Jonesieblog - Latest Comments in ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Craig — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 11:38:47 -0000

I'll have to try other avenues to get the answer to my question. If I get one I'll certainly let you all know.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 18:30:59 -0000

It's finally gone quiet here! I never got a reply to why we couldn't trial greater privileges for certain members of staff, nor did Craig get a response to his question about reimaging hard drives. Ah well....

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Craig — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 07:00:07 -0000

Great news. The slate fix has now been done. An IT support team member came today and has made the appropriate changes to the system for us. It works a treat. Well done and thank you very much to the IT team members. My classes are finding the new technology useful.

I know I'm harping back to my previous comment on this blog bug I would be grateful if someone in the world could answer my question:

"If I did have administrator access and made a mess of the hard drive, surely all that would happen would be an IT support officer would come out and copy a fresh image onto the hard drive of the machine.”

I see this potentially meaning less call outs and possibly the option of solving minor system problems through a phone call.

Thanks

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Craig — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:14:29 -0000

Hi again folks.

I do stand corrected by Alan C. I did not specifically mention that a solution was being sought. However all I knew at the time was that a call had been logged. An automated response is sent by email confirming this. Staff do not receive any communication as to whether or not the problem is being worked on. We are given a priority rating. (I’ve only ever had low priority against my calls. How does a call becoming medium or even still high priority?) We all know that solutions are being worked towards as we have great faith in our IT support staff. I presumed that people would also know that IT support staff would be seeking a solution to the problem and was wrong to do this. I was definitely not trying to be misleading in any way. I presume that Alan C is not accusing me of this. I was unaware that a solution was close to fruition! Again a failing of cyber communication possibly.

I’m glad that Alan C and Robert sorted out the reconfiguring/registering issue as I am not asking to configure hardware. I am asking to register it. (press a button!) This would take about the same time as recalibrating my board, which I have to do from time to time.

I am glad a solution has been found and can’t wait to try it out. I will also actively promote the use of the slate in schools across East Lothian by networking with my maths colleagues. We do need to get value for money on the last 6 months of manufacturers warranty after all.

However I also asked the following in my previous post:

I see this potentially meaning less call outs and possibly the option of solving minor system problems through a phone call.

Am I barking up the wrong tree here?

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Alan C — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:16:00 -0000

Hi Robert,
Whew! I'm glad you don't see this as reconfiguration :-). I got my facts wrong about the fix. Unfortunately the slate still does need to be set-up in each classroom everytime its used. The fix allows users to do the themselves as Craig was advocating but without the requirements to be an administrator on the PC.

Personally I don't think this is very good and hopefully the next version of the software will allow the settings to be saved on each PC.

My apologies for misleading people with my earlier post.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 18:08:03 -0000

Craig can speak for himself of course, but I certainly wasn't aware that a solution to this problem was on the horizon. The way that the slate is designed to be used is for it to be registered with a computer before it is used. This registration takes a matter of seconds. To describe this as "reconfiguration" rather overstates the level of effort required :) Anyway, if a solution is forthcoming then let's celebrate that success!

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Alan C — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 05:56:32 -0000

I am surprised to hear that the slates for use with the new whiteboards in Maths are not being used. As I understand things, IT set them up in one classroom in each school (we couldn't do more owing to technical limitations with the software). If I was from the Education department I would be very disappointed to know that they are not being used at all and would feel that the investment had been a waste of money and time.

As has been stated the slates will currently only work on one computer and need to be reconfigured whenever they are moved to another classroom. We all agree this is a less than ideal situation. However what Craig failed to mention in his comment was that he is aware IT staff have been trying to find a resolution to this problem. We have been working with Promethean (the suppliers) and on Friday they provided a fix which unfortunately didn't work. However it gave us enough pointers to enable us to tweak it and we have now managed to get it working. We will be rolling it out over the next week or so.

If we had followed Craig’s suggestion then he (and presumably colleagues in each of the other schools) would be re-configuring the slate every time it was used in a different classroom.

I know which approach I prefer.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 12:17:05 -0000

It's been a while since I've commented on this thread. As regards the whole business of anonymous commenting, I've had a complete change of heart. I realised something was badly wrong when I noticed that I was discussing the issue of control with IT support professionals, and I was arguing for more control!!

So, anonymous posting is fine, for now, provided we are polite and constructive. I do, of course, retain the right to remove comments from my blog in an entirely abitrary manner whenever the whim takes me ;)

Craig, in case anyone is wondering, works in the next-but-one room to mine. I'm always up for a pint Craig!

Douglas and Craig both raise interesting points that someone may wish to address.

Paul - I hear what you're saying, and understand that sometimes users have the naive notion that they should have the same freedom on a company machine that they have on their home computer. That is clearly not practical. But there is a middle ground between total lock-down and full admin rights for all users. There are local authorities in Scotland that allow teachers to install software on their machines. They have not experienced meltdown.

On a Linux/unix machine, it is indeed true that if you are not running as "root" - the equivalent of the administrator account - then you can't do any damage to anyone apart from yourself. Unfortunately windows is not so well designed. Non-privileged users on a windows machine can get viruses and worms - here's a quote from windowsnetworking.com:

Sure, if you’re logged on as Administrator and you browse the web and come across some nasty site and download a virus, that virus gains control of your system using your own credentials i.e. administrator. And if you were an ordinary user and browsed that same site, the virus would only have limited access (the level of privileges of a domain user) on your system so the potential damage would be mitigated. But actually it’s more complex than this. After all, if the malware you download is a worm that exploits a weakness in a Windows service, then it really doesn’t matter what account you’re currently logged on as.

We spend thousands of pounds a year, I would guess, on anti-virus software for all of our desktop machines and for our servers. What is the point of this expenditure, if not to allow us to be a bit more relaxed about what we allow to happen on some of our machines?

I return to the simple point I have made repeatedly throughout this discussion. IT support guys say that more freedom for teachers would increase support costs and compromise security. Teachers think that more freedom for teachers would decrease support costs and improve the learning and teaching environment. The only way to find out who is right is to try it out. So why don't we? No one has answered that question.

I'd like to mention a specific example to finish. We are using an excellent open source geometry package in North Berwick called Geogebra. It's a Java based thing that doesn't need to be installed - it just runs within java. This software has been very popular with senior classes, and is used on a regular basis. It has undoubtedly enriched the learning environment. If this had been an Open Source package that required installation, we would almost certainly not have bothered going through the rigmarole of putting in a job request (for one machine to begin with no doubt), waiting a week or two, checking it out then putting in another job request to have it installed on the remaining machines. I'm not saying that the logical conclusion to this is that we should have full admin rights. I'm not even saying that I know what the solution is. I'm just saying that we need to be aware that there is a cost attached to the lack of agility in our current setup. A cost in terms of lost chances to improve the learning and teaching environment.

To be honest, I think that this debate may be rendered redundant by the growth of Web2.0 - provided the web filters can avoid blocking Web2.0 applications we will increasingly find the freedom we seek within the borders of our browsers, and the desktop will matter less and less. In East Lothian we are fortunate that so far the main Web2.0 applications continue to be accessible - given the enlightened attitude of our Head of Education, I'm sure that this will continue to be the case.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Paul — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 11:12:29 -0000

Firstly I must say that I have very much enjoyed watching this debate and the different issues it has covered. Thank you Robert for hosting it on your site.

I would like to extend the issues raised in "A Slacker's" post which was unfortunately removed from this blog. In his post "A Slacker" mentioned that installing updates to software without them being fully tested by the IT department could cause potential security risks. What I would like to cover here is the potential for unwanted programs to become installed on council computers. The programs that I am talking about are commonly known as spyware, malware or virus; Unwanted programs that silently install themselves when someone browses to an infected website.

The reason that malicious programs like these have remained reasonably unheard of in most workplaces is because of the tight control that IT departments keep over computer equipment and the ability to install software. If a user does not have the right to install software then there is no way that a virus or other malicious program is going to be able to install itself.
The restricted user policy also protects IT equipment if a virus does become installed on a workplace computer. As all processes running on a computer run with the same access rights as the user that started them, when a limited user runs a program it can only access what they can access. This means that if the user cannot access the C drive a virus running on the computer will not be able to either. It is therefore best practise that NO ONE logs on as an administrator unless they are performing an administrative task. That includes IT staff.

When looking at granting administrative rights to 'normal' users there is much more to consider than first meets the eye. Someone mentioned earlier that they thought their IT department didn't trust them with administrative rights. The chances are it's not you they don't trust, it's all the virus writers and potentially unsafe programs that are the real cause for concern.

I am not sure if what I have written will make much sense to anyone who doesn't have a background in IT. If anyone wishes to clarify what I have written please feel free.

If you would like to read what "A Slacker" had to say the original post can now be found here

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Craig — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:25:05 -0000

I have resisted the urge to become part of any blog so far but feel that I cannot sit on the fence any longer.

I’d like to say a few things.

Firstly I agree wholeheartedly with what Hilery said on the 12th of October. This cyber communication has almost certainly aggravated certain persons posting on this thread due to their interpretation of others posts. If this blog had been a conversation face to face, we would not be here reading this. I myself have had emails misinterpreted by others due to my bluntness when typing communications, as I’m sure we all have. And in recognition of Don’s post on 13th October, using a solution focussed approach; I have come up with a solution. How about we all arrange to meet up for a pint and discuss this?

Secondly I myself work at North Berwick High School and feel that the installation of my interactive whiteboard has certainly enhanced the learning experience my pupils get. I have made many calls to the IT Helpdesk asking (funnily enough) for help since starting at NBHS some years ago. I have the utmost respect for all the “Support Staff” I have come into contact with. I am aware they all work exceedingly hard (as do we all) and always try to go above and beyond the call of duty. I do not think anyone could say anything different. However, I, as a professional feel hampered very occasionally by the lack of access to system settings on the desktop computer I use at work. I have the same access privileges as the pupils I teach. Therefore I am unable to register devices with my computer. Generally this is not a problem but since the installation of the interactive whiteboard we have had some powerful equipment provided to us, which compliments the board. These include the Activote pads (a voting system) and Actislate (a tablet that can be used anywhere in the room). To register the Activote pads requires administrator access to the computer, then the pressing of 30 buttons. To register the Actislate requires administrator access, then pressing a button on the slate to get a pin code, and entering the pin code on the computer.

Activote pads will stay registered with your computer, multiple users to use them without causing system problems. This job was done by IT support staff for me during the summer holidays. Many thanks.

The slate however drops its registration with your computer if it is registered to another computer. Not so good. We therefore have a piece of equipment rendered unusable by the department as IT support staff will have to come out and register the device for you with the machine in your room every time you wish to use it. I presume therefore that around £1800 worth of IT equipment is sitting in boxes around the authority doing nothing.

My point is that all I want to be able to do is press a couple of buttons from time to time. I am certainly capable of doing so. I just need the correct level of access. I don’t see this as too much to ask, and really feel that there is no harm in letting me do this. Furthermore I don’t feel it should be up for discussion. I need the access. I don’t want it!

Which brings me nicely to my third point. Supposing I did get given Administrator access to the ELC computer I use at work. If I did make a mess of the hard drive, surely all that would happen would be an IT support officer would come out and copy a fresh image onto the hard drive of the machine and hey presto (Correct me if I’m wrong). This would require one visit. It would cut down on the number of calls and visits to the machine I use and allow these overworked guys to get on with more urgent work.

I look forward to the pint.

Craig Stebbing
North Berwick High School
(Just in case you thought I was going to stay anonymous)

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Dave Douglas — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 11:22:41 -0000

Having spoken to colleagues in Edinburgh about their IT support System I have to say that our's is by far the most stable. I commend EL IT staff for this but needless to say I have some issues.

Communication between my establishment for logging and getting jobs done is not very good. Our IT support staff attend the school and often are unannounced. This can lead to serious disruption of classes. Jobs are often signed off without anyone in the school being aware they have been done or are still incomplete and signed off. The IT support staff are very helpful and I think that at times it is poor recording of the task at either or both ends of the task by both parties which creates the problem.

Some tasks which are small, such as logging on as the administrator to delete a shortcut on the desktop left on by an install by IT, requires a new job and IT request. For issues such as this a member of the staff with sufficient knowledge and some suitable training could solve it by having a higher level of access.

Staff have the same access rights as the pupils to the Internet. Sites are constantly blocked and unless you have an alternative access to the Internet you need to put a request in to have teaching resouces accessible just for evaluation.

Staff cannot log on to the internet at home with school equipment and so have to purchase the same software they have installed on school equipment if they wish do do work at home on their own PC. We are encouraged not to transfer files from home PC to School PC without a protracted exercise.

I feel I must repeat myself here in order to restore the balance. I do know how hard our IT support staff are working and appreciate the setup we haveis miles better than Edinburgh. Well done IT.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 11:22:29 -0000

There were indeed some interesting points. I'm afraid though, that the price of participation here is that you identify yourself. That rule isn't up for discussion.

I very much hope that "A Slacker" will come out into the open, and repost his message. In fact, I kept a copy, so if he'll identify himself, I'll reinstate it.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Chris — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 08:59:44 -0000

I think that was a little harsh - that posting seemed to raise some good points. Presumably the person who did the posting works for the Council (maybe even the IT department), so is an a good position to make a contribution - but also has something to lose if they make their identity known?

I'm all for deleting abusive posts from anonymous contributors in forums, blogs etc - but I think it stifles legitimate debate for you to to censor posts in the way you have done. You may stop this person contributing again - surely non-abusive, topic-related posts are welcome even if the person wishes to remain anonymous?

That said - it's your website, so obviously you run it the way you want.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 06:39:13 -0000

This post just received another anonymous post. Interesting points, but I'm not willing to have a conversation with someone who isn't willing to identify themselves.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:26:51 -0000

I don't really follow you Chris. Let me give you an example - suppose that I'm using a mac at school, and when I launch itunes, I get an alert telling me that a new version is available. If I have sufficient privileges, I just click, and the job's done. Without them, and assuming that there's some functionality in the new itunes that might be useful to my teaching and learning environment, I'll have to raise a job for IT, who will have to send someone out to install the new version, wasting a huge amount of time.

That's the kind of inefficiency I'd like to avoid in a positive way, rather than in the way that it is currently avoided - by many users thinking to themselves "sod it - I really can't face going through the whole process of putting in a job to IT, I'll just do without".

Your question about whether it was really my equipment made me laugh out loud! Have you seen the episode of "The Office" where the guy from IT comes to fix a PC? The user starts by saying "I'm having a problem with my PC..." and the technician cuts him off, saying "It's not your PC mate, it's the company's". To answer your question - no, I'm not using my own equipment in school.

I agree wholeheartedly that my focus should be upon teaching and learning, but when I see thousands of pounds worth of fabulous kit being underutilised, it would be remiss of me not to try to do something about it.

By the way - the Activote devices are now installed on all maths machines across the authority - big thanks to the IT support officers for the overtime they put in to get this done.

I refer back to my idea of a trial. We can talk around and around this subject, but no one actually knows whether or not things would be made better by giving greater privileges to suitably qualified staff unless we try it. Why don't we try it?

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Chris — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:28:52 -0000

I would think that your IT Support department are unlikely to allow teachers higher level access on the basis of 'I just want more powers for myself'. Any move towards delegating some administrative access to teaching staff would presumably be on the basis that they were assisting their department and/or other colleagues in some way. Just wanting to be able to install software and do maintenance (not sure what you mean by that) on the PC that you personally use does not seem like a justification for elevated access privileges? Without wanting to sound pedantic can I also clarify - do you have your own equipment that you use in the school (but is tied down by your employer's IT staff), or are you referring to the school's equipment that you normally use? Not many employers allow ANY personal equipment to be brought into their setups, let alone supported in any way.

I would disagree that it's the job of IT support staff to help "those that need it". The job of IT support staff is to support IT across the board. The concept of only helping those that are less knowledgeable about/capable with IT is a dangerous boundary to draw in my opinion.

Kenneth's posting seems quite sensible to me, and gets to the core of this issue - computing teachers/Glow Mentors/other ICT-involved teaching staff etc should be more concerned about the pupils and less about the nitty-gritty of the IT operations. The posting by 'BrianC' from 17th Oct seems to pick out another authority as having a better model to use - but Don Ledingham's blog seems to suggest that East Lothian are already looking at employing more support staff. Will this extra staffing (and presumably faster response to requests to install software) make all this debate over teaching staff doing any level of IT support academic anyway?

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 17:08:58 -0000

This discussion has been given a somewhat strange slant by the fact that it grew organically from the original, unrelated post.

My original offer to help install activote devices was not indicative of a broader wish to be involved in technical IT support across the school. All I want to be able to do is to use my own equipment effectively, and perform basic IT maintenance/installation tasks for myself. Nothing more than that.

I agree wholeheartedly that in general it is the job of IT support staff to provide IT support to those that need it.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Kenneth — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 13:37:54 -0000

I started teaching computing at a time (1993) when I was the only IT support available within the school. If a machine broke I boxed it up and sent it to the central support, which picked up the computer on a Wednesday and returned it a week later, it the technicians could fix it.

In the late 90's I started to see councils invest in IT support with the advent of the NGfL.

However my experience of IT support in education has been of a varaiable standard but on the whole satisfactory. Sometimes I've had excellent support. Other times I've wondered who the client/customer was and what my school/council was getting for the money.

The truth is IT support can be a highly complex system of interrelated hardware and software. It is difficult for young IT officers to have the depth of knowledge and experience that will allow them to solve the problem on first attempt. But as an IT literate individual I'll understand a reasonably complex explanation as to why the "bloody promethean board" isn't working. I'm not looking for reason why it doesn't work I want to know what the technician is going to do to get it to work. And if that involves checking the known-bugs website or contacting the manufacturer or doing some research to gain a better understanding of the problem then I can accpet that.

Finally let me just say that as far as IT support is concerned the best people for the job is a well supported, well qualified IT Support staff not computing teachers or Glow Mentors, they have the children to worry about and that's complex enough.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

BrianC — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 06:52:33 -0000

Just as an add on, I contacted a colleague who is a senior technician with Dundee Council. He informs me that the IT set up in Dundee is very similar to East Lothian, with the IT division having a designated team that handles Education. The team will respond to calls within an agreed time span that ranges from a rapid response to a period of a few days depending on the problem
The big difference is that every secondary school has a member of the IT outreach team based there, this person also covers the asscciated cluster primaries. Their role is mainly network and software related, installing new programmes and downloading drivers etc.
In addition to this all technicians undertake a basic “first aid” course run by IT division to act as a first port of call within the secondary schools (where possible) whenever the outreach member is not there.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Don Ledingham — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:33:11 -0000

I'd just like to thank everyone for participating in this discussion.

The key to developing our practice is to try to see a problem through other people's eyes - this discussion translates that intention into a reality.

We're all in this together - but people should be free to challenge existing practice as long as they have a regard for other people's feelings, take account of some of the constraints which shape existing practice; and adopt a solution-focussed approach. Factors which generally characterise this discussion.

I intend to table this discussion at our next Education ICT Strategic Group - with a view to exploring further some of the suggestions.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 12:38:41 -0000

Chris, it's true that most workplaces have bolted down desktops. Those machines are there to provide a work environment. A predetermined set of tools to perform a predetermined set of activities. Bolting down the machines provides a decrease in support costs without any loss in necessary functionality. It's a no brainer.

Education is different. A desktop/laptop should provide a learning and teaching environment. If we are learning and teaching in an exciting and creative way, we don't necessarily know in advance what activities we might want to undertake. The fact that our machines are bolted down restricts our opportunities to be spontaneous and creative. Thus in education, bolting down machines reduces support costs but also reduces learning and teaching potential. I'm not sure that we, as an authority, even accept that this tradeoff exists, let alone that we have the balance right.

Mark, I agree about the stability of our systems. It's something that I tend not to notice - I'm sure I would if it started falling over. On the other hand, we could avoid all problems in our systems by never switching them on! As I said, there is a balance to be struck between functionality and risk. It seems to me that we are paralysed by our extreme risk-aversion.

I don't blame anyone for this culture. IT teams are working their hardest in difficult circumstances, and see the freeing up of machines as a guaranteed way to increase their workload. IT qualified teachers see the selective freeing up of machines as a guaranteed way to decrease IT support costs. Wouldn't it be interesting to try and find out who is right? As I just said on Alan's blog:

How about a small trial? Select a number of teachers at a school, and allow them greater rights on machines. Wait 4 weeks. Then analyse whether the IT support required in school was greater or less than in another control school, and whether or not the desktops have been in any way screwed up. Also analyse the extent to which IT has been used in interesting and innovative ways in the two schools. Of course, this trial could only go ahead if IT could have a basic degree of trust in the teachers.

What would we have to lose from such a trial

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Hilery — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 10:22:30 -0000

Hi there. I'd like to enter the debate on a different tack.

From my perspective as a complete ICT numpty/non specialist, the debate highlights several issues.

1. That using cyber space to communicate, while being amazing and wonderful and all that (no, I'm not being cynical) also has potential for mis-understanding. All communication does of course, but I suspect that without all the non-verbal signs and checking for meaning that constitute face to face communication there will always be a mismatch in the speaker's intention and the readers' comprehension. This is illustrated perhaps by Robert's very first post which was clearly not intended to cause offense but did.

I heard an interesting discussion on the radio about the difference styles of 'she-mail' and 'he-mail'! Another enormous source of confusion for us all - and not just online!!

I don't know enough about curricular for ICT but should be surprised if these areas are discussed with kids. But if we are encouraging collaborative learning then perhaps we need to address these concerns head on and help our young people (and ourselves) to navigate the morass of potential difficulties as well as explore the exciting possibilities of online working.

2. I'll not elaborate here but the debate also brings to mind the issues around leadership and management discussed in Don's blog recently. Which segues seamlessly on to my final point:

3. A thought about those ICT co-ordinators. I'm new to East Lothian so don't know how they were appointed or how they work. I wondered, however, if the Glow mentors could tap into their interest/enthusiasm/ expertise - along with those with Masterclass experience - to help spread the word. I know (see point 2) there are concerns surrounding volunteers with extra responsibilities but feel that there might be people out there with knowledge, skills, understanding and, crucially, energy to 'spread the Glow' a little further?

Hope this makes sense.

Hilery

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

M Tennant — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 05:45:07 -0000

Chris,

Appology most definitely accepted! Don't worry about it - I just needed a rant as oftentimes teachers suffer from the same problem as ICT officers - people give us much less credit for what we know!

Your further explanation of your earlier post certainly communicates the real issue very well, and I have to say I totally understand what you mean: I wouldn't even know where to start writing scripts for a windows environment! So how would it be possible to determine whether someone is suitably skilled for additional rights, and what rights?

I have to say I like Alan's idea of developing a database of people's skills in schools - but the same question above would still apply.

Cheers,

Mark.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

Chris — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 03:10:53 -0000

'M Tennant',

I am very sorry if you found my comment derogatory. The point I am trying to illustrate (in my own ham-fisted manner) is that Computing/IT is a 'broad church'. By necessity people working in different sectors of the industry have quite different skillsets - teachers are geared up (as a minimum) to have a broad enough knowledge to deliver the curriculum, IT support staff have more in-depth knowledge about a smaller area of expertise. I would suspect most IT support staff can't program (in the traditional sense) or even have a knowledge of programming languages, whereas most teachers wouldn't be able to effectively troubleshoot problems with a router or server without further training.

This isn't to say that SOME computing teachers don't have a much wider/deeper skillset - but teachers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just Computing Science graduates. It is good to see 'Computer Scientists' like you electing to move into teaching - the professional body for Computing in Britain (the British Computer Society) is currently concerned at the general decline of popularity in Computing as a subject choice.

Re: ActiVote Walkthrough Part 1

jonesieboy — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 03:08:47 -0000

Ditto M Tennant's comment about the professionalism of our IT support officers. That's not the issue. I'll reply to the previous two comments properly later today, but I'd like to point folk again in the direction of the consideration that Alan (the man who is accountable) is giving to these issues here.