[26434] in resnet
Re: Teaching how to troubleshoot . . .
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Mike Malsed)
Fri May 27 14:27:25 2011
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Message-ID: <LISTSERV%201105271427094840.8737@LISTSERV.ND.EDU>
Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 14:27:09 -0400
Reply-To: Resnet Forum <RESNET-L@listserv.nd.edu>
From: Mike Malsed <mike.malsed@CLAREMONTMCKENNA.EDU>
To: RESNET-L@listserv.nd.edu
We've been doing this for quite a while with our RTAs (Resident Technology
Assistants) - we started it about 12 years ago.
First, I start them with an FAQ from the old Smoothwall firewall project
(still exists, but is different now) - I tried to attach it, but the
listserve doesn't allow PDF so. . .
http://www.malsed.net/files/smooth.faq.pdf . It goes over asking
intelligent questions. It has a bunch of geeky humor and is a bit dated now,
but is still good.
Second, I go through a collection of RTA questions from previous years and
we rip them apart. Some are horrible: "I hope I'm not telling you all
something you already know, but the internet (sic) is down here." - where
literally no diagnosis has been done, to some that are really good. We
outline the REQUIRED elements of a question: OS (plus version/SP),
laptop/desktop/tablet/etc., ipconfig/ifconfig, etc.
Third, we start diagnosing problems (fake, drawn from last year's Footprints
projects, so we know most of the details) by asking the correct questions,
then I (or my Lead RTA) give the known answers and we move from point to point.
I also use this opportunity to go over the differences between the "normal"
solution and those that are specific to our network. For instance, one issue
was with a student who had ChromeOS on his laptop. He couldn't get ONTO his
laptop until he had logged on to the network because our network requires
authentication before they get an IP. So the "normal" solution does not
necessarily work on our network.
Fourth, we bring in troubled laptops from early-arrival students (there's
always a few) and we troubleshoot them together. These are athletes,
sponsors, RAs, etc. It's invaluable to actually fix computers. I make them
do this as a group, with the screen projected so all can see it. They
collaborate on the next step and then take it. We can usually get through
two or so - sometimes we're able to multi-task and take care of two at a time.
I also use this opportunity to demonstrate the very typical tasks that RTAs
will do - mapping the users$ drive and printers on Windows and showing them
the application we use to map printers on a Mac (to get around manually
configuring CUPS which is a pain).
It's worked pretty well for us. Our time has shrunk as New Student
Orientation has expanded and taken our time away, but this is still our core
curriculum and it's served us pretty well.
I don't include a lot of detail on here because it's very much tailored to
our network - our subnets, where to look for what and where you can't look, etc.
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