Tom's EduBlog

Big Intro

After 18 years working for the TIU, I decide to move on to another position. Tomorrow, I begin a new chapter at Juniata College. One of the unforeseen challenges of the move was migrating 18 years worth of technology back to the TIU Office. During the COVID pandemic, I had an opportunity to build the "home lab." This weekend I was left with "net zero." Ah, to begin a new.

Storage

The first part of the rebuild - Storage. I am huge fanboy of FreeNAS (now TrueNAS) however, I have a tendency to amass older computer technology. Due to the vintage of equipment, a home lab. The lab brought into the limelight many tools and techniques ranging from streaming video to infrastructure solutions. At the heart of many of the projects, was the OpemMediaVault (OMV) Network Attached Storage (NAS).

NAS Redux

Ingredients
Raspberry Pi 3
Western Digital Passport 1 TB drive
Coffee

The Deal

Downloaded the Raspbian Lite Version (i.e. CLI Only). Then followed the destructions at Pi My Life Up. Voila, back in business.

But wait there's more..

During the last installation, I used OMV in a hypervisor (maybe another post). During that build, not all the OMV plugins were available.
Hold the phone! There are OMV-Extra... WHAT!

• ClamAV
• Dockers
• iSCSI - tg module
• KVM
• Open VPN
• ZFS

Did I mention, Dockers integration?

More adventures to follow, stay tuned.

Additional Links Software RAID external hard drives

Labels: NAS, Raspberry Pi, Storage

Was playing Mr. Mom on Friday and had a chance to play with iWeb for the first time.
The application is very straight forward and user friendly (I expected nothing less). At any rate, considering moving this blog to an IU hosted area to experiment more with the application details to follow.

I had mentioned Ruby on Rails in an exercise for class. Need to follow-up for inquiring minds. Also working on following up with a collaborative site for the folks I've met in class. We'll see what shakes loose..

Will add more soon..

Hanging out on the Jersey Shore for a few more days.
More EdTech posts to follow once I make it back to the Dark Hollow..

Mac Madness

There are some applications you get accustom to and can't let go. Linux, IMHO, is the swiss army knife of the computer world and I've become very very partial to several of the apps:


Dia

Evolution

OpenOffice

GIMP

Planner

In the move to the Mac, I've had to leave a few of them behind. Several have Mac ports - OpenOffice and GIMP. One in particular Inkscape slipped through my fingers until this week. There is a OS X port, JOY!
Check it out.


Moodle

The folks at Moodle released the 1.6 version of their Course Management System. Normally, I'm always gun shy when it comes to upgrades such as this. Fortunately, things in very rare instances aren't as bad as they seem. Such is the case, with the Moodle upgrades. Simply back up the database, rename the old installation folder, untar the new install, copy the config file (config.php) to the new installation folder. Voila, everything works. 4 clicks to confirm you would like to proceed with the update via a web browser and you're up and running.
Good stuff.

Joomla Updates

Joomla 1.0.10 patch was released on June 26th. Still working on patching the install base. One point to ponder is moving a vanilla index2.php file to the administrator folder. Seems to clear up a behind the scenes issue with the admin section. Good luck.

Programming

Still working on PHP stuff .. life goes on..

That's all for now.. Paper to write..

From the home chemistry lab (aka the kitchen)...


Are there any side effects from free-basing coffee :)?
(Just kidding... really..)

Database.. Sha!

Another database projects has emerged along with another deadline. Solution based on LAPP (Linux Apache PHP and PostGreSQL) is underway.

Cool Apps

Downloaded Oracle's SQL Developer for MacOS X. The port runs will on Tiger 10.4 no noticeable issue.

Found a neat application for MySQL database management, CocoaMySQL. I had my apprehensions after having a love-hate relationship with the MySQL Browser. To my surpise, no issues and in true make fashion, it just works.

RSS

Verdict is current out on Vienna. I have been looking for a reliable RSS reader to replace the aggregator I was using under Linux, Akregator. So far so good..


Off to finish a paper..

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." ~Charles Dickens

Websites and Databases

That pretty sums up this week's work adventures. Next week marks the end of the fiscal year so things are a little crazy with programs trying to get loose ends tied up before the new year.


All work and no play

Podcasting

In the area of foolin' around (ie. DSL connection went out due to a thunderstorm), I was able to bundle my first "podcast" type recording using the MacBook and GarageBand. The seamless integration of the iLife suite continues to impress me.

Mac OS X and Videoconferencing

The IU has invested heavily in videoconferencing and the exploration of the technology continues. One of the downsides to moving to Apple is that there is not a native H.323 (Video over IP) client - SIGH - .
Open Source Technology is a funny beast. Just when you think there is not a light at the end of the technology tunnel or you've become a roadkill on the Information Superhighway voila there appears an application.
Thus is the case again with videoconferencing, enter X Meeting for Mac OS X. It's not perfect but it works.. Check it out.

Skype

This is not an endorsement for Skype merely, a if you don't know about Skype, you should.

One of the folks I work with, Preston, is camping this weekend at near Bellefonte
. He IM'd me last nite to say he was hanging out at a cabin that had Internet Access (Wireless Broadband). I inquired whether or not the campground's name was the "Hilton." Sha..

The text messaging lead to an attempt to call via video and audio with iChat to go. On a whim, I suggested trying Skype. After a few minutes to download, we were having a VoIP conversation. Success!

Side-bar: Skype is offering free calling across the US and Canada until the end of the year.

That's all for this week. We'll add some project links later this evening.

Ciao,
Tom

The search continues for the ideal content management solution to replace our current system. Joomla! looks like overall winner but we'll see if another contender steps up to the challenge.

Work continues on a procedure to re-image the computer labs in a single mouse click using Symantec Ghost. Reality is only a day away (hopefully).

The question lingers "How do these two topics fit into Ed Tech?" Both are quasi-techie concepts however, definitely worth a few keystrokes to try to explain.

CMS

The notion is to provide our Districts with a solution that they can easily create a home on the web. More importantly, a mechanism to create District/Teacher Portfolios. From the readings in ED649, it's becoming very apparent how paramount PR is between Schools/Districts and Parents. CMS tools serve as that conduit.

Ghost

This concept is a little harder to defend the time invested in the project (or maybe not). First from the tech side, the procedure will allow a lab of 12 computers to be re-imaged in 12 minutes. The end result to a tech coordinator is not-holds barred sandbox where they can look to their students and say bring it on and then "blip" the lab is back to it's original state. The ultimate goal is the ability to offer instructors their choice of programs customized to their workshop needs.
Basically, the time savings once the system is implement may justify time to develop. Stay tuned.

Until later... Later...