Fall 2006

From the Trenches
Carol Holzberg is District Technology Coordinator for Greenfield Public Schools and the Greenfield Center School. She writes for several publications and teaches in the Licensure program at Hampshire Educational Collaborative (Northampton, MA) and in the School of Education at Capella University online. She can be reached via email at: carolh@anthro.umass.edu.
Between a hard and a soft place
Linksys Wireless-G Travel Router with Speed Booster (Model #: WTR54GS) Company: Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc. http://www.linksys. com, (800) 546-5797 (Option 1) Platform: Windows: 200 MHz or Faster Processor, 64 MB or RAM, Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape Navigator 4.7 or Higher for Web-based configuration, Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, or XP, Network Adapter. Also, tested with Macintosh PowerBook G4, but configuration must be done manually. Price: $80-$100 depending on vendor selected. Small, personal, easy to take with you when youre off to meetings and conferences or stuck in airports and hotel rooms, the Linksys Wireless-G Travel Router with Speed Booster (Model #: WTR54GS) comes with almost everything youd expect from a portable lightweight travel router. It includes a Cat5 Ethernet cable, zippered travel pouch, built-in LAN port to share another wired device, a PC setup wizard that can configure your laptop for network or online connection in just minutes, and a 3-year warranty. Youll need a broadband connection to the Internet (e.g., DSL, Cable, or T1). It doesnt work with dial-up modems. Offering several advanced networking and security features, plus a built-in antenna and its own power supply (with retractable power plug), it delivers high speed connections to both 802.11g and 802.11b networks [See Linksys.jpg]. The only shortcoming is that it leaves Macintosh users to configure installation and setup on their own because it lacks a Mac-compatible setup wizard. If you need help connecting a Macintosh, see the installation instructions provided below. Measuring just 2.87x4.21x1.22 and weighing 4.64 ounces, this graband-go router takes up little space in a backpack or briefcase. The device can function both as a wireless access point and a wired or wireless router to connect to Wireless-G and -B devices, and both Ethernet-wired PCs and Macs. It sports a Wireless LED that lights up when there is a successful wireless connection, an INTERNET LED that lights up when a connection is made to the Internet (WAN port), and an Ethernet LED that lights up to show network activity over that port. With support for Linksys own speedenhancement SpeedBooster technology, this broadband travel router can also connect to other SpeedBooster enabled products at twice the speed of standard 802.11B or G devices. Security features built into the Linksys WTR54GS include support for several types of wireless WPA (Wireless Protected Access), including WPA-Personal, WPA2-Personal, and WPA2-Mixed, plus support for WEP
(Wired Equivalent Privacy), MAC address filtering, SSID (Service Set ID) Broadcast, and SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) protection. You can create Internet access policies, block anonymous Internet requests (to prevent your network from being pinged by other Internet users), and block access to local servers from local network computers. It also offers support for VPN (Virtual Private Networking). If youre a Windows user, getting this device up and running couldnt be simpler. Just connect the supplied Ethernet network cable from the Routers Ethernet port to your computer, insert the supplied Setup CD-ROM, and run the Setup wizard. (See below for wireless connection via Macintosh). The device is configured by default to function as a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server. This means it automatically as-

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Massachusetts Computer Using Educators signs an IP address to each computer or connected device on your network. If you already have a DHCP server, youll want to disable its DHCP Server function. To operate it as a wireless access point on an existing DHCP configured network, turn off the DHCP server function but leave it set up for Automatic Configuration (DHCP) so that it picks up an IP address at start up. Other settings youll want to configure include security, the setup utility password, and whether or not to enable Wireless connection (recommended if youre purchasing it to be a wireless router or access point). If you have other SES (SecureEasySetup)-compatible PC devices on your network (such as a Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook adapter), you can press the SES button on the router to set up the wireless network and activate WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access with a few simple clicks. It takes only minutes for setup to complete. To change settings, launch your Internet browser, enter the IP address for the Linksys WTR54GS (http://192.168.16.1), enter the newly assigned password to log into the Admin Setup Utility, then apply the changes. Whatever settings you change, remember to click Save. Macintosh Installation Macintosh setup involves manually configuring the settings described above. You must first connect to the device via Cat5 cable to set it up for wireless support. Then you must connect to it through your computers AirPort adapter. Youll want to print a copy of the User Guide (on the CD) for reference. Next, follow these steps: Use the supplied Ethernet cable to connect to the Ethernet port on the router through your computers Ethernet port. Launch your Web browser, enter a URL of http://192.168.16.1, enter a user name of admin and a password of admin to login, then follow the on-screen prompts to set up the device as previously described. Once youve configured these initial settings, you can connect the computer to the network via AirPort. Click the AirPort status icon in the Menu bar to launch the Macs Internet Connect application. If the AirPort status icon does not display in the Menu Bar, navigate to Applications/Internet Connect.App to launch it. Be sure to checkmark the option to Show AirPort status in the Menu Bar. Turn on AirPort. Choose Other from the dropdown list so you can connect your Macintosh to the closed/secure network you set up initially. Enter the SSID Network Name youve chosen for this network. Select the appropriate Wireless Security and enter the password. Thats all there is to it. Thanks to the Linksys Wireless-G Travel Router, you can now carry a wireless network wherever you go. Inspiration 8 Company: Inspiration, http://www. inspiration.com, 800-877-4292 Platform: Macintosh: System 8.6, 9.x or OS X (10.1.5 or higher) 5 MB available RAM, 10 MB available hard drive (8.6 and 9.x), 65 MB for full install. Windows: Pentium 75 MHz or higher Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT 4.0, ME or XP (including Tablet PC Edition) 8 MB RAM, 15 MB available hard drive, 50 MB for full install. Highly recommended: Internet connection and QuickTime Price: $69 individual license (volume licenses available); upgrade from a previous version of Inspiration, $30 With dwindling district funds for technology integration, maintenance, and support, the question of upgrading existing software often promotes heated debate. Some administrators argue if it aint broke, dont fix it especially if the fix costs precious dollars

reserved for other district mandates like textbooks, heating oil, and teacher cost-of-living salary increases. Deploying new software throughout a district consumes scarce resources. Technicians have to table their regular maintenance chores to deal with installation and the inevitable glitches that some users will experience as a result of the change. This is especially true when the newer version has a slightly different user interface, or it saves files in formats that are incompatible with previous releases. Successfully transitioning teachers, staff, and students to use the new software may also require professional development training. That takes time teachers dont have and costs dollars the district might not have anticipated. In the vocabulary of computerspeak, upgrades are very different from updates. Vendors typically release free software updates which users can download from the Web. These maintenance releases often apply seamlessly over existing software installations. Time lost and dollar costs are negligible. And, even though updates may not add new features, they are often very worthwhile from a technical standpoint because they frequently incorporate bug fixes, improved network security, or drivers enabling the program to work more efficiently with existing district equipment. Software upgrades cost money. However, if teachers clamor for an upgrade because new features make the product easier to use, provide enhanced instructional curriculum supports, or allow users (teachers or students) to work more quickly and complete tasks more easily, then it makes sense to spend the dollars. For example, the latest version of Inspiration 8 (http://www.inspiration.com/ productinfo/inspiration/index.cfm),

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Massachusetts Computer Using Educators
From the Trenches Continued from page 13.
a popular concept mapping and brainstorming tool for K-12 students and teachers, has several new features and enhancements to justify the upgrade. They include: A 1000-picture symbol library searchable by keyword. If you conduct your search from a computer connected to the Internet, the program retrieves images from Inspiration Web Resources, an online collection with over 1 million additional symbols. Enter the keyword spider, for example, in the box at the bottom of the Symbol palette, then click the Find Images icon (it looks like a tiny magnifying glass) or press Return (Macintosh) / Enter (Windows). Inspiration searches both its built-in symbol libraries and the online symbol collection. It displays search results in the symbol palette. With no Internet connection, only one picture appears. With a Web connection, Inspiration retrieves 41 spider symbols. Enter flower as the keyword and Inspiration retrieves only 12 pictures offline, but 52 with an online connection. Type the word dog and you'll get 6 pictures offline, but 46 with an online connection. Inspiration 8 also has much better support for video and sound integration, enabling students to insert and play multimedia items, such as QuickTime movies and MP3 audio files. With the new Word Guide, students simply click a button on the Inspiration toolbar to obtain definitions, synonyms, and antonyms, plus pronunciations of selected words. The program now includes a contextual spelling checker that automatically identifies misspelled words in both the Diagram and Outline Views.

New export options allow students to export their Inspiration 8 diagrams as PowerPoint slides, plain text files, word processing documents, or HTML-coded Web pages. On the surface, changes built into Inspiration 8 seem relatively minor. But for teachers working with struggling readers and writers, or youngsters just learning to read and write, searchable symbols, plus access to nearly a million new symbols, enhanced support for multimedia clips, the ability to have more than one file open at a time, improved spelling check and file format export, plus cur35
riculum packets integrating several Inspiration documents automatically downloaded from the Web, all represent increased opportunities for teaching and learning across the curriculum. They are well worth the cost of upgrading. uu MassCUE does not promote or endorse any product. Carols reviews state her own experience working on the front lines with technology. You can respond to Carol at carolh@anthro.umass.edu.