superintendent

ZDNet Resources

• sort by:
• Relevance
• Date
• Popularity

Just what does it take to switch to desktop Linux (part 1)?

Last week, when I asked "Are you sure you don't just want to use Ubuntu?" I received a record number of talkbacks, good, bad, and in between. One of the more interesting, though, came from reader ksheppard, who responded with a challenge: ...Here's a challenge to you: Make...

Tags: Budgeting, Superintendent, Desktop Linux, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Desktops, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-11-30

Turnaround strategy for Los Angeles school district payroll failure

Payroll problems on the Los Angeles Unified School District's LAUSD SAP implementation have been ongoing since February and continue to the present. This troubled project vividly illustrates how implementation failures can affect real people, in this case teachers who've suffered for months with incorrect paychecks. The obvious...

Tags: Deloitte LLP, Finance, LAUSD, Michael Krigsman, Operational Accounting, Payroll, Personnel Assignment, Problem, SAP AG, Strategy, Superintendent, Teacher

Blog posts 2007-10-13

Additional Resources

Clients: fat vs. thin, net vs. note

My budget administrator has made it very clear that I need to have all of my ducks in a row very early for the FY 2011 budget process. The nearly year-long delay that municipalities tend to feel in terms of budget crunches is certainly going to be on her...

Tags: PC, Thin Client, Server, Thin Clients, Hardware, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2009-10-19

CA digital textbooks initiative falls flat

Here is California's review of digital high school textbooks. As AP reports, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been promoting the idea that schools would use these free texts as a way to save money and bring education into the 21st century. First, it's interesting to...

Tags: School District, California, Computer Associates International Inc., Hardware, Standards, Textbook, CK-12, Quality, Business Operations, Richard Koman

Blog posts 2009-08-18

Why the hell would anyone actually use AOL???

Why the hell would anyone actually use AOL???Everyone is just so eager these daysto pronounce judgement on others because they make decisions different than you. It's juvenile. Instead of insulting people like your superintendent, why don't you just ask him what he finds appealing about AOL and see if you...

Tags: E-mail, PRODUCTIVITY, America Online Inc., AOL Client

Discussion threads 2009-03-10

Why the hell would anyone actually use AOL???

Just a brief rant here, folks...I talked a while ago about my superintendent and how he used AOL extensively for calendaring and communication. Basically, I came to the conclusion that if we don't provide users with a range of tools to satisfy their needs, they'll bring crappy ones onsite that...

Tags: America Online Inc., Portals, Web Browsers, Firewalls, Web Technology, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Internet, Networking, Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows, Software, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2009-03-10

Giving them the tools they need

I'm troubleshooting a problem with our firewall at the moment. It's a brand-spankin' new Astaro 220 and so far, it's been great, but it keeps blocking my superintendent's access to his AOL desktop software. While this is hardly a problem (blocking AOL, whether for IM or otherwise, is...

Tags: America Online Inc., Tool, Groupware, Enterprise Software, Software, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2009-02-20

Say it with me again: KISS

We all know the expression: Keep it Simple, Stupid! or just KISS for short. No matter how many times we hear it, though, it's an easy one to forget. This last week was a great example for me. Just when I thought I'd gotten through my little...

Tags: Consumer Equipment, Cable, Network Technology, Ethernet, Telecommunications, Personal Technology, Networking, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2009-02-16

My very own little project failure

Michael Krigsman writes a cheery little blog on IT Project Failures. Yesterday, I had one of my own. I probably shouldn't call it a failure, because the real aim of the project (to switch two schools and the superintendent's office to much higher-speed Internet connections) was accomplished. ...

Tags: DHCP, Project Failure, IP, Server, IP Address, Michael Krigsman, Printers, Networking, Network Technology, Hardware, Peripherals, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2009-02-13

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail they said could stop the BlackBerry

It's been a bit of a long day...you'll see very shortly why I'm only posting one entry for the day. We had one heck of an ice storm last night and along about 2:00am I woke up to the smell of smoke. We'd lost power, so of...

Tags: RIM BlackBerry, Handhelds, Hardware, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-12-12

So just what is a 21st Century Skill?

We hear a lot about 21st Century Skills lately; I'm certainly guilty of using the phrase. There's a whole website devoted to building them (actually, there are thousands, but this one has the domain name www.21stcenturyskills.org). We also know that a lot of our kids don't have them...

Tags: Student, 21CS, Ruby On Rails, Productivity, Domain Names, Software/Web Development, Web Development, Internet, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-12-03

Just what does it take to switch to desktop Linux (part 2)?

At well over 300 talkbacks and counting, plenty of folks took my challenge (and my reader's challenge) to sort out just what it would take to switch from Windows to desktop Linux. Obviously, there was plenty of the standard Windows vs. Linux bickering, but there were also a lot...

Tags: Desktop, Americans With Disabilities Act, Desktop Linux, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Operating Systems, UNIX, Open Source, Remote Access, Software, Human Resources, Gender And Diversity, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-12-01

Just what does it take to switch to desktop Linux (part 1)?

Just what does it take to switch to desktop Linux (part 1)?Can answer these ...[i]Know how to access Windows shares on the network[/i]Well that's pretty easy in Nautilus using smb:// , but a simple link with an icon should suffice.[i]Have a rudimentary understanding of the file system to ensure that...

Tags: OPEN SOURCE, Printers, desktop Linux, KDE, GNOME, user interface, Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, desktop, printer, Microsoft Windows, Linux

Discussion threads 2008-11-30

Mobiles for your users

We all have users for whom a mobile phone of some sort makes a lot of sense. Our district has always either provided a phone or a moderate subsidy for key staff who need to stay in touch. Principals need to be reachable in case of emergencies with...

Tags: District, Phone, Mobile, Telecom & Utilities, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-11-26

Are you sure you don't just want to use Ubuntu?

The assistant superintendent came to me on Thursday with a very sad laptop; it was malware city, population 1. Although it's his own laptop, he uses it all the time for school-related work, so I was happy to fix it up for him. Well, not happy, exactly, but...

Tags: Ubuntu, Dell Computer Corp., Malware, Hardware, Microsoft Windows XP, Spyware, Adware & Malware, Cyberthreats, Microsoft Windows, Viruses And Worms, Operating Systems, Software, Security, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-11-23

My superintendent wants a blog

My superintendent wants a blogCheck out Google Moderatorhttp://www.makeuseof.com/tag/a-look-at-the-new-google-moderator/If you'd like to test it, I can set you up with a temporary account at dtschmitz.comLet me knowdietrich [at] dtschmitz [dot] comSounds good, if ...that is not going to be the ONLY way information is going to be announced. Electronically, back it...

Tags: Blogging, blog, Redundancy

Discussion threads 2008-11-14

My superintendent wants a blog

It's actually a great idea - I wish I'd thought of it first. It came about as we were looking for a way to easily solicit public input on our strategic planning documents (a blog is an obvious choice, with each piece of the document posted separately), but it...

Tags: Web, Blog, Web Presence, Blogging, Internet, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-11-14

So I'm stuck at a conference today

It's the Massachusetts Superintendent Leadership Conference. I haven't decided yet if this is a good thing. The WiFi's snappy, so at least I can get some work done, but the 3 hours of commuting has already put a damper on things. Oh well. At least this...

Tags: Application, Conference, Blogging, Internet, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-10-21

I'm going to my first administrators' meeting!

I guess I have a real job now...no more teaching unless you count teaching teachers, but plenty of meetings. Now that I'm the district's technology director, I get to go to the weekly "Administrators' Meeting" that our superintendent holds. Fortunately, I really like all of the building principals...

Tags: Job, Administrator, Recruitment & Selection, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-08-19

Another reason to ban cell phones in school?

Several media outlets featured a story Wednesday on nude photos of junior high school girls being circulated via cell phone in a Texas school. Fox News reported that "Those students forwarded the images and the circle opened up and got wider and wider," Superintendent Jon Whittemore...

Tags: Phone, Student, Cell Phone, Photograph, Boyfriend, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Christopher Dawson

Blog posts 2008-05-21