Old_Skool

Don't forget - nothing is free. If you are storing data up in google docs or pages on google sites - they are scanning that information. They don't care about you so to speak as in monitoring what information (data) is whose --- but as a huge conglomeration to be mined for trends - key words - topics - popularity - etc. That aside - I see Chrome as a competitor to MS which is a good thing (just like AMD forces Intel to stay on its toes). And yes as mentioned Google can make Chrome very affordable - even a money looser to gain a foot hold. And while its proposed to be totally cloud based --- I don't think everyone is ready for that yet. I bet you'll see a minimal a Chrome OS embedded on a moderate SSD on the motherboard. And I suspect you'll see a "free cloud" where they can mine the data -- plus a "subscription cloud" with privacy etc.

Thanks for the comments - the certifications are primarily a preparation should I need to take another job. Come Spring / Summer I may look at jobs with other districts - community colleges - or universities. I might even look at city or county level IT positions. And yes I believe all school districts are awakening to the need for proper IT support from the classroom to central office - but each district is a special case some ahead of the curve others (most) not.

I've not worked in corporate IT, but did many years as a hot-shot HW designer in the corporate world wherein we viewed any IT types as useless baggage. My wife did her time in corporate IT and has many stories to tell. We both now work for our local school district where I now ironically pursue an IT career. Karma is a bitch :-) Yes the pay is less and the hours can be long - but at least at my current level I don't have some mid-level manager on my case about some multi $100K project that is a week behind - blah - blah. Or working insane OT to reach a mile-stone so some Vice President can get a bonus. And providing direct client support at a school there is fun stuff with students (like your video). But the big thing for me is that the overall "mission" is focused on getting kids educated. Or as I experienced in my second year - a chance to help salvage a student with Aspergers who was geek but had severe socialization issues. He found refuge in my tech office - became more social - and graduated. Thats not going to happen at corporate central.

Were a US school and currently use both methods. Our student email is first_last@school district and all of our students use 8 digit (random) numbers to login. I have to say from middle school on most kids know their ID # ... passwords of course are always forgotten. I am a believer that K12 students email should not easily identify them. I think we're heading towards some letters from their name and some numbers as their email name. Keep in mind this is the US where guns, kooks, and disgruntled ex-husbands flow freely. Kids under 18 need to be protected.

Hello Good People - I am in the middle of a mid life career change (which was preceded by a mid life crisis wherein I purchased a Harley) and am trying to figure out next steps. I just posted in the "hello I'm new here" if you want to read some of that drivel about my school and district. In my previous life I completed a 2yr degree in Electronics in '84 and did 24yrs in private sector high tech focused in HW. The last 16 were at Intel doing HW design where I eventually earned obscene amounts of money (explains the Harley) + obscene amounts of stress which culminated in an extreme burn-out. I would rather sell my soul than ever work for a publicly traded company again. I am really quite lucky to have landed my current job providing direct support at a large high school (about 2000 students). When I was hired 4yrs ago the district did not even have an official position description for my job (Computer Support Tech) and I was hired as a Instructional Assistant. The district certainly had tech positions etc. but for senior roving techs who might support 2 - 4 schools and who report directly to district IT. The initial pay level was very low at $12.50/hr - but I needed a job and more importantly needed a IT job to start my career switch. For 2yrs we survived by pulling money out of our retirement to make ends meet. About a year ago the district recognized the need for dedicated local support and defined a position + pay scale -- but the school board has indicated they cannot officially fund the positions (yet) out of the districts main pot of money. Luckily my Principle is a great guy and he funded me at the new position level - AND - the guy who hired me recommended I also get the optional $5K yearly tech stipend. Now all of that pushed my gross pay to $32K a year. And that was adequate combined with my wifes income. Life looked promising - then we had the current economic melt down and the $5K stipends were eliminated. So we are back to running in the red and I'm going to start moonlighting as a tech guy to bring in extra dough. This obviously cannot continue and I may need to move on - my current gross is $27K. I am a jack-of-all trades guy and certified geek: OSX - XP - Linux - build clients or servers - manage servers - basic networking - home networking - just set up a Mythbuntu DVR - etc. I'm not looking to earn a fortune --- but my gross needs to meet $32K+. Economic times are tight but even as things moderate I doubt those 5K stipends will ever return. So how does all this stack up against what some of you are experiencing ? I've been lazy but over the Winter I'm going to pick up my A+ and Network certs just to have those on my resume. Anything else I can work on or do ? I want to work in an educational setting if possible. Certainly I know that taking a job at district IT would pay better - but I do love my little kingdom at the high school and the students and staff. The thought of returning to powerpoint land - status reports - and 2 hour meetings (at IT central) chills my spine .... I know pay levels and all that can sensitive so PM me if you want to.

I could have sworn I did an intro a couple of years back - but I see no posts from me. Of course I totally understand it they were tossed out as rubbish. Anyway I'm back or still here. I work at one of the larger school districts clustered around the Portland OR area. Something like 37,000 students - over 45 schools (elementary - middle schools - high schools) - and around 14,000 total computers. I provide direct support at one of our high schools (about 2000 students) supporting students - staff - local networking - printers - classroom technology - and local servers. Our school is 70% macs and the rest PCs which is something like 430 macs and 175 PCs. This is my 4th year in the district at this position - prior to that I have 24 years in the high tech private sector. That experience ranged from starting out as a HW tech to doing 16yrs at Intel and finishing there as a senior HW engineer and a total burn-out. I'm now looking at about 14yrs until I retire (unless the world physically or economically blows up) and plan to do that with in the educational technical support area. Coming from the outside into education - I have to say in general I am highly impressed with how hard our teachers and administrators work to get our students educated.