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That's not an option as I move between rooms but you have me thinking about the problem in a different way, thanks.

Any application really on the extended desktop. It would be nice to retain the privacy of the primary monitor and control of the extended monitor locally.

Hi, I want to be able to extend my desktop so I can work privately and easily control an application on the extended screen. The extended screen is not easily visible to me. Is there a way for me to remotely control the shared application on the extended screen on the primary monitor? Kind of like remoting into the extended screen. Thanks, Chris

Hi, I have encountered switches racing when a switching loop is created e.g. a teacher thought an ethernet cable looked untidy to so plugged the unused end into another ethernet port :-) The network performance gradually went downhill. Chris

It's a school in Northern Ireland. Done quite a bit of googling myself and can't come up with anything :-)

Hi, I saw a job advertised as a Data Manager with the scale 'Technical Officer Scale T2' but I can't figure out which scale this refers too. Anyone have an idea? Thanks, Chris

I was a Network Manager for many years. I created the Freeperiod room booking system to solve the problem of room booking for the school I worked. One thing lead to another and now Freeperiod is a business. The biggest surprise to me when leaving my job as Network Manager was not business related. It was the loss of being part of a school community were I played a very important role. Schools are like little villages and it is quite strange to transition from the village to the office. Noise is replaced by quietness and people are replaced with more time in front of a monitor. I probably had about half a dozen places I could have a sneaky chat and coffee in the school. One of my favourite destinations was the Reprographics room. The Reprographics Technician, Technology Technician and myself would often have morning coffee, lunch and afternoon coffee. Don't get me wrong, we worked very hard, it was the opportunity of good company I enjoyed. So enjoy the bustle of village life even though the villagers often forget their passwords, lose their files and sometimes bump into you when they walk backwards :-) Chris

I made a solution many years ago for the school I worked in. It's too old now to mention...lurking somewhere on Sourceforge. What I would say is that displaying room changes seemed to be the thing. It was web based so I created a very easy to use webpage for the timetabler to enter the room changes each morning. Mugshots of students also went down well, as you would imagine.

My daughter was getting her results today #earlystart

Hi, I was a Network Manager but now work in another part of the educational world. We have been using Ubiquiti access points for a year or two now in our office. We liked the idea of a seamless connections moving between them. I'm afraid to say we found them unreliable. I think the main issue was their software. We went through various iterations of their software, maybe the newer software is better. It's hard for me to tell as I purchased new waps along the way so didn't have to rely on the Ubiquiti waps for important stuff. I think we put everyone's phones through the Ubiquiti and business stuff through the other waps. If you can I'd recommend having their controller running on a separate machine. I'm not sure if bringing the controller up/down led to some of our issues. In saying all this we are an IT company. If our network blips for 5s we know about it Maybe just be sure to run the controller as a service. Cheers, Chris

I have been an Office Worker, Photocopy Technician, IT Technician and IT Network Manager at the same comprehensive school. When I left I was also a member of the ICT Strategy Group. I thought my experiences may be interesting for those on a similar journey. I was looking for a new job and a Teacher friend mentioned there was a rubbish job going helping in his school office which would keep me going for a few months until I found something decent. His words (dialled down a bit), not mine. It turned out I was such a rubbish Office Worker I think I got the role of photocopying to get me out of the office. The Office Manager found a room for me to do the copying at the other end of the school. This was possibly so she didn’t have to listen to me whining about having to file documents. Filing in those days wasn’t computerised, it was the down on your hands and knees putting folders in cabinets type of filing. At this stage I wasn’t the official Photocopy Technician. I was just the guy who did the photocopying. So after six months in the job I was told I could stay for another year or apply for the job proper. I decided to apply for the job proper as my wife and I wanted to buy a house. It took several days for the school to get back to me after my interview. I found out years later the reason for the delay was they had offered my job to someone else. Thankfully the other person passed and I became the Photocopy Technician. At this time I started to study with the Open University. I had left school when I was sixteen and to be honest was a bit of a berk in my early teens. It turned out I actually really enjoyed learning and my OU studies helped me discover computing. Within a few years I became the guy with a server in his roofspace and diskless terminal in his living room. To make more money I was advertising in the local paper and fixing folk’s computers during the evenings. Several years into photocopying my school was looking for a new IT Technician. I showed an interest but was told there was no point in applying as I didn’t have the qualifications. The school employed a new graduate for the job which turned out to be a bit of a disaster. A very nice individual who unfortunately had no real experience of working with hardware. The school asked me to work alongside the new IT Technician to help provide some support. The school decided not to renew the new IT Technician’s contract and having just received my diploma from the OU I was able to to apply for the job this time around. The person who offered me the IT Technician job told me years later they reckoned I was the right guy doing the wrong job at the time. The transition to IT Network Manager came several years later. The penny dropped with me that IT support in schools is all about helping people. You may be able to run Moodle from a Raspberry Pi over wifi on an antenna made from a Pringle’s can but this will probably not be a priority. What teacher’s want to know is that all their computers are working and all their students can get logged in. Here are some closing thoughts on issues I think were important in me becoming a Network Manager. Sometimes you want to be a Manager but don’t have anyone to manage. I discovered some of the things below justified me having a management role when I was still only managing myself. Managing others came later on. Training Staff I delivered Clait classes to teaching and support staff over several years. Inset Training I provided IT training on various topics. Policies I helped write various IT policies. Bett I persuaded the school to send me to Bett and returned with some good ideas. Solutions I helped create the school website with the Head of Art. I created a web based digital signage solution and room booking solution. Infrastructure I was trusted to organise and manage the installation of new computer suites and all associated. Third Parties I was friendly but firm with Third Party suppliers and systems. I supported the companies providing our managed services but fought with them too when required. Extra Curricular I helped run a computer club. I helped run a radio club which didn't end well. The students tied one of our antenna to a teachers's car bumper.

Hi, Don't underestimate mapping where the ethernet ports will go. What may seem obvious to yourself can be ignored by the guys fitting the cables. I've seen installers try to fit a dozen ethernet points in a single corner or along one wall to save them trouble of drilling work. Ta, Chris

Hi, Is there some way of viewing smart notebook files which doesn't involve smart notebook? A teacher friend has given me some smart notebook files and I imagine he has the licensed software as he works in a school...I don't anymore. I'm not looking anything dodgey :-) It just seems there is discussion about a viewer application online that I can't seem to find. Ta, Chris

Hi, This looks like it might help, or something life it, Quick Start Guide: Installing and Using Firefox Kiosk Mode. I imagine raspbian running firefox, with a firefox plugin, will be least work for you. Ta, Chris

Hi, I think there is a more generic check_root command which may help. You may not need to know the name of th drive. Ta, Chris

Hi, I created a system that sounds like what you are looking for 10 years ago. It seems to have popped off Sourceforge and it's so long ago I wouldn't be able to retrieve it (I changed jobs a good while back). You could try going to Sourceforge and searching on "digital signage". All the software is open source i.e. awesome as long as you are willing to put a bit of work in :-) Cheers, Chris