9/14/10

Please check back often. I have been remiss is updating this website. I have been busy with side jobs and teaching school. During the summer I always move to the Outer Banks to surf with my family....so don't expect much over the summer.

This year I plan to update this blog more often with various information about teaching shop and teaching 3D modeling with Autodesk Inventor.

9/14/10

I will be posting new Inventor 2011 videos during the school year since I have 3 sections of Introduction to Engineering this school year. I also have a very large, 30, Woodworking 1 class that I will have to keep busy and safe. So, I should be posting my problems and solutions which might be helpful for other shop teachers.

9/15/10

I am a big believer in using technology to make your life easier. At the same time I also believe that if you are using any technology you need to understand its operation and at least a cursory knowledge of how it functions.

My iPhone is one piece of technology that definitely makes my job easier at school. I use it for taking attendance during class (my school system has an online grading system that I can access through the web browser on the phone). Another program that I routinely use is AIR MOUSE. It enables me to control my powerpoints from my iphone. I can control the functions of the mouse so I can point or click on hyperlinks, etc. It can be set up to use wi-fi or you can create an ad hoc network on your mac. It works with both mac and pc.

Another program that I use routinely in HanDBase for the iPhone. It helps me to keep track of which safety tests students have taken and passed. I can quickly check it or enter new information on the fly. I feel it is very important to have a good record keeping system to protect yourself in the shop. This program allows me to do this fairly easily. It allows you to create a portable database to fit whatever task you need. I found it easy to create and to even link several databases together. I can now import my class lists so I don't have to enter them manually. I can run reports so I can see which students passed the test the first time around or had to retake the test.

9/16/10

Not too much to say again today. It is the end of a long week and I have been busy with trying to figure out the server in the engineering lab and prepare for installing the new computer CAD stations. I believe I have a good prototypical image set up and now I am trying to create an image of it that I can deploy to the remaining computers.

I will let you know how it goes.

9/19/10

The weekend is over but all I did was work at school. The engineering lab received new computer CAD stations last week and it was time to get them installed. I was able to persuade a few of my students to come out and help with moving the old computers, cleaning and then getting the new computers in place. That was Saturday. Today I went back in with my son and plug all the computers in and was able to join them to the domain. I was not able to deploy an image or set any computer policies so students will not be able to use them tomorrow. I still need figure out Windows Deployment Systems and how to deploy the image the quickest and easiest. In the past I have used Acronis Snap Deploy but those licenses are burnt to individual NIC cards and cannot be transferred.

9/21/10

Still no joy with the server in the engineering lab. I am still having problems with the DNS and/or DHCP service. I keep doing my research and changing settings but to no avail. I will keep plugging away until I figure it out.

10/27/10

I did eventually fix the engineering lab server. The usual windows way....erase everything and start from scratch. We were still having problems with the server not publishing the gateway address. Which meant the computers were connected to the network but weren't getting access to the internet. I had to manually configure each computer and enter the IP address of the gateway.

The woodworking class is becoming difficult to manage. I have a large class, 30, and as skill levels begin to diverge it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep all students on task. In the beginning of projects when the jointer, surface planer, and table saw need to be used there is typically a large "line" of students waiting to use these machines. I also need to keep a very close eye on the operators of these machines which means there will be large blind spots for students to get into trouble. Still trying to invent ways to keep the students busy.

I used to swear by iSkin product for my iphone. I loved the Revo2 case and belt clip for my iPhone3. I broke the clip recently and had to order a new one. The manufacturing standards went down hill the the belt-clip was useless. I eventually upgraded to the iphone4 and order the Revo2 for that as well....a big mistake. Poorly made. It looks like their quality fell victim to mass production: sharp edges, ill fitting die-cuts, poor design. I did some research and bought the Otterbox Defender series for iPhone4. I highly recommend it and love the protection and access. It works great in the shop keeping the phone protected while the belt clip gives easy access.