New Edugeek Users - Introduce yourself here :)

[Jake]

Kind of convoluted, but I was looking for something on the Becta site, which led me through to TES, and then to this site. After a quick read of a few threads here I immediately told Disease that it looked like a promising site which we should both read through and sign up for.

(to be honest, it was the office photos which swayed it )

[Ric_]

@Jake: When you going to add your pics? Did you ever find what you were looking for on the Becta site? - if so could you tell us how you achieved this? :P

[Jake]

LOL, no ironically I never did find what I was looking for on the Becta site. It was more info on the KS3 online testing, thankfully I found what I was looking for elsewhere in the end

We will be adding our pics as soon as the room is slightly more tidy than it currently is. Which as you all know in our profession should be some time in the next millenium

[richard]

Hi all. My name is Richard and I'm the Network Administrator of a secondary school in Kent. At present me and my technician look after some 300 laptops and pc's as well as 9 servers for some 600 students and staff. This is becoming more of an uphill battle as a lot of the staff are either IT incompetents or are trying to tell me how to do my job or both. I have to admit that I love my job but I am totally disillusioned by my work enviroment.

[GrumbleDook]

Welcome Richard

Good to see you here. Pull up a chair, join in the conversations and don't worry about being disillusioned ... welcome to the site to save your sanity ... or if you are like most of the rest of us here ... the site to salvage what is left of your sanity.

If you are popping down to BETT this week then catch up on what is going on by clicking on the BETT link at the top of the page.

[richard]

I'm there on Thursday and Friday so hopefully I'll bump into a few people.

[RoyG]

Started at this school (Essex Grammar School, 850 kids) as Physics Teacher. Inherited job of Head of IT/Network Manager/IT Coordinator (i.e. anything to do with IT!) back in 1990, with around 20 computers in the school. Still had nearly full timetable of Physics teaching!

Since then I've undergone a long metamorphosis as IT developed, gradually losing Physics teaching, then IT coordinator's job, then Head of IT's job, so I'm now just Network Manager, with sole responsibility for all aspects of IT hardware in the school - planning, purchasing, installation, maintenance - the lot. One support person, who's mainly IT classroom support, but who does a bit of minor hardware support.

Present system - 3 servers (all Novell Netware and definately sticking with it!), 4 Computer Rooms, around 80 other PCs around the school, around 100 laptops, wireless, etc. etc. All PCs running XPPro.

The only timetabled IT classes are in Y7, plus 1 IT module in Y8 PSE. The rest of the IT is cross-curricular.

Despite NOF, LfT & all the other initiatives there's still a big spread of IT literacy amongst the teachers, but most departments use IT pretty effectively.

Seriously busy, but love the job.

RoyG

[CyberNerd]

Hi, I'm Darren and I'm a Tech at a largish school/6th form in East Sussex.

I've been here 2yrs and after spending far too long as a student.
I have CCNA and am into Linux / OSS but mostly deal with the numerous problems encountered by untrained staff on poorly documented proprietary software.

I'm also into motorcycles/real ales/gaming, but not at school.

[Norphy]

Hi

My name is Ian and I am an IT technician in a school. Or "Idiot for taking this job" as I'm frequently reminded

I work for an Upper School in Dunstable with around 1200 students and just over 100 staff. I work in a team of three and am primarily repsonsible for looking after the hardware infratstructure of the network (servers, workstations, switches, cabling etc) and the software on the servers. I look after about 13 servers and just under 400 workstations including portables. Our servers all run Windows 2003 aside from the evil Bromcom and SIMS servers but gladly enough those aren't my responsibility. I'm working on getting an MCSE but its an expensive process and haven't got very far yet :|

[russdev]

LOL, no ironically I never did find what I was looking for on the Becta site. It was more info on the KS3 online testing, thankfully I found what I was looking for elsewhere in the end

We will be adding our pics as soon as the room is slightly more tidy than it currently is. Which as you all know in our profession should be some time in the next millenium

http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=kt is betca ks3 site

russ

[RoyG]

Just to say that having found this site just 3 days ago it's already proved useful in a whole variety of ways, not least of which is a bunch of evidence to convince the Head that Video Conferencing really isn't an absolutely "must-have"!!

I must also say that as an ex-teacher I resent the many implications that most teachers are complete idiots! I don't deny it, I just resent it!!

RoyG

[Ric_]

@RoyG: I'm sure that you primary reason for leaving teaching and entering the world of IT support was so that you could chat to the more intellectual members of humanity

[tarquel]

lmao Ric

Either way - welcome RoyG

Its usually only because of lack of understanding and stuff regarding IT & Teachers. My lot [bless them] dont have a clue - not my fault but definately my problem if you see my meaning.

Anyhow.... this topic aint for digression lol

Welcome to you all

Nath.

[RoyG]

Cheers Ric & Nath - glad to have found you.

RoyG

[Kyle]

Hi I'm Kyle,

A new ICT Technician in a secondary school. I am slowly learning my trade, having not worked in schools before and have spent hours reading these forums since i found them.

You may find some of my post in future somewhat basic but the only way to learn is to pick experienced brains, and unfortunatley i do not work with anyone in that calibre..... !