Dexi

If it is, then it is a manufacturing fault as it's a brand new macbook pro... hope not though. Seems ok!

Are there any that come recommended for doing a site survey? I have tried iStumbler and Kismac but both seem unreliable with regards to signal strength. They both give a weakened signal strength and different results when standing in the same spot. Even next to the AP they will only give 65-75% signal read out when the windows laptop with netstumbler says 99%. Any suggestions or is it just my mac picking up a weaker signal anyway???

Wow, 4 great responses right there. Thanks goes to all of you. Tony, purple mash was the only one I'd really found that had the software that primaries were already used to and it is great. Being online does save deployment issues. I've not come across openoffice for kids which I feel ashamed about, it sounds like a perfect solution... and free. :-) Jamesmay, that is a great looking list of software. We'll be testing some of these out ready to show some schools in the near future. Thanks. Rbelson, we are certainly up for hearing from some of your schools and how they use their iPads and Macs. Due to a lack of Apple knowledge on my part, it means it's hard to make schools enthusiastic about how they can use Apple products in the classroom. If schools/teachers aren't enthusiastic, then they will be the most expensive dust catchers in the school and it'd be such a waste.

As a bit of a Mac novice, I've been trying to research the viability of using iPads and Macs in a primary school environment. A few of my schools are looking at moving over to Macs but thought they could just use all of their old software that currently runs on PC's around the school. As it turns out, it looks like next to none of it will run and I've been left with the task of finding software packages that they could use. Has anyone got Macs in a Primary and what software is out there designed for KS1 and 2? I'm also after some inspirational ways of using iPads in an education environment to justify purchasing some. (Again KS1 and KS2)

I like NetSurveyor for the job of checking signal strengths and working out best positions for AP's. I prefer it to netstumbler and it's easy to read and gives you detailed info. NetSurveyor :: WiFi Network Discovery Tool

You are 100% correct but many schools are asking us to do a lot of the groundwork for them. I'm simply researching and gathering info on as many VLE's as possible to find out the pit falls that a salesman isn't going to tell you in a 30 minute presentation... or ever.

I'd like to know a bit more as well. My company has a number of schools looking into Its Learning and I'd like to know it's pros and cons, so we can weigh up whether it suit certain schools needs.

Thanks for your response Tom. I wish I could just Hide and disable all items on the desktop but as it's a primary school, the younger pupils especially need the shortcuts to be able to access their programmes. No matter what I've tried I can't block them from deleting, renaming etc.

Anyone know where this is? I've been through the net and haven't found much so thought I'd check here. The server here is 2008 R2 with win 7 clients set up by an external company. At the moment the pupils can delete desktop short cuts, right click on them to rename etc and right click on the desktop to get graphic options. I've been working through trying to get the desktops locked down as best I can but I can't find how to disable the damn right click. Any help will be greatly recieved.

You can buy Kingston Datatraveler Locker+ 8gb USB Flash Drive Grey - Ebuyer and set the encrypted partition to be the size of the pen drive. The software is on the drive itself, so it will require a password everytime to access the hidden partition but will save installing software etc.

Thanks Tony, look forward to seeing the news on parental engagement. Have you any experience of Frog? I've heard it's expensive but it looks a lot easier to use than most VLE's.

@Synaesthesia Did you manage to resolve this issue? I remember (a long time ago) having a similar issue on CC3 but managed to resolve it. What I can't remember right now is the exact fix. I could be wrong but I'm sure I had to write a simple .reg file which is deployed via the CC3 management console. I appreciate my shocking memory is not being any help to you just yet, but next time I'm at the school I'll try and remember to check it out for you.

I'm in a similar boat to Synaesthesia it seems. Most of my schools are sticking with LP+ for now but mainly because they've been told too and other schools around them will be using it eventually. The ones that have started to use LP+ early are all starting to lose patience with them and ask questions as to who else is available. I've been asked to find alternatives and research the pros and cons of the products available. Most schools only actually want the online reporting and are not bothered about anything else. I have arranged to meet Moodle and RM to go through their products but I've heard Moodle is trickier to set up and update. Can anyone shed some light on this? As I'm only at some schools for a small amount of time, the product needs to be easy to maintain for the staff.

Thanks for that Grumble, much appreciated!

Jamman, that almost proves the point though. The only people to defend them are people that have, or still do, work for them! They have been very pushy with the school almost blackmailing them into a sale. Apparently declaring your interest in writing or via email is a legal binding contract according to their terms and conditions. It wouldn't stand up in court but has put the fear of god in to the school who now feel forced into the whole process. The kit they are flogging is not even second rate, it's third. The prices might be cheap but how much does hardware 3/4 years out of date cost to box and ship out? What good is having intel boards if the computer is as quick as quadriplegic sloth and looks like one too? They have also sold a network which will cost the school more money in support costs and offer no benefit compared to what they have got. It's irresponsible sales to make a quick buck without considering the needs of the school. It's a massive step back for the school for a huge cost and small primarys (and the pupils) will be paying the price for that for a long time to come! >insert pages and pages of rant here<

My problem is I am at the school once a fortnight for a few hours so will not get enough time to get the vanilla system running properly in the amount of time they have. The school did speak to the schools mentioned in their brochure but obviously those schools spoke very highly of them... *cough* back handers *cough* If you find out the schools that have had bad experiences of them, please let me know. It'd be much appreciated to hear what they have to say before a lot of money is spent.

I did look through that thread but apart from the 1st page written in 2007 the rest is about their cold calling. I was trying to get a picture of the company today, their install quality etc.

Thanks for your replies on this. They all seem to backup what I have heard too, although I have not seen first hand any of their work yet. I know there are a few RM haters out there but the CC3 network the school currently has in place is working really well. I'm getting a bit nervous and questioning why the school want to change the network, especially with NSO's "bodge it and scarper" track record I keep hearing about.

I have read the thread about this company that detailed in great depth the problems with being bombarded with phone calls from them. What I want to find out about is the opinions (not from their employees) of any board members that have experienced their server installs, network management tools and the workstation build quality of their products. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks Dexi

Yeah, I said that too. Apparently because the programs list still shows the programs in groups and not like home where you have to browse through all the manufactures to find the right software is a bad thing. I think it was more of a clutching at straws comment to explain why she wants away from an RM network, without the knowledge of what she is saying for a decent reason.

I agree with you on that. Haven't seen the option in CC4 to change to a regular xp theme yet, but will now check it out on the RM site to confirm that for her.

Trust me, I've been trying to do that and save them time and money for a solution that won't be as suited to them but the heels are digging in. It's a case of asking my opinion, then because it wasn't her opinion it gets dismissed as incorrect. I'm therefore trying to find a trustworthy solution. I haven't tried CSE's software as mentioned earlier but might have to investigate that further.

I support a number of schools and have today had a primary school say that they want to change their network from CC3 to "something else" too. Their CC3 network is working perfectly at the moment but the new head teacher wants all their computers to look like a home computer, not with RM Explorer making it look simplified or dumbed down. She does have a bee in her bonnet with RM that was put there by the company that installed a vanilla network in her previous school. The current schools problem is that they only have support for half a day every 2 weeks, so it's not like they'll have much time for us to create computer images/builds, software packages for redeployment and keep up with their day to day technical problems. Whereas on their current network all these things run a breeze and we can kick off a quick rebuild and leave it to complete without having to baby sit it. On a vanilla network all these things take a lot longer to work through no matter what alternative applications you buy in to. I have tried Ranger and Viglen and find them both a waste of time and money but am struggling to find a solution that is as simple to maintain for the school or myself in the time they have, compared to their current network other than a straight upgrade CC4 but that will not satisfy the RM hate she now harbors. What to do???