Error message

  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementBase::execute($args = [], $options = []) should either be compatible with PDOStatement::execute(?array $params = null): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2244 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::current() should either be compatible with Iterator::current(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::next() should either be compatible with Iterator::next(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::key() should either be compatible with Iterator::key(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::valid() should either be compatible with Iterator::valid(): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::rewind() should either be compatible with Iterator::rewind(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).

Software wizards [2014-07-22]

Neal has been working hard recently on a new capability for the school IT labs, a video streaming program.  A teacher can set up a video on one computer, and it will be displayed on all of the monitors in the lab for students to view simultaneously.  The teacher can pause the video at any time to interject comments or engage in discussion.  With the wonderful Khan Academy collection of videos (www.khanacademy.org), teachers in many different subject areas can now provide new, rich resources to their students.  The Reneal IEO server has thousands of videos stored locally, so even schools without internet can have this capability!

Neal is not content to have a patchwork code to do this, so he has been refining the software to make the video streamer user-friendly and error resistant for both teacher and students.  He was excited this last Sunday night to have a long chat session with our intern Jade to test out the video streamer in the IT lab at Compostela National High School.  This testing is the first step in getting the capability rolled out to the other schools soon, so it was an exciting event.  Neal is able to log in remotely to the server at Compostela and even log into the client computers in the lab, which greatly facilitates lab support and development.

Jade is teaching a networking class at Cebu Technological University this semester, has a paid position at Compostela National High School, and still serves as the Reneal IEO intern.  To say that he is busy is an understatement, but he multi-tasks very well and keeps all of his customers happy!

All went well initially in the testing Sunday night, but for some reason the audio wasn’t working.  The two software wizards slogged on, found and fixed the audio problem, and eventually the video streamer was working perfectly.  Neal has a bit more work to do, but it’s almost ready for “prime time”.  As always, we are so thankful for our team in the Philippines and it’s for good reason that Jade is called “Sir Neal Junior” sometimes! 

Now Reneal IEO has one more helpful capability to share with schools in developing countries, where teaching resources are so limited.  Videos downloaded from the internet can truly enrich classes in all subject areas!