localzuk Posted October 19, 2007 Posted October 19, 2007 I think thats the thing - from that comment by Steve (which, I will admit likely has been taken out of a wider context) it sounds like the impression he has of us is that we don't have the education of the kids in mind - when it is the single driving force behind everything we do. I would love to see Steve post something on here actually...
webman Posted October 19, 2007 Posted October 19, 2007 the primary goal of a school is to provide an learning environment for students and to ensure that they make full use of it and the staff in there. And the primary goal of a business is to make money. Which is why this whole BSF ICT Managed Service debacle will never work!
steve Posted October 19, 2007 Posted October 19, 2007 Ultimately a school is an environment for learning. The client is the student and they are the most important thing ... because they are there we get paid and we, as a school, are measured against how well they perform in a variety of tests. The design of a learning environment should be done to ensure that the needs of the clients come first. That is what a heck of a lot of people have said. The design should be based around what is needed by the students. Hmmm, wonder what the headteachers and bursars offices look like in these BSF schools, after all they aren't the clients... Hope they aren't building new schools to make their lives easier either :-)
Oops_my_bad Posted October 19, 2007 Posted October 19, 2007 Oh agree with that Tony, but the attitude of this Steve Moss character just stinks from what I've seen :x So there we have it folks - billions of pounds worth of public money (grossly misappropriated) keeping the likes of this buffoon in a job (and also in an office, that's not underground and has several windows).
GrumbleDook Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 Oh agree with that Tony, but the attitude of this Steve Moss character just stinks from what I've seen :x So there we have it folks - billions of pounds worth of public money (grossly misappropriated) keeping the likes of this buffoon in a job (and also in an office, that's not underground and has several windows). Being honest I think it is a tad harsh of you to make comments like that about Steve when you haven't had a chat to him or seen some of the other stuff that goes along with all of the PfS stuff. Do you honestly think we would have as much information as we do without help from him and others like him? There will be lots more BSF stuff again at BETT this year and as he said ... he is consulting with us and others.
webman Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 If people have ideas about the perfect setup (with some real world examples about what works and what doesn't) then go and post them on the BSF forum. I believe this has already been done many times on here; but I also believe it's pointless trying to get our point across to these people in their ivory towers who will disregard us (the people who are the front-line) becaue they know best. Re: the server room and office. Simple - build one room without a window for the servers and a room next door with windows. Put locks in the doors. How difficult can that be?
Oops_my_bad Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 You don't need to be close to your servers all the time.. a setup that we're going for is a dedicated server/comms room with restricted access, but the IT staff are pooled in an open-plan office along with other support staff
FN-GM Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 If people have ideas about the perfect setup (with some real world examples about what works and what doesn't) then go and post them on the BSF forum. I believe this has already been done many times on here; but I also believe it's pointless trying to get our point across to these people in their ivory towers who will disregard us (the people who are the front-line) becaue they know best. Re: the server room and office. Simple - build one room without a window for the servers and a room next door with windows. Put locks in the doors. How difficult can that be? Don't forget aircon.
joe90bass Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 Don't forget aircon. Aircon? I thought us techies were bred to survive living in server rooms/offices/workshops with temperatures of 30+!!??
Oops_my_bad Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 Oh dont forget - these architects that *have* to design sustainable energy saving buildings hate server rooms with a passion, what with the additional aircon and electrical requirements It makes their carbon offsetting figures, well, offputting
DMcCoy Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 We had a new block built. It has been a complete nightmare. I asked at the one meeting I was invited to (its a Maths/IT block with 3 IT rooms) about the cooling. I asked if it could cool the 10kw that would be put out by the machines as I was sure it would not be sufficient. I was assured by the architects that it would be fine. I did insist on an aircon unit for the server/switch room but couldn't get them to put any in the 3 IT rooms. The new rooms hit close to 30 when empty. 3 Aircon units have been ordered. Its not going to be a green block anymore and it would have been a damn sight cheaper to get the aircon put in when it was being built too!
nicholab Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 Well we could virtualize are servers so in the low demand periods we put all are VMs on two physical servers thus reducing power and cooling demands.
localzuk Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 There is a definite dislike of aircon by schools - and it has nothing to do with being green - it has to do with the fact that it costs significant money to run. We have a 3kW unit installed in our server room, and when you consider how much a kWh of power costs now, the running costs soon build up. Add to that the increasing power demands of modern computers altogether and we have a very expensive system to run. I've been looking into a solar system to try and offset some of our power usage, but a system of significant enough size to cover even half our ICT power usage would cost an absolute fortune (we're talking into the 50k - 100k range). This was one of the reasons I wanted to go for ChipPC Jack PC's. They use 5W to run, each. Get some energy efficient servers too and bobs your uncle, you have an easy to run, cheap to maintain and power, sustainable ICT system. But no, the county council didn't like this idea...
sidewinder Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Im not a fan of air con at all in IT suites, I detest spending time in the 2 of ours that have it. Now that cooler, quieter and lower power consuming machines are commonplace, I dont see any need for aircon in new rooms, as long as they are ventilated well enough. Our newest suite has 32 Core 2 Duos and while it is still obviously warmer than a standard classroom, its not unbearably hot like it would have been with a suite of P4's Air con to me is expensive and a huge waste of power. My NM was pushing to have it put in all locations where we have cabs - but it would be totally pointless because the majority are cupboards or corners of offices where doors are constantly open The exception is obviously the server room, it is fairly essential there
tech_guy Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 I did a few sums in the summer hols and the saving we make by making sure all our PCs are shutdown at night has been negated by the aircon units we've had installed in our three main suites assuming they are used only 25% - 35% of the time in the summer alone.........how green is that?
CyberNerd Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Get some energy efficient servers too and bobs your uncle, you have an easy to run, cheap to maintain and power, sustainable ICT system. But no, the county council didn't like this idea... It'd probably too forward thinking for the local authority, especially if a lowly tech/NM suggested it. To get this idea to work it needs to be suggested by a £70kpa consultant.
localzuk Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Get some energy efficient servers too and bobs your uncle, you have an easy to run, cheap to maintain and power, sustainable ICT system. But no, the county council didn't like this idea... It'd probably too forward thinking for the local authority, especially if a lowly tech/NM suggested it. To get this idea to work it needs to be suggested by a £70kpa consultant. That's the thing - BECTA has advised that thin clients are a good resource for schools. They admit there can be some issues with multimedia applications, but there are ways and means around that. But obviously 1 guy's opinion in our LA trumps BECTA...
srochford Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Re: the server room and office. Simple - build one room without a window for the servers and a room next door with windows. Put locks in the doors. How difficult can that be? Well, it could be very difficult :-) We have a setup similar to that in our shiny new building. Sadly, none of the locks work (all doors are glass; locks are magnetic; card swipes don't work with the cards we use!) Building was officially opened 2 months ago (about 6 months late ...) and we're still waiting for the locks to be fixed!) When it's all done, it will be quite good; air conditioned server room, raised floor (so cabling is easyish), good space for tech etc. Glass walls mean people can stare through the window and throw in food if they look hungry :-)
GrumbleDook Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Get some energy efficient servers too and bobs your uncle, you have an easy to run, cheap to maintain and power, sustainable ICT system. But no, the county council didn't like this idea... It'd probably too forward thinking for the local authority, especially if a lowly tech/NM suggested it. To get this idea to work it needs to be suggested by a £70kpa consultant. That's the thing - BECTA has advised that thin clients are a good resource for schools. They admit there can be some issues with multimedia applications, but there are ways and means around that. But obviously 1 guy's opinion in our LA trumps BECTA... At a recent national meeting about Academies and BSF there were presentations showing off Citrix and Thin Client solutions ... and it is a common and popular thing to do. One Academy has gone down that route completely ... and I do feel that it leaves a bit out that will affect the experience of students. They also have no wireless network too.
localzuk Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Yeah, I don't want to go 100% thin client. The idea was to have a couple of rooms with thin clients and one room with fat clients. Then the extra machines around school could also be thin clients. Overall, it would provide a diverse computing experience, whilst maintaining the ability to use the wide variety of software available that is more intensive.
FN-GM Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 When I was in high school one day in every two weeks i had 4 hours of ICT in the same room. I don’t know how I could manage without aircon its a god send. I remember the ICT suites without them it was unbearable and I am not going over the top, there isnt any windows that open in the ICT rooms.
Oops_my_bad Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 One Academy has gone down that route completely ... and I do feel that it leaves a bit out that will affect the experience of students. They also have no wireless network too. Wow.. they must have a very easy life
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