What's a network?

Like much of the rest of  our wonderful English language, technology has taken the word "network" for its own purposes. We could call a computer network simply a bunch of connected computers, but, as anyone who has come face-to-face with the thrashings-about of STI or the Internet on a bad day, there's more to it than that. Despite the frustrations, a computer network has some help for us in the pursuit of our and our students' educational needs, so some attention to detail will yield important gains in productivity and efficiency.

But first, some quick sub-categories of "network" . . . 

• Sneakernet: This is a techno-geek's affectionate term for the simplest of networks, where connections are made by moving from one place to another on one's own feet. The Sneakernet is sometimes the most appropriate way to transfer files or documents, but it's included here for purposes of contrast.
• Peer-To-Peer: In this type of network all computers are on some sort of equal footing (not advisable when lots of computers are involved). The first networked computer labs in our district were peer-to-peer.
• LAN: Local Area Network. LANs up the ante with important computers called servers, which provide managed storage and security. LANs generally are confined to single buildings or small campuses.
• WAN: Wide Area Network. If a network extends well beyond a building, yet provides many of the resources of a LAN, it's a WAN. The computers in the schools and district offices of FCPS together make up a WAN.
• Internet: There's no bigger network than this one! If any computer is willing to use a specific "language" and abide by certain rules (and is connected to an Internet service provider), it can be a part of the Internet. The Internet crosses boundaries and any other divisions, virtual or otherwise - it's so big and important that it's capitalized. However, with that much connectivity, some of the advantages of a LAN aren't possible.

Who cares? The Sneakernet has served us well for the millennia, but there are some real advantages to LANs and WANs, including . . . 

• Storage - Most teachers produce their work on computers now. That work can be managed using hard copies, real file cabinets, and the Sneakernet. Many teachers use their own computer to store things "locally."  However, there's some advantages to using the LAN to manage such things, including . . .
• Capacity - The difference in price between a real file cabinet and the virtual equivalent, a new computer hard drive, is small (these days, the latter generally is cheaper), but the difference in storage capacity is way off the scale - an average size hard drive (about 20 gigabytes) can store the equivalent of 200 4-drawer filing cabinets!
• Redundancy - If, every time you filed a new geometry test, you made a copy and filed it in another cabinet next door, and then once a week made another copy of everything in the file cabinet and stored those in an entirely different building, you'd be doing what most LAN file servers do automatically. "Locally" saved documents don't enjoy such an advantage either.
• Connectivity - The Sneakernet works fine if you wanted to give a copy of that geometry test to the teacher next door. But network sharing or email delivery is instantaneous - a performance level our courier service can't match. And you don't have to leave your chair!
• Security - You make your filing cabinet secure from students stealing your tests by locking it, or locking the room it's in. LANs protect contents by hiding them behind usernames and passwords. "Virtual" security is much more flexible than lock-and-key, making it possible to assign different security access rights to every piece of paper in every drawer in the cabinet! That means that you could put all your tests in the same folder, but set it up so only the algebra teachers could get the algebra tests, etc. 

How do I make this work for me? 

1. The first thing to remember is to save your work to a network server! The best way to remember is to set it as the default area for Word, or whatever your usual work application is. (In Word, it's under "Tools/Options" - see above for what this looks like in Windows2000.) Ask your school STC for a server pathway.
2. The second thing you need to remember is that everything you can do on your network hides behind your username and password. So if you want access to anything when you 're not sitting at your regular desk, you'll need to 1) know where you've stored it, 2) know your username and password, and 3) use that username and password whenever you use a computer that isn't your "normal" one. 
3. Security requires that you be sitting in front of any computer that is logged in with your username and password. This means you should log out when you leave your room, and never, never give out your username and password to anyone, ESPECIALLY a student!

What's coming? Windows2000! Many of you already have this operating system, and many more will get it next year. Eventually, when we ALL have it, a lot more than just network access will be tied to our usernames and passwords - so will shortcuts, Internet favorites, desktop appearance settings (such as wallpaper) - all will instantly appear wherever you log in. "Your computer" will become virtual, and follow you wherever you go in Fayette County! Get ready for this change now, and, in the process, utilize the advantages of computing on a network. Learn what's behind that username, and what your computer network can do for you!

- Jeffrey L. Jones