Stickies

[#1]

This may be the silliest question ever. Does anyone know of a way to constrain the size of stickies? I found articles on how to set default size, but nothing to keep them that size forever. I'm asking because I help manage a high school, and the students like to cover their desktop with giant stickies of their favorite things, cars, babes, graffiti, etc, and most are inappropriate. I took stickies away temporarily, and there was mass chaos and uproar, so I wanted to return them, but holding the size to something like 2 x 2 inches. Enough for homework, not great for an image.

If anyone has other ideas, PLEASE speak up.

Melinda Garrelts
LHS Technology
(308) 324-4691 x1271
(308)324-1271 direct
(308) 746-2427 cell

[#2]

Melinda

If you prohibit using Stickies, they will use TextEdit... or Word... or Pages... or Preview... or Safari or Firefox...

When you get to the point where they can't display inappropriate images any more, the computers will be useless.

Do not look for a technical solution for what is a social problem. Make it a part of your Acceptible Use Policy, make sure the students and teachers know and understand that part (and everything in the AUP) and then work with teachers and staff to enforce the AUP.

How would you reprimand or punish a student if they put inappropriate images on their locker or in their books and paper notepads? That is how the teachers and you should react to inappropriate images on the computer.

Armin

[tlarkin]

Just to echo Armin here,

I agree 100%. We have had lots of problems with students dropping in unwanted apps, or using their computers to surf the web via proxy site, or the plethora of other things they do that break AUP. Instead of trying to lock it down, I instead use a dummy receipt system to check if any students have hacked their machines to give themselves admin rights. This makes it much easier and the log file is all the evidence I need to give to a school administrator for any sort of AUP violation. It is much easier to just build a system of detection and build cases against those abusing equipment than it is to try and lock it down.

Of course the front line defense in such company abuse are managers/teachers as they are working directly with the users.

just my opinion.

Tom

[#4]

It is difficult, and we're in year 2 of our one to one program, so all of this is part of a learning curve for everyone. The more we lock things down, the more they manage to get into. However, I suspect if we completely open social sites like Facebook, the opposite won't happen, they won't get bored and leave them alone. We've managed to keep them from making admin accounts, this year, by having a firmware password, and none of them have yet realized that removing ram will break it. Our other smart move was in hiring the 3 students who first broke the system last year, to work for us and now they savor the power.

Melinda Garrelts
LHS Technology
(308) 324-4691 x1271
(308)324-1271 direct
(308) 746-2427 cell