The Classroom File Server (Best Practices)


Students and faculty have FTP access to the IC classroom file server. This document discusses some of the best practices for using the file server.

 

FTP access and Webmail Access

Students can FTP files to and from the classroom server. In the class folder, students can create their own folder where they can store files for class. They can access the files during class time using the normal file system access. When away from the IC, they can FTP to grab a file or save a file for later use in the classroom.

 

Note that once a file has been FTPed to a folder, students do not have permission to move the file to another folder. The faculty computer, however, can move files.

 

Versionitis

Caution students about version problems and suggest a method for ensuring work and data are not lost. For example, a student works on a resume in class. Then they FTP the resume at home and work on it. They forget to FPT the newer file to class. In class the next day, they edit the older file and then realize their mistake. They now have two versions of the resume and have to work to merge the two documents. MSWord and other tools have merge features that make this Job Opportunities easier, but the best practice is to not end up with multiple versions to begin with.

 

Submitting work

Students can submit work online. Faculty might create a folder for each assignment and have students copy their work to that folder. Faculty and students should determine a file-naming convention. For example, you might decide to use a project name and last name for a Word document. Example: blackhole.harrison.doc might be a good name for a Word document about black holes. Or, you might create a folder and have students submit files with their names as the file name: class1\blackholes\lastname.first.doc. One caution here: students may end up with multiple documents all with the same name. This method works better for teams. Example: team1.doc, team2.doc, and so on hospedagem de sites.

 

Grading online (privacy considerations)

One important factor to consider is student privacy. The classroom server folders are viewable by every student in the class. Faculty must be mindful of this and not post grades or other private information on the classroom server. Faculty can email files as attachments or use a secure system like Desire2Learn to get grades to students while also maintaining their privacy for Boxing Glove