Your Name: Katie Schilling

Today’s Date: 2011/1/07

Day(s) worked or described: W 10-2 (F 1-3)

Total hours for week: 6

The School: Dumas Technology Academy

Kind of Work: Internet Connection, Software Updates, Teacher Help

Main Report or Narrative:

I came back to Dumas to find a myriad of small issues with displays on programs and faulty internet connections.  Many of the keychains on the Macs had been altered so that the default wireless network was changed to a private, non-CPS network.  I changed and locked the access to the CPS network.  The settings on Safari and Firefox had also been altered, so I standardized the features on machines that had been identified by Ms. Allen.

I also downloaded the new security updates to the Macs, but there were internet connectivity issues, so the large (243 MB for just security updates!) file kept getting corrupted.  I ended up restarting the equipment I found in 312, and that seemed to help for a while (not permanently).  The main issue was that the updates were being downloaded as a large package (2GB+ on some of the Macs).  I had some limited success with downloading the files individually, but it was still taking too long (predicted downloads were in the 2-8 hour range).  I decided to come in on Friday to check if it was just the internet connection affecting downloads, or something wrong with the computers themselves.

On Friday, I tried updating a couple of the Macs in 312, and found that the security update that hadn't showed up as downloaded was actually installed.  This was somewhat satisfying, as Wednesday was very frustrating, but also troubling, as they should have displayed as installed after I restarted the computers...  However, some of the other computers still hadn't updated.  I went around 312 and updated as many as I could, the download speeds much faster than those on Wednesday.  I think the problem was the internet connectivity, and just the large file size.  I don't think there are any long term problems-- just a weird day for internet.  I'll finish the updates on all the Macs on Monday.

I also spoke with a teacher using the lab (Ms. Richburg of Room 212), and she expressed interest in getting headphones for the labs (or at least one of them).  The kids have been turning the volume to the maximum during the exercises, disturbing the class.  I offered to lock the volume to a low level, but she said headphones would be preferable, as the kids need to hear some of the exercises.  She said that she and several other teachers had previously asked for headphones for use in reading comprehension exercises.  I just wanted to see if we have any headphones readily available, or if there is a way to request such equipment.  I discussed several issues about headphones with her (They fit into pockets so easily!), and it still seems like a good idea if they are big enough so that they are not easily taken, or able to be secured to the computer via a locking system that is widely used (the Mac store has them on all their demo computers).

Glad to be back!