RHS - OLC 9-15/2008

Just read several messages from a fellow RHS science teacher, David Groos regarding his efforts to set up his renewed computers (acting as thin clients), flat screen monitors and his server network. He is the one who I inherited the 12-15 G3s and the tables custom built by David, that they sit in. He and 2 other science teachers wrote up a grant last year to get the new/used hardware into the classrooms allowing them to set up their Growing Communities of Scientists (GCOS). Best I can tell he has yet to get the computers up and running - this has involved running electrical lines to computer from wall outlets and network lines from from computers to server as well as custom building a newer and refined version of computer tables.

I am quite a bit behind David et al as I still need to run electrical cables and network wires. This like David's effort involves running electircal cables up from the computer tables, hanging same below ceiling, to wall, running down wall to socket. Additional, these cables must be run into surge protectors for fire code and equipment protection.

After that network lines need to be run from each computer to the classroom server. The classroom server then needs to be connected to the building server. And they all need to cooperatively talk nicely to each other. This will not be a painless process as I know of the issues other teachers in the DigMe program here at Roosevelt have had connecting up their new Mac computers directly to the building server.

I will connect our MILI community up to David's cMap that illustrates what he is trying to do with a variety of applications to get students to talk content online with each other and the teacher. It is really cool and I hope to model some of it in my own classroom, that is when I get allllll the infrastructure connected up and the connectivity issues unbugged.