1. Sage advice for all PowerRangers!!

• Advice gathered at the last PowerRanger meeting of 2001-2002 was shared at the opening of each meeting.
• View the "Advice" slides

2. Who's who in Information Services

• Sam introduced 4 members of the Information Services staff :
  Rick Nelson, the "youngest" member of Information Services (youngest as in "length of time with Stevenson") -- joined our staff this year as the Associate Director for Data Management.
  Ellen Shown -- Ellen is the key contact for all repair requests! Contact Ellen by email or voicemail (ext. 1384) whenever you have a computer repair issue and she will dispatch the help you need.
  Dale Carlson, (also referred to as "Dale Nugent" because of his recent marriage to Jennifer Nugent, daughter of Stevenson staff member Kathy Nugent )-- Dale is instrumental in maintaining the student servers.
  Jan Colburn -- Jan is the "oldest" member (in length of time with Information Services). Jan is responsible for the CRT assessment information and oversees all the software licenses. She also is the person who will install "software keys" on your laptop so that certain applications can be accessed while off campus.
  Staff members who were not at the PowerRanger meeting: John Mundt , Dave Graham, Nancy Hudson, and Carolyn Brumund (Sam's secretary, who needed to stay in the Link Lab during the lunch meetings).

3. Power "Rangers Advisory Team" (aka: Ratpack)

• Seven PowerRangers are currently serving as Ranger Advisors and have adopted the name of Ratpack. These teachers volunteered to take on a leadership role and will help shape the future of the PowerRanger program. They each introduced themselves and shared when they became PowerRangers:
  Laura Brown -- representing Communication Arts -- became a PowerRanger in 1999
  Wendy Custable -- representing Applied Arts, joined the PowerRangers in 2001
  Amy Inselberger -- representing Science -- a 2000 PowerRanger
  Michelle LaCognata -- from Social Studies -- a 2000 PowerRanger
  Sandi Millman -- representing Student Services and Special Education -- a 1999 PowerRanger
  Lisa Nehring -- from the Math division -- a 1999 PowerRanger
  Lori Polin-Silva -- representing Foreign Languages and ESL -- a PowerRanger since 1999

4. PowerRanger expectations

• Sam stated that he will be emailing PowerRangers to remind them of the expectations regarding Staff Development and mentoring.
• All 2002 PowerRangers are expected to participate in 8 hours of training each semester (whether giving or receiving), attend the monthly lunch meetings, participate in the list-serv and meet with their assigned mentors. Mentor/mentee/support team assignments will be sent out in the next week or two.
  

5. Goal setting for the year:

Power Rangers answered the following questions which were collected by the leadership team and will be used in planning for future lunch meetings.

* My technology goal for the year....
* People who can help me with this...
* Time and resources needed ....
* What would stop me from achieving this goal?

6. Administrivia:

• Sam discussed several issues that had provided challenges for teachers and students who have attempted to use technology tools in the first few weeks of school and he apologized for the frustration experienced.
  
  A lot of time and effort has been expended to solve problems which appeared after a switch over to a "Mac Manager" environment. Although the system performed well in the Summer School test period, it has been quite problematic in the beginning of school. The problems seem to exist mostly with the Senior servers, but has been a concern for other students as well. Sam and Dale are working to bring a solution to the extreme length of time required for students logging into their server space. The problems were compounded when students were logging in for the very first time, because a user environment is created for each student, and the virus protection on the servers seemed to slow the process even more. The login time was further exaggerated for students and teachers using the Mil-Karts, as they waited long periods for students to be able to login and connect to their server folders.
  
  Sam suggested that the teachers have students login in small groups of 1-2 students at a time, since data traveling across a wireless network is extremely slow -- somewhat like a traffic jam at rush hour.
  
• Questions arose about how or whether teachers can login to student laptops. Some teachers would like to have the iBooks "on and ready "as students enter a classroom. Although teachers do not have a generic login for the iBook, faculty members will be getting accounts on a server that will give them access to the iBooks.
  
• Concerns were also expressed about the length of battery time available on the iBooks. If the laptops have been used for three consecutive periods, the teacher who wants to use them in the fourth period will not have enough battery life for that period. Sam suggested that the teachers shut down or sleep the laptops when not in use, and even plugging in for a short period will help. It was also suggested that teachers are mindful in their departments when checking out the iBooks to avoid back to back scheduling when there is not enough time for charging between uses.

PowerRangers will meet again on Oct. 11, during all lunch periods.

Thanks to those who helped at the meeting: Carolyn Brumund for fetching ice, the projector and assisting with setup. Sam and Michelle LaCognata who handled the pizza deliveries. Lori Polin-Silva who provided the amplifier for the "Advice" slide show, and the members of the ratpack who organized the pizzas in the warming ovens, and made sure the drinks were replenished.

Reminder:
Did you update your virus protection Sept 1st?