I've been reading a lot of articles lately in regards to mobile technology and BYOD in education.
The not so Technical capable
A lot of the time unless you work in IT full time, you generally will not have the knowledge of terminology nor understanding. After all if you are a teacher you will spend every day educating students and not learning to understand technology.
VLE
Five myths about classroom technology
I chose these two as prime examples, both are completed by some one who has a speciality field and it's certainly not the technical.
The first one talked about Virtual Classrooms but this all boils down to one thing - Any Where Access. This term is referred to when you want something created at work but you can access it on holiday, while at home and all you need is a device with signal (4G/Wi-Fi or cable).
There is a no physical hardware for virtualised systems.. wrong - there is a physical device for everything on the internet. The term Cloud is a bit like Wi-Fi where the "Fi" doesn't actually mean anything, it's a simple non techie designation for the every day user.
Everything you save will be saved to a physical server with a physical disc. It could be stored any where in the world. As a result there is a lack of actual education towards the students, we are creating in their minds that technology is simple every day. It's easy to maintain, use and pay for which sadly in the real world it's not.
The second one talked about internet filtering shouldn't be so strict, wrong. We have a duty of care to protect Students at School. They can be bullied at School which is why we have to hammer that hard, so what if they get bullied at home? that's not the attitude to have. If a student can get bullied at home you don't ignore bullying on site. If a student is racist at School you don't ignore that because the student can be racist at home. They are real life issues that require tackling.
Teaching a student that there is "a reason why filtering exists", educates them in to realising that's how systems are setup every where. Even service providers are now by default blocking inappropriate materials which requires the parent to "opt out" why? for safety of children.
I once dealt with a case where a student was being bullied on Facebook, that student refused to delete that person because she wanted to know "what was being said". Instead of reporting it asap and blocking that person, it escalated to a much severe incident.
Educating the students doesn't always work which is why you have a plan B - Internet Filtering. And in the day and age of extremism we have even more responsibility to protect children - they are after all children.
The people who vote against filtering are rarely those who deal directly with student behaviour - coincidence?
5 Reasons Organizations Embrace BYOD
This one, doesn't exactly show what the 5 reasons actually are but there is one. AnyWhereAccess which I have mentioned before, if you are able to access all your work anywhere this is the biggest benefit. BUT what has this got to do with BYOD?
Nothing actually. Most people have access to IT in some kind of way, but why BYOD? I can't produce professional work on my latest iPhone. I can't spend hours and hours typing up reports or going through budget spreadsheets so why would I just have a phone?
This is where it makes no sense, the article writer has not actually spent time doing BYOD instead he has simply pointed out that more and more people have mobile technology. I use my mobile for email, internet and Apps. I have a calendar on it for meetings and of course instant messaging plus phone calls. I can't exactly do my job on it, I can't use it to remote on to systems to do maintenance with it's small screen. I can't restore any work, alter data drive sizes, reset the endless amount of passwords and generally perform 90% of my work.
I can do some of it but again with it's small screen does it make it a "productive" method? No.
This is why again it goes back to my original assessment that a lot of people reviewing technology actually have minimal experience of actually using it. Spending time with kids, less tech savvy adults and the general public. People want things to "work" and work fast, to have everything they need at a click of a button which is why BYOD schemes are failing. When they fail - they are costing tens of thousands...
Fit For Purpose
It should always be this title, if you go on holiday and don't plan on producing work. Having access to your emails is great on the phone. If you plan on being productive does it make sense in just using the phone?
As an artist creating a painting you would always have the correct tools, likewise for any job out there. So I say to you - use the right tool for the right job.
iPad Apps
Again, looking through the above. You see a lot of wonderful Apps and some of them I have personal experience with. Not all of them are the full versions of the product when compared to software versions installed on Windows/Macs. What's also not mentioned is the fact where is the Office replacement? Productivity is very important for Ofsted and results, if you don't get them right the School suffers and so does educating students.
There is a severe lack of "fit for purpose" on technology and it creates that blindness because people protect their jobs and don't necessarily want the truth out there. It's very easy for anyone to claim "this is great and works" but to put it through every day life with students is a very different subject.
I take one look at the first paragraph - "In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m quite a fan of the iPad (the Lollipop Nexus 9’s not too bad either). Not because of its design or because its by Apple or any of that, but because of its keen heritage in the learning arena"
Unfortunately what is not mentioned is the fact that iPads have not long actually caught up with education. When they were first invented, every School wanted one and realised there was no management controls - nothing. Only lately could you actually manage them simply and easily.
BUT that's not what this is about, it's the learning side of things which again - The iTunes store only has around 10% better quality apps and availability. With the GooglePlay store fast catching up, after all the iTunes store is older than Google's. Yet according to this article writer, it's keen heritage in the learning area. Even though Apple has only made learning a priority in the last 3 years - not really a heritage to learning and certainly not "keen". Microsoft have been a major part much more than Apple in education plus business's (that includes learning) yet even M$ have been far behind what education is about. Likewise for the iPad, Microsoft have had to fast catchup to what learning is about with Office 365, email, tools and even the new "Whiteboard".
So again, this assumption that Apple/iPad have has that keen heritage to learning is sadly a lie. It would be similar to claiming a brand new football team has a lot of history after a few seasons.. which wouldn't be the case for a new team, new board, new stadium etc.
The simply fact is this is about being that pro "Apple" and "iPad". Which I have talked about plenty of times before, don't hide the fact you are pro Apple and don't pretend it's not the main reason why.
Simply state facts so people don't get the wrong information.
The Salesman
I've already covered quite a bit about the salesman, he or she will not care in any way about you. They don't care about the impact on teaching and learning nor budget issues for the School, their main purpose is to sell you what they have.
Having met many salesman over the years and proved that even the most friendly ones can con/over charge you I can only say they always have their own intentions. Even consultants will have their own preference and will want to prove their own opinion as fact.
In my job I have no choice but to prove best value, fit for purpose and what I know will give the least amount of issues and least amount of work required for teachers.
Always keep an open mind, avoid looking at what seems 'pretty' and make sure you have a problem that requires solving. People simply have a habit of buying something then deciding how they can use it instead of thinking how to use technology before the purchase.
Showing posts with label Virtualisation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virtualisation. Show all posts
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Monday, 6 June 2016
So much money wasted
So it's that time of year where I have to review our asset data.
One thing that must be kept up to date is this information ready for the AUDIT. If they ask where a piece of kit is you must be able to show them.
Looking through the servers you kind of see how much the School has spent on it's current stock. How much does it add up to? over 20K? 30K? No - Almost £60,000. That's roughly £7500+ a year on servers.
This is why Virtualization is considered to be the better financial sense not just about reliability, redundancy and future proofing. If the School had originally planned up to 10 Years down the line for servers like it can on Networking. It would have gone down the line of my "Dream Plan" which is all apart of different other blogs I've made.
Adopt a Primary
Virtual Server
System from Scratch
So a simple two Virtual Servers, an Exchange box and a authentication Domain Controller.
The total cost of the above if done for our specifications is £30,000. Which still only covers half the current costs of all the servers. We could have also spent quite a bit of money going down the SAN route for our storage needs. The servers could have been over egged for a 10 year plan.
What does that mean? You don't hold back on storage, memory or processor to make sure you are setup for 10 Years. It means you have a built system which is reliable and no extra costs down the line - except out of warranty failures which wouldn't be too costly.
Not always able to plan 10 Years - I completely accept this. Not many knew IT would be very important today. Now though should Schools look to go for a 10 Year plan when it comes to the "Core" system. Considering how we spend on the Network side of things but we neglect the servers?
Considering "Cloud" options are still not good enough to consolidate everything externally, we are probably 10 Years at least from that.
Which of course goes back to the title - how much money has been wasted not just lack of planning but the ever changing world?
Now with more budgets being squeezed are we going to see more IT failures? With Schools pushing for more BYOD or reverting back to PC setups - again how much money is wasted?
I know the major problem in all the above but that's discussed in other posts.
One thing that must be kept up to date is this information ready for the AUDIT. If they ask where a piece of kit is you must be able to show them.
Looking through the servers you kind of see how much the School has spent on it's current stock. How much does it add up to? over 20K? 30K? No - Almost £60,000. That's roughly £7500+ a year on servers.
This is why Virtualization is considered to be the better financial sense not just about reliability, redundancy and future proofing. If the School had originally planned up to 10 Years down the line for servers like it can on Networking. It would have gone down the line of my "Dream Plan" which is all apart of different other blogs I've made.
Adopt a Primary
Virtual Server
System from Scratch
So a simple two Virtual Servers, an Exchange box and a authentication Domain Controller.
The total cost of the above if done for our specifications is £30,000. Which still only covers half the current costs of all the servers. We could have also spent quite a bit of money going down the SAN route for our storage needs. The servers could have been over egged for a 10 year plan.
What does that mean? You don't hold back on storage, memory or processor to make sure you are setup for 10 Years. It means you have a built system which is reliable and no extra costs down the line - except out of warranty failures which wouldn't be too costly.
Not always able to plan 10 Years - I completely accept this. Not many knew IT would be very important today. Now though should Schools look to go for a 10 Year plan when it comes to the "Core" system. Considering how we spend on the Network side of things but we neglect the servers?
Considering "Cloud" options are still not good enough to consolidate everything externally, we are probably 10 Years at least from that.
Which of course goes back to the title - how much money has been wasted not just lack of planning but the ever changing world?
Now with more budgets being squeezed are we going to see more IT failures? With Schools pushing for more BYOD or reverting back to PC setups - again how much money is wasted?
I know the major problem in all the above but that's discussed in other posts.
Friday, 27 May 2016
Adopt a Primary
A topic I see occasionally popping up especially for Academies and Secondary Schools. With costs of IT Support high when you take in to account equipment, software, support and staff it really is a hefty cost.
So a simple - Yes, I would seriously consider adopting either personally or professionally a Primary School.
How would I do it? Professionally (adoption more by the School than my self)
The first task I would perform is evaluate the entire Primary IT:
The School that NEEDs IT
My advice for the Primary would be to make sure their equipment it self was future proof, spend the money now to ensure reliability. It's quite simply to create two servers both synchronised with one being housed at the Secondary School and another being at the Primary. This allows easy maintained, administration and major tasks carried out. This includes day to day, backups and essential reliability work to be dealt with. Two servers on site, the secondary server would be primarily software, data storage, imaging and anything else the Primary needed.
Depending on the size of the School it wouldn't need to be two massively expensive servers but the more costs = the more future proofing and availability.
The popular word of course Virtualisation
Infrastructure
It would also be critical to install good quality managed switches, my choice has been HP although they are expensive they seem to last easy 10 years with barely any failures. Any cabling and trunking to be professionally installed and in any classrooms that could potentially have IT installed.
One day a week - Technician
Currently we can't really spare a man of my team, but given we have cancelled our BYOD Scheme and things are slowly coming to plan - we could soon.
Work together with Management
This is a crucial part, many times I have seen technicians fall out with Primaries because agreements were more tongue in cheek. Make it a simple agreement, keep it short and always electronically. Make sure the Primary is aware of any non day to day jobs are planned well ahead of schedule. A good example would be installation of new computer areas, if there is no trunking, networking etc then we are talking about a lot of work.
So make it very clear that one day a week jobs need to be alerted (preferably sent by an email), any jobs not done by email can be performed but must be recorded/signed off. This allows some one in my position to see the kind of day to day jobs. When I look at our day to day jobs in simple IT areas, we are talking about reimaging a pc, replacing a monitor and installing the occasional update.
Always plan for a contingency budget in the event of a failure, this can also be put towards any IT replacements/improvements before the new financial year.
Why IT in Primaries
The simple fact is, IT is every where and Pupils need to be aware of how the world works. I've encountered Students where they have had zero clue about IT and are being left behind by those who know what they are doing. Everyone has a device these days, you still see offices with pcs, the doctors, banks, supermarkets and even garages.
Plan, Plan and Plan some more - Look to 3-5 Years
Although totally unrealistic to plan for 5 years time, it's not unrealistic to consider it. Keep in mind to keep things working for that long at least.
Don't quite agree? let me know.
So a simple - Yes, I would seriously consider adopting either personally or professionally a Primary School.
How would I do it? Professionally (adoption more by the School than my self)
The first task I would perform is evaluate the entire Primary IT:
- Servers
- Networking
- Computers
- Software
- Need or Want
The School that NEEDs IT
My advice for the Primary would be to make sure their equipment it self was future proof, spend the money now to ensure reliability. It's quite simply to create two servers both synchronised with one being housed at the Secondary School and another being at the Primary. This allows easy maintained, administration and major tasks carried out. This includes day to day, backups and essential reliability work to be dealt with. Two servers on site, the secondary server would be primarily software, data storage, imaging and anything else the Primary needed.
Depending on the size of the School it wouldn't need to be two massively expensive servers but the more costs = the more future proofing and availability.
The popular word of course Virtualisation
Infrastructure
It would also be critical to install good quality managed switches, my choice has been HP although they are expensive they seem to last easy 10 years with barely any failures. Any cabling and trunking to be professionally installed and in any classrooms that could potentially have IT installed.
One day a week - Technician
Currently we can't really spare a man of my team, but given we have cancelled our BYOD Scheme and things are slowly coming to plan - we could soon.
Work together with Management
This is a crucial part, many times I have seen technicians fall out with Primaries because agreements were more tongue in cheek. Make it a simple agreement, keep it short and always electronically. Make sure the Primary is aware of any non day to day jobs are planned well ahead of schedule. A good example would be installation of new computer areas, if there is no trunking, networking etc then we are talking about a lot of work.
So make it very clear that one day a week jobs need to be alerted (preferably sent by an email), any jobs not done by email can be performed but must be recorded/signed off. This allows some one in my position to see the kind of day to day jobs. When I look at our day to day jobs in simple IT areas, we are talking about reimaging a pc, replacing a monitor and installing the occasional update.
Always plan for a contingency budget in the event of a failure, this can also be put towards any IT replacements/improvements before the new financial year.
Why IT in Primaries
The simple fact is, IT is every where and Pupils need to be aware of how the world works. I've encountered Students where they have had zero clue about IT and are being left behind by those who know what they are doing. Everyone has a device these days, you still see offices with pcs, the doctors, banks, supermarkets and even garages.
Plan, Plan and Plan some more - Look to 3-5 Years
Although totally unrealistic to plan for 5 years time, it's not unrealistic to consider it. Keep in mind to keep things working for that long at least.
Don't quite agree? let me know.
Tuesday, 3 May 2016
After that Bank Holiday
The weekend after bank holiday and a few weeks to go before the next half term.
Few things I had to discuss first day back :
We've come up with a temp solution to a major data issue on expanding our server. The bad news is this isn't permanent and will add fuel to the fire of buying a new one. Although we are still seriously considering Cloud, compared to the costs of 1GB broadband or even half that - is it cost effective to purchase a SAN setup?
My Mobile
This has popped up occasionally, originally I had allowed Staff to call me directly in the event of any emergencies. The bad news is, this was no longer being used for emergencies but as a way to bypass standard Help Desk procedure.
Found my self getting phone calls for minor Website updates, Printing issues and if some one is on their way to an event (even though some one was). The last straw was being called up on my day off over a minor problem which could have gone to my team. So enough was enough and I put a stop to it. This returns to another issue in education, where as people have (usually) no choice but to stick to the preferred way of contacting IT Support in Schools this is pretty much how people feel like. In a large company you wouldn't see workers leaving their areas to report problems, you would have no choice but to phone/email and join the queue. A lot of places don't even have On Site Support which again means following standard procedure. Which is why Schools do not resort to external IT Support - they rely on that Hands On ASAP approach.
Interactive White Boards
Going to make my self a little bit clear on these, I do not believe in them. When Schools are having no issues with grades and results without these - every School should be able to make do. IT is about making life easier and simpler. Which is why our classrooms have PCs > Projectors, this means no messing around with cables and laptops. This allows the Teacher to walk in, sit down, log in and turn on the projector. Which provides that Teacher with a working setup of IT. They are able to broadcast any work to that Student which can be prepared any where in the world with IT Access. Smart Boards are a way of helping Staff interact with Students, but you would think they already knew how to do that? Teaching Students that their life/education is important which seems to be doing the trick - after all we have seen a rise of stress for youngsters in education.
Considering the £1000-£4000 cost for an IWB/All in one setup and witnessing they are not being used (even with constant training being offered)? How much money had been wasted to stick all them in every classroom (we have around 80-100). We are talking about the possibility of £100,000 to £400,000 being spent over a 2-3 Year period. Ever want to ask why Schools are losing their budgets? Because of the waste happening. Then you have to remember that the equipment will most likely not last 10 Years - meaning replacements of another £1000 - £1500 if looking at cost effective measures/equipment. You seriously have to consider budgets in regards to Smart/Promethean Boards. p.s Yes I am aware of iProjectors.
Overhaul of a Department
One thing I really enjoy, tearing out all the old and putting new. This isn't just about making it work, look better but future proofing for the next 10+ Years. Every cable will be pulled out, new switch cabinet setup dedicated to that department and of course new trunking etc. This also allows us to put new PCs/Speakers which I hope to budget for. The setup currently is very messy, unreliable and untidy - some are very poor. Although it's not in my budget plan I tend to save a few grand which would allow me to do this.
Due to the amount of recording we do, we will know what sockets will be pulled out so we can disconnect from the current switch.
Once this area has been finished, it will be a huge chunk out of our current planning for improving the state of IT Site Wide.
Don't agree? Suffer the same? don't be afraid to comment!
Few things I had to discuss first day back :
- Our Data Drive considerations again.
- Should certain Staff have access to phone my mobile.
- IWBs for the new area.
- Possible Cabling completely redone in a department.
We've come up with a temp solution to a major data issue on expanding our server. The bad news is this isn't permanent and will add fuel to the fire of buying a new one. Although we are still seriously considering Cloud, compared to the costs of 1GB broadband or even half that - is it cost effective to purchase a SAN setup?
My Mobile
This has popped up occasionally, originally I had allowed Staff to call me directly in the event of any emergencies. The bad news is, this was no longer being used for emergencies but as a way to bypass standard Help Desk procedure.
Found my self getting phone calls for minor Website updates, Printing issues and if some one is on their way to an event (even though some one was). The last straw was being called up on my day off over a minor problem which could have gone to my team. So enough was enough and I put a stop to it. This returns to another issue in education, where as people have (usually) no choice but to stick to the preferred way of contacting IT Support in Schools this is pretty much how people feel like. In a large company you wouldn't see workers leaving their areas to report problems, you would have no choice but to phone/email and join the queue. A lot of places don't even have On Site Support which again means following standard procedure. Which is why Schools do not resort to external IT Support - they rely on that Hands On ASAP approach.
Interactive White Boards
Going to make my self a little bit clear on these, I do not believe in them. When Schools are having no issues with grades and results without these - every School should be able to make do. IT is about making life easier and simpler. Which is why our classrooms have PCs > Projectors, this means no messing around with cables and laptops. This allows the Teacher to walk in, sit down, log in and turn on the projector. Which provides that Teacher with a working setup of IT. They are able to broadcast any work to that Student which can be prepared any where in the world with IT Access. Smart Boards are a way of helping Staff interact with Students, but you would think they already knew how to do that? Teaching Students that their life/education is important which seems to be doing the trick - after all we have seen a rise of stress for youngsters in education.
Considering the £1000-£4000 cost for an IWB/All in one setup and witnessing they are not being used (even with constant training being offered)? How much money had been wasted to stick all them in every classroom (we have around 80-100). We are talking about the possibility of £100,000 to £400,000 being spent over a 2-3 Year period. Ever want to ask why Schools are losing their budgets? Because of the waste happening. Then you have to remember that the equipment will most likely not last 10 Years - meaning replacements of another £1000 - £1500 if looking at cost effective measures/equipment. You seriously have to consider budgets in regards to Smart/Promethean Boards. p.s Yes I am aware of iProjectors.
Overhaul of a Department
One thing I really enjoy, tearing out all the old and putting new. This isn't just about making it work, look better but future proofing for the next 10+ Years. Every cable will be pulled out, new switch cabinet setup dedicated to that department and of course new trunking etc. This also allows us to put new PCs/Speakers which I hope to budget for. The setup currently is very messy, unreliable and untidy - some are very poor. Although it's not in my budget plan I tend to save a few grand which would allow me to do this.
Due to the amount of recording we do, we will know what sockets will be pulled out so we can disconnect from the current switch.
Once this area has been finished, it will be a huge chunk out of our current planning for improving the state of IT Site Wide.
Don't agree? Suffer the same? don't be afraid to comment!
Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Non-Existant Budgets of IT
- Get the suppliers to fight - show them the prices you can get
- Forget Branded PCs
- Provide what's needed, not what you would like
- Don't be set in your ways
- Look at alternatives and play/test
- Consider Cloud
- Review your annual licenses, facilities - are you using them?
- Virtualise Servers
- Permanently fix problems
When ever I get my "Forced" Governor quotations I don't consider this a need for them, instead I consider this a must have for me. Tell the suppliers what you can get some where else. Get them to fight each other for your business. They need you - remember that. I once got a quote of a PC for just around £300 for the spec I wanted and this was after I had already received a 30x quote. The quotations were all similar from about 5 suppliers - some high end some not so. I started the bidding war for my business by telling them what each other had quoted us for. Four of them immediately started dropping the prices, I updated each other with those prices while also knocking of my own few pounds. The end result was a PC with the same spec I wanted, same make etc - £211. The monitors I also managed to knock off £20, projectors £15, sound bars £35 and a few other bits and pieces. Now not only was my first initial quote of 30x PCs just at £300 I also mentioned that we was after closer to 100 of them. It became a cat amongst the pigeons.
Number 2
Why branded PCs? are the internal components any different? No. Are paying for specialised towers? No. Are you paying them to be made in the local County? No they are all being made generally - China in a warehouse. This is sadly another "Set in their ways" moment. 100 Branded PCs vs Non Branded and we managed to save thousands. Branded PCs in the same spec would have cost around £350 each and another £20 on top for the monitor. The failure rate of our non Branded? 2 in 250 over 3 Years. The Branded? only 1. Is it worth the additional cost of an extra failure rate?
Number 3
Provide the spec of the machines that are needed by users, not super fast that will never be used by them. Unless you are doing a mass amount of professional demanding work which need that extra punch there is no reason you should be getting high end spec machines. After 5 years they will be no different than simple spec - by simple spec I mean at least Intel i3s not Celerons. I avoid Celerons because they do tend to age badly - in my experience.
Number 4 and Number 5
Be open minded to alternatives, try them out for your self.
Number 6
I am considering Cloud which I will cover in another post, not that I want to but because of the "Savings" I can make to the School.
Number 7
A lot of Schools in my Years have spent tens of thousands on external services that do not get used or get used enough. When you start to question Staff about pulling the plug, they start advertising it to other Staff. They prove what the software can do to everyone. At times you will find that software isn't known but others, you may find its simply not being used and can be scrapped which means money saving.
Number 8
One of the first things I did in my current job when I arrived was quick review over everything. The networking, the servers, IT Suites, state of the classrooms IT setup and what the day to day jobs were for the Team. The first main one was buying a Virtual Server. We had almost 20 servers and had spent an average of £2,000 every single year for a new server every time some one wanted a new facility. Course the School wasn't planning ahead, they would buy a basic server with a bit of storage and voila - done. Virtual Server although very expensive at under £10,000 allowed us to make a massive impact not only for the future development but replace any failing servers and much more. I will cover more of this in another post.
Number 9
The easy one, permanently fix problems so you don't have to visit them again. If this means you need to fight your corner for a better budget today or to make sure IT Support are doing IT Support - Do it. Each hour you cut down a year later through permanently fixing problems, is an hour you can better spend saving the School money through projects, cutting down issues and generally making things better. This will also be covered in another post regarding IT Support.
Don't agree? Suffer the same? don't be afraid to comment!
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