Feb 23, 2016

Work Life: Two ports in the sea

An area school reached out because they were having some very bizarre network issues. They had replaced several switches on their network and things seemed to be going fine - for a while. Soon, they noticed segments of the network were crashing or coming to a grinding slowdown.  First inclination is to blame and look for a network loop in effect.

For those that may not know, a network loop happens when you take a network cable and plug both ends into the same switch. For example, you plug one end into port 1 and the other into port 8 on the same switch. Much like an echo between speakers and a microphone, the network traffic coming out of one end feeds into the other end, which then feeds it back to the first end. Lather, rinse, repeat. With microphones and speakers, we hear the loud squeal of feedback. On a network, traffic loops in an ever-increasing roundabout fashion, bringing things to a standstill.

The same thing (or similar, anyway) can happen if two network wires from one switch are plugged into two ports on another switch. For example, Port 3 and 4 on one switch are plugged into ports 1 and 4 on another switch (the actual port number do not matter). This is usually called "spanning tree" since it is between two switches, though the term can also be used within a single switch.*

So, you with me? Okay, here's the situation then:

When the tech plugged in a new switch via fiber, the network would come crashing down. Okay, we thought, must be a loop somewhere in the "new" network since things worked fine before hooking up the new switch. Except for one problem: it happened even when the new switch had NO OTHER connections attached - just the fiber from the main network switch. Unplug the fiber, and the network settled back to normal.

Okay, let's see what else we have then. We head to the main network switch (also referred to as the core switch) to see what we can figure out. As we looked over things, I had to climb a ladder in order to get to the core switch because it was mounted high in the network closet's rack.

After a few moments, I realized the problem: they didn't have a loop so much as they had two network lines plugged into the same port. Wait. What? How could they have two wires in the same port? Allow me to demonstrate. Note: The image below is NOT the actual switch in this post. I recreated the scenario using my own switch.


Now, you may be saying, "Those circled wires are not in the same port!" While that is true, physically, it is not true logically. Notice on the left, the port number is 23. On the right, it is also 23. In most switches that have CAT5 (left) and fiber (right), they share certain ports. In the image above, ports 21-24 are "shared." This means you can EITHER have a CAT5 wire in a port number *OR* you can fiber in the port number. At least, from a logical sense. In a physical sense, you can plainly see there is nothing stopping me from plugging a wire into both ports. The switch in this case sees both as perfectly legitimate and sends/receives traffic down BOTH of the Number 23 ports. Much like a network loop, traffic spins out of control as the switch sends and receives data down both paths.

That is what happened at the district. Now, seeing the example above makes it look like the problem is obvious, right? Well, in the example above, it is obvious. In the real world scenario, as I mentioned before, the switch was mounted up high. Additionally, that switch had the port numbers on the TOP of the ports, not the bottom. So, the tech could not see that the fiber ports were shared with ports 23 and 24 (that switch only had two fiber ports).

Because the tech could not see the numbers, the fiber was plugged into Port 24.  There was also a CAT5 wire plugged into Port 24. So long as the fiber was not plugged in on the other end, everything was fine. As soon as the fiber made the connection in the other switch, everything went crazy, as by now you might imagine.

The moral of the story here is that we can't always tell the exact nature of the problem due to the actual physical parameters of the environment. In this case, the tech could not see the numbers on the ports, thus not realize wires had been plugged into the shared ports on the switch.

Sometimes, it truly does take a different set of eyes to help solve a problem.

*Note: Some switches can be configured to handle such arrangements. This can take the shape of VLANS (virtual local area networks) or spanning tree detection/prevention. You may have heard these referred to as Layer 2 or Layer 3 switches.

Feb 8, 2016

American Truck Simulator 01 - Do NOT Hire This Guy!



Notes from the Innovations High Presentation



I recently attended a presentation on the "Innovations High" school model. Ken Grover (Salt Lake City, Utah) and George Philhower (Wayne County, Indiana)  led the program, a 1-day overview held in Little Rock.

NOTE: These are my notes and may not reflect completeness of the program and/or may contain my own personal opinions. Likewise, these notes reflect the speakers' views and not my own in some cases. This post serves to merely regurgitate what was covered during the program.

Personalize Learning Network
  • We limit ourselves to thinking inside the box.
    • Pacing Guides, etc
  • Pillars of personalized learning
    • Pace
    • Time
    • Place
    • Path 
Ask STUDENTS what they want. How many people do that? Your "customers" are your students - not teachers, not parents, etc.

Ask your TEACHERS what they want.

What do your ADMINISTRATORS want?

What is stopping you from transforming your school? - Barriers
  • Seat Time
  • "Mastery-based"
  • Sharing teachers across multiple grades
  • Sports participation
  • FEAR - "No one else is doing it"
  • MINDSET - "We've never done it like that before"
  • TRADITION - "We've always done it this way, and it has worked just fine"
Real (and perceived) barriers
  • Money - How much will it cost to implement? Where do we get the money?
  • Politics/Laws
  • Students not wanting it/Students that DO want it
  • Labor force - Teachers, staff, etc.
Know your barriers - Know what you know, know what you don't know
Sometimes we put up our own barriers
Some barriers are not on "paper"
  • Bell schedules
  • School calendars
  • Length of school days
Create a culture
  • Why are we looking to change/transform?
  • Why aren't we doing things differently?
  • Why are we doing the things "we've always done?"
Parents expect effective education; students hope for it.

Technology is key where possible to make the job of teacher easier - replace mundane, easy, repetitive tasks with technology.

TERMINOLOGY
  • Personalized learning = Student-Centered Learning
  • Competency-based instruction = Mastery-based instruction
  •  Online learning = Virtual learning
  • Blended Learning (FLEX)
    • Not easy to blend certain classes:
      • Athletics
      • Auto Shop, Wood Shop
      • World Languages
  • Flipped Classroom
  • "Technology" - Anything that makes the job easier
  • LMS
  • Digital content/Digital Textbooks
  • "Transformation" vs "Change" - "Change" implies could be changed back; "Transformation" implies permanency - not going back. 
  • Time/Seat-time
  • Path
  • Student control
  • Pace
  • Place
Use technology EFFECTIVELY - Does not replace the teacher

Essential Technology:
  • Bandwidth
  • Devices
  • LMS
  • SIS
  • Digital content
  • BYOD
  • Other
Check-out computers to students but do not let students use the same computer over and over - prevents personalization and feeling of ownership. [I wonder if they do the same to their teachers... Do they swap out teacher devices so the teachers don't/can't make those devices personal!? I would bet not.]

Implementation
  • Transformation support
  • Powerful technologies
  • Curriculum resources - do *NOT* have your teachers create/build curriculum!
  • Professional learning and coaching - Help teachers come together. [Perhaps a #twitchat!?]
Vision + Action Plan + Resources + Skills + Incentives = Sustainable Change/Transformation
  • w/o Vision = Confusion
  • w/o Action Plan = False Starts
  • w/o Resources = Frustration
  • w/o Skills = Anxiety
  • w/o Altruistic Incentives = Resistance (Do *NOT* use monetary incentives!)
Vision, Partnership, Multi-year commitment


Imagine, create, innovate


Instructional levels replaced curriculum maps


Students progress via mastery instead of scope/sequence. Ex: 9 levels of mastery per "grade" (K.1, K.2, K.3, etc)


Students are grouped by readiness not by date-of-birth


Parents get continuous feedback

No letter grades in elementary school (in the Indiana program)

At High School, they have "School w/in School"
  • Students applied to be in personalized learning program
  • 4 periods (periods 2-5 during 8 period day)
  • 4-5 classrooms available per period in a centralized location (students aren't roaming around)
  • All teachers in program do personalized learning AND traditional teaching classes
  • All teachers serve as mentors to students
  • Students control: 
    • PACE - cannot fail
    • PLACE - with help sometimes
    • OWN LEARNING - use a learner profile to keep on course
  • Increased valuable time w/teacher - small group, 1-to-1 w/teacher, etc
  • Students talk about their path - they own it
  • Teachers build relationships with the students (Same mentor throughout h.s. career)
 WHY DO THIS?
  • Higher graduation rate
  • Achievement
  • Enrollment
  • Budget
  • Wanted to give STUDENTS an unfair advantage
Other Info:
  • 7a-5p school day - not all students at school at the same time
  • No class periods, no bells w/in program (bells for transfer to trad. classes)
  • Students are ENGAGED in learning all the time w/in program
  • How/when they learn
  • Seat time no longer matters
  • Teachers
    • Flexibility and freedom - working together to set hours, create lessons
    • Mentoring/Correcting
    • Meet individual student needs
    • 1-to-1 and small group instruction
      • may have large group discussions, though that is exception not rule
  • Work toward college and/or career
    • Personalized Education Plan (PEP) for students
    • LMS is essential
    • Graduate with college credit and/or industry certifications (CCNA, Welding, etc)
OUTCOMES:
  • 95% graduation rate
  • 49% enrolled in college courses/448 credits passed
  • (Other stats given in slides, but I did not take notes on them)

BeamNG Drive Grand Canyon! High-flying action with GREAT views