Mt. Ararat Community Activity Center, Inc.
Contents
1. In addition there are 3 classrooms and two computer labs The two computer labs have special tables for tower computers with a tray for keyboard There are no windows in these rooms Programs There are computer classes with two different levels basic and advanced between 9 to 11am and 1 30 to 3 30pm every day from Monday to Thursday Classes start every month The basic program covers the main following subjects Computer components hardware amp software Windows 98 tutorials 2 hrs Word Processors 10 hrs Write WordPad Word WordPerfect and use of floppy disks The advanced program covers them main following subjects Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000 Windows Maintenance Features cleanup scandisk amp defragment virus software and updating drive directories path names extensions type of files shortcut keys amp strokes Spreadsheets Database Excel basic navigation creating a spreadsheet creating charts There is no open lab session One reason is that nobody has got enough time to watch over the users Staff The staff is composed of thirteen persons Six are full time employees Rev Mary Buckley is the executive director Jacquie Sledge is her assistant Rita Charles Farris is the instructor of the computer classes She is also in charge of the computer maintenance Technical Environment MACAC has now 31 computers 82. IBM were donated in November and 11 computers including a server were purchased from Dell computers There are 8 computers in each computer lab the rest in the offices There are two networks in this building One is for the Church and the other for MACAC Network outlets for the church are red and blue for the MACAC network From the community network point of view The first computer lab was wired but the computers were not networked The second computer lab is still not wired All offices are now wired Printers 3 HP LaserJet 4 with 10BT Ethernet card 1 HP LaserJet 2100 without Ethernet card 1 HP OfficeJet Pro 1170 Cse inkjet fax xerox copie twain without Ethernet card 1 Epson Laser 1400 without Ethernet card 2 HP LaserJet 3p without Ethernet card 1HP Deskjet 820 without Ethernet card All Intel computers are running Windows 98 The Macintoshes are running MacOS 8 5 In addition MACAC has received 8 new IBM machines in November They are currently not used Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page 2 of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000 aa a ed el Sever amp zip 7 128 1 4 0 C o o Celeron 566 7 OOBT CD R amp z p Apple 68k 80 2 15 10BT D Quadra 7100 80 Apple 68k 33 20 0 25 13 n CD Performa 630 Technology Management As the most technically advanced staff member Rita Charles Farris plays the role of technology coordinator network administrator and systems
3. The center has got a web site to present itself http www mt ararat org MACAC html but it is not yet a full web site were you can find all information about MACAC I suggest spending more time on the development of this web site It is a very good way to present the center to other people Very often funders will look at this web site to find more information on MACAC It should content at least the history of MACAC the activities and how to contact people at MACAC e mail phone address and fax The center does not yet collect and track e mail addresses of its members donors or funders E mails are now widely used to communicate so the center should start collecting all these addresses to communicate with its members donors or funders E mails do not replace phone calls or traditional mails but are a fast and written communication system Resources Information on how to build a web site can be found at http www gomasonry com webmaster teacher Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page 9 of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000
4. address to every staff member so they can communicate more effectively with each other and with people outside the community WorkPlan It has been decided to Accomplished e order a ADSL line from Verizon e install a trial version of a software router SoftRouter from VicomSoft on the server e configure all the networked machines to access the Internet through the router e move to hardware router once tests have been made with the software router The ADSL line has been set up within 3 weeks from the order It is a 640kbps download and 90kbps upload line e The router has been configured on the server Tests have been made to configure it as a DHCP server but because it is a trial version we do not currently use the DHCP protocol DHCP will be used with the hardware router ordered on December 7th e All the networked computers now have full access to the Internet Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page 4 of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000 III Analysis of Outcomes Network amp Server It is now easier for Rita to prepare courses when she wants to provide example files Staff is now able to share files generate reports flyers etc easily by reviewing older documents and making changes without leaving their desks Printing can take place from any computer and users can print on an inkjet or laser printer from any computer Users no longer have to take the time to physically m
5. computer and still have access to his files on the server This is a more professional way to use and administer this type of network With all this knowledge Rita is now able to maintain a network add a new computer on the network reconfigure a computer if a problem appears and create new accounts for members MACAC now owns a completely operational network Not all the computers are connected but this is just a question of time for Rita to configure them Internet Access e All students participants and all staff are able to access the Internet via a high speed connection whenever they want or need to e Rita has already use the Internet connection in her advanced classes So people taking these classes could have an overview of what is the Internet and how to use it It is valuable for them because they will probably use it at work Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page 5 of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000 e The telecommunications costs are fixed so MACAC is able to budget their telecommunications costs at least for Internet access e Rita knows the concepts needed to configure a router that means which IP address to use for the router 192 168 0 1 what is a DHCP server and what are the Domain Name Servers DNS With this knowledge and the user s manual of any router she would be able to configure it to suits the needs of a network like the one at MACAC Recommendations Open la
6. editor of Norton Ghost and Norton AntiVirus Ghost can be used to create disk images and speed up the recovery process of a computer AntiVirus is the currently antivirus software used in the community Virus descriptions files are available from this web site Passwords Most of the computer passwords at MACAC are very easy to guess Now that all computers are networked it is very easy to access files on other computers for someone who knows the password on this computer So I would recommend to use passwords that are not in a dictionary with at least 6 characters and using letters and digit It would be safe to change them as often as possible Organization Network amp Internal Communication The Organization Network amp Internal Communication benchmark from the standard Technology Management Benchmarks for Nonprofit Organizations is important for MACAC because it will enhance the content of the courses and improve the communication between the staff members Some courses already include the Internet but they do not include how to use e mails The staff members can share files and print on different printers but they don t have e mail addresses for fast communications The benchmark is mostly achieved except the last point e Having a computer network with a dedicated server e The users are authenticated using the user manager from Windows NT to prevent anyone accessing private files e Use a virus protection software to protect again
7. instructor is able to share example file for the courses Before the network was set up Rita was using floppy disk to transfer files between computers The LAN allow staff members to share files and to print them from their own computer even if their computer does not have a printer It is also used to manage the usernames and password of the staff members so they always have the right permissions to access their files on the server Sharing the printers on the network allow everyone to print from any computer without activating a switch The server runs Windows NT 4 0 Server and is configured as a primary domain controller to authenticate the users on the computers MACAC does not have a license for this operating system a version of Windows 2000 Server was purchased on December 7th and will replace NT 4 0 A 5 GB partition of the hard drive is shared other the network Access restrictions applies to different folders with an account for each staff member The second computer lab is not yet operational due to time restrictions Internet Connection MACAC had got only one Internet connection using a 56K modem Rita was the only person that used it and was checking e mails for everybody though e mail was not widely used The community wanted to include the use of Internet in its computer courses program So they need a high speed connection to the Internet shared by all networked computers There was a great opportunity to give an e mail
8. mail is just as fast as phone calls are written so you can read it when you want E mails could be used to communicate with the family of children coming at the after school program as well as internal communication between staff members The main advantage of e mail over phone calls is that you can reach a person even if she is not in her office or at home and you will not disturb that person if she is in a meeting Two solutions are possible to provide e mail addresses to staff members 1 If 6 addresses are sufficient MACAC can ask its ISP Verizon for these addresses for free If only a few more addresses are needed it should be possible to purchase them from Verizon One good idea to reduce the number of required e mail addresses would be to split the staff members into virtual departments and to give one e mail address to each department This way two to four people will share the same e mail address and 6 addresses would be enough 2 If itis not possible to obtain more e mail addresses from Verizon and if the more are needed MACAC should either use free e mails like Iname or Hotmail or have its own e mail server While free e mails are free of charges the second solution is more professional allowing MACAC to have e mail addresses on their own domain ex rita macac com To do so a static IP address for the router and an e mail server are required The static IP address can be purchased from the ISP A free email server can be fo
9. maintainer She is also the instructor for the computer classes Because of the two computer labs a second instructor or volunteer will be necessary D 5 5 7 3 g Em II Problems and Opportunities at MACAC Second computer lab Network and Server Computer courses are organized to teach the people in need how to use a computer and a lot of people are interested in this program so MACAC decided to create a second computer lab Ten new Dell computers and a server have been purchased Staff members use two of them and the eight other are in the new computer lab Because there was no network people used floppy disk to exchange files The printers were shared between two computers with a special connector This was a problem because people often forget to turn the switch on the right position or they do not turn it correctly WorkPlan It has been decided to connect all the computers on the LAN create a public folder on the server where everybody can store temporary files create a staff folder on the server one folder and one username for each staff member So they can store files and share them with other members These folders are not accessible to unauthenticated users connect the printers on one computer and share them on the network Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page 3 of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000 Accomplished With the server and the local network the
10. 000 http www lacie com LaCie makes good backups systems including DAT and DLT or CDR RW If your amount of data to be stored becomes large consider using a DAT or DLT backup system Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page 7 of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000 Fast recovery of a crashed computer Computers in the labs are very often out of order because many beginners use them Rita will save a lot of time about 3 hours for each broken computer if she is able to make a disk image of a standard configuration for these computers At this time if a computer break down she needs to reinstall the operating and then all the software used for the classes This takes her about 4 hours A solution like Norton Ghost from Symantec www symantec com could help her making such a disk image The inconvenience is that all the computers are not identical at MACAC Gateway Dell PC Clone with many different Ethernet adapter and video card so she would have to make a different image for each type of computer The images can be stored either on CDs or on the server if the computers are able to access to network when booting from a CD of Window If the hard drive of the server does not have enough space on it to store many images you should consider adding a new hard drive Perhaps a hard drive from an old unused computer would be enough Resource http www symantec com This is the web site of the
11. Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Inc Student Consultant Christophe Tournery Community Partner Rita Charles Farris I Situation Description of MACAC Organization The Mt Ararat Community Activity Center MACAC is located at 271 Paulson Ave in the East End of Pittsburgh It was founded in 1991 The annual budget is about 500 000 MACAC employs 6 full time and 3 at part time persons It serves approximately 350 people annually MACAC focuses on the family It wants to help people in need and at risk to become productively independent It encourages family values develops and administers a variety of spiritually based programs and activities Predominantly disadvantaged minority persons unemployed and underemployed persons and the elderly may all participate in programs regardless of the cost or their ability or inability to pay MACAC provides the following services They offer education classes in the following Early childhood development center Adult computer classes daycare center Arts and Crafts Summer Day camp Science initiative Cultural Enrichment G E D and employment training Food pantry and clothing bank Aerobics Senior luncheons Smoking cessation Employment training Health awareness After school tutorial program Facilities MACAC occupies the basement of a the Mt Ararat Baptist Church The MACAC space includes a gymnasium an auditorium a kitchen a childcareroom 5 offices and a staff lounge with coffee machines
12. b sessions While the consultant was working at MACAC a lot of children asked him to use the computer like in an open lab There is a high demand for open lab session from many people coming at MACAC So there is a great opportunity to let people accessing these computers so they can develop computer skills while enjoying using these machines Of course there should be someone to supervise these sessions but this person does not need to be a computer technician Only some skills on how to use the programs that are installed on the machines Word Games and how to browse the Internet or how to send e mails using Hotmail for example are required You could ask high school students to supervise these open lab sessions Some of them know already a lot about computer and like having a high speed connection to the Internet E Mail addresses Now that the network is connected to the Internet you should consider teaching the use of e mail in your classes because people who take your classes will certainly use e mail at work I suggest using free e mails like Iname www iname com Hotmail www hotmail com or any other so they would be able to check their e mail from any computer in the world at home at school at work or in any library Because nowadays e mails are widely used to communicate it would be a good idea to provide one e mail address for each staff member in the center This will allow them to communicate in a better way because e
13. ove to a computer where a printer is attached Time is saved to provide better products Rita knows how to connect computers on a network this includes e Adding a network adapter and the corresponding driver e Configuring the network control panel under Windows 95 98 or NT4 e Sharing a printer that is connected on a computer other the network so that other users can print on it from another computer e Testing the network capabilities of a computer e Rita did configure all the connected computers in the community and will continue with the computers that are not already connected She did configure the computers several times because we were testing solutions for Internet access e She also did configure the printers to be shared over the network and they are used on a regular basis during the computer classes Currently the network is not widely used because it is a new tool and it will take some time for everyone to share files other the network instead of using floppy or zip disks But I am confident that as time goes it will be widely used Keeping this network up is very easy The only required configuration is the Network control panel for Windows machines and does not require to manually enter IP addresses because it uses a DHCP Server See the Internet Access section for information on the DHCP Server Rita is able to create an account for a new member on the server Usage of user accounts allows a member to log on any
14. r v3 1 1 This website is updated with newer versions of the freeware mail server and also provides documentation Backup System MACAC uses a lot of computers and they do not have any backup Because a loss of data could slow down the activity of the community for several days it should be important to automatically backup important data on regular basis The community has got a fast server so one idea to make simple backups would be to ask every staff member to store their important data on the server and to backup the folder that contains their data Two systems could be use to store the data 1 The cheapest one would be to use this internal CD Writer of the server with a ReWritable CD for daily backups during the night and standard CDs for weekly or monthly backups that would be kept outside the Center to prevent destruction by fire Backups could be scheduled using the backup software provided with Windows 2000 2 The professional solution consists of a tape system This would required less work but the cost is much higher about 800 for a 12G DAT system from LaCie A backup scheduler is usually provided with these products Resources http windows microsoft com windows2000 en server help This is the help site about Windows 2000 Server Especially useful would be the tabs Users and computers for information on how to administer users on Windows 2000 Disaster Protection for information on how to perform backups with Windows 2
15. st network wide viruses e The staff do not have e mail addresses Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page 8 of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000 Resources http fcit coedu usf edu NETWORK DEFAULT HTM This site contents a good explanation of what is a network different kind of network and goes through the definitions of a hub a router a file server which cable to use Although it is very complete it doesn t teach how to configure Windows for the network It is more about the concepts of a network Information on how to configure Window 98 is available on the Microsoft web site at http support microsoft com support windows howto 98 default asp and http windows microsoft com windows2000 en server help for Windows 2000 server External Communication External communication is important for the community because it will help it to find grants and to communicate with people outside the center Technical information and support are easily available on the web or by e mail but it is more difficult to find information in books or to ask for support by phone The configuration of a LAN is a good example There exist many web pages on this subject but finding a book that teaches you how to set up a network is more difficult The capacity to access the web use Internet or any other online resources is already achieved except that only one e mail address is currently used by the center
16. und Mt Ararat Community Activity Center Computer Center Page 6 of 9 Christophe Tournery Student Consultant December 11 2000 at the following address http www escape ca avtronic inetserv and is available for Windows 2000 MACAC has already a domain name on the Internet macac com A good compromise would be to virtually divide MACAC into 6 department and assign on e mail address to each department Verizon provides 6 addresses The staff members will use Iname Yahoo or Hotmail addresses for their personal communications The e mail server option suffers from two problems The first is the cost of the static IP address ask Verizon for that and the second is the maintenance of the email server For someone that is not familiar with email servers it could take up to 20 hours or more if problems occur to install and configure correctly such a server During the first month after installation it should take about 1 hour per week to maintain and then the time spend on this server could decrease to 1 hour per month if it is well configured Resources http www iname com amp http Avww hotmail com These are two providers of free e mails Iname also allows the user to forward his e mails to another e mail address so when the user will have a real e mail address it would be able to forward the one received at Iname to his other address http www escape ca avtronic inetserv This is the homepage of a free email server InetServe
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