Sam_Brown Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Can't understand the schools that have over 300 devices and only one tech. Do they not appreciate that 1) if that person is off sick there is no one left to cover IT and 2) that if they leave there's no one that can easily step in with a knowledge of the current system. Just find it crazy that management at these schools are happy to run such risks. That's before even getting into thinking about where you find the time to plan for the future and improve the network.
Griff Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Myself proper full time then on Mon+Fri have a tech from external company I have no idea how I would survive without those 2 days also I have 2 different guys on those days so the knowledge is split across 3 people. Probably about 300 devices on network 100 of which are iPads, 60 staff and 600 students
hallb15 Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 I make sure the server is up, but beyond that support is handled by the LEA SIMS team. Actual getting data out is done by specific people with specific roles in the admin team. Pretty much the same here, except our SIMS server is a VM on our host and we pay a 3rd party, CAPITA approved company for SIMS support.
themightymrp Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 3 schools/sites: 1) 1000+ pupils, 100+ staff, 500+ PC's, 100+ laptops, CMIS, VLE etc etc 2) SEN specialist school, 60 pupils, 100 staff, 70 PC's, 40 iPads 3) City Learning Centre, no set number of staff/pupils, 60+ PC's, 120 iMacs Just me and one other person :-/
localzuk Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Can't understand the schools that have over 300 devices and only one tech. Do they not appreciate that 1) if that person is off sick there is no one left to cover IT and 2) that if they leave there's no one that can easily step in with a knowledge of the current system. Just find it crazy that management at these schools are happy to run such risks. That's before even getting into thinking about where you find the time to plan for the future and improve the network. Funding for support always seems to be at the bottom of the list. I've got easily more than 500 devices of various classes to support here - PCs, laptops, printers, iPads, Surface tablets, projectors, voip phones, servers, scanners, cashless tills, wireless network, switches etc, and it is now just me again - as my tech left and they didn't replace him. Its doable, but doesn't leave much time for coming up with new things.
mikeprice Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 I am really lucky here - primary school with 7 classes - 1 computer room - 2 sets of laptops And Me - 5 mornings and 3 afternoons However this does mean that I do a lot of other stuff - like setting up Immersive room images etc, keeping the web site up to date, acting as offical photographer, fixing the photocopier and teach 2/3 afternoons a week (I used to be a teacher but I try not to mention it) There used to be an IT tech here whose role grew over the years from a parent helper up to almost full time tech. When he suddenly died theHead asked the LEA to take over until she decided what to do. She suddenly realised the impact on teaching it can have if someone can come along NOW and help/fix stuff - rather than waiting several days. When I arrived there was a huge backlog of unfixed problems - all minor but all affecting teaching and taking up teacher time
hardtailstar Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 just me part time across three schools, term time only. changed jobs and there is myself and network manager at one secondary school.
mthomas08 Posted October 8, 2015 Posted October 8, 2015 Sorry for going slightly off topic but couldn't help noticing the number of lone IT guys. Do you also do MIS support? I can't see how you'd cope - especially: Think you find it's a mix of the amount of IT and the requirements of the School. We have around 600 PCs now with projectors in every class room and most rooms have IWBs. When I started not much worked well but now things are running some what smooth. Problem is we still run device scheme, we prep all the events for IT (switching on all the equipment), then comes the annoyance of 5 different accounts per student plus Parents have access to two separate accounts.... If we removed turning on equipment (hall/meeting areas) and password resetting galore plus the Schemes. To be honest I could probably manage with 1-2 of us easily. Thing is though I can't see us scrapping most of the above ever and not through my decision either. We also heavily rely on IT.... At the end of the day if you have the time to develop things so problems are permanently fixed, budget to replace aged equipment and don't do any silly extra's it is possible for 1-2 people to work in a secondary school size.
pcstru Posted October 8, 2015 Posted October 8, 2015 Just find it crazy that management at these schools are happy to run such risks. That's before even getting into thinking about where you find the time to plan for the future and improve the network. Why do you think they are happy about it? The problem is, when funding dries up, do you lay off teachers or technicians. Since you can't stand a technician up in front of a class and ask them to teach then unless you too many teachers, scrimping on support staff is the only option. None of which makes anyone happy - but what is, well, it just is.
featured_spectre Posted October 8, 2015 Posted October 8, 2015 I applied for an NM job at a school. Has the following NM Deputy NM (who didn't apply) Senior Tech x 2 Technician x 2 Database Admin x 1 (looks after MIS and creates reports etc) Multimedia Tech x 1 (looks after all projectors, speakers, mics, headsets etc) Pupil base of the school - 2500 Staff base of the school - 240 PC base of the school - 1300 Laptop base of the school - 700 Server base of the school - 30 (20 of which are virtualised) - 3x AD replicated servers, 5x Exchange servers in a DAG, File servers, print servers, dhcp, dns etc etc
Sagima Posted October 8, 2015 Posted October 8, 2015 I applied for an NM job at a school. Has the following NM Deputy NM (who didn't apply) Senior Tech x 2 Technician x 2 Database Admin x 1 (looks after MIS and creates reports etc) Multimedia Tech x 1 (looks after all projectors, speakers, mics, headsets etc) Pupil base of the school - 2500 Staff base of the school - 240 PC base of the school - 1300 Laptop base of the school - 700 Server base of the school - 30 (20 of which are virtualised) - 3x AD replicated servers, 5x Exchange servers in a DAG, File servers, print servers, dhcp, dns etc etc At least you have your first interview questions sorted - "why doesn't the Deputy NM want it?"
featured_spectre Posted October 8, 2015 Posted October 8, 2015 I already know. He didn't apply because he feels he isn't ready. I spoke directly too him
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