School CIO: Feature Articles

August 7th, 2008

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Feature Articles

Business Intelligence Basics
by Lane Mills
Is your district's data analysis system producing actionable results? In part 2 of our series on data management, we take a look at how applying the practice of Business Intelligence to your accumulated data can help you drill down to the specifics that'll help meet your goals.

Getting Started with Data Warehousing
by Lane Mills
The first in a series on managing data efficiently in your district.

The Digital Dashboard
by Lane Mills
You can access your district's key performance indicators at a glance.

Archiving and Retrieving Email
by Lane Mills
In the case of a lawsuit, will electronic data be at your fingertips?

A Virtualization Starter Kit
by Lane Mills
New to the concept of virtualization? Here's a quick look.

Terror in the Classroom: What Can be Done?, Part 4
by Ryan E. Winter and Dr. Robert J. Leneway
What parents and schools can do to combat cyberbullying. Part four of four.

Terror in the Classroom: What Can Be Done?, Part 3
by Ryan E. Winter and Dr. Robert J. Leneway
Who is a cyberbully? Part three of four.

Terror in the Classroom: What Can be Done?, Part 2
by Ryan E. Winter and Dr. Robert J. Leneway
The effects of cyberbullying. Part two of four.

Terror in the Classroom: What Can be Done?, Part 1
by Ryan E. Winter and Dr. Robert J. Leneway
A definition and examples of cyberbullying. Part one of four.

Six Steps to Managing Internet Access
by Sheila Riley
Jim Culbert, information security analyst for the Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Fla., talks about developing district policies that ensure kids remain safe online.

Q&A: Mike Donlin
by Sheila Riley
Standing up to Cyberbullies

Crafting Service Level Agreements, Part 2
by Sheila Riley
Ten more tips for getting it right.

Crafting a Service-level Agreement, Part 1
by Sheila Riley
Eight tips for getting it right.

Ten Tips for Internet Safety
by Sheila Riley
Protecting students from Internet dangers and distractions while still reaping its benefits is on every district's tech priority list.

A Wireless World
by Richard Hoffman
Charles County Public Schools Makes Wireless Universal

Preparing Teachers for One-to-One
by Sheila Riley
Ten tips to help educators working in laptop environments thrive.

Redefining Data-Driven Decision Making
by Keith Waters
How schools can move beyond D3M to embrace a culture of education performance management.

YouTube's Educational Potential
by Lindsay Oishi
How online videos can jumpstart teaching and learning.

Making the Most of Alert Notification Systems
by Sheila Riley
11 tips for using emergency communication solutions in your district.

Portrait of a Leader
by Amy Poftak
Though hard work and a knack for relating to teachers, Cindy Wilson-Hyde has changed her school's relationship with technology.

The Fine Print
by T&L Editors
Inkjet or laser? Choosing the wrong printer type for your district's schools can mean money down the drain.

Measuring Up in a Flat World
by Karen Greenwood Henke
Pioneering groups are reforming curriculum to prepare students for the global digital workforce.

Kids Today
by Lindsay Oishi
Researcher Peter Grunwald believes students' increasing taste for technology will transform classrooms.

Online Professional Development: Get the Facts
by Ana Bishop
Is Web-based training for improving instruction the right fit for your district?

A CIO Story
by Amy Poftak
Boston Public Schools' Kim Rice is changing the role of technology in her community, one customer at a time.

Data Warehouse to Go
by Elena Malykhina
Business intelligence vendors create scaled-down applications for smartphones

New Congress Likely to Support Net Neutralilty
by K.C. Jones
Congressional Democrats are backing net neutrality legislation.

Can Office 2007 Prevail In A Web 2.0 World?
by Barbara Darrow
Microsoft's challenge: countering the Web 2.0-stoked perception that no one needs huge applications anymore.

Protecting Your Data from the Inside Out
by Charles Thompson
One K-12 CIO's answer to dealing with internal security threats: extrusion prevention

Working to Expectations: The Toughest CIO Challenge
by Mike Cuddy
Achieving clear goals and deliverables is the easy part of the job. It's the intangible expectations that throw off even good technology managers.

How to Manage the Super Smart Techie
by Judy Mottl
Get the most out of your district's technological wizards.

Ray Kurzweil: Computers Will Extend Human Lifespan
by Sharon Gaudin
Assistive technology pioneer Ray Kurzweil dicusses his predictions for the future.

Leaving the Private Sector for K-12
by Lindsay Oishi
CIOs from the business world offer unique expertise--and often a fresh perspective--when they go to work in school environments.

Microsoft's Most Important Launch Ever
by Mary Hayes Weier
Can promises of "software and service," increased security, and programmable mini-apps get the company's installed base to upgrade to Windows Vista?

Survey: Everything You Hate about IT
by Andrew Conry-Murray
In Network Computing's annual poll, technology leaders vent about the challenges they face everyday and how they wish vendors would address their problems.

Google To Let Organizations Create Custom Searches
by Thomas Claburn
Custom Search Engine lets users optimize Google on their own sites and share revenue from the searches.

Running Windows (Alongside OS X) On Your Mac
by Richard Hoffman
Apple's OS X and Windows can now live nicely together without fighting. Here's the scoop.

Take a Deep Breath
by Christopher Heun
Biofeedback software is helping students calm down for better test performance.

Web 2.0 Is All about 'Open'-- Except When It Comes to Data
by Thomas Claburn
At the Web 2.0 Summit, debate spins about on what the right approach is for customer data control.

The Truth about User Privileges
by Kelly Jackson Higgins
Has the time come to set your Windows clients to run without system administrator rights?

Online Professional Development: Get the Facts
by Ana Bishop
With the rise of Web-based training, districts have more options than ever for helping subject-area teachers gain new skills. But is online professional development the right path for your district?

How to Shop for a SAN
by Dave Raffo
Storage negotiating tips from an education IT director who knows.

8 Tips for Going Paperless
by Sheila Riley
Tech directors reveal their strategies for taming the paper monster.

Cisco Revamps Certifications
by Judy Mottl
Retooled courses reflect new skill demands, says company.

Dancing the Data Two-Step
by Dave Stodder
As IT leaders step up to data management challenges, they must also step back and let users determine how data-driven insight fits their world.

The MySpace Effect
by Christopher Heun
MySpace is public enemy number one in many school districts. But that doesn't mean social networking tools should be banned outright.

Two VoIP Alternatives
by Jennifer Hagendorf Follett
Smaller IP telephony companies fill an important niche.

One-to-One in Michigan
by Tom McHale
Examining the challenges and triumphs of a statewide laptop initiative.

Larry Ellison's Linux Plans
by Charles Babcock
The Oracle CEO is determined to shape Linux's future.

10 Most Dangerous Things Users Do Online
by The Staff of Dark Reading
If your end users knew what damage they could cause when they...well, just send them this article.

The Coming Database Revolution
by Josh Greenbaum
You may not want to rip and replace, but consider the possibilities for new deployments.

Alpha Male Syndrome: Curb the Belligerence, Channel the Brilliance
by Kate Ludeman and Eddie Erlandson
Are you or your boss an alpha? A new book from the Harvard Business School Press explores what makes alphas tick and how to better manage their behavior.

The Promise and Pitfalls of Virtualization
by Charles Babcock
Virtual servers are going strong, but virtualized applications still need some help.

Bandwidth Quandary Looms for Districts
by Christopher Heun
Schools' increasing reliance on network applications is coming up against a critical issue: not enough bandwidth.

Not Your Father's Computer Degree
by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
Georgia Tech's new computer science curriculum reflects students' interests and career aspirations.

Highlights At Demo Show: Carry Your Desktop On Your iPod, $70 PCs, And Virtual Apps
by Charles Babcock
Startups vied for attention and weren't shy with the on-stage tricks at this year's coming-out party

10 Tips for Coping with E-Rate Audits
by Sheila Riley
Pass your audit with flying colors.

How Identity Theft Works
by Steve Stasiukonis
A security firm tries to penetrate a college network, with alarming results.

Case Study: Using Data Mining to Analyze Student Behavior
by Rick Whiting
A Louisiana district scours a year's worth of discipline reports for patterns.

Class, Open Your Phones
by Terry Freedman
Trends suggest that mobile phones have educational potential.

What Keeps CIOs Awake at Night?
by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
Aligning IT and business and attracting and retaining tech talent are among the top CIO concerns, according to the Society for Information Management.

Book Excerpt: 1-to-1 Learning
by Pamela Livingston
Preparing your network for a laptop program requires careful planning. In her new book, Pamela Livingston lays out the issues.

4 Things to Know About 802.11n
by Carmen Nobel
As wireless protocols go, 802.11n is everything an IT leader could want. Just one problem: It doesn't really exist yet.

NCLB: Tell Me What You Really Think
by School CIO Readers
Readers weigh in on No Child Left Behind.

Windows After Vista
by Aaron Ricadela
Microsoft is at a crossroads, and the operating system that follows Vista will likely mark a serious break from the past.

Building the School of the Future
by Lindsay Oishi
Introducing Philadelphia's new high-tech high school

9 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft
by Sheila Riley
Keep staff and student data safe and sound.

Improve Your Bottom Line
by Susan Brooks-Young
ROI tips for educators.

Tame Your SLAs
by J.W. Olsen
Solutions for understanding and managing software licensing agreements.

Book Excerpt: Enterprise Architecture as Strategy
by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David C. Robertson
How establishing a system of governance mechanisms in your organization can mean the difference between surviving and thriving.

Data Protection: Who's Got Your Back?
by Joseph F. Kovar
Three words can sum up the storyline in storage nowadays: protection, protection, and protection.

What's Your Achilles Heel?
by School CIO readers
School CIO readers share their biggest challenges.

Are You Being Servered?
by Don MacVittie
Just because you can't pay big bucks for servers doesn't mean you have to limp along with a substandard infrastructure.

Dealing With The Metadata Mess
by Howard Baldwin
Will we ever be able to consolidate all the places where metadata exists in the enterprise?

Virtualization Delivers Cost-Saving Lesson
by Sharon Gaudin
How one school turned to virtual software as an alternative to a costly data center buildout.

Six Mobile Breakthroughs
by David Haskin
New mobile technologies are emerging that can change--and even save--our lives.

Tech Worker Survey: Happy Days Are Here Again
by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
Salaries are rising, jobs are secure, personal finances are solid, and skills in Web services, ERP, .Net, and Java are as hot as the weather outside.

Book Excerpt: Convergence Culture
by Henry Jenkins
In his latest book, MIT’s Henry Jenkins explores how radical media transformations are changing the way we live, work, and learn.

7 Reasons You Need Web Conferencing
by Phil Britt
It's cheap, it's easy, and it saves money. Top experts tell why you need it now.

Surviving an ERP Implementation: Notes from the Field
by Philip J. Brody, Ph. D.
One CTO's account of the rollercoaster that is enterprise resource planning.

Grooming the Next Generation of CIOs
by Aaron Ricadela
Microsoft's Craig Mundie and leading academics discuss the dearth of up-and-coming American computer science talent.

Biz Skills Top Tech Expertise In Today's Job Hunt
by Judy Mottl
Hiring managers are in search of 'Dale Carnegie' skills.

How to Buy a Student Information System
by Richard Hoffman
Lessons learned from Prince George's County Public Schools.

How To Stay Happy With Windows XP
by Preston Gralla
Think Windows Vista will bring more hot air than benefits? Here's how to get the most out of XP for a long, long time.

From Boardroom to Classroom
by Christopher Heun
Customer-centric applications from the business world have the potential to transform schools. But who will invest in the R&D?

The Proof is in the Processes
by C. Jackson Grayson, Jr.
The missing link in improving K-12 education and meeting NCLB goals is process management.

Is Centralized IT Killing Tech Innovation?
by Thomas Claburn
As IT departments must deal with security and cost concerns, many employees see them as keeping them from embracing the best of Web-based tools.

Crash Course: Wireless Site Surveys
by Cornell W. Robinson III
Before setting up your wireless LAN, you must map it out.

IT Inside the Country's Largest School System
by Christopher Heun
An exclusive interview with New York City Department of Education CIO Irwin Kroot.

14 Tips for Negotiating Software Agreements
by Sheila Riley
Avoid contractual mishaps and get the biggest bang for your buck.

CIO 2.0: The Next Dimension
by Jeff Wacker
From innovation to inoculation, the newest version of the CIO is a chief everything officer

Big Idea: Utility Computing to Reshape IT
by John Roberts
Business pundit Nicholas Carr says that the way organizations now buy and use IT will be replaced by a utility computing model driven by a handful of big service providers.

Teaching Tech Literacy to the MySpace Generation
by Chris Heun
When it comes to sharpening students' IT skills, districts take different approaches.

Web 2.0 Meets The Enterprise
by Howard Greenstein
Changes to Web content, and the Web itself, present new business opportunities if CIOs are willing to pursue them.

Unlocking The Business Benefit Of Wireless
by The Advisory Council
Untethering business processes creates value, even for everyday tasks. Here's how to find that value and unlock it.

Making Online Assessment Work
by Chris Heun
How K-12 technologists are prepping their infrastructures and staffs for Web-based testing.

Indiana's Open-Source Experiment
by Matt Villano
A status report on the largest Linux rollout in K-12 history.

Six Things You Need to Know About VoIP
by J. W. Olsen
Think you know VoIP? Think again. There are plenty of myths and misunderstanding out there. We talk to 30 experts who tell you exactly what you need to know.

Whatever You Say, Boss
by Matt Villano
Sometimes, a CIO's biggest challenge is meeting the superintendent's expectations.

Five Things You Didn't Know About Apple's iPod
by Alexander Wolfe
Despite the massive popularity of the player, there are still some little-known tricks that can help you get more mileage out of your music.

What Intel-based Macs Mean for CIOs
by Richard Hoffman
Wondering how Apple's new Windows-capable computers fit into your technology planning? Here are some strategic highlights.

The NCLB Effect
by Richard Hoffman
Examining the impact of No Child Left Behind on school technology programs and the people who run them.

10 Ways to Juice Up Your Network
by Phil Britt
Is your network as sluggish as rush-hour traffic? Experts offer their top tips for putting it in the fast lane.

Planning for the Worst
by Matt Villano
How school technology leaders in the Gulf Coast weathered the storm.

Powerful Processes
by Scott McLeod and Tim Wilson
For K-12 technologists struggling to find time, staff, and money, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library can help.

The 10 Biggest Network Security Myths
by Joanne VanAuken
If you buy into all these commonly held beliefs, you better believe your data is at risk. We separate the fact from fiction.

The ROI of VoIP
by Matt Villano
Everybody says VoIP saves big bucks. But does it?

SOA Goes to School: Part II
by Richard Hoffman
Learn first steps to implementing a Service-Oriented Architecture.

SOA Goes to School
by Richard Hoffman
Can Service-Oriented Architecture solve your district's enterprise integration nightmares? Find out what the buzz is all about in this first part of a two-part series.

The Case for Outsourced Security
by Matt Villano
A popular approach to managing IT in the corporate world comes to K-12.

Make Your Projects Manageable
by Jane E. Bloomquist
Use project management techniques to take the guesswork out of large-scale IT rollouts.

Building a Better Enterprise
by Elbie Yaworsky
Envisioning the emerging data architecture paradigm in K-12 and how district leaders can use it to streamline operations, target instruction, and improve accountability.

Measuring What Matters
by Peter Robertson
Performance measures can boots IT efficiencies, generate buy-in from stakeholders, and improve technology's impact on teaching and learning. But you have to do it right.

Risky Business
by Richard Hoffman
A thorough--and realistic--risk assessment can help districts get a handle on potential security breaches.

How to Perform a Data Makeover
by Richard Hoffman
If the data you're storing isn't the right data, or is inconsistent, erroneous, or incomplete, the best analytic tools in the world won't help you make sense of it. We give you four steps to help you "keep it clean."

Application Integration: A Strategy Guide
by Richard Hoffman
Whether your district has six systems or 60, having a coherence plan to connect them is absolutely essential. Here, an overview of your technical options.