SUPPORTING E-LEARNING SOFTWARE IN A COMPUTER LABORATORY SITUATION

Last year, the Computer Science Department in University College Cork moved to a new premises consisting of over 500 computer lab computers in 19 separate computer labs (from an older location consisting of 200 computers). The advent of this relocation provides major opportunities to Course lecturers in terms of utilizing e-learning software. The resources are now there to utilize more leading cutting edge software within the labs on an ongoing basis. It also provides a challenge to the systems administrators who manage the software images in the labs. This paper lists the pressures and issues that systems administrators experience, in supporting software management in an e-learning environment. It also gives one systems administrators view on how to balance customer expectations of needing leading edge e-learning software immediately, against the reality of maintaining a reliable useable software image in a shared student lab scenario. I list policies and procedures that should be put in place in order to balance leading edge software requirements, and sanity (i.e. Software installation policies etc). I will list software that is available to automate software rollouts - i.e. cloning/imaging/of operating systems, and software rollout in windows/linux apple computers. I look also at other possibilities for experimentation using virtual pc/sun firebox to virtualise operating systems, thereby not compromising lab computer core images with experimental software. Also I will briefly look at tools which help the class instructor and systems administrators manage computers more effectively, e. g. italc, which helps to deploy software, project presentations on computers, remotely manage computers, etc. It is hoped that this library of free/low cost tools and pointers from one systems administrators experience, will aid anyone managing the deployment of e-learning lab software, and show that it is possible with the right procedures in place, to manage software effectively.