- Replace Microsoft Office software with an open source equivalent
- The replacement of our Microsoft Outlook server software
- Weblogs for administration teaching and learning
- Wikis for non-static content that has more than one author.
- Software to manage courses where students enrol and submit work electronically
- A web presence for all – linked to a Trinity portal
- Remove Hotmail, Yahoo and other web based mail systems and replace our Outlook Web access email system
- Allow access to files from outside school for students and teachers
- To review our policies concerning child safety and the use of information technology
31/8/2003
The Next Steps in our use of IT
28/8/2003
Masochism or what
Our eldest got out of the car this morning. No it would be better described as falling out, phone in one hand, texting with the other and slung under her arm was a carrier bag with lunch and things. Lynne and I worry that eighteen year olds are allowed to use meat slicing machines.
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26/8/2003
25/8/2003
A local ride
As both Sid and Steve are fitter than me another long ride would reduce me to the condition of the “Broom waggon” ride of a few days ago. I really wanted to avoid a repeat performance because my tolerance to this sort thing is going down rapidly.
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23/8/2003
Around Stoney Middleton
Is it just me or has someone used shaving cream to give her a beard?
How many times have you gone into a pay and display car park, left your car there for four hours, and on leaving are one pound thirty better off on the deal? Well not only did Lynne do that but she gave £1.00 to a strange man. My wife has money keeping skills that never fail to impress me.
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22/8/2003
Get the Broom Wagon
If you click on the photograph above you will be seeing the view I got yesterday when I went for a ride with the “boys”. The photograh was easy to take, as I was walking and they were cycling.
20/8/2003
IE6 problems and a walk
The six hours spent yesterday were good preparation for today. The questions
I asked about the cause of my problems at the end of yesterday’s entry,
the difference in appearance of my weblog as seen in Microsoft Explorer and
Netscape, were answered. A suggestion was made to test with up-to-date
browsers, as many as possible. I downloaded IE6 and found that my weblog seen with this browser did not fit in the window, I had to scroll right. I went to
Movable Type’s Support group and quickly found that a few people were having this problem. It is caused by IE6 not supporting the “position:absolute” statement in the CSS sheet. The solution, use “float and “widthâ€. Even with this information it took me awhile to get things right. Please comment if it does not look good in your browser.
19/8/2003
CSS
A quiet house today I was on my own. I spent a good six hours playing with cascading style sheets. I have bought a book! I spent some time four years ago looking at how to use them and then suggested a design for the school web site- it is still used today. I want to know more about cascading style sheets so as to be able to create a number of weblogs for different uses, style sheets will control how they look. The principle appears simple. Style sheets are just rules on how a browser should present the code that it receives. Styles can be placed in a separate sheet, as the heading of a document or as part of a tag. You can place contradictory rules, for example blue text for headings in a separate file then later you can specify that text for headings should be red. The instruction closest to the tag is the one that is implemented. OK, so it sounds easy, but experience suggests it is going to be tricky – like learning to read a skill I never fully got the hang of!
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17/8/2003
A cycle ride with sister and wife
I think I am going to do a bit of cycling it could be expensive. There are a number of retail opportunities as Steve pointed out to me on the ride today. Unfortunately my accountant, Lynne, was in hearing and interjected when I asked Steve what type of cycling shoes he recommended, “the cheapest†she said. So far she has been quiet on the matter of disc brakes but personally I think it is a non starter, if I require a new frame, and I would, and the breaks cost two hundred pounds, you can see the problem. Now if we include a TFT monitor and a new digital camera you can see we are moving into serious financial problems, which are not helped by the expected increase in university tuition fees. This will include Lena’s last year at university, three or four years for Kate – that could be as much as ten thousand pounds extra that has just come out of our retirement fund. Smile it is only life.
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16/8/2003
Winster – Minninglow – Gratton Dale Circuit
A power problem of our own!
Time to start getting out. Lynne and I went for a cycle ride, the Winster Circuit, out behind Bakewell. I was a little apprehensive as my birthday present of March 2002, a saddle bag for my bike, had not been used – ever. This is a case of severe lack of match practice and likely to casue a sore bottom. A major disappointment was to find the café at Elton closed. I have heard good things about this café, “the best in the Peak district “ has been mentioned. The problem was compounded when I realised that I had got up early, had a light breakfast, and it was now 11:30 am. I needed lunch. The problem was solved with a packet of cheese and onion crisps and a bar of chocolate from the local pub – an embarrassing start.
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14/8/2003
A level results
Lena has done the business:
Biology A
Chemistry A
Maths B
Further Maths (AS) B
Psychology (AS) A
Last thoughts on Prague
I remember when I was in the Sixth Form. My results at that stage in my career could be described as minimalist. When I took the picture below I was reminded of a friend who had a beer belly at seventeen, he used to tap it and say “my belly is more expensive than yours I drink lager and you drink bitter- the fact that I had not got a beer belly seemed not to be important.
The beer in Prague is cheep. Looking at this gentleman in the park in you can see the effect it has!
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12/8/2003
Early start in Prague
I did not run this morning but Lynne and I went for a walk around Prague at 6:30 am. This is not masochism as the temperature is cool and you can see the sights before the tour parties arrive and make life unpleasant. Prague has a spider problem everything is covered with webs. As the sun came into this alley we were walking in I saw this lamp and web “lit” by a sunbeam. The rest of the alley was pretty dark and the effect is rather good I think.
11/8/2003
More about guttering and things
Had a walk along the river today, hot but nice in the park under the trees. The most impressive thing we saw as we walked along the far bank was the flood damage from last year. We watched them putting up an exhibition of photographs of the damage that had been caused. When you started to look around you could see the plaster had been knocked off all the buildings up to a height of about two metres. In most cases the repairs had been done. It looked fantastic considering. I went for my early run this morning the city is very difeerent on a Monday morning at 7:00am compared to the same time on a Sunday. Busy working people compared to tired clubbers on their way home. The Public transport system is impressive. There was not really a rush hour. Red CZ sorted the problem could red Ken Linvingstone.
I was thinking a little more about guttering and shapes of roofs. The larger the area of the roof that is collecting water for one drain pipe the larger the hole needs to be to remove the water. Another factor is the amount of water falling per metre square. What you would need to calculate is the maximum amount of water falling from the sky – major thunderstorms – on to the area of your roof that is reliant on a particular drain. Assuming you have not got “leaves on the track”. Now what I was pondering was does the slope of the roof make a difference, at first I thought it did, the velocity of the water will be greater but the volume will be the same. Therefore, hole can be same size but collection vessel needs to be larger to prevent sloshing. Any way, the key factor for drainage is the number of drains and the size of the holes. Prague guttering is interesting. If I had access to the net I good try some searches. I am sure there is plenty of information but whether I will understand it is another matter. Here are couple of pictures,
10/8/2003
First day in Prague
The family has been moving around. Wales on Friday morning, Manchester Friday lunchtime and Prague for Saturday lunch. I do not think we have stayed in a hotel before as a family. The girls were excited and had fun with the trouser press as soon as we arrived. We taught them the dangers of mini-bars and how not to spend money in general. Well I suppose that is the job of being a parent completed. Let’s go into town.
The girls seem to slip into strolling around a town with ease. I am a slow learner but trying hard. The camera is useful as I can point it at things and feel as if I am doing something. I have tried walking around with a book and reading it at street corners while the girls look at a shop or something. I am afraid I cannot do this anymore as getting the book out, putting on the reading glasses, finding your place and putting the glasses case away before you read the first word is tedious to put it mildly. We happened to pass the Bethlehem Chapel. We had decided to have our evening meal at a restaurant close by so we popped in. The man who works downstairs in the heat has his painting on the wall and a fine one at that. There are some pretty life like figures painted on these walls. The noses of the peasants suggested a mixed background.
The highlight of the day for me was the guttering on the Chapel. The word Mega has been overused and trivalised as was turbo before it but in this case to describe the guttering it fits. The need for this piece of guttering design can be seen if you look at the area of the roof and where the water will flow. took me awhile to work that one out.
I went for a Sunday morning run early – 6:30 – am to avoid heat and people. Over the years I have done this in many hot countries in strange places. You can learn a lot about a place in thirty minutes or so early on a Sunday morning. To start with there are the casualties from Saturday night. There are the lads walking home from the clubs. I always feel a little superior on my run as I have done both, walked home at that time in the morning and I now go running. I have a feeling they have only done one of them. The girls still looking good after a night on the town. The homeless some of whom are obviously addicts of one type or another. Sad to say some of them were English. As I was running down a cobbled street I noticed a body in the middle of the road. It was in the foetal position, I ran towards it beginning to worry that I had found a dead man. As I got within a metre or so a reassuringly load snore could be heard. I ran around him looking up at the building I was passing. Lo and behold it was a police station. I have a feeling that the streets in general are cleaner and there a less homeless and drunks than you would find in London or Manchester