1. Brady Davis<br />Scenarios <br />Productivity and Professional practice<br />I would distribute the computers by using a combination of both in classroom and in computer labs. If there are four computers provided for each room I would decide to place two additional computers in each classroom and the other two computers from each room would be combined to create a couple of computer labs spread out throughout the building. <br />It seems as if there would be a definite need to have two computers in the classroom so that the teacher as well as the students could always have immediate access to use sporadically throughout the day during class lessons. These computers would allow the teacher to attach one to the LCD/Smartboard in order for a majority of the instruction to be able to be provided by usage of technological distribution. The other computer could be used for NCWISE, attendance taking, and small groups. If the classrooms already had a couple of computers in place previous to these two computers, the two new computers could be used during small group time and allow for the teachers to prepare multiple lessons requiring the usage of computers. They would provide the opportunity for more leveled instruction so that the students will be able to either accelerate or remediate based upon the need for the given topic.<br />The other two computers would be combined to create two additional computer labs throughout the building. This would provide all of the teachers in the school the opportunity to have entire classroom sets available to use for instruction. These labs would provide the students with the opportunity to complete more in-depth research projects, more frequently use software such as Excel and Word, and to do more large group tutoring sessions. The computer labs would also provide an opportunity for staff development to be able to be completed in the computer lab, in which all of the teachers could have a session at the same time. <br />In conclusion, it would not make sense to simply place all four of these computers in each classroom. It seems like a more efficient usage of limited resources to provide each classroom with some computer access as well as providing two places throughout the building where multiple students/teachers can get use out of the lab at the same time. <br />Support Management and Operations<br />Donated Computers<br />Take the equipment or not? <br />I would definitely accept the computers from the company due to the fact that they are only two years old which is probably newer than most of the computers in the building. I am assuming that these computers are in fact PCs and are not Macs. If these computers were not PCs I might not be as likely to accept them due to the possible training that would be needed for the users of the computers. If they are in fact PCs the users should be pretty familiar with how to operate them, no matter which particular Windows operating system is in them.<br />The computers are in like-new condition so it would not be that hard to get them up and going. Assuming there are more licenses available for the Office software, it would not be too expensive to get the computers in operating condition. Even if there was the requirement to purchase more licenses for the Office software it does not seem as if the value of the free computers would far out-weigh the liability of the need to purchase licenses for software. <br />Accepting these computers also takes into account that the infrastructure is already in place to allow these 25 additional computers. The server space, and wiring would hopefully already be in place so that the expenditures could be kept to a minimum level. <br />The donation of these computers would also allow the opportunity for there to be a press release about how the company graciously donated these computers to the school. This would provide for positive PR for the company as well as hopefully planting a seed in other companies minds that the school is continuously in need and willing to accept reasonable donations.<br />Assessment and Evaluation<br />Online Testing<br />If testing was strictly done online there would need to be some changes as to how class is taught in school. The schools would somehow have to gain access to more computers so that students may more frequently have access to using the computers. If the students were not comfortable with using the computers they would not feel confident going into taking the tests on the computers. The students would also have to have ample practice time to use the software programs that they would be using when they were taking the test.<br />Students would also have to learn how to type at a much younger age so that they would be more competent when it comes to typing anything into a computer. Not only would the students need to receive training but the teachers would need to receive training as well, so that they are competent enough in the programs to train the students to be able to do what they need to do. <br />The school system would need to make sure that they are operating systems to where the infrastructure is in place so that the computers will be guaranteed to stay online. It would be a necessity for these computers to remain connected to the Internet in order for the testing to go off without a hitch. There would need to be some sort of back up in place so that all students would be able to complete their testing in the time frame that would be available for them. Online testing would cause some stress throughout the school system but nothing that would be too difficult for the schools to accomplish.<br />Illegal Software<br />A good way to cut down on a proliferation of illegal software on school owned computers would be to set up a policy stating that all computer software programs must be placed on the computer only by computer technicians from the Central offices. The computers could be password protected so that only the computer technicians may have access to adding the new programs. Another addition could be the use of Deep Freeze. Deep Freeze makes it so that any unauthorized changes made to a computer will be reset the next time that the computer is restarted. This not only helps cut down the affect of viruses but it also would serve as a hindrance for anyone who somehow does illegally download something onto the computer, because it would be deleted from it the next time that they start up the computer anyhow. <br />Part of the district policy would entail how often computer checks would be done to check for illegal software downloads. It would not be feasible to allow for frequent computer checks due to the thousands of computer station setups throughout the county. It seems as if there is presently the technology in place to gain remote operation of the computers, or to at least remotely check which programs are currently running on computers throughout the school system. Another part of the policy would consist of simply educating to the teachers the importance of not installing any software, licensed or not onto their computers and explaining the importance as to why they should not be doing such things.<br />Any computer that would be found with illegal software would have to immediately have the illegal software removed from it. Then you could trace back as to who was logged onto the computer when the illegal software was downloaded to it. That person would be punished based upon the nature of the software and whether or not they seem competent enough to have either accidentally downloaded something or if they were devious enough to find a work around for the road blocks that were set in place for them. <br />