Questions on Notice

1
Questions on Notice

• Sydney Region CC Training Day Term 1 2006

2
I have tried and tried, but I cannot find the
details of past CC Days at the For CCs website.
Please show me S-L-O-W-L-Y how to find it.

• Sydney Region Website http//www.sydneyr.det.nsw.
  edu.au
• Click Support, then click Technology, then click
  For CCs
• Select the Year 2004/2005/2006
• Now, AT THE TOP of the screen, select the
  specific session you want
• Hey presto.

3
Is there any way that languages can be
distributed in Word from the server so that
students can type in other languages eg. Chinese,
Greek, Arabic?
To get full language support (not just fonts)
involves installing regional language packs from
the Windows CD onto each workstation. It is
possible to do this using Altiris deployment. The
Altiris infrastructure is currently being
implemented. We will look at a standard
implementation in the future Otherwise, its a
visit to each PC that needs it.
4
I made a form with MS Word. It had drop down
boxes, check boxes and a field to type
information in. I then mail merged a class list
into it and had a form for each student but once
the merge was complete the field to type into
became inactive on each and every form. Can it be
done or am I pushing Word too far?
Paul Clark will talk about Forms in MS Word
during his session coming up next. Hold onto your
hats, it will be a bumpy ride.
5
Can you please show me how to add a favourite so
all students or all teachers can see it. (SR Win
2003 Servers)

• For Sydney Region Build Servers
• Place the favourite in the InternetFavorites
  folder
• Students \\server\apps\internetfavorites\student
• Staff \\server\apps\internetfavorites\staff

6
Would you please show in slow motion how to drop
an address (URL) into student and staff
accounts?(SR Windows 2003 servers)
Greg to demonstrate (in slow motion) the process
of creating a URL shortcut and dropping it
anywhere.
7
How can I add multiple folders instead of going
through" insert -new -folder" every time?
It depends on where you need to add the folders
please clarify the question This can be done
through the use of batch files and the MD
command. Some batch programming expertise is
required. Alternatively, you use keyboard
shortcuts. Alt-F-W-F On an Apple, Apple-Shift-N
creates a new folder.
8
How fast (or otherwise) should a computer be
which is only used to run OASIS? Is a Pentium 1
likely to make OASIS run slowly or is it the
program itself?
The current OASIS will work fine with a Pentium
1. The current bottleneck with most OASIS
servers is the speed of the network card in the
server. Most only have a 10MBit/sec NIC. The
speed of OASIS can be improved by a small factor
by using a faster PC, but a Pentium 4 would be
wasted with the current OASIS. Remember, the
OASIS system is going to be changed this year and
will require faster PCs. A Pentium 1 will NOT do
for OASIS Thin Client.  
9
On the CC listserv Greg Sharkey mentioned a
program that could limit simultaneous logons, has
he tested it? Does it work? What are your
thoughts as TA's on this program?

• Its a system called LimitLogon get it here
• http//tinyurl.com/nkguf
• At this stage, we have been unable to test it
  (lack of time)
• It is worth looking at if you are having
  problems with students sharing logon details.

10
Could you tell me how to set up Adaware so that
the definitions can be automatically updated. The
DET seems to block access to the auto update
option in the program.
Note Ad Aware is not free for Educational
Institutions. Ad-Aware and Spybot do not have an
automatic update setting, but they can be told to
update upon running You must set the DET Proxy
into the software demo of updating
process Note SAV 10 has some Anti Spyware
capabilities and can be automatically updated
11
A Double-barreled question (Try separating them)
Q Do children need permission to use the
internet? Yes Q Is it possible to have an
internet permission note for a child that covers
all that child's years at a school, instead of a
new internet permission note each year? We do
this now with child protection notes, and would
like to have just one note for all the child's
years at the school. Yes. But parents must be
informed that they can withdraw (or grant)
permission at any time in writing. Note With the
Project formally known as Webservices you will
have to send out new permission notes.
12
Can you suggest some fabulous software for kids
in Special Ed classes? It must be ENTERTAINING to
catch their interest. Basic number/alphabet
software is great.

• See CC Day Term 4, 2005
• - Ideal Resources
• - http//ideal-resources.com.au/
• http//www.kinderhive.net/techgames.html
• http//www.sparktop.org

13
Why do ASI SOE PCs have 17.63GB of unallocated
space on their hard drives which is not
partitioned?
When the SOE setup was determined, it was decided
to reserve space for future use. It is easier
to reserve space on creation than gaining space
at a later time. Some schools have used this
space to store video files or install other
operating systems such as Linux.
14
Why are there never any Apple-specific questions
in this session?
Ummm. Because people havent been asking them?
15
I know I was dozing during one of the CC Days
last year.... Can you remind us where we get the
patch for the T4L PCs to make the title screen
stay for only a couple of seconds?
You should pay attention to everything we say
-) http//esdt.det.nsw.edu.au Download and
run UpdatePC.exe from the Downloads page. There
are also instructions on the CC Day website
Term 2, 2005.
16
My understanding is that G5 Macs installed as
part of T4L in 2005 were to have OS 10.4. My G5s
only have 10.3.9. How and where do I get the
10.4 software for them?
Oooh! An Apple-specific question! Contact
Software Sales and purchase the DVD. Ph. 1800 065
324 Note this is only available for installation
on rollout computers, not for school purchased,
Westfield prizes or older Macs.
17
Training in digital video/editing and a
Dreamweaver course - what happened to it? Any
chance of it being put on again?
Please contact Lena Arena Sydney Region ICT
Consultant Carmelina.arena_at_det.nsw.edu.au
18
Scope and sequence - where can we take the
children who achieve all the Primary outcomes?

• Contact Lena Arena Sydney Region ICT Consultant
• Look at the following websites for extension
  activities
• CLI
• TALE
• Edna
• Learning Federation

19
I want faculty coordinators to update their
section of the school website. Can the changed
offline files can be automatically uploaded to
the DET server each night?

• This can be achieved by configuring a scheduled
  FTP script task a bit like CEGETTER.BAT is used
  to update SAV definitions on the server
• Alternatively a commercial package like
  Macromedia Contribute might be worth
  investigating.
• But
• - Who approves the content?
• - Has it been tested?

20
We want external access for students parents
for true on-line learning. Is there any recent
development that makes this happen in a secure,
cost effective way?
One option is to setup a Sentral Server as this
contains Moodle a Learning Management
System. This can then be set up with a reverse
proxy which allows browser access from
home. Sentral is being presented after
lunch You can setup any webserver and use an LMS
via a reverse proxy, but Sentral makes it easier.
21
We are planning to get notebooks next T4L - what
needs to be done to set them up on a wireless
network?

• All T4L laptops come with wireless cards
  installed.
• Where/how is wireless access required?
• Have you got the access point(s)?
• What Wireless security are you using?
• Contact your TA for Advice re acquisition,
  planning and setup to meet DET standards.

22
How can I properly dispose of old laptop
batteries?

• Take the batteries to any major battery retailer
  that has a disposal point
• Eg Battery World, Coda,
• Do not throw them in the bin.

23
Will we be able to access the new OASIS servers
from home? If not, why not?
Walking in the sun is more enjoyable The answer
is still to be determined and wont be known
until the final OASIS solution is
established. Why Not? security of OASIS
financial data and access to Student/Family
private data would be a concern.
24
How can I purchase one of the special red
spanners to unbolt old CISP PCs. Our GA broke
ours, and we still have a few old PC's attached
to desks.
Greg Sharkey has spares. If he runs out, ask
another TA.
25
What is the latest update on the Year 6 Computer
Skills Assessment? Has the written component been
abandoned?

• The CSA6 is still around but is being delivered
  in a different format. It is a school based
  competency test delivered when the teachers feel
  it to be appropriate. It is purely school based
  and results collated will be in-house only.
  Running it is also optional. Comparisons can be
  made with historical statewide data from previous
  CSA6 exams. It is a computer delivered test.
•  
• Details can be found at
• https//detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/directorates/schoimp
  ro/EMD/csa.htm OR
• http//tinyurl.com/gpn9v (Intranet Only)

26
Would you please outline the usual role of the
computer coordinator in a school?
Sure. Arrive at school and do everything and
anything with regards to any technology advice,
support and setup (i.e. any device which should
have a power cord or battery) When all tasks
have been completed, return home to prepare for
the next day. Other than that, there is no
official role statement for a Computer
Coordinator.
27
Will the new OASIS fileservers negate the need
for Oasis/Windows switches?

• If a new OASIS fileserver is delivered to the
  school, a KVM switch will still be useful
• If the move to OASIS Thin Client is finalised, a
  KVM switch will not be required
• Nor will your old crappy computer

28
The ASI rollout machines from '05 appear to have
problems with Excel, and the patch apparently
doesn't work. What will be done?
Yes, this problem has been confirmed. It is
related to the initial SOE configuration process
which DELETED the administrative install of MS
Office 2003 from the workstations DETAPPS
folder. For some reason, Excel refers back to
that folder and fails. At present, the only
solution is to download the full administrative
install from the ESDT website downloads page to
your server and then run it on each affected
PC. Once this is done, the problem should go
away. A better solution (if you have a server) is
to uninstall Office 2003 from the affected PCs
then reinstall it from your local server. This
is the preferred method we have been adopting.
29
I liked this session. How do I go about
submitting my own Question on Notice?
Glad you asked. http//www.sydneyr.det.nsw.edu.a
u Sydney Region Website Support Technology For
CCs Click the Link on Questions on Notice
You can only submit Questions from a school
computer as this is a DET Intranet function.
Remember, the questions you ask should be ones
that would be of interest to other CCs.