if=0Ayour main developer gets hit by a bus?"=0A=0ADocumentation, using ope=
n source code, and avoiding nasty one-off hacks (that =0Amany schools do, f=
or reasons of expedience and cost). Far to often, I have seen =0Aschools be=
penny wise pound foolish about taking shortcuts. Maintaining and =0Agrowin=
g a system requires work and maintenance, and just as the professional =0Ad=
evelopment of teachers is essential for a school to continue to flourish, t=
he =0Aprofessional development of the support professionals who design, bui=
ld, and =0Amaintain systems is equally essential.=0A=0AUsing eternally host=
ed commercial solutions is an option, provided all of your =0Aneeds can be =
met by these solutions. The risk here is that pedagogical needs get =0Abent=
to fit what the service delivers. Then, of course, there are the additiona=
l =0Aissues that arise around cost, privacy, data portability, and the real=
ity that =0Ain paying for an external solution you are spitting money out o=
f your school - =0Athis is a stark contrast to a salaried person working fo=
r the school. =0A=0A=0AAnd then, of course, external, commercially hosted s=
ystems require maintenance, =0Aadjustment, and tweaking over time. Nothing =
runs without some type of =0Amaintenance, no matter what the sales teams te=
ll you.=0A=0AThere really isn't any one size fits all, absolutely right ans=
wer. My biggest =0Aconcern with many of the roll-your-own vs outsource disc=
ussions is that the =0Acosts and benefits of both approaches are generally =
exaggerated. =0A=0A=0ACheers,=0A=0ABill=0A=0A=0A=0A----- Original Message -=
---=0AFrom: Derrel Fincher <derrel.fincher@graded.br>=0ATo: ISED-L@LISTSERV=
.SYR.EDU=0ASent: Sun, September 19, 2010 7:43:23 AM=0ASubject: Re: Google A=
pps in Schools=0A=0AHow do you train your developer(s), and what are the co=
ntingency plans if=0Ayour main developer gets hit by a bus? My goal has bee=
n to move all of our=0Asystems to commercial hosted solutions and get rid o=
f all of the homegrown=0A(and labor intensive) tweaks that grew up over the=
years. Most schools just=0Ahave a really hard time spending money in orde=
r to keep their developers=0Aup-to-date and I've seen the results when the =
person who developed a system=0Aleaves. Maybe I'm missing something.=0A-- =
=0ADerrel Fincher=0ADirector of Information and Communication Technology=0A=
Graded - The American School of S=E3o Paulo=0Ahttp://www.graded.br | (55 11=
) 3747-4800 x160=0A=0A=0A
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