Mario

And you've got nowhere you can upload those .exes to John? Please do not ask for software - Ric_

And yes! You can't tell us about an enhancement to atually make use of it without providing it!

Very smart, I like it. A lot. Wonder how long it would take the faculty to get used to it... And I wonder if it can handle masses and forces etc. for use in math? And John, what do you mean by primary use and as they get older? :s

"an offense to impair the operation of any computer system. Other clauses prohibit preventing or hindering access to a program or data held on a computer, or impairing the operation of any program or data held on a computer." Does that mean you guys can lock up everyone at both Microsoft and Adobe?

Some kids have waaaaaaaaay too much free time.

Sweet.... but... That's a lot of money for one battery! You could just buy a mouse that has a charger built into the reciever... I bought my mouse and keyboard with batteries and charger reciever, for $10... And one battery liek that wold cost over $20! It's a nice idea, but goofy!

Well... my Deepnet is... not mentioned, so I don't know. *Shuts his trap*

Thankyou Domino, yes it's the programs rather than utilities we're after, but thanks anyway. Will look into your advice Domino. And yeh, spent a while as a teen in the UK, but us Americans aren't that different to you Brits anyway, we still speak English!

Thanks for the advice webman... Any positive advice from the masses? And I missed this earlier, thanks for the welcome djm!

Yes, that's the best way. My own daughter is the same, pass on info to her to let her have a play and see if her lot notice and fix it... And she keeps me up to date with what they're banning, and dodgy sites her classmates find, which more than likely students here are visiting. That way when blacklisting discovered sites, no one knows the advice source, and the source will continue to provide as the blacklisting does not affect her. Always have your out of school contacts! Another reason this site is so helpful!

It is working... I'm erm... Testing the specification and operation of the school's equipment... Honest I am!

Well, what you don't know can't hurt you There has to be a balance, I seem to have done quite well befriending faculty and students alike, manners go a long way (which I have noticed in interview many other IT staff lack totally).

The school provided computers struggle, but atleast mine is slightly more impressive than the professors'... and the school don't notice when you buy a set of 10 joysticks on budget when only CAD in design ever use them, and they only have 6 systems... But I think the minimum they give means miniumum to actually install the dang software, running it is a whole different ball game!

Yes, aircon... it's not a luxury here, it's a necessity! Our rusty old 70's box really struggles though... crunchy. I'm glad to see when people use them properly, but it's ALWAYS a bare minimum of the faculty. And we really need to invest in some software, is there any English software (whiteboard/eductation specific) worth having, as I've been asked to find some, but am struggling...

Thankyou Amir, she is my baby, spent months on her, needs protecting from our sun. Sun isn't all it's cracked up to be djm! Try attempting to stop servers frying in this heat! And try hearing yourself think over the aircon in the server room!

I wish we could upgrade the faculty like we do the kit. School recently gave out Acer Tablets out to many teachers (over $2000 worth retail each! Why can't Tech Support get that sort of kit?!) and the older staff forget them half the time, or get a whole class crowded round the laptop to watch a cheesy DVD everyonce in a while... but the new teachers coming in have every lesson planned and prepared, always have the thing by their side!!! (Though it does make them harder to "borrow", I'm still fixing one of the Math Professors "virus"... He never used the thing anyway.... )

What are your opinions on these 'teaching aids'? Personally, I hate them. Most of the teachers just use them as slow whiteboards, they just don't prepare lessons to take in their full potential. They don't teach the kids anything about IT, a waste of our budget that way. And the teachers just cannot use common sense to fix the dang pens and calibration themselves, the same teachers calling us up every few periods! They're more trouble than they're worth! Is there anyway I can get the proffesors to understand the damn things?!

It isn't easy though, it's like all in IT, anything we can build there's some little sod ready to take it apart again. Have any of your schools tried actually listening to the kids? Our best security updates came from asking the cleverer kids how it was they bypassed the existing security anyway... If you're nice to the kids (I know a lot who don't seem to be able to manage it) the more they can help you... They might be sods, but they're not dog mess on your sneakers.