OPS235 Short-Term

1. Linux Commands. Try to bridge the gap of Linux commands throughout the OPS235 / OPS335 / OPS435 / OPS535 stream. Recommended for Winter 2015 semester to allow students to add previous reference sheets and/or lab log-books to existing material.
   (For example, allow ULI101 reference sheet to be added to OPS235 lab logbook, OPS335 contains OPS235 lab logbook notes plus ULI101 reference sheet, etc). Would it be worthwhile to print empty ULI101 reference sheet with already created section headers so they can place commands in required area (students associate the type of tool to refer to get the job done). Action taken: Murray Saul notified Mark Fernandes of idea, Mark had a discussion with some of ULI101 faculty. The decision to not have reference sheets for ULI101 course was due to prevention of students cheating if answers to final exam obtained. Suggestion was made that a template Linux command reference sheet will be made to help students study prior to ULI101 final exam, and this standardized sheet can be added to the OPS235 lab log-book. Any prospects of a carry-over sheet from ULI101 aside, it may be of use to start the semester off with a brief quiz on commonly used commands from ULI101 that get used in OPS235 (ex. cp, mv, pwd, ls, cd etc.) I have found that students often struggle with the basics at the beginning of the semester. Perhaps we could integrate these basics with some basic bash scripting quiz questions, things that might help with the first few labs. This could go hand in hand with Murray's long-term suggestion of integrating some bash scripting into the first lab.
   
   
2. YUM Command for Local Installs. The rpm command in lab3 relating to local installs appears to be deprecated (favoring yum local install). OPS235 team to meet to discuss implementation (Status: WIP).
   
   
3. Online Collaboration (OPS235 Instructor Resource). There is a considerable amount of work to do to ensure items are updated for OPS235 prior to semester startup. I think it would be a good idea to have a check-list for all items such as: Covering off with OPS335 for version of CENTOS to use, update lab-book semester info, update instructors and photos, testing and update links for media install, update weekly dates for notes, update professor names and sections in both main WIKI and Weekly Schedule, submit Weekly schedule to Dianna, etc.
   
   
   • OPS235 Instructor's Guide: [ OPS235 Instructor's Guide ] (Currently Under Development)
   • Sample OPS235 Semester Startup Checklist using GoogleDocs Forms: [ OPS235 Semester Startup Checklist ]
   • View Status of OPS235 Semester Startup Checklist: [ OPS235 Semester Startup Status ]
   
   
   
4. AODA Accomodation.
   
   Issue #1:
   
   It is recommended to make available for each lab or classroom a method to safely keep a door open while class is in session without propping the door open with a chair - If door is not opened, door is locked which can be a distraction for professors when delivering course material. It has been noted there is no consistency in the TEL building wrt many of the labs: Some have door stops, many do not. If door stops are not somehow attached to lab, they go missing or are used for other labs. If door is opened with propping chair, can be unsafe for students with special needs (for example blind students) and problems in the event of an emergency (for example: fire). Also, it has been noted challenges in providing Linux drivers to communicate with devices for individuals with special needs. These issues when solved should be shared in a central repository with support and suggestions to allow better access through a student's duration and with different instructors, staff.
   
   
5. New Machine Issues (UEFI). The new machines in T3074, T4044, and T4048 among others are causing issues with certain hard drives where the system wants an EFI boot partition. I have already contacted ITS about having this disabled but if this issue is not finalized soon (who knows how fast ITS will work on this) we should ensure that by the start of next semester UEFI is disabled in the machines to make sure students can get their OS installed without any problems. As a side note, I have found that booting from a Live CD and wiping the hard drive and placing an ext4 FS on it has worked in some scenarios, but not all.
   
   
6. Lab 2 Chart in Lab Logbook. Create an empty chart in lab2 logbook, so students can simply fill in the chart.
   
   
7. Virtual Machine Package Installation. The installation process for the KVM/QEMU packages should be clarified to include instructions on when to use groupinstall and when to use install. Also, I have noticed in past semesters as well as the current one that KVM/QEMU will randomly go missing, causing issues with VM installation as well as VM networking. Uninstalling and then reinstalling the virtualization packages has often solved the problem, though not 100% of the time. We should look into this problem and maybe redo the VM package installation section altogether.
   
   

Additional Resources / Navigation

• OPS235 - Curriculum Discussion
• OPS Stream Discussion
• CNS / CTY Curriculum Development