Digital Data

Storing digital data and keeping it protected is very important. I remember my first year at my current school, I wasn't storing my files properly. I saved them on my computer and sadly when my computer was re-imaged, all of those files were gone. I was SO sad, but I used that as a learning experience and then set down with our CIT and learned how to properly store data...and back it up!

Our server is set up, so there are different drives. Each faculty member can save to their "H" drive, which is a personal storage space, no one else (except tech administrators and CIT's) can access my H drive. There is also the "R" folder or student public drive where I can save documents/files in my "McCoy" folder for my students or whoever else to access. I store anything for my students to access here...pictures, videos, documents, etc. The public drive is for faculty members to access. For example, if my team created a great lesson that we wanted to share, we would save it here for others to see. Each of my students also have an "H" drive where they can save their personal data. This is where all of their projects are stored. I can access this from the "W" folder (I know...very confusing...it just takes practice). The "X" drive is for video/movie downloads and anyone can access them. Each school has a folder and each faculty member has a folder, but you can access anyone's folder. The "K" drive is set up the same way and that's where you save your flipcharts for the Promethean board. This may sound a bit overwhelming, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite simple. For safety measures, I back up my files on disks at the end of the year. I just got an external hard drive for my new computer, so I will probably back up on this as well.

I asked our CIT about how we digitally store our data:

HPISD uses a Redundant SAN(storage area network) for storage and protection of digital data. It is mirrored to a second SAN for disaster recovery. Brief answer, but that's the explanation.

Our e-mail is also backed up for 7 years for every user in the district.

I think our district does a nice job of keeping our data organized and safe.