Microsoft K-12 Technology Connection
February 1997

Contents

1. The Connected Learning Community
•	Research Supports Effectiveness of Hi-Tech Classrooms

2. Internet/Intranet
•	Using Microsoft FrontPage 97 to Create and Manage District Intranet and Internet Sites
•	Tip: Designing a Web Site and More!
•	Troubleshooting: Using WebBots

3. Networking
•	Connecting to the Internet, Setting Up an Intranet: Is Windows NT the Right Choice?
•	Tip: Installing Index Server Version 1.1
•	Troubleshooting: Recovering From a Server Crash, and More!

4. On Your Desktop
•	Upgrading to Microsoft Windows 95
•	Tip: Smoothing Out the Upgrade Process
•	Troubleshooting: Questions About Upgrading

5. Q&A
•	This month: importing a Netscape address book into Microsoft Internet Mail and News; resetting the Content Advisor password in Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0; and more!

6. Classroom Corner
•	Butterfly Migration Research
1. The Connected Learning Community
Research Supports Effectiveness of Hi-Tech Classrooms
by Terri Casey

This article is the second in a series profiling the development of a connected learning community at Blackstock Junior High in the Hueneme School District in Southern California. The first article described the evolution of “Smart Classrooms” at Blackstock. In this article, we look at research results that show quantitative improvement in student performance and hear from three Blackstock teachers how technology has ignited student interest and motivation.

For an explanation of Smart Classrooms, see “Building a Connected Learning Community From the Ground Up,” in the January issue of this newsletter. Click the Archives button on the newsletter home page.

In 1987, the Hueneme School District received a Model Technology Grant from the State of California for $2.5 million dollars over five years, and Blackstock Junior High was set up with several Smart Classrooms. Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) who had been studying academic progress of third-, sixth-, and eighth-graders at Blackstock since 1984, began to chart the gains of students in these Smart Classrooms. The researchers measured critical thinking skills, attendance, and motivation. 
Hard Data Shows Improvement in Student Achievement
USC researchers used various testing methods, including the California Assessment Program (CAP), to measure student achievement in reading, language, math, history, science, and writing. In a 1992 report, they noted that significant improvement in CAP scores at Blackstock paralleled the introduction of the Smart Classrooms. One striking example of improvement was in eighth-graders’ writing scores, which placed Blackstock students at the 99th percentile of districts or schools in the state with similar demographics.

Researchers also tracked the rate of discipline referrals to the principal’s office and found that teachers in Smart Classrooms experienced a marked decrease in referrals over the first two years of the program. They also saw a positive trend in attendance over three years among Smart Classroom sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders.

These gains mirror what other research has documented: that computers in the classroom enhance student learning. In an article entitled “World Class: Schools on the Net” in the McKinsey Quarterly (1995, Number 4), a review of 254 controlled studies concluded that using computers appropriately in the classroom can reduce the time it takes to acquire certain types of knowledge by 30 percent. At the very least, it promotes the computer literacy, networking, and information-gathering skills that will be required, according to the Quarterly, by up to 60 percent of American jobs by the year 2000.

The Blackstock students’ progress is particularly impressive given the Hueneme district’s profile: about 16 percent of the students receive Aid for Dependent Children, 58 percent qualify for free and reduced meals, and 30 percent are identified as limited or non-English speaking. While the gains of these at-risk students in the Smart Classrooms clearly ranked them at the top of their peer group, of greater interest is that they scored 24 points above average when compared to students from all public schools and districts in California. 

Hard data is one measurement of student achievement and progress. “Soft data”—including experiences and observations of teachers in Smart Classrooms—is another.
How Do Teachers Like Using Technology in the Classroom?
Steve Carr, now the site technology coordinator at Blackstock, taught history there for 12 years, including five years in a Smart Classroom. Technology sparks students’ curiosity and motivation, he says, and engages them in content.

“For example, it is very exciting to see the way computers change how students view writing,” Carr says. “Kids used to dread it, but when they are given word processing software—where they can learn to type, easily revise their work, incorporate graphics, use different fonts—they are immediately motivated to write. They become prolific. And the more they write, the better the quality of the writing.”

Motivation also translates into curiosity about subject matter, Carr says. “It was always difficult to make distracted eighth-graders have enthusiasm for exploring history, but with video, software simulations, and multimedia authoring, kids can visualize things they couldn’t before,” he says. “Using a laserdisc to explore aspects of a historical concept brings the material alive for them. Students put together multimedia projects that tap into their sense of discovery and creativity. They want to dig deeper.” (For examples of student work at Blackstock, see the links to their Web site listed at the bottom of this article.)

Michele Laubacher has taught seventh-grade science for 10 years at Blackstock—six of those in a Smart Classroom. She says she appreciates how technology helps level the academic playing field and helps her individualize lessons.

“With computers, more learning modalities can exist in a classroom, so students can learn the way they learn best—audibly, visually, kinesthetically—and build on their successes,” Laubacher says. “For example, they’re all successful at logging on and accessing the same information, which is a great equalizer. And they will all have learned the same material at some point, even if each one gets there at a different speed or in a different way. 

“That means a lot of flexibility for me, too,” she says. “I can bring them along at the same pace or different speeds, depending on the curriculum for the day or week. Kids can work in a large group, small group, or independently, or on remedial work. Learning can be individualized.” 

Laubacher currently conducts a math-science “block,” where classes are longer than usual. “I find that kids are so on task that nobody jumps up when the bell rings. They want to be here,” she says. “When students are this motivated, they are more willing to internalize information, then go home and study it. And when they’re on task, their behavior is better. They’re like sponges.” 

Students particularly love logging onto the Internet, Laubacher says. “We’re doing science fair projects right now, and we’ve been doing things such as tracking earthquakes in California and around the world daily. We post the data on a map and look for patterns. There are so many things you can do, so many ways to stay current. Students love it.”

Pat Newton has been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) for 19 years. Currently, the top three native languages spoken by his students are Spanish, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. Newton says that using computers has relieved him of many of the tedious aspects of teaching English, especially to a student population that radically decreases or increases along with the harvests.

In February, for example, Newton gets an influx of Mexican students who have arrived with their parents in time for the strawberry-picking season. “The door is jammed,” says Newton, “and you have to start all over with ‘This is an apple.’” But instead of pulling out a photo or magazine picture of an apple and repeating the word himself, he can sit a student down at a computer to learn basic vocabulary. 

Newton’s students practice speaking, reading, and writing using a software program called English Express by Davidson. The digitized photos are crystal clear and students can even record their own voices and play them back as much as they needwithout worrying about embarrassing themselves in front of their peers, an especially important issue for teenagers who already feel marginal.

Newton especially appreciates the ability to target language problems. For example, if a student is having trouble with a particular sound, Newton can “grab all the words containing that sound” and give the student a lesson developed to correct the problem. Smart Classrooms have made tracking student activity into a science; Newton knows exactly what a student’s done and when they did itvaluable information for a school that receives federal funding.

Even the occasional cloud in the Smart Classroom seems to have a silver lining. Carr tells of young man, now a high-school junior, who attended seventh and eighth grades at Blackstock. He was bright but unfocused and always mischievous in class. One day, he logged onto a server and hacked his way into another classroom, where a substitute teacher noticed videos flashing from one computer to another. “This kid was not sure what he was doing,” Carr says, “but he’d found a way to wreak havoc in that other room.”
(Subsequently, Carr has tightened up security. Next month in this section, we’ll tell you how he did it.)

Rather than punishing this student, Carr and others decided to channel his talent into something positive. “We made him our network traffic cop,” Carr says, “and he went on to do amazing things for us technically. He now works here at Blackstock every day through a work-experience program at his high school. He’s my right-hand man, and he could be employable by any computer company right now.”

Terri Casey is a freelance writer in Seattle. She was the editor of the Microsoft Education News from 1989 to 1993 and frequently writes about the computer industry.

To see work at student at Blackstock, see the following pages on Blackstock’s Web site:

•	http://www.huensd.k12.ca.us/blackstock/html/currgal.htm
•	http://www.huensd.k12.ca.us/blackstock/html/tech_gal.htm
•	http://www.huensd.k12.ca.us/blackstock/html/capp_gal.htm

Products used in by staff and students in the Hueneme school district include the following:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system 
Microsoft Office 97
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft FrontPage  97
Microsoft Works 
Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Encarta 97
Microsoft Explorapedia
Microsoft Dangerous Creatures
Microsoft 500 Nations
Microsoft Musical Instruments
Microsoft Creative Writer

 1997. Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.

2. Internet/Intranet
Using Microsoft FrontPage 97 to Create and Manage District Intranet and Internet Sites
by Suzanne Sowinska, Ph.D.

Having a school presence on the Internet is important for building a sense of school identity and pride, and for communicating with other schools. There are also many benefits to having a carefully planned and smoothly functioning intranet for your school district: quick and easy communication between all schools, administrators, teachers, and students in the district; Web page postings that cover anything from school district announcements to student homework assignments to the daily lunch menu; quick e-mail access to everyone in the district; and links to the Internet, to other World Wide Web sites, or to chat servers. 

When it comes to building a school district presence on the Internet or creating a district-wide intranet there are as many different approaches as there are school districts. This article examines the ways that two school districts are using Microsoft FrontPage 97, a Web authoring and site management tool, for both Internet and intranet development.
J.V. Martin Jr. High: Creating a Larger Sense of Community
Having an Internet identity via a Web site is an important goal for the staff and students at J.V. Martin Jr. High School in Dillon, South Carolina.  Because of their rural location, the district tends to feel isolated at times.  That’s one reason that Paula Yohe, the Library Media Specialist, is helping three ninth-grade volunteers use FrontPage to create a Web site for J.V. Martin. “We want to give the larger world a picture of what goes on at our school,” says Yohe. 

Yohe’s students are solely responsible for the content of the Web site.  They’ve written memos to teachers, administrators, and student organizations to solicit the content for the school’s home page and for the other Web pages it links to. Then, while waiting for responses, they used a Kodak Digital camera to take pictures to go along with the text. The biggest problem Yohe has with students controlling the content of the Web pages is that “they tend to get carried away with putting in too many graphics.”

Yohe uses the FrontPage Explorer, one of the basic tools included with FrontPage, to administer the Web site, test and repair its hyperlinks, view all of its files and folders, import and export files, and to publish the Web site. Yohe’s ninth-graders use the FrontPage Editor, another tool, to create, edit, and test the Web pages.  As they add text, pictures, and clip art images to each page, the FrontPage Editor displays them as they would appear in a Web browser. The students do not need to know HTML to use the FrontPage Editor because it has a familiar word-processing interface and generates all the popular HTML tags for them. Yohe’s ninth-graders are also responsible for writing down procedures and for training three eighth-graders to take over their responsibilities next year when they move on to high school. 

Yohe and her students hope to go live with their Web site later this month.

Hueneme School District : Dividing Up the Responsibilities of Maintaining a District Intranet
Like most school district technology coordinators, Steve Carr certainly has enough to do.  He supports the nationally recognized flagship program for pioneering Smart Classrooms, a technology-based individualized learning environment at Blackstock Jr. High in Southern California. (See related article in last month’s issue. Click the Archives button on the newsletter home page). Carr is also the network administrator in charge of the Hueneme School District Internet site and the intranet that Hueneme is hoping to develop in the coming year.  For Carr, planning ahead is the most important part of intranet development. Carr plans to use FrontPage to delegate the responsibilities of maintaining a district intranet among all its users: the district-level network administrator, on-site school technology coordinators, teachers, counselors, advisors, and students. Click here to see a sample school district intranet created using FrontPage.

In his role as a network administrator, Carr will use the FrontPage Explorer, wizards, and templates to plan and initially set up the Hueneme intranet. Using the Server Administrator, one of the tools included with FrontPage, he plans to set up the FrontPage Server Extensions and then use them to distribute permissions to each school. He can then install, update, verify, or remove Web sites, change administrator passwords, and enable or disable the use of the FrontPage Explorer and FrontPage Editor against a Web server.

Each on-site school technology coordinator will then be responsible for maintaining their own school’s Web site. Using the FrontPage Explorer and Editor, he or she can create a school Web site.  Using the FrontPage Editor, administrators, teachers, counselors, activity coordinators, and students can then post and maintain their own Web pages.  Individual Web pages can either be simple or sophisticated, depending on how much time each individual wants to spend using the various features of the FrontPage Editor. Any formerly difficult HTML coding such as adding e-mail addresses, hotlinks, graphics, or frames, is all handled by the FrontPage Editor and is easy for teachers or students to add to Web pages.  This should take some of the burden off the shoulders of an already busy administrator.

For Carr, FrontPage simplifies the issues of cross-district communication, file sharing, source code implementation, and server access that have previously been too difficult for the average school district to manage. Prior to using FrontPage, a Web master and very few others had the ability to publish on the Web. FrontPage has opened this up to any Web page author. In Carr’s mind, this feature will not only make his job easier, it makes access to Web publishing much more democratic. 

Note: If an intranet already exists in your district, setup will involve importing your existing files into FrontPage. See related tip in this section.

•	For information on installing FrontPage Server extensions, visit the Web66 site at http://web66.umn.edu/WinNT/CookBook/FrontPage/Extensions/Default.html

Tips for using FrontPage

Use these powerful and useful new FrontPage 97 features to speed up your intranet development:

•	The Import Wizard: makes it easy to import your existing Web content into FrontPage Web sites. Open Front Page, click the File menu, click Import, and follow the instructions.

•	Hyperlink View: allows you to view the files and links in your Web site both graphically and hierarchically.  The graphical view finds broken links and helps you easily manage your Web site. Open your Web site in Front Page, click the Tools menu, and then click Show FrontPage Explorer.

•	Cross-Web Find and Replace and Spellchecker: FrontPage 97 includes a time-saving global find-and-replace and spellchecking features, providing the ability to quickly find and replace text and check for spelling errors in all of the HTML documents in your Web. Open your Web site in the Front Page Editor, click the Tools menu, and then click Spelling or Find or Replace.

•	HTML Source Editor: allows you to edit a Web page’s HTML source code.  Editing is made easy through the use of a color-coded syntax checker that differentiates tags, values, and text. Open your Web site in the Front Page Editor, click the View menu, and then click HTML.

•	Preview in Browser: allows you to preview your Web site in any browser that is installed on your computer. Open your Web site in the Front Page Editor, click the File menu, and then click Preview in Browser.

•	Web Clip Art: a clip art library which includes a wide variety of backgrounds, buttons, lines and images that can be used to increase the graphic content of your Web. In the FrontPage Editor, open the page where you want to insert the clip art, click the Insert menu, and then click Image.

•	Use ActiveX Controls or Java Applet and Plug-In Support: FrontPage 97 supports ActiveX controls, which are reusable software components that quickly add specialized functionality to Web pages. Java Applets and Plug-Ins are also supported, allowing access to the most popular  interactive multimedia Web technologies. Install the ActiveX control, Java Applet or Plug-In on your computer and in the FrontPage Editor open the page where you want to insert the control. From the Insert menu, click Other Components and then click ActiveX Control, Java Applet, or Plug-In.

•	Create Webs With or Without a Server: FrontPage 97 includes the ability to create Web sites without a server.  These Webs can easily be published to a server for posting. In the FrontPage Explorer, open the Web you want to publish, click the File menu, and then click Publish FrontPage Web and follow the instructions.

Suzanne Sowinska is a software consultant, technical writer, and university educator.

Key Features of the FrontPage Explorer

•	You can create a professional-quality Web site quickly using wizards and templates. For example, you can create a district-wide discussion group for your Web site with the Discussion Web Wizard, student home pages with the Personal Web template, and a project-management Web with the Project Web template.
•	Many authors can collaborate on a single Web site. You, as the administrator, can control access by assigning authors and optionally restricting end-users. You can assign passwords and IP address restrictions to protect the Web site from unauthorized visitors.
•	In the FrontPage Explorer, you view your entire Web site graphically. In the Folder View, you view and navigate the folders in your Web site. Click a folder, and its contents are listed, with useful information about each file, such as size, type, and title. In the Hyperlink View, you view the hyperlinks connecting your pages, Microsoft Office documents, and other files, along with a hierarchical picture of your Web site. 
•	If you rename or move any file in your Web site, the FrontPage Explorer updates all hyperlink references to that file. You can verify and repair all hyperlinks in your FrontPage Web, including hyperlinks to sites on the World Wide Web. You can recalculate links to update the FrontPage Explorer’s display of the Web site in which you are working. In a multi-authoring environment, use this feature to incorporate and view recent changes made to the Web site by other authors.
•	You can import current files to your Web site. Specify a folder in your file system, and all its contents are imported. You can also export files from your Web site to your file system.
•	Double-click a page in the FrontPage Explorer and it opens for editing in the FrontPage Editor. You can also configure editors for any of the file types in your Web site. Double-click a file and it opens in its associated editor.
•	Every FrontPage Web site has a To Do List. The To Do List makes it easy to name, track, and complete all unfinished FrontPage Web tasks. Click on a task and it takes you right to the page that needs work. Some To Do List tasks are generated automatically, and you can also add tasks and assign them to authors.
•	The FrontPage Explorer maintains a text index of your Web site for use by the WebBot Search component. This index makes it easy for users to find documents in your Web site, but requires no programming on your part.

Key Features of the FrontPage Editor

•	You can create new HTML pages based on built-in wizards and templates. The FrontPage Editor offers many choices of page formats, or you can create your own templates.
•	You can open files of many popular types, and the FrontPage Editor converts them to HTML. Some of the file types you can open are Microsoft Word 2.0 and 6.0, Microsoft Word 6.0 for MS-DOS, Microsoft Word 95 and 97, Microsoft Excel 4.0 and 5.0, Microsoft Excel 95 and 97, Lotus 1-2-3 2.x – 4.x, and WordPerfect 5.x – 7.x. The FrontPage Editor preserves hyperlinks in Microsoft Office documents. Images in files are converted to Graphics Interchange Format (GIF).
•	You can open any HTML file in the FrontPage Editor. All the HTML tags on the page are preserved.
•	You can insert text in all HTML styles, create multilevel lists, change text size and color, and apply formatting such as centering a heading or italicizing text.
•	Using a point-and-click interface, you can create hyperlinks to pages and files in your FrontPage Web or to pages and files on the World Wide Web.
•	You can insert an image of almost any type, and the FrontPage Editor converts it into GIF or JPEG format. Click an image and it opens for editing in your favorite image-editing program. Create an image map by adding hotspots, areas in an image containing hyperlinks. Insert clip art from a large library of buttons, background images, icons, and other images.
•	You can create forms containing text fields, check boxes, radio buttons, drop-down lists, and push buttons. To process a form, you can assign a built-in FrontPage WebBot component or add your own CGI script.
•	You can create a table, add captions, create header cells, and merge and split cells. The FrontPage Editor displays the table in the way it will appear.
•	You can add powerful functionality to your page by inserting WebBot components. They add interactive features such as navigation bars, threaded discussion groups, full-text searches, and forms handling that would otherwise require complex CGI programming. For example, the WebBot Table of Contents component automatically creates an HTML outline of your FrontPage Web, with hyperlinks to each page.
•	You can insert ActiveX Controls, plug-ins, and Java Applets in the FrontPage Editor. You can launch a script-editing session and create and insert JavaScript scripts and Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) scripts.

 1997. Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.

Tip: Designing Web Sites With Microsoft FrontPage

When we think of the Internet and the World Wide Web, we usually think of Web pages. The Web pages that make up a Web site are a collection of related pages and therefore, should appear as a cohesive unit. This tip describes how to use Microsoft FrontPage to create a unified school or district Web site.

What’s a Web site?
In the simplest terms, a Web site is a collection of Web pages that focuses on a specific idea or topic. The pages in a Web site are designed in HTML and are linked together so that a visitor can easily get from one page to another. Web sites sometimes contain smaller Web sites such as an archive or an online forum.

The School Web Site
A school Web site can be highly structured. For example, you’re likely to find links to several smaller Web sites from the school’s site, such as student and teacher Web pages, a school calendar, student publications, and so forth. You can usually search the contents of a school Web site, as well.

To create a Web site, open FrontPage Explorer—an application in the FrontPage package—and select New Web from the File menu. When the New Web dialog box appears, select Corporate Presence Wizard, and then click OK. In the Corporate Presence Web Wizard, type a name for the new Web site, such as MySchool. Then click Next to move to the next screen. 

The first screen lets you select the main pages to include in your school Web site. Simply select the items you want and clear the ones you don’t. For this demo, we’ll check all the items. After selecting the options in this screen, click Next to go to the next screen. 

At the next screen, you can select the topics you want on your school’s home page. As before, simply select the topics you want and clear the ones you don’t want. We’ll select all of these items as well. 

The Web Wizard also lets you select which topics you want on your What’s New page and creates pages for each. Simply specify how many pages you want for your school Web site. 

You can also choose different options for the Table of Contents page as well as specify the information that you want in each page’s header and footer. The Web Wizard can include an Under Construction icon on pages that aren’t finished. 

What’s left to do?
After FrontPage Explorer creates the Web site, it will display a To Do List. When you click an item in the To Do List, FrontPage Explorer will take you to the specific task with instructions on how to complete it. When you’ve finished with the To Do List items, your Web site will be complete. 

You can begin accessing the new Web site immediately. Simply open Microsoft Internet Explorer and type in the address to your FrontPage personal server, placing the name of the new Web site at the end. For example, if your personal Web server is located at

http://www.notarealserver.com

and you named your new Web site MySchool, you’ll find your new Web site at

http://www.notarealserver.com/MySchool/

 1997. All rights reserved. Reproduced from Microsoft Web Builder with permission from The COBB Group, a division of Ziff-Davis Publishing at http://www.covv.com/.

Tip: Importing HTML Files into FrontPage

To create a new FrontPage Web with existing HTML files:

1. Start FrontPage.
2. From the Getting Started with Microsoft FrontPage startup screen, choose With the Import Wizard, and then choose OK.
3. In the Import Web Wizard dialog box, type a name for new Web, and then choose OK. 
The Import Wizard will step you through the process of adding your HTML folder to your new FrontPage Web. 
4. Under Source Directory, click Browse. Locate your existing Web files, click OK, and then click Next.
5. Click Next in the Wizard dialog to import all files in your folder to the FrontPage Web.
6. Click the Finish button. 
 
To add HTML files to an existing FrontPage Web:

1. Start FrontPage.
2. Open your existing FrontPage Web.
3. On the File menu, choose New, then choose FrontPage Web.
4. In the Template or Wizard dialog box, choose Import Web Wizard.
5. Click the “Add to the current web” check box, then choose OK.
6. Follow steps 3-6 above to complete the process.

 1997. Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.

Troubleshooting: Microsoft FrontPage 97

Q. What are bots and how do I use them?

A. WebBots are dynamic objects created by the Microsoft FrontPage 97 Editor. Most browsers can display bots if the page containing them resides on a server that supports FrontPage Server Extensions. Since most of the bots provided in FrontPage 97 perform tasks that you’d have to write a CGI script to perform, they speed up Web site development.

Table A, below, lists some of most useful bots supported by FrontPage 97. 

Placing Bots on your Web Pages

Placing bots on your pages is a snap. While using the FrontPage Editor, select the WebBot Component… option from the Insert menu. FrontPage will then display a dialog box and prompt you for that bot’s properties. Once you fill in the dialog box and click OK, FrontPage will place the bot on your Web page. 

Remember that for your bots to work, you must display the pages that contain them on a server that supports FrontPage Server Extensions. Otherwise, when browsers view your page, the bots will appear as blank areas on your Web page. 

Table A: FrontPage Bots 

Timestamp: Shows the last date and time the Web page was updated.

Search: Creates a search form for your users to use. The FrontPage Server Extensions keep a list of words that are used on your page or pages. When a user fills in the form, the server searches the Web pages and displays the results.

Table of Contents: Displays an outline of the main items on your Web pages by looking at the main titles of your pages. 

Scheduled Image: Allows you to display an image during a specified time period.

Scheduled Include: Displays contents of another page on the Web site.

Substitution: Allows you to write abbreviations, such as VRML, and then automatically expand them into their full words—in this case, Virtual Reality Modeling Language. You define a variable as a parameter in the Web Settings box in FrontPage.

Confirmation Field: Shows any information a user has entered so the user can check whether it’s correct.

Include: Displays contents of another page from the site.

 1997. All rights reserved. Reproduced from Microsoft Web Builder with permission from The COBB Group, a division of Ziff-Davis Publishing at http://www.covv.com/.

3. Networking
Connecting to the Internet, Setting Up an Intranet: Is Windows NT the Right Choice?

by Stephen E. Collins

Schools that are installing networks and establishing connections to the Internet face many complex choices. Perhaps the most important choice is which network operating system to support.  

In August 1996, Microsoft released the Windows NT operating system. In many respects, Windows NT 4.0 sets high new standards for network operating systems. Not only is it a very capable network operating system, it’s also easy to use and install. With little effort, even a non-technical person can set up a powerful full-featured local area network server with full Internet and intranet capabilities.
The Local Area Network
The first step in providing network services in your school is to design your Local Area Network (LAN).  In the past, designing the school LAN was a relatively simple matter of choosing a network cable standard, connecting all your computers, and installing a file and print server. You didn’t need to consider anything beyond your own school—the choices made by other schools, other organizations, or anyone else had little impact on your school LAN.  Today, as you design your school’s LAN and begin choosing which services you will provide, you must consider the implications of your choices for both Internet access and intranet access.
The Internet
Over the last few years, the Internet has grown at phenomenal rates and today almost all schools have some access or are working on obtaining access.  Schools are seeking access to the vast educational resources available on the Internet including access to information, to other schools, to scientists, and to other experts for communication and collaboration.  If you are designing or using a school LAN today, you’ve likely already considered how it might be connected to the Internet.

Technically speaking, the Internet is simply a worldwide network of LANs connected to each other.   The Internet works because everyone has agreed upon a set of protocols, services, and standards so all the millions of LANs around the world can communicate with each other.  This means when you connect to the Internet, your LAN must conform to Internet standards and use Internet protocols.

The Internet standard protocol is TCP/IP, and almost all connections between Internet sites are using TCP/IP.  With the TCP/IP protocol, different services use their own standard protocols.  E-mail is sent through the network with the SMTP protocol, and delivered to clients with the POP3 protocol.  Web pages are processed with the HTTP protocol.  Files are transferred with the FTP protocol.  And there are dozens of other standard protocols under TCP/IP.  

Because there are standard protocols for communication, any package that makes use of the protocol can interact with any other package.  For example, one user might be using Microsoft Internet Mail and News to access her Windows NT mail server, and another might be using Eudora to access his Unix mail server. But since standard protocols are used, these users won’t have any trouble sending e-mail to each other across the Internet.
The Intranet
You can implement file serving, print serving, mail, and other services on your LAN with whatever software and network operating system you want.  As long as your school LAN remains a standalone network, it won’t matter what you are using. However, once you provide a connection to the Internet, your choices can make the difference between easy and seamless integration of the Internet versus an unworkable connection with complicated gateways and translators.

An intranet is a LAN that is designed with Internet standards and uses Internet protocols and services, rather than using proprietary software and arbitrary network protocols.

It may seem at first that it is more difficult and in some cases less effective to design your LAN as an intranet.  For example, many proprietary mail systems provide many more features than are available in any Internet mail package. Those features might be attractive for your LAN, but once you connect to the Internet, you’re likely to end up supporting two completely separate mail systems—one for your LAN and another for the Internet. If you implement only Internet standard protocols and services, you may be giving up some proprietary features but the ability to connect easily to the Internet is usually well worth the compromise.
Converging Network Standards
The Internet continues to become more important, and the percentage of organizations with Internet connections keeps growing.  As a result, proprietary software is increasingly written to conform to Internet standards, and these standards are evolving to provide better and more comprehensive services.  The separation between LAN services and software and Internet services and software continues to narrow and within a few years might disappear completely. 

Windows NT Server 4.0
Windows NT 4.0 is helping to lead this change.  Windows NT can provide all services with built-in, native TCP/IP support.  Windows NT includes a full suite of Internet and intranet services, and many more are available from commercial vendors and from the Internet.

If you’ve ever set up a Windows 95 computer, then you have enough expertise to set up a Windows NT server.  At first glance, the Windows NT user interface is identical to the Windows 95 user interface.  You’ll recognize the same desktop, with My Computer, the Network Neighborhood, and the same taskbar and Start  Menu.  In fact, if you don’t look carefully, you might not know you’re running Windows NT and not Windows 95.
Windows NT Network Services
The following are some of the useful network services provided in NT.
File Sharing
Windows NT provides full file-serving capabilities.  To share any folder on your server, simply right-click the folder to bring up the context menu and choose Sharing from the menu.  In addition to the setting the access rights to any directory, with Windows NT you can set access rights unique to any individual file.
Printer Sharing
To set up a shared printer on a Windows NT network, follow the same procedure used under Windows 95, with the added capability of being able to control and share Ethernet-connected printers.  Just open the New Printer icon in the Printers folder, and the Wizard will step you through the entire process.  

Once you’ve set up a shared printer under Windows, it’s easy for users to print to it.  They just have to locate it in their Network Neighborhood, double-click on it, and it will automatically set up all the drivers so they are able to print.  If you’ve installed Macintosh Services, all of your Macintosh users will be able to use the shared printers also.
Mail Services
There are many options available for e-mail services with a Windows NT server. The Windows NT Server Resource Kit includes the package MailSRV which is free and easy to set up.  There are numerous commercial and shareware mail servers available. Also available is Microsoft Exchange, a full-featured mail, calendar, and scheduling server.
World Wide Web and Microsoft FrontPage 97
The Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) is included in Windows NT 4.0 and is automatically installed as part of the Windows NT installation process. IIS includes World Wide Web, Gopher, and FTP publishing services.

IIS is a full-featured Web server with high performance and highly rated features.  A single Windows NT server can support multiple Web hosts with the built-in multihoming capability.  Combined with the Microsoft FrontPage Web authoring tool extensions, you can manage your entire site in an powerful yet easy-to-use WYSIWYG interface. 

For information on how to install the IIS server and  FrontPage extensions, visit the Web66 site at http://web66.umn.edu/WinNT/CookBook/IIS/Setup/Default.html and http://web66.umn.edu/WinNT/CookBook/FrontPage/Extensions/Default.html, respectively.
FTP
IIS includes a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server that allows you to create your own archive of files and software to distribute to users.

WINS, DHCP, and DNS
Included with Windows NT 4.0 is a complete suite of network name and Internet Protocol (IP) management tools.  This includes a Windows Internet Name Server (WINS), a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, and an Internet Domain Name (DNS) server.  All are completely managed GUI control panels so you won’t have to worry about complex text database files.
Communications Tools for Schools
For a limited time, Microsoft Communications Tools for Schools, a collection of communications and Internet tools, is available free* with the purchase of Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0. 
 
Microsoft Communications Tools for Schools is the only communications solution to incorporate the K-12 Web template, education-specific wizards, e-mail, video-conferencing software, and Internet publishing. In addition, this offering includes new Macintosh Installable File System drivers, thus extending the cross-platform capabilities of  the Windows NT network operating system by providing full network access to native Macintosh CD-ROMs. Added to Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Communications Tools for Schools is the easiest and most complete communications solution to set up, deploy, manage, and use.

With Communications Tools for Schools, server administrators can now:
•	batch import and create user accounts, taking the data from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or a comma-delimited text file. Hundreds of user accounts can be generated in a single minute.
•	publish immediately on the World Wide Web or a school Intranet. With the customizable school Web template, designed for K-12 education, the administrator is prompted for a small amount of school information as well as the school colors. When the template is completed, information such as school-wide announcements or homework or even activities of the French Club, is propagated throughout the Web site. 
•	take advantage of E-mail services provided with the Internet-compliant MS POP3 MailSrv service.
 
*Shipping and handling charges apply

More Information
Investigate these resources for more information on setting up your Windows NT network:
 
•	Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Home Page at http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/default.asp 
•	Microsoft Communication Tools for Schools at http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/cts/default.htm
•	Web66 Windows NT Resource Center at  http://web66.umn.edu/
•	Windows NT Magazine at http://www.winntmag.com/backissue.html
•	Windows NT Server Resource Kit Version 4.0 at http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/des/1222.htm
•	MS Press at http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/b_vbt.htm

Stephen E. Collins is a Network Specialist at the University of Minnesota. He is the creator and manager of the University of Minnesota’s Web66 Project, whose goals are to help K12 educators learn how to set up their own Internet servers, to link K12 WWW servers and the educators and students at those schools, and to help K12 educators find and use K12 appropriate resources on the WWW.
Glossary

DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server. DHCP allows you to define client workstation network configuration settings from your server, such as the IP address, gateway, and WINS settings.

DNS
Domain Name Server.  The Internet standard name service that allows users to specify names instead of IP addresses to identify Internet-connected servers.

Internet
The global network of networks.  The Internet now reaches over 150 countries on all continents.  There are millions of computers connected and 25-50 million users, but there is no central organization or control.

Intranet
A network designed to serve the internal needs of an organization based on Internet protocols and standards. It may or may not be connected to the Internet, and typically includes e-mail, file sharing, and other basic network services.

Network Operating System
An operating system such as Windows NT, which provides services and control for a network computers rather than for just a single computer.

IIS
Microsoft’s Internet Information Server.  IIS is included with Windows NT and provides full WWW, Gopher, and FTP services.

Windows NT Domain
A logical computer network controlled by one or more Windows NT servers.  Users share a common validation for access to the network and services on the network.

WINS
Windows Internet Name Server.  A service that allows users to use plain-English names for the computers on their network rather than network addresses or numbers.

 1997. Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved. 

Tip: Installing Index Server Version 1.1

So you’ve created a fantastic Web site for your school.  However, as is the case with any Web sites, before you know it, the site grows faster than you’ve anticipated and finding information on it becomes a daunting task.  Your carefully planned and well organized Web site is now overflowing with difficult-to-find documents and pages.  

To address your problem, you should consider is running Microsoft Index Server. Index Server version 1.1 is available on the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/info/indexserver.htm. You can configure Index Server to query HTML, plain text files, and Microsoft Office documents. 

Installing Index Server is very straight forward. You’ll need to define three key pieces of information: 

•	the folder to store your indexes
•	the folder to store your scripts, and
•	the folder to store your sample files.

By default, Index Server searches every directory on the server. If you have a folder where you store confidential documents, you may not want the Index Server to find it. You can restrict Index Server so that it searches only the directories you want. To do so, just remove the IIS user account rights from the directories you don’t want it to search. Index Server will skip the inaccessible directories.

 1997. The COBB Group. All rights reserved.

Troubleshooting: Windows NT Server 4.0

Q. How can I limit the Index Server to search only the directories I want?

A. If you use Microsoft Index Server on the Microsoft Windows NT operating system, you may have discovered that by default, Index Server searches every directory on the server. However, you can limit the Index Server to search only the directories you want by removing the IIS user account rights from the directories you don’t want it to search. Now the Index Server will skip the inaccessible directories.

Q. How can I accommodate Web site viewers using a variety of browsers? 

A. If your Web site attracts viewers who use a variety of Web browsers, you can make your site more accessible by using Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP), included in IIS 3.0, and by using server-side scripting.  Active Server Pages support VBScript and JavaScript natively, and third party vendors are working to integrate other popular scripting engines such as Perl and REXX.  

When you’re using Active Server Pages, you can make all your scripts run on the server, and avoid the pitfalls associated with trying to support multiple browsers with client-side scripts.  For example, if you want to detect the user’s browser, you can include a browser detection script to run on the server.  This way, all the scripting happens on the Windows NT server, and the user loads a dynamically generated page that includes plain HTML but no browser-specific tags. 

You can download IIS 3.0 free of charge from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/iis. 

Q. How do I recover quickly from a Windows NT server or workstation crash?

A. Even if you’ve taken precautions, the unthinkable can happen to your systemit can crash. Fortunately, there’s a fairly simple recovery system you can use. When you install Windows NT on a server or a workstation, you have the option of creating an emergency Repair Disk. This disk contains backup registry files so that you can restore damaged Windows NT system files and reboot a Windows NT system. By learning how to create an up-to-date Windows NT emergency Repair Disk and how to use it to recover from a system failure, you’ll have mastered an important part of Windows NT disaster recovery. 

You may find several uses for a Repair Disk. Just as it lets you recover from a system crash or boot up from a corrupted system, it also allows you to restore the original user account database. So if your system administrator forgets the password, or worse yet, leaves the company, you don’t have to be left out in the cold. 

With the Repair Disk you can:

•	inspect Registry files
•	restore user accounts
•	inspect the startup environment
•	verify Windows NT System files, and
•	inspect the boot sector in your failed system.

Anatomy of a Repair Disk
When you create a Repair Disk, it contains copies of the files found in the Winnt\Repair folder. Most of these files are compressed versions of files found in the Winnt\System32\Config folder. One of the most important of these is Setup.log.

When you install Windows NT, Setup builds this log file to store information about the files installed in the system. This file is updated every time you make changes, such as add a driver or CD-ROM drive. When you use the Repair Disk, Windows NT Setup uses the information in Setup.log to compare the files on the hard disk with the files on the Windows NT CD-ROM and replaces any damaged files. 

Other files in the Repair Disk include the software configuration, the systems setting, the security account manager (SAM), and the default user profile setting. Windows NT uses Autoexec.nt and Config.nt as default files to start a virtual DOS machine. All told, the Repair Disk for Windows NT contains the following files: 

•	Setup.Log
•	System._
•	Software._
•	Security
•	Sam._
•	Default._
•	Autoexec.nt
•	Ntuser.da_

Creating a Repair Disk
You can create a Repair Disk by typing rdisk in the Run dialog box or by double-clicking the executable Rdisk.exe, which is located in the Winnt\System32 folder. When you do, the system will display a dialog box with four options. Select the Create Repair Disk option, and the system will prompt you for a floppy disk. Insert the disk, and you’re on your way to creating the Repair Disk. It’s that easy.

Running Your Repair Disk
You’ll need to use the Repair Disk with the Windows NT CD-ROM and three floppy disks that are shipped with Windows NT. After booting with the first setup disk, insert the second disk as prompted. The setup program will then prompt you to insert the Repair Disk at the appropriate time.  For more on using the Repair Disk, consult the Windows NT Resource Kit, available at http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/des/1222.htm.
.
 1997. The COBB Group. All rights reserved.

4. On Your Desktop
Upgrading to Microsoft Windows 95

by Mary Stephenson, Industry Relations Manager, K-12 Education

Computers have revolutionized the way we work, the way we play, and now the way we learn. In a recent national poll, three-fourths of Americans said they believe computers have improved the quality of education.  According to the National Computing Survey, most parents, students and teachers agree that computers help children learn, spark creativity, and contribute to success in school and life.

Student access to desktop computers is increasing dramatically.  Just five years ago, one computer was available for every 20 students.  In the 1995-1996 school year, the computer-to-student ratio is down to nine students per computer, according to Quality Education Data (QED).  More than 98 percent of all public schools have computers, according to QED.  Once found only in computer labs and school media centers, PCs are migrating into classrooms, where students are learning with computers in all areas of curriculum and have access to technology throughout the day.

PCs have become integral to every aspect of education, including classroom instruction, administration, and library service. Increasingly, PCs provide entirely new ways to involve parents in their children’s education and to increase interaction between local schools, their communities, and the world.

With the MicrosoftWindows 95 operating system, using technology in education becomes even easier and more engaging.  Windows 95 offers flexible, easy-to-administer technology for schools and opens a new world of learning opportunities for today’s students.

Windows 95 Makes School Computing Easy

Windows 95 is easy to use:  Intuitive features help teachers, administrators, and students at all grade levels do more in less time.  The icons on the cleanly organized Windows 95 desktop clearly represent the main tools and programs teachers and students want to access quickly.  The Windows 95 user interface provides the one-click Start button, short cuts, long file names, an intelligent Help function, and more to help students and teachers get on the fast track for learning.  

“The Windows 95 interface is easy enough for our first graders, yet has enough features to engage and 
challenge our eighth-graders,” says Candy Towns, a teacher at the North Cow Creek School in Palo Cedro, 
California. 

With its 32-bit protect mode networking, simplified network installation, and compatibility with all major networks, Windows 95 is a reliable and power system that is easy for district and site technology coordinators to administer throughout their schools.   

Art Fortgang, physics teacher and technology coordinator at Millis High School in Millbrae, CA says that Windows 95 figures prominently in his plan to network his lab of PCs.  “Windows 95 will make it much easier to manage.”

Windows 95 works with the technology schools have today:  With a 386DX machine with 4MB (8MB recommended) of memory, Windows 95 is ready to go.  An overriding concern throughout the development of Windows 95 was compatibility with Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS-based applications that teachers and students are already using.  Most of the thousands of Windows- and MS-DOS-based applications currently available can be used, along with the new educational programs developed for Windows 95 that take full advantage of new features.  And Windows 95 provides a true open-systems solution for schools, offering network connectivity across platforms.

Windows 95 is easy to administer: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 85 percent of all school districts are networking computers in some way.  With the Plug and Play technology and systems policy administrator, setting up and administering these classroom systems and schoolwide networks will be easy and more secure. 

Wanda Jones, the information support services coordinator at the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education agrees that Windows 95 has made installing new hardware and applications easy.

Network managers can establish access parameters for individual students or entire classes from a central PC and avoid the time-consuming task of customizing each student’s PC. Students access can be limited to only their own folders to prevent them from accessing another student’s work.  And Windows 95 automatically detects and installs Plug and Play-compatible devices such as new printers and CD-ROM drives, allowing teachers and administrators to configure systems easily without being experts.   

“On our Windows 3.1 systems, I had to worry about IRQs and COM ports before I could install a modem,” says Towns.   “Windows 95 makes it so much easier with Plug and Play. All the settings are updated automatically!”

Windows 95 Creates a Rich Learning Environment

Windows 95 enhances students’ use of multimedia:  Schools now own more CD-ROMs than any other format, reports IDC/LINK, Framingham, Mass., and are important learning tools and information resources.  Sales of multimedia software to public schools have exceeded $115 million and will triple by 1998, according to SIMBA Information, Inc., Wilton, Conn.  With full-screen and full-motion video, dynamic animations and enhanced high-fidelity sound, the multimedia capabilities in Windows 95 engage students even more and spark their creativity and enthusiasm for learning.  Hundreds of multimedia titles are now AutoPlay-compatible.  Windows 95 automatically installs and starts playing an AutoPlay-compatible CD as soon as it is inserted into the driveeven the first time.  Because AutoPlay eliminates complicated setup, even the youngest student can run educational and reference titles with little or no supervision. 

Windows 95 encourages collaborative learning:  The unprecedented networking capabilities in Windows 95 promote collaboration among students and teachers.  Windows 95 works with all popular networks at the same time.  Teachers simultaneously can connect to networks using the Microsoft Windows NT operating system, Banyan, VINES, Novell Netware, TCP/IP (protocol for the Internet), and many more.  Third party products make network connectivity available for schools using both Windows 95 and Macintosh computers.

Windows 95 supports individualized learning:  Learning is becoming self-paced and curriculum more flexible to accommodate different learning styles and special needs.  With Windows 95, teachers can establish user profiles that customize the PC for individual students when they sign on.  

For example, one student might use Microsoft Word with large fonts and high contrast because of a vision impairment; during the next class, a student at the same computer can use standard fonts and Microsoft Works. 

“We’ve set up User Profiles on our systems so that students can configure their screen settings, colors and icons to their preferences,” says Candy Towns. “When you log in, your favorite settings are displayed.”

Other Windows 95 features that make computing accessible to all students include SoundSentry, which causes parts of the screen to flash when the built-in speaker plays a sound, and Filter Keys, which read multiple keystrokes as one.

Luanne LaLonde, Accessibility Product Manager for Microsoft  says “Young kids or students with visual 
or mobility impairments can really benefit from having larger title and scroll bars than normal.  It gives 
them a bigger target for their mouse movements.”  

Windows 95 helps connect schools to homes:  With the tremendous introduction of PCs into homes, computers are helping parents become more involved in their children’s education, a key criterion for success at school, according to the National Association of Elementary School Principals.  School districts are integrating home use of instructional software into school curriculum, and parents are linking to schools for on-line teacher conferences and progress reports.  With electronic mail, fax communications, and Internet access, Windows 95 makes it easy to link homes to schools, and students can use 
Windows 95 software both at home and at school to extend their learning.

Windows 95 extends the classroom to the world:  Learning has moved beyond classroom walls.  Students are exploring the wealth of information on the Internet, linking with students around the world and taking “virtual field trips” to the Smithsonian Institute, the North Pole and beyond.  For easy online access, Windows 95 now comes with the Microsoft Internet Explorer Starter Kit (available at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/iesk/) to get schools up and running on the Internet quickly and easily.  

Students can explore the World Wide Web using the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser or the built-in connectivity from leading online services such as the Microsoft Network. By creating short cuts on their desktop, students can quickly link to their favorite Web sites. Last but not least, the Content Advisor feature of Internet Explorer 3.0 allows administrators to easily restrict Internet access.

Windows 95 is Today’s Choice for Education

During the 1996-1997 school year, IDC/LINK reports that 56 percent of new computer purchases will be PCs running Windows, marking a distinct shift to the Windows platform in schools. Educators and parents are driving this move, believing it is essential for today’s children to learn on the computers and operating systems that will continue to be a part of their lives at home and in the workplace. With more than 1,500 Windows-based educational applications available, educators have a wealth of quality education products to choose from. 
 
With Windows 95, educators have the features, flexibility and ease-of-use they’ve asked for to make technology the backbone of their schools and to spark their students’ enthusiasm for learning.  

To find out more about Windows 95, visit us on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/windows. 

 1997. Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.

Tip: Upgrading to Windows 95

If you’re planning to upgrade your Windows 3.x system to MicrosoftWindows 95, follow these step to make the process go as smoothly as possible. 

1.	First, run an anti-virus program to ensure your system isn’t infected. If you’re using MS-DOS 6.x, you’ll find the Microsoft Anti-Virus utility (Msav.exe) in the DOS directory. If you’re using an earlier version of MS-DOS, you’ll have to use a third-party anti-virus program. Make sure you have the most current virus definition file for your anti-virus program. 

2.	Next, check your hard disk for errors. While Setup does this as part of the installation, you’ll save yourself time if you do it now. Under MS-DOS 6.x, you’ll find the ScanDisk utility (Scandisk.exe) in the DOS directory. If you’re using an earlier version of MS-DOS, you can use the Windows 95 version of ScanDisk, which you’ll find on floppy disk 1 or in the \Win95 folder on the CD. 

3.	Once you run ScanDisk, you should run your backup software and make a complete backup of all the drives in your system. Doing so ensures that you’ll be able to restore your system to its current state in case of an emergency. 

4.	The next thing you’ll want to do is create an emergency startup disk. To do so, format a floppy disk as a system disk. Then, copy to the disk your Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files and any drivers, such as CD-ROM drivers, that these files load. Next, edit the new Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files and alter the commands so that they load the drivers from the emergency disk. Finally, test the emergency disk to make sure it works. 

5.	Although Windows 95 does an excellent job of analyzing your PC, you’ll want to gather information about your system’s current configuration so you have it readily available should you need it. To do so, just run the Microsoft Diagnostics utility (Msd.exe), which you’ll find in the \Windows directory. Make sure you quit Windows and run the utility from the DOS command line after booting normally and logging on to the network, if you’re connected to one. Once you run MSD, from the File menu, select the Print Report option. 

6.	If your system is connected to a network, you’ll want a copy of the Windows network configuration. To begin, run the Windows Setup program in the Main group. Next, from the Options menu, select Change Network Settings. Double-click each setting in the Network Drivers list box, taking a screen shot of the resulting dialog box and then printing it. 

To take a screen shot of the dialog box, press [Alt][PrintScreen] to copy an image of the dialog box to the Clipboard. Next, open Paintbrush and paste the image in the window. Once the image appears in Paintbrush, print it.

These steps should make your upgrade to Windows 95 much smoother. 

 1997. The COBB Group. All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting: Windows 95

Q. I’m currently running Microsoft Windows 3.0 on my system. Will I have to install Windows 3.11 before I can upgrade to Windows 95?

A. No, you can upgrade directly from Windows 3.0 to Windows 95. However, you’ll need to run the Windows 95 Setup from a DOS prompt rather than from within Windows.

Q. Will my current Windows 3.x-based applications run under Windows 95?

A. Yes, most of your Windows 3.x applications will still run under Windows 95. Those applications that won’t run under Windows 95 are those that check for the Windows version number on startup and those that conform to the old Windows 2.0 standard. You’ll find detailed information about what applications work in Windows 95 in the Programs.txt file, which you’ll find in the Windows 95 folder on your hard disk.

Q. Will my current MS-DOS-based applications run under Windows 95?

A. Yes, most MS-DOS applications run right from within Windows 95. You simply double-click the application’s executable (EXE) file. If the program won’t under Windows 95, you can configure it to run in MS-DOS mode. You’ll find detailed information on how to do so in the Programs.txt file. 

Q. Will my Windows 3.x backup software work in Windows 95?

A. No, your Windows 3.x backup software will not properly back up  theWindows 95 long file names. Windows 95 includes backup software designed specifically for this operating system. However, since Setup doesn’t automatically install this software, you’ll need to do so yourself from the Add/Remove Programs utility in Control Panel.

Q. Since I don't have a sound card on my Windows 3.x system, I’m using the PC speaker driver to play WAV files through the tiny speaker in my system. Will I still be able to use the PC speaker driver in Windows 95?

A. Yes, you can use the PC speaker driver in Windows 95. You can find an article with detailed instructions on how to set up the PC speaker driver in Windows 95 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. You can access this article at http://www.microsoft.com/kb/articles/q138/8/57.htm.

Q. The Windows 95 new interface is nice, but is there any way to use Windows 3.x Program Manager and File Manager in Windows 95 instead? 

A. Yes, both Program Manager and File Manager are available in Windows 95. To use them, choose Run on the Start menu. When the Run dialog box appears, type progman.exe to launch Program Manager or winfile.exe to launch File Manager.

 1997. The COBB Group. All rights reserved.

5. Q&A

Q. How do I import my Netscape Address Book into Microsoft Internet Mail and News? 

From Steve Carr, Blackstock Junior High, Oxnard California.

A. Currently, Microsoft Internet Mail and News version 1.0 can import addresses from Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging, Microsoft Internet Mail and News for Windows 3.1, Eudora Light, and Netscape Mail. Future releases of Internet Mail and News are planned to have additional import and export capabilities.

First, you need to make sure that you have the updated Internet Mail and News version 1.0 (build 1160) for Windows 95 and Windows NT Server 4.0. This version supports importing from Eudora Light, Netscape Mail, and Microsoft Internet Mail and News for Windows 3.1. 

How do I tell what version of Microsoft Internet Mail I have?

To identify the version of Internet Mail and News that you are using, click About Internet Mail on the Help menu. The build number is listed in the About box. If the build number is 1155, you are using the original version. If the number is 1160, you are using the updated version that includes support for the new Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.  This is the version you want. 

To import addresses, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click Import, and then click Address Book.
2. Click the program from which you are importing, and then click Import.

This procedure imports addresses from your Personal Address Book (.pab) file. Note that fax addresses are not imported because there is no fax capability in Internet Mail and News. The Import command uses the default user profile in selecting the personal address book file from which to import.

Q. Here is a question from kids today. They don’t fully understand the difference between Front Page Explorer and Front Page Editor. I haven’t had  time to learn Front Page yet myself.
 
From Paula Yohe, Library Media Specialist at J.V. Martin High School in Dillon, South Carolina, who is helping three ninth-grade volunteers use Microsfot FrontPage to create a Web site.

A. The main difference is that you use the FrontPage Explorer to manage your Web site and the Editor to author your Web pages. I would guess that your students would mainly be interested in the Editor and that you will want to steer them away from the Explorer. You will want to use the Explorer yourself to set up and manage the Web site.  It helps control the hierarchy of Web pages and allows you to fix broken links and so forth.  If this is something you also want the students to know how to do then go ahead and show them.

By the way, once you install them on your server you can use the Front Page Server Extensions to restrict access to either tool.  If you wanted to only give your students permission to use the Editor because you didn’t want them disturbing the arrangement of the whole Web site, you could set it up that way.

For information on installing FrontPage Server extensions, visit Web66 at http://web66.umn.edu/WinNT/CookBook/FrontPage/Extensions/Default.html

Q. Please tell me how to reset the password for the Content Advisor in Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0. I deleted the ratings.pol file and then it asks for the supervisor password, which I no longer remember.

From Andrew Hollywood

A. You need to create a new Ratings.pol file and also delete a value from the registry. 

To create a new Ratings.pol file: 
1.	Close Internet Explorer. 
2.	If a Ratings.pol file exists in the Windows\System folder, rename it to Ratings.old. 
3.	Click Start, then Run. Type regedit
4.	Click KEY_LOCAL_MACHINES\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ratings and delete the key value.
5.	Restart Windows.
6.	Start Internet Explorer, and then on the View menu, click Options. 
7.	Click the Security tab, and then click Settings in the Content Advisor area. 
8.	Type a new Supervisor password, and then click OK. 
9.	Select the Ratings options you want, and then click OK. 
10.	 Cick “Enable Ratings” in the Content Advisor area.

 1997. Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.

6. Classroom Corner
Butterfly Migration Research

by Amy Logsdon

Naomi Brown’s seventh-grade science class is an exciting place to beher students use the Internet to help scientists track the migration of Monarch butterflies.  The First Colony Middle School class, located in Sugar Land, Texas, is on the cutting edge of integrating the Internet into curriculum. Brown, recipient of the 1996 Technology Teacher of the Year Award sponsored by Microsoft Corporation and Technology in Learning Magazine, finds that her students get really excited about participating in real-world science research.

“The Internet allows the students to communicate in real-time with others around the country. It is a novelty to the kids. It’s fun. It takes kids beyond the classroom and into real world science research,” said Brown.

About 70 million Monarch butterflies migrate from Canada through the Central U.S. to Mexico each fall and stop in Sugar Land because milkweed grows there, the plant on which they lay their eggs. Through a tagging program, researchers have learned that the monarchs spend the winter hibernating in an ecologically threatened part of Mexico, north of Mexico City. 

The students track Monarchs in their milkweed garden on the school grounds, then use e-mail and newsgroups to communicate with others tracking the migration. The effort, called Monarch Watch, is led by the University of Kansas. 

The Monarchs come back through this suburb of Houston, Texas  in March and lay eggs on the milkweed and the adults die. The eggs hatch and the larvae, or caterpillars, grow by eating the milkweed. Over a period of a few weeks, the caterpillars grow exponentially, or metamorphose. When they emerge from their chrysalis, the butterflies migrate north to Kansas and Nebraska. These offspring lay eggs and die, and the next generation completes the trip north to Minnesota and Canada. The cycle begins again in the fall with the migration south to Mexico for the winter.

How did the monarch butterfly tracking project get started? Ms. Brown says she stumbled across a Web site called Journey North. This Web site held contests for spotting various wildlife. One of the contests was for who could spot the Monarchs on their migration path. Ms. Brown’s kids saw Monarchs and e-mailed the site. They won the contest, and the popular curriculum had its start.

Ms. Brown feels very fortunate to have three computers in her classroom, two of which she was awarded for winning Technology Teacher of the Year. She also won software, including Works, and reference software such as Microsoft Bookshelf and Encarta, which her students use to research Monarch butterflies. Using FrontPage, the students create their own Web pages. 

The butterfly tracking curriculum consists of two components: a hands-on lab, where students study the metamorphosis of insects, keep journals, and enter their information into spreadsheets and graphs, and a technology component, where students learn how to do research on the Internet. Ms. Brown teaches the students that it’s important to verify information they find on the Internet because as an open forum, anyone can publish anything they like. 

Ms. Brown writes and maintains her school’s home page at http://chico.rice.edu/armadillo/Ftbend. Visit this page to find information on the butterfly tracking project, as well as other projects taking place at First Colony Middle School.

Amy Logsdon works as a technical editor in the Internet Services Business Unit at Microsoft and also copyedits this newsletter.

 1997. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.