly makes all the difference in the world.
Currently, our staff is involved in a major upgrade to the TSD network. It involves migrating all users and data from Novell to Active Directory along with other upgrades and improvements. This project is part of the 2005 Bond that was approved by our voters. Since I’ve been involved on this project, I wanted to take a few moments to reflect on what I believe it means to the district as a whole and the individual users.
At the district level, this upgrade provides unprecedented stability and storage capabilities. The old file server network was not always friendly with the Windows or Mac operating system. On more than one occasion we were unable to save to the server due to normal upgrades by the Microsoft or Apple folks because the server operating system would not allow it. In all cases, this was eventually worked out by updates to the file server or patience on our part in deploying the latest updates from the manufacturers. This will not be the case with the new network. The new network is optimized for file storage irrespective of the operating system, programs, or applications used. This should result in fewer corrupted files for the end user.
Another benefit to the district is our ability to deploy software patches and updates throughout the district with no interaction needed by the user. The new management tools that are part of this upgrade allow “behind the scenes” updates to operating systems, programs, applications, and anti-virus protection. The days of IS/TS staff requesting access to a lab for updates should be a thing of the past. The end user of a computer will probably not notice anything happening when these updates are occurring. We are also able to mass deploy new software much quicker. Through the package deployment tools, new software can be deployed district wide shortly after it completes its testing phase.
The last huge benefit to the district will be deployment of the ERC computers. Once it is decided, by the sites, what software is to be deployed on their machines, we can bring brand new machines to the schools in the box, set them up, turn them on and, following the necessary procedure during the boot process, have them image from network servers. The image process for a lab full of machines should only take an hour or two.
So what does this upgrade mean for the end user? First of all, more storage space. You will be able to save things to the server without having to worry if you have enough room. Your files on the server will be backed up by a more robust backup solution than we’ve had in place in the past. The result of this is your files are much more likely to be available when you need them in a format that is usable.
A major change for the Mac end user is a single log-in. From now on, when you log into your Mac using your server user name and password, your server will be available immediately. You will be able to access all of your saved server files from a folder icon located on the right side of your dock. There will no longer be a need to have a server icon on your desktop to access the server. For many end users, this will take a little getting used to. In the long run, it should help make everyone more efficient in their use of the computer.
These are the visible, and not so visible changes that are coming. They are right around the corner. Our target for completion of this major upgrade is the end of July so it will be available to all staff and students when they return for the new school year. I’m sure there will be much more information released in the next few weeks. In the mean time, IS/TS staff is working hard to provide the very best support we can to make your use of technology productive and enjoyable. I’m certainly open to comments on what I can do to help you.
In his interview at the “All Things D” event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that the post-PC era has begun.
“PCs are going to be like trucks and are going to be used by fewer and fewer people,” Jobs said. “This transition is going to make people uneasy. When you start to enter the post PC era it’s going to make people uncomfortable. We’ve embarked on that. I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but the transition has essentially begun.”
So, what, if anything, is going to replace the PC? Is it going to be devices like the iPad and other slate devices? Is it going to be tablets or smart phones? Or, have we seen the device(s) yet?
I remember people bemoaning the demise of the floppy disk. It was more that adequately replaced by the flash drive with capacities we could not imagine available in a portable device 10 years ago. The all in one machine, made popular by Apple with their iMac, still has not caught on with most computer manufacturers. The reason given is that users want to be able to upgrade their own machines. My observation has been that most people who purchase a desktop machine will, on occasion, upgrade their memory or hard drive. But it doesn’t seem to be a compelling reason to purchase the desktop machine versus an all in one for most users.
There are other examples of technology changing, for better or worse, that were “unimaginable” at the time of their release. It will never catch on. How many of you remember the portable record player – perhaps several of you because they have been in most schools until the last few years. How many of you had an 8 track tape player in the dashboard of your car? How about a cassette player in your car? Who remembers the first portable transistor radio? The first portable CD player (the Walkman).
Technology has changed the way we live, for better or worse. With devices like the iPad or a smartphone I have access to any facts I need to know – in my hands. I think we need to embrace technology as a tool to help us learn. But we don’t need to learn facts. We need to take the facts we have access to and, through critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration invent new and different ways to use those facts to advance the human condition.
I appreciate more and more every day, the visionaries of the world who have done that. Without the DaVincis, the Benjamin Franklins, the Thomas Edisons, and the Albert Einsteins of the world where would we be? Every day I look at the world and try to follow the early motto of my favorite corporation - “THINK DIFFERENT”. I don’t follow that motto just because it is Apple. I follow it because it makes sense to me. I challenge any readers of this blog to look at their perspective on things and try to think different.
Over the weekend we had the pleasure of having several of our grandkids visit. They are totally enamored with the iPad. They wanted to “play” with it every chance they got. I thought, what a great test for battery life. Starting Saturday about 6:30 PM until their bedtime (the adults took over then until well after 10 PM) and all day Sunday, the iPad was being used almost constantly. It started out at 100% charge when they first started using it. Last night, as I was going to bed, I put it on the charger. It still had 27% of its charge remaining.
I believe this “test” is consistent with school usage. The kids were surfing the web and playing games while the adults were checking email, social networking (Twitter via TweetDeck and Facebook), creating documents and presentations (via iWork applications), checking news feeds (9News, BBC, WSJ, USAToday, Sportacular), and browsing the web and YouTube.
What other portable device do we have available to us with well over 8 hours of battery life (seems like closer to 14 hours). This is another test the iPad passed with flying colors. And did I mention – no wireless network drop out at all.
I have had my iPad for about 3 weeks now. During that time I have used it extensively for web-browsing, e-mail, social networking (Twitter and Facebook), creating content (Pages, Keynote), reading the news, and reading books. While browsing the web I have had several opportunities to play videos embedded within the web sites. Almost all of the web sites I have tried to play videos from have been successful – with a few major exceptions.
One of the exceptions is the district web site. It appears that videos on the district web site are Flash videos. Flash is a proprietary format controlled by Adobe. While it is widely used, it may not be the most efficient format for use on mobile devices. I would encourage all of you to read this letter from Steve Jobs explaining Apple’s position on Flash on mobile devices. I think it will explain why Flash is not, and will not be available on Apple’s mobile devices. It sounds like it may not be available on other manufacturers mobile devices either.