Hi, Chris,

Thanks for your reporting and for the fine work you're doing.  I'm glad you were able to get out of the computer junkyard area for some more interesting excursions (even if that was largely for Gradebook).  As the quarter moves on,  Shaz will be finding you more opportunities to work with teachers.  

It's a little frustrating for us to try helping teachers with custom setups in Gradebook, since we're not part of the system and don't have occasion to work in Gradebook for our own concerns.  (Unlike First Class, the CPS email-plus system, where CUIP staff do have accounts and work out settings for ourselves that we can then share with teachers.)  So your approach is very sensible -- offering another set of eyes (and familiarity with how online programs tend to work), to help teachers work through issues for themselves.  When that doesn't work, schools should have an in-house expert of sorts to advise others (CPS calls this the train-the-trainers model).  I'm not sure if Ms. Warden is that person for Wadsworth (or whether she would want to be), but you could certainly go to her with a question framed as "Mr. XYZ is having a problem with Gradebook, to whom can I refer him?".  

Please let me know if there's a recalcitrant computer in the lab fix-up section (or on a classroom help request) that I might come over there and look at together with you.  Also, please share your thoughts if you have some ideas for whether/how we could set up a small driver library facility for the CUIP/NSPs working on some of the same computer models at some of our schools. (Say, have you been dealing with any Acer Veriton 5100 / 5200 / 5500s?)

Thanks,

 ==Mitch


Mitchell Marks 
CUIP Tech Coordinator    http://cuip.uchicago.edu
CUIP: Chicago Public Schools / Univ. of Chicago Internet Project
5640 S Ellis Ave  AAC-007, Univ of Chgo, Chgo IL 60637 

Telephones:  Area 773 (O) 702-6041 (C) 620-6744 (F) 702-8212 (H) 241-7166  
Email: Primary address: mitchell@cuip.uchicago.edu
	CPS: mmarks@cps.edu (alternate mmarks@cps.k12.il.us)
	Alternate UofC addresses (use especially to report problems with cuip.uchicago.edu): mitchell@cs.uchicago.edu and mmar@midway.uchicago.edu
	Off-campus (ISP) address: mmarks@pobox.com

Ah, Sun-flower! weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the Sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller's journey is done:

Where the Youth pined away with desire
And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.