ICT Update

15th August 2007

Welcome to the 15 August update. In this issue we are responding to the laptop configuration and internet filtering issues raised on the ICT broadcast list over the last two weeks. Our responses seek to provide a broader context for the decisions and are not intended as a critique of the views expressed on the list. They are offered in the spirit of open debate and the exchange of ideas that we are keen to see among our ICT community. But before we get onto these issues we would like to announce a couple of new initiatives.

LAMS 2.0 has been launched!

LAMS (“Learning Activity Management System”) is now available for teachers and schools to create and manage sequences of online learning activities using learning objects and other resources. It replaces the Basic E learning Tool Set (BELTS) as a simple system for teachers to create online learning sequences for their classes and provides a pathway to the more advanced online learning features offered by eSpace and Sharepoint. LAMS has four main areas:

• Author -. Teachers can create courses for learners using a ‘drag n drop’ action and choose from a variety of tools.
• Monitor - assign a group of learners, activate the sequence for learners, and then monitor their progress.
• Learner - groups of learners participate in a sequence activated for them by a teacher.
• Administration - system administrators can set up LAMS users and manage user groups.

The system is now ready to use and may include a range of individual tasks, small group work and whole class activities based on content and collaboration. It integrated with the ntschools user accounts and builds on successful LAMS 1.0 pilots in 2006.

Further information is available here.

Or contact:
onlineservices.deet@nt.gov.au
ph. 8999 3527

Secure Remote Access for P; Drives and Shared Folders

We have been working for some time to reintroduce the ability for staff to access their personal and shared drives on the school server from the Internet. This feature was available in the old LATIS portal but we have deferred its reintroduction until we had a more secure access method. In simple terms we believe that a user id and password are not secure enough authentication to let remote users access the resources on a school server because they can be logged or intercepted by hackers and used to get access into internal networks and systems.

“Single factor” user id and password authentication (something I know) is generally considered adequate for email and less sensitive web services provided through the portal however we need to have “two factor” authentication (something I have and something I know) before letting remote users into school servers and systems such as ePass and myHR.

The new remote access service will use a Digital Certificate downloaded onto teacher laptops from the school network to provide assurance that the user has a physical token (something I have) to accompany their user id and password when they connect to sensitive systems and services. The system also encrypts all transmissions between the use and the internal services to form a Virtual Private Network (or VPN).

Acceptance testing of the new remote access service is being conducted now and we hope to implement the new service in September.

Configuration of new teacher laptops

There has been considerable discussion on the ICTC e-mail list about the standard configuration of new Dell Laptops and the lack of onboard FireWire ports and data card readers. We acknowledge that these are valuable features for some teachers however when we are purchasing 2700 devices in a single configuration we need to try and optimise the features and performance to suit the needs of most users. For the Dell Laptops we stretched the budget to provide 2 GB of RAM and a dedicated graphic card as standard features as we believe these provide teachers with the best mix of price and performance for the available budget.

The computers have slots for PCMCIA cards which can provide native Firewire and SD card services for users that need high speed access to video and still cameras. Editure has provided quotes for several options as outlined below but there are many other products available on the Internet. We do not have the Firewire based devices in IT Services to test these products and cannot certify their performance.

Prices as of 15th August 2007. For current prices please contact Editure sales on 8984 2555.

Internet Content Filtering

The issue of Internet Content Filtering continues to generate concern with some users due to restrictions the current system impose on access to some web sites. The content filters work by classifying web sites into categories that we have the ability to selectively block. We have a process for schools to request specific sites to be unblocked or white- listed and schools can block additional sites by placing them into local black lists. These systems inevitably reduce the flexibility of teachers to use the services.

Fortunately we are just about to implement a new content filtering system that should allow us to apply selective filtering based in the user role (teacher student etc) but this may require users to re-enter their user id and password when they go to the Internet. The following links provide the proposed allowed and blocked categories and we welcome comment on which ones could be selectively allowed for different user groups.

Proposed Allowed Categories

Proposed Block Categories

We are also drafting a new policy that mandates that an approved filtering service is applied to any other Internet connection provided to DEET facilities that bypass the central filtering service provided on the NT schools network. These independent Internet connections have typically been used in preschools and homeland centres which are too small to justify the cost of a dedicated NT schools network service. The policy will also apply to school managed proxy servers that are providing access to the Internet via one of the school public IP addresses.

We appreciate that this will cause frustration for some but experience tells us that these measures are essential to protect the interests of students and staff.

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