Blog 4

Does the educational system that you are affiliated with offer a shared storage area on the network for students or faculty?------Do you find this beneficial?

Since I am a full time graduate student, I am not affiliated with any school system besides Wilkes University. As many of you know, Wilkes offers shared storage in several capacities. Moodle and WebCT are both a form of shared storage. Instructors can post information that the students can access. The students may not have access to store files on the networks directly, but turning a project or homework in will store the file on the network on behalf of the instructor.

A more traditional method of shared storage is what is commonly known as the H drive system. All students have access to this method of storage while on campus. The whole Wilkes network is connected, so while on Wilkes's network all the student (or instructor) needs to do is save the information onto his/her H drive. Retrieving the information from a different computer is a bit more difficult and to be honest I haven't done it in several years.

What type of Email System does your educational system implement? Do you use this mail system at school?.......from home? Explain.....

Wilkes University uses one primary email system, another one located on WebCT, and I know of a third that is private to the Math/CS department. The primary email system is powered by Microsoft Outlook Web Access which is a web based system. Being a web based system, I can access it from anywhere I have an internet connection and an internet browser. I primarily check my email several times a week from a variety of places. Although there is a size limitation on the attachments, I personally prefer a web based system for the convenience of access.

Overall, from this chapter, the most important thing that I learned is.....

The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter, was the difference between IMAP and POP protocols. I do not recall ever hearing about POP and only recognize the term IMAP in passing. A POP set up will remove the file from the server once it is loaded onto a local machine. I believe it is safe to assume that POP is only used with client based systems. (Although this is a bit misleading, never assume that anything is deleted on the internet. Once out there, it is always out there.) IMAP is more affiliated with web based mail servers. The file is saved on the server and be accessed as many times as necessary until the user deletes it.

Assignment 3

1) Most of the information on desktop support presented in the book, I already learned. But I was surprised to find out that the same method of obtaining contracts with builders, the bidding method, was also applicable to hardware. It is an interesting method of obtaining products for less money. I would also recommend purchasing desktops in districts that have a tight budget. They are easier to clean and upgrade. They also have a lower rate of hardware failure, a longer life span, and can take a bump or two. Even more importantly, they can be purchased at a much lower rate than laptops and are generally more powerful.

2) I was aware about licensing of computers in order to ensure that the software is legitimate. However, I was always a little unclear on the concept of site licenses. I was unsure on whether a site license covered every computer for the term of the license with no limit on the number of computers or if there was a cap on the number of computers that it could cover.

I also learned that keeping track of all of the computers was far more involved than I realized. (To be honest, I never really thought about it.) The book does mention one program that will help organize the tasks. However, it fails to mention that it can also be organized via a database that the technology coordinator can set up his or herself.

3) Since I already have a solid background with computers, I must admit I already knew what was contained in this chapter. That being the case, I feel inclined to point out what was missing. It did cover the basics of security for the average person, but it did not address what measures to take to keep intruders out. One of basic ways to do this is by ensuring that passwords are up to a specific standard. For example, absolutely no 'actual' words should ever be used as a password. A very simple method of breaking someone's password is to obtain an electronic dictionary, loop through it while inputting every word individually into the system to see if there is a hit. (Very similar to the old concept of 'war dialing' to get on the internet when dial-up was predominant.) If teachers and students are taught why the standards for passwords are in place, they will be more likely to create an even more complicated password than what is the necessary minimum.

4) I already practice the security measures, proper licensing, and base my hardware purchases on the factors described in the book, most of what I need to apply to my life as a student was actually in the ergonomics section of the chapter. I often sit cross legged on chairs when they have no arm rests. At my computer at home, I will sit partially sideways and actually prop one of my legs up on the desk when watching movies or TV shows online. In order to protect myself from potentially pulling a muscle, injuring any number of various body parts via repeated movement, etc I need to start sitting upright in my chair and keep my arms at the proper angle when typing. Honestly, one of the only ergonomic standards that I apply when working on my computer is taking off my glasses so I do not strain my eyes. I need a lot of work in that field.

5) PEPPM is a large scale organization that deals with product bids. Since they have a much larger reach than most other companies, they can expose a buyer to vendors from many areas. This opens of the types of products available, reduces costs, and helps simplify the bidding/buying process. The also build the price of shipping into orders over $500. Shipping can become extremely expensive extremely quickly. Many times the cost of shipping isn't known until the purchase process. This is an exteremly beneficial feature to have when comparing bids, especailly when the vendors could be hundreds of miles away.

6) The program highlights section is broken down by highlight with each one explained in detail.

• Great Prices: This section discusses how each product is priced. It emphasizes that different rates can apply with bulk purchases and the some vendors give discounts and specials with the large scale purchases.
• Terms and Conditions Protect Buyer: PEPPM has a support staff that helps review paper based orders, provides administrative support, and has excellent archives.
• E-Rate Purchases: PEPPM is considered a Master State Contract and can use their contracts for E-rate.
• Quarterly Reports: receive quarterly reports via email
• Epylon E Commerce
• Electronic Ordering System
• Audit Support: Provides document support
• Improving Communication
  PEPPM's ordering process is fairly straight forward and to the point. It is comprised of three main steps, with several substeps and sections:

• Product and price research
  • information is viewed online, PO and quotes are printed and faxed
  • staff sold, provides PEPPM with documentation
  • Epylon system online purchase
• Processing the PO per PEPPM instructions
  • staff checks the contract and it goes into the Epsylon system, then an email is sent to the vendor.
  • In case of Epylon system purchase, this step is already taken care of.
• vendor receives the PO

In case of E-Rate purchases, there are two primary scenarios: dependency on the e-rate or non dependency. Purchases that are not dependent on E-rate funding can be made in the traditional manner with a refund if the E-rate is approved. If it is a purchase that is dependent on the discount, the purchase can not be made until the funding is approved and the documentation is submitted to PEPPM.