Week Four

Chapters Three & Four

Question 2: Why is it advantageous for educators to share resources and programs on a network? What concerns are associated with program sharing?

When schools invest in computer networks, they are gaining a productivity tool that is both powerful and cost-effective. The power of a computer network is that it allows users to share hardware, software, and data.

Networks allow many users to share hardware, thus saving costs. For example, a classroom equipped with a dozen computers only needs one networked printer which can be shared by all users in the classroom. All teachers in the school can easily share one centrally located color laser printer if it is networked. A teacher could simply send the job to the printer from her classroom computer and pick it up at the office when convenient. Networking allows maximum utilization of hardware resources.

When software is installed on a network server, it can be easily shared among a large number of workstation, which brings several advantages. Once installed on the server, new software is instantly available to specified workstations on the network. This saves the time-consuming process of going around to individual computers to install new software on each one. Maintaining and upgrading software is also simplified because the server can “push” upgrades out to workstation in a matter of minutes. Another advantage of network software is lower cost. Often vendors offer site licenses for software applications at a substantial savings over the total cost of an equivalent number of standalone packages.

One of the biggest advantages of networking for educators is data sharing. Teaching and learning generates a large amount of information (data). By storing much of this information in the server, it can be readily available to all parties who need access to it. For example, mathematics teachers may store a bank of worksheets, handouts, or masters on the server to be shared among themselves. Templates for lesson plans, attendance sheets, and other frequently used forms can be easily accessed on the server. By storing interdisciplinary project files on the server, students can access their project from workstations in any of their classes. Teachers have instant access to student records and basic information when that data resides on the server. A final example involves teacher collaboration. Recently there has been a push to integrate vocational education with academics by creating assignments which are evaluated by both a vocational teacher and the associated academic teacher. By storing the assignment in electronic form on the server, both teachers could easily access that assignment, grade it on their own criteria, and then release it to the student for viewing and/or printing from a workstation.

Without networks there could not be the phenomenon called “groupware”. Groupware is classification of software that allows connected groups of people to share information which makes the group more productive. Examples include group-accessible calendars, address books, and facility scheduling. A teacher, his students, and their parents could use groupware to share information such as a calendar of homework assignments or upcoming class activities. Other groupware applications allow teachers to monitor activity while students are working on computers anywhere in the school. New forms of communication have grown with the advent of network computers. Email, e-newsletters, and instant messaging are some examples of new tools for parent-teacher-student communication.

The major concerns associated with sharing of information and programs on a network revolve around issues of privacy and security. It is important that students do their own work and not access other students’ files for the purpose of stealing work. Also, teacher materials must be kept separate from student materials. These issues are addressed through the use of good network administration. User accounts are structured to give specific levels of access to students, teachers, and administrators. Each user is given a unique username and password. Network administrators must institute a good password management procedure so that passwords are changed periodically and are difficult to crack. Malicious users and hackers are a concern for network security, and the network administrator should have reliable firewalls and other measures for protecting against these threats.

While the sharing of information, data, software and hardware is the power of networks, it can also pose vulnerability. If so much of value resides on the server, what happens if it malfunctions or “goes down” as they say? Good network management calls for continuous backup and/or redundant systems so that data will not be lost and network down time will be minimized. Normally, teachers need not be involved in the technical aspects of server maintenance, but it is important for every teacher to have his or her own “Plan B” for those times when the server is down, the data has to be restored, or the hardware gets a glitch. From experience, I can say it’s a matter of when, not if. Always be prepared.