8 Technology Planning
This chapter describes how to plan the technology needed
for your project. It is primarily intended for
technically-trained project staff, such as the Technology
Coordinator. It describes the tasks you will need to carry
out to use the Alice Network Software versions 2.02 and
2.1. At the time of publication of this handbook, TERC is
working on version 3.0, a major redesign that will be more
modular in character, more flexible, easier to set up and
use, and that will utilize direct IP (Internet)
connectivity down to the classroom level (while still
retaining Zmodem dial-up access for classrooms that do not
have IP connectivity.) As version 3.0 will be substantially
different from earlier versions, many of the details of
this chapter will no longer be applicable. Therefore, in
the early stages of planning your project, contact TERC to
discuss which versions of the software are available and
best fit your needs. Be sure to consult with TERC staff
before implementing the steps described in this chapter as
certain details of setup may have changed since publication
of this handbook. For the latest version of technical
information, access the Testbed project files on TERC's
server. See Appendix C for instructions on accessing the server.
There are six major technology tasks that your project technical staff will need to carry out:
- Prepare the Alice Network Software for the specific needs of your project.
- Survey technology resources at schools to make sure participants have the
technology needed to participate successfully in the project.
- Obtain accounts for participants on an Internet point-of-entry computer
(POE) and install the necessary UNIX shell scripts and Perl scripts so that the
Alice Network Software can communicate with the POE. (In some cases a project may have multiple POEs.)
- Set up the automated data sharing process.
- Test the telecommunications and data sharing process.
- Monitor and maintain data tables during the project.
Immediately below, we provide an overview of the telecommunications setup used by the Alice Network Software versions 2.02 and 2.1. Following that, each of the six major technology tasks is discussed in turn.
This is an overview of the telecommunications structure used by the Alice Network Software versions 2.02 and 2.1. The Alice Network Software links a collection of Macintosh computers and computers running Microsoft Windows to each other and to other network resources through accounts on Internet point-of-entry (POE) computers. In this way, all Alice Network Software users have e-mail level connectivity to all Internet users, as well as
to the automated data sharing server. The Alice data sharing server runs on
a UNIX-based machine using standard UNIX mail software and a standard UNIX
database application that uses SQL and TERC-written software. Users may submit data to the automated data sharing server using the Alice Network Software or standard e-mail. TERC operates an automated data sharing server, located in Cambridge, MA, and in the future will help projects
set up their own servers. We are working on standardization of protocols and authorization procedures to enable Alice Network Software users to connect to other data sharing servers as well.
Alice Network Software clients connect to their POE using modems and telephone lines. Each POE is a UNIX machine capable of sending and receiving Internet mail. It is adapted to communicate with Alice Network Software clients through the installation of UNIX shell scripts and Perl scripts. The Alice Network Software client contains its own scripts to enable communication with the POE. File transfers between clients and their POE use Xmodem, Ymodem, and Zmodem protocols. (The specific protocol used depends on the POE.) A POE receives the mail from clients and forwards it using standard Internet addresses included as part of each individual file.
To prepare the Alice Network Software for your own project, a certain amount of preliminary work will be necessary. Generally, this work is carried out by TERC technical staff according to the needs of the project, and the project receives a special project disk appropriately configured.
The Alice Network Software can be customized to the needs of individual projects. The configuration options are set through a configuration dialog and saved in a file with the application software. At startup, the application reads this file and configures the features as specified. TERC
staff will discuss with the project the kinds of options
that may be configured, such as the number of rows and
columns in a data table and the types of graphs available
to users.
The Alice Network Software client application uses a script to log-on to and exchange files with a POE. The software is designed to be able to connect to and exchange messages with many different kinds of POEs connected to their modem pools in different ways. It does this by using different scripts.
There are three scripts currently available to connect to POEs: internet.scr
connects through a modem pool to a UNIX POE using a regular UNIX account;
glab.scr connects through SprintNet to a specialized Alice interface at
IGC (EcoNet); sprint.scr connects through SprintNet to SprintMail. Most
projects can utilize one of these scripts. If none of these scripts serve your
project's needs, TERC may be able to develop additional scripts.
If your project is using internet.scr you will need to modify a parameter file to customize the connection to your UNIX POE. (If you are not using internet.scr this step is not needed.) You will need a technical person familiar with the UNIX POE to modify the parameter file to ensure a
smooth connection to the POE you are using. TERC staff will
provide assistance.
Preparing Electronic Address Books for Your Project
Your project will need an address book containing the e-mail addresses of participants. You may want to have group entries in the participant address
book to facilitate sending e-mail to groups of individuals, such as members of a team. Your project also will need an address book containing the e-mail addresses for automated data sharing. The sections below describe how
to set these up.
An Address Book of Participants
Your project will need an address book with entries for all participants, project support staff and other individuals such as research staff and scientific advisors. Participants use these address books when sending e-mail letters, data files, or other files. It is important to have the full list of participants for the initial address book that you send to the participants. Although it is feasible to add participants later on by sending address book updates, it is time-consuming and very confusing to the participants.
Each entry in the book has 3 parts: Personal Name (the name of the individual user or school), User Name (the e-mail address), and an optional Comment providing additional identifying information. You can use the Alice Network Software to prepare a new address book and then include it on the disk you send to participants. Individual users can add addresses to their own address books if they know the e-mail address to which they want to send mail.
Mailing Groups
You will probably want to provide mailing groups within the
address book so that participants can use a single address
to send mail to all other participants, to the members of a
team, or to other groups such as a teacher forum. This is a
very efficient and powerful way for any participant to send
the same information quickly to a whole set of people. To
create mailing groups, your project should arrange to have
the groups set up on an Internet-connected UNIX machine
running mailing group software. The Alice Network Software
address book will contain the group name, but the actual
members of the group will be defined on the UNIX machine.
Preparing Addresses for Automated Data Sharing
There should also be an address book containing addresses for submitting and retrieving data from the automated data sharing server. These addresses are stored in a file that is always named database.adr. The address book entries in database.adr have the same three parts as a participant
address, but, in addition, they contain in a hidden field
database commands recognized by the Alice Network Software
and by the software running on the automated data sharing
server. The Alice Network Software recognizes these
addresses as submittal or retrieval addresses and will send
the data in the format for a submittal or a retrieval. You
can gain access to the hidden "command" field by holding
down the Shift key before choosing Address Book menu
command and then clicking on the "Commands..." button that appears.
Each data table on the data sharing server must have a separate address entry for a submittal and for a retrieval. You will need to coordinate the preparation of these address entries with the creation of the templates for data exchange and the setup of the data tables at the
data sharing server. Generally, the curriculum designer
will prepare one or more data tables for use in the project
and then the database specialist will set up one submit and
one retrieve address book entry for each such table. These
submittal and retrieval addresses will be stored in the
file database.adr.
When the user chooses to Open a file, the Alice Network
Software defaults to the Project folder. This provides a
handy place to keep frequently used files for a given
project. Project organizers can prepare files that TERC
will install on a special project disk that will
automatically install the files in the Project folder.
Typically, projects place in this folder such things as:
data table templates, informational "read me" files
explaining various aspects of the project, tables
containing names, addresses, phone numbers, and other
information about participants in the project and report
files containing the text of surveys that teachers or
students are to fill out and send in over the network.
The Reference folder opens automatically when the user
chooses the References command from the Alice Network
Software. Here a project can place files it wishes to make
available as references for participants. These could include documents such as letters, articles, sketches of equipment, drawings of plant specimens, or anatomical diagrams. All will be easily available to the user with the
References command. Reference files may include Alice
reports, Alice data tables, Alice maps, and picture files
(PICT files for the Macintosh; BMP files for the IBM PC and compatibles).
The kinds of computer resources that you expect the participants to have available set some important limits on the project activities that can be implemented. For example, the number and type of computers, their location,
whether in the classroom or in a lab, the kind of access that teachers and students have to the computers, the location and speed of the modem, and the availability of a phone line, are all factors that affect the success of your
project. If you have insufficient information about these items, you should conduct a planning survey. It is very important for the success of your project that teachers and students have easy access to the computer, modem, and phone line.
Arranging for One or More Point-of-Entry Computers
The Point-of-entry computer (POE) functions as the link between the Alice Network Software client and the Internet. Therefore, the project needs to arrange for accounts on a POE. Normally, each teacher or each class participating in the project will have an account. Sometimes, however,
projects will arrange for individual students to have
accounts.
The POE, typically a UNIX machine connected
directly to the Internet, needs to be able to exchange mail
with other computers on the Internet and to be able to run
the required UNIX shell and Perl scripts. Some projects ask
TERC to provide the POE while some projects make their own
arrangements. In the latter case, TERC will assist the POE
system operators in setting up the required scripts.
There are many factors to consider as you arrange for the POE for
your project. Among these are: Cost, Access, and Speed.
During your planning phase, TERC will be happy to consult
with your project on setting up an appropriate POE.
Cost
Can project participants connect to a POE by a local or toll-free phone call?
What is the charge, if any, for connect time?
If it seems that sites will have different telecommunication costs, will the
project adjust these in some way so all participants pay the same amount? (Some projects use an 800 access number to do this.)
Are there limits on the amount of connect time? If so, can additional time be
obtained when allocated time is used up?
Are costs fixed and known in advance, or dependent on usage and other factors?
Access
Is the POE available to project participants 24 hours/day?
Will the network be equally accessible to all participants?
Is the POE reliably available?
Speed options
Which modem speeds does the POE support and are they appropriate to what the participants have? (Generally, the faster the better.)
The Alice Network Software allows project participants to submit data to one or more data tables on an automated data sharing server and to retrieve consolidated data tablesfrom that same server. When users send a "retrieve data" message, they receive the full set of data from all sites
that have submitted data up to that time. Users can
retrieve information that has been collected from hundreds
of sites, which enables students to have access to
significant scientific data. This "data sharing" process is
one of the more powerful features of the Alice Network
Software. However, for it to work successfully the project
technical staff and TERC technical staff must work together
very closely. Earlier in this chapter we described one of
the important steps: creating the submittal and retrieval
address book entries. In this section we describe in detail
the additional steps that must be taken to insure a
successful data sharing experience. These are:
- Creating data templates for data submittal and retrieval.
- Setting up data tables on the automated data sharing server.
With the current versions of the Alice Network Software, "data sharing" (submission and retrieval of data) requires that all sites use the same standardized data table or tables that have been set up for their project. Typically, the curriculum designer specifies and designs these tables,
called "data templates," based on the needs of the
curriculum. A template contains all the column names and
definitions - it simply doesn't yet contain any data. A
site submits data by opening a template that is filed in
the Project folder of the Alice Network Software, entering
data, saving the data, and then "submitting" it to the
appropriate data submittal address. When the user chooses
"Submit," the Alice Network Software automatically
generates from the data table a file containing data and
commands that the automated data sharing server
understands. This file is sent when the user "connects" (if
the "Send Outbox" option is checked). When the automated
data sharing server receives the submitted data, it adds
the data to the appropriate data table. The server
automatically generates a reply confirming that the data
has been entered in the specified data base or indicating
that an error exists. This reply normally appears in the
Inbox the next time the user connects and picks up mail.
When a user sends a Retrieve Data command for a specific data table (determined by the address chosen from the database.adr address book), the automated data sharing server sends a copy of the requested data to the requesting user. This data appears in the user's Inbox as a text file the next time the user connects and picks up mail. The data table in the Misc folder serves as a template to automatically format this text data as an Alice table when the user Views or Moves it.
TERC staff, in consultation with project staff, will set up on the automated data sharing server the files needed to implement data sharing functions for the project. TERC staff need specific details about the data tables that the
project wants to establish on the server. These details can
be conveyed through conversations between TERC and the
project's database specialist after the project has
designed its database templates.
Recapitulation of Data Sharing Requirements
To enable data sharing, it is necessary that an empty copy
of each data table (a "template") be stored in both the
Project folder and the Misc folder of the Alice Network
Software, that a database.adr address book be prepared for
submittal and retrieval addresses, and that the necessary
information regarding the structure of the data tables is
conveyed to TERC staff to set up the data table definitions
on the automated data sharing server.
Once the POE has been set up and automated data sharing has been set up, TERC