-tictech message:
Gee...Does that mean that there just might be a problem when we have all of
the office staff, teachers and kids logging onto the SeattleSchools domain
next year? If we can't keep up with SOME people using the Internet, how are
we going to keep up with EVERYONE in the district connecting to the
SeattleSchool domain?
-Wes
wfelty@gte.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Johnson, April" <apjohnson@seattleschools.org>
To: <tictech@learningspace.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 4:31 PM
Subject: RE: tictech: Minutes and bandwidth
> -tictech message:
>
> I think I might be able to clarify part of the discussion.
> Judy and John are both right.
>
> 1) Our internet access is limited to 4 T1 (6MBits) connections to the
> State-wide K20 Educational network that happens to be hosted at the
> University of Washington in this region of the state. The problems we
have
> with access are not *directly* K20's fault - it's more a matter of budget.
> If we had money, we could buy additional bandwidth.
>
> 2) The possiblity of getting connected via fiber (rather than our 4 T1
> lines) to the new Internet backbone available via the University of
> Washington is something we're all excited about. But there are a number
of
> issues that make this currently not possible. However, a meeting is
> scheduled to discuss this with the vice provost and key technology people
at
> the UW.
>
> 3) The district is asking folks to "conserve" bandwidth use right
> now because we're out of "space" in our internet pipeline. Things like
> downloads and streaming media do take a LOT of space on the highway - kind
> of like a convoy of trucks on the freeway that slows everybody down. If
the
> highway is large enough, there isn't a problem, but at the moment... we've
> got a big traffic jam.
>
>
> Thanks!
> -April Johnson
> apjohnson@seattleschools.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mertens and Sahl [mailto:bluesky@scn.org]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 1:26 PM
> To: 'tictech@learningspace.org'
> Subject: tictech: Minutes and bandwidth
>
>
> -tictech message:
>
> Thank you, Lesley for posting the minutes. I was particularly interested
> in the bandwidth issue that was a problem last week and John Rowlands'
> description of the problem copied below.
>
> > Seattle Public Schools
> > Technology Forum
> > February 28, 2002
> >
> > Minutes
> -------------->stuff cut<----------------------------------
> > Bandwidth
> > John Rowlands discussed the Internet bandwidth for the District. He
> > explained that the bottleneck has moved to the four T1 lines leaving the
> > District to the University of Washington, which is slowing Internet
> > connectivity. He has requested that the Seattle Schools be allowed to
use
> > the Internet 2 capabilities through the University of Washington. There
> has
> > been no formal response from the UW.
> >
> > The good news is the Bess Proxy is no longer slowing down Internet
access
> > speeds.
>
> It would appear from this statement that the bandwidth issue is not due
> to, as Judy McName stated in a forwarded e-mail to this list, "Streaming
> media (things like RealAudio, Windows Media, etc.)[that] account for over
> 10% of our total bandwidth use -- and sometimes more than 20%", but
> instead is due to a "bottleneck" at the University.
>
> Does the source of the problem originate at the University, as John
> Rowlands alludes to above (a technical problem) or does the problem
> originate, as Judy McName states above, at the classroom/office level
> where streaming media are blamed (a social problem)? I ask these
> questions because it would seem that if Internet II is the answer to the
> problem, then the University is to blame. However, if the answer is "too
> many streaming media connections", then the problem lies at the
> classroom/office level which, of consequence, raises a number of issues.
>
> What are the sanctions, then, for the "overuse" of the Web and what type
> of enforcement is in place to effectively ensure that the Web is used in a
> manner that is deemed to be in accordance with appropriate practices? What
> constitutes appropriate practices in this context? How can individuals
> who are "overusing" the Web learn how to use it in a manner that is
> commensurate with expectations for appropriate use?
>
> [Enter BESS, stage left.] According to the February minutes, BESS is now
> free from incrimination as a "bottleneck" source. Again, from Judy
> McName's e-mail:
>
> > Please help to conserve our very limited bandwidth and keep it
> > available for instructional use by:
> > - not using streaming audio/video - don't listen to radio stations
> > online
> > - not playing online games from your district computer
> > - not downloading or uploading MP3 (music) files
> > - stopping all Internet file-sharing activity (Gnutella, KaZaa,
> > Morpheus, etc).
> > In addition to being bandwidth hogs, these last two activities are
> > frequently illegal because of copyright violations. They can result in
> > district disciplinary action, and the user may be prosecuted by the
> > copyright owner.
>
> This list of inappropriate uses conjures up notions of what BESS *can* be
> good for in the absence of a clear understanding of what the Web is
> supposed to be good for. It is quite possible that in the foreseeable
> future, BESS will be used to block these types of file transfers. The
> rationale typically used to justify these types of action fall under the
> rubric of the "few who spoil it for everyone else". It is easy to see how
> the power of the Web for learning purposes can be rendered inert by
> administrative intervention. The Web may never get a real chance to
> "show its stuff" because too many people were experimenting--yes, and even
> wasting time--trying to figure how the blasted technology worked AS WELL
> AS how it can be used in a classroom setting.
>
> I would think that the overuse of the Web is a good thing. Students,
> teachers, staff all have access to digital "stuff" that has been made
> available to them via taxpayer money. Accessing information should not be
> a crime. We are at a liminal moment with respect to using technology in
> schools. How can we say with certainty what people ought to be doing
> when they are using computers? Teachers certainly can guide student
> use. But who guides teachers' use? It is very hard for me to use a
> computer and not learn something new in the process. It might be
> something about the software itself, it might be something I've read on
> the Web, and it might be something that I have created in a written
> document. And, it just might be in an ah-ha moment of watching a
> streaming video that I have a new idea. This process is all very new to
> us as human beings and we have got to cut each other some slack if we are
> to grow and develop into intellectual people.
>
> Kurt Sahl
> bluesky@scn.org
>
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