LAN administrator training - Is it too much ?

The task of managing a Computer lab is a demanding one indeed, added to it the other administrative and educational tasks that our LAN administrators are expected to do. Faced with a shortage of competent individuals to take charge of our computer laboratories, we sometimes are forced upon to force feed individuals who may need more of the technical training over a longer period of time than is currently possible.

The twin challenges of strict deadlines and the need to have our LAN administrators practising their trade as soon as they are done with the training sometimes lead to half-baked results with dire consequences for the smooth operation of our computer laboratories.

The questions are thus: Is the time allocated to LAN training too little for the content in the curriculum? How do we measure the effectiveness of our LAN training? What measures can we put in place to augment the LAN training? Are we not perhaps force-feeding our LAN administrators with too much in too little a time frame?

Do you understand broadband?

From the comments on the previous posting it is clear that deciding on the correct broadband option is not a decision that can be made without taking a few important factors into account. In general most schools however are not in the position to make these decisions on their own due to a lack of understanding and knowledge on the topic. It is clear that schools need guidance in this regard. Since Internet connectivity forms an integral part of the Khanya project it must be the duty of the Khanya staff members to give the necessary guidance and to ensure that the schools are in a position to make an informed decision.

In the case of new roll-outs the person that should take responsibility should be the implementation project manager since internet connectivity is one of the deliverables on the implementation project plan. At existing Khanya partner schools the responsibility should be that of the EMDC coordinator who in turn could task the facilitators assigned to the school to fulfill that roll. The question however is whether we as IPMs, coordinators and curriculum facilitators have enough knowledge of the topic to be able to help schools to make such an important decision.

We first need to ensure that Khanya staff members have a thorough understanding of the various connectivity options available. This will allow them to give the necessary guidance and support to schools when it comes to deciding on a broadband option that will suit the school’s needs. In view of this it is suggested that a full day session is arranged for all Khanya staff members where the issue of connectivity will be work- shopped in detail. How do you feel about such a session? Do you think there is a definite need for such a session? Do you have any other ideas on how this issue should be tackled?

How broad is your band?

In the previous posting the question was raised why a lot of schools still prefer to go the dial-up route. From the responses it is clear that most of us agree that schools need to be encouraged to convert to some kind of broadband connection to enable them to make full use of an otherwise underused educational tool.

Schools however need to be guided to enable them to make informed decisions when it comes to deciding on the various broadband options available. The following are a few considerations to take into account when selecting a broadband option that will suit your need.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the data transfer capacity of the connection and is measured in bits per second. The minimum recommended bandwidth speed for schools is 512 Kbps while 1024 Kbps line speeds are also available but at an additional cost. The bigger the bandwidth, the faster the connection speeds.

Cap
Cap size refers to the amount of data the school has available every month to browse the Internet and download email or any other data. The cap size is measured in Gigs. Gig (Gigabyte) refers to an amount of data. One gig is equal to 1000 megabytes. One gig is approximately 300 mp3 songs, 1500 average MS Word or MS Excel documents or about 10,000 e-mails depending on the attachments sizes. Broadband is available in different cap sizes e.g. 1 Gig, 2 Gig, 3 Gig, 6 Gig, 9 Gig and so on. The cap size however also comes at a price. Schools should consider a minimum cap of 3 Gig.

Cost
Another important factor to consider when deciding on a broadband connectivity option is the monthly cost involved. Remember that broadband connectivity is billed on a fixed monthly bases and the cost is determined by the cap size, the bandwidth, etc.

More information on the topic can be found on the Khanya website on
http://www.khanya.co.za/projectinfo/?catid=38

It is important to note that quite a lot of thought needs to go into the decision on which type of broadband connectivity will be most suited for your school. Guidance in this regard can be obtained from the local CeI Services Managers or Khanya Coordinators.

Schools with existing broadband connections might however not have taken the above considerations into account when they decided on a broadband type. These schools might have experienced that their cap is not sufficient for their connectivity needs or that their connection speeds are slower than they hoped for.

The question is “How broad is your band?”

To dial or not to dial

According to a internet usage and marketing report from the Internet World Stats, the number of internet users in South Africa have increased from 2 400 000 in the year 2000, to 5 100 000 at the end of November 2007 . This implies that an estimate of 11.6 % of the South African population had access to the internet by the end of 2007.

Although connectivity costs have considerably come down, the high cost of internet connectivity remains a challenge. A lot of schools still make use of ISDN dial-up connections to connect to the internet. These connections normally also come at higher cost than broadband connections, are slower and are difficult to manage from a cost perspective since costs depend on time spend online.

Schools making use of dial-up connections also very often restrict internet usage to email downloads in the fear of getting exorbitant TELKOM accounts at the end of the month. This however implies that the powerful tool of the Internet cannot effectively be used for other educational purposes. The question to be posed is “Why do some schools still prefer to go the dial-up route?”

The following might be some of the reasons why a lot of schools have yet not converted to a more affordable, faster, reliable and manageable internet connectivity type:
· The unavailability of broadband coverage (especially ADSL) in some areas. You can do an ADSL availability check by visiting the following link on the TELKOM website: https://secure1.telkom.co.za/app/dslavailability/.
· Is it possible that schools can just be uninformed and do not have enough knowledge on the topic to make an informed decision?

Can you think of any other reasons why schools still prefer to use dial-up? Any ideas on how we should handle these challenges to make sure that all schools have a reliable and affordable always on internet connectivity?

Schools who want more information on broadband connectivity can visit the Khanya website at http://www.khanya.co.za/projectinfo/?catid=38. Please also consult the relevant CeI services managers or Khanya coordinators who will be able to give more advice on the various options available.