Tech Waves

A while back, I completed an application to the Foreign Service. I had to write a number of short essays that provided examples of how I’d solved certain technical and organizational problems for employers in the past.

Having worked mostly in school environments, all of my examples came from those job experiences. So over the next few weeks, I thought I’d post those essays here. I’m sure a lot of teachers and coordinators involved in technology in schools will be able to relate to at least some of these scenarios!

Question #1: Practical Problem Solving

Using your technical knowledge of networks and voice communications, describe what you consider to be the best example of a situation where you had to find an innovative solution to a practical problem. Indicate who was affected by the problem and in what way, and the nature of the difficulties faced.

My Response:

A number of technically-advanced users at the school where I worked began using the NET SEND command to transmit messages to the other 600 computers on the domain. These disturbances were becoming more frequent, were often obscene, and were causing significant instructional downtime. This group also began utilizing proxy servers and obscuring routines to bypass the school’s content filter. The administration asked me to find immediate solutions to these problems.

I began by querying other district technologists, all of whom were similarly unfamiliar with the command, and doing Internet research. I learned that NET SEND is part of Window’s arcane Messenger service and that there are multiple ways to disable it in Win98 and W2K. XP requires the SP2 upgrade which turns off NET SEND by default. With the assistance of some technologically-advanced students I trained specifically for the task, we were able to entirely eliminate the NET SEND problem on our network.

I solved the second issue by tracking down and establishing a working relationship with the district’s content filter administrator. Content filters require continuous “human” tweaking, including script-writing/running and port blocking. Their “blacklist” databases need to be regularly updated as new proxy servers and other Web-based threats appear daily. Monitoring the content filter is a continuous process, requiring ongoing communication between network administrators. I ensured that this dialog would occur on a frequent basis.

To limit similar problems in the future, I formed a Campus Technology Committee made up of a diverse group of tech-savvy teachers and administrators. The CTC’s first task was the creation of a campus acceptable-use policy for Internet and e-mail, to be signed by teachers, students and parents. User abuse of the network decreased significantly once this document was put into use.