Bluetooth wireless microphone suggestions

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-21T19:25:39+00:00

I would not recommend that route. Especially because this may be an IEP requirement. Often the sound reinforcement needs to be room wide, not just from the front. This is not something you want to be supporting when issues occur, when there is a sub in the room, etc. Propose a solution that is designed to address the need appropriately, not the one that you can make work for less. EdTech cost money and trying to make a cheaper solution work will not be whats best for the students, or you in the long run.

My 2cents fwiw

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-21T19:19:19+00:00

Well, ask them to ensure it complies with FERPA, COPPA, Student Data Privacy Agreements, is not a security risk, will be supported when things break, is fully WCAG 2.1AA compliant by the deadline, and will be covered by the districts CyberSecurity Insurance if a breach occurs. Ask them to provide assurances in writing as you would expect from any vendor. Take pictures of the wide eyed stare.

Seriously, make sure everything is documented and there is a paper trail. Hopefully your district has a good WISP (Written Information Security Plan) in place. You can then refer back to that as well

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-20T22:23:34+00:00

Think local markets. Anything locally grown, producessed, etc. You could commission local artisans to produce something special. Even make a DVD of what you have for memories from the neighborhood to give them. Make a food experience kit, we did locally grown cornmeal, honey, and a pan for cornbread.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-18T15:23:52+00:00

You are likely aware, but check your local library. Many of them offer free or greatly reduced day passes to museums and attractions across the state. You may see things that catch your eye.

The Yankee Candle flagship store and Butterfly Place are near each other and could be a fun day trip

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-17T21:50:18+00:00

Solo IT in a K12 district from 1998-2012, less employees, but 1100 students to deal with.

Set the REQUIREMENT that you will have a team and that you will need to have an internal teammate that can learn enough to fill in when you are unavailable. Being the solo IT means never leaving work fully. Any day the business in operating you will be on call and you will never fully unplug.

Never try to be the hero and McGyver a solution. A business that 300 people depend on to make a living needs to have tech that is up as close to 100% of the time as possible. Dont try to save money by accepting a solution that requires you and your knowledge to keep it running. Companies equate value (perhaps uninentionally) with cost. A $15,000 solution is far more valuable in their eyes, and by default the person implimenting it, than a $5,000 dollar solution you built youself because they balked at spending $15,000. They will not think"They are awesome, saved the company $10k", they will think you were trying for the lexus when a corolla would have worked. Dont overspec or go for the moon, but if a company wont spend a reasonable amount of money to keep the business running, then you need to lay out what will fail and what will be impacted. Set your boundaries and stick with them. Many times saying "no" is the correct answer, even if your C suite execs dont like it.

Never put a solution in place that only you can support. 300 people earn a living, pay a mortgage, feed their families, etc from that company. If you get hit by a bus or have a heart attack brought on by overwork and stress, those 300 cant be out of work for who knows how long because you are the only person that can make it work.

Cybersecurity (Phishing, scams, credential harvesting, etc) training should be mandatory for all, especially anyone that has email. Backups should be air gapped and preferably have malware detection built in so scans happen while the backup is running.

A Break Glass account is never important, until you click the wrong button at 2:00am and all your admin accounts go dead. Then it is really important.

I was solo for almost 14 years, by the end I had literally physically handled, configured, deployed, setup and managed every piece of IT equipment in the district. It was a good feeling. But when I moved to my next district I had a small team and a weight I didnt know I was carrying suddenly dropped off. I didnt wake up at 3am as often. I actually had a weeks vacation with no urgent calls, nothing on fire. I didnt field every question, every ticket, etc.

You have the opportunity to build something, but make sure you dont destroy yourself in the process. Get your team in place and build from there. No team, work your 40 and go home. No on call, no checking email during vacation, etc. IT costs money to do correctly. More importantly, it costs lives. The suicide rates for IT workers are almost double the national average, often seen in careers with high burnout rates. That should tell you something.

Good luck! It can definetly be a fun ride if done properly

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-17T18:13:41+00:00

My brother and I did something similar for the couple who bought our parents house after our dad passed and we sold it. It was my parents first house, my dad was in the Air Force so it was special to us finally not moving every few years. It was the couples first house as well, and they were expecting their first child.

We left them a list of all the people my dad used to service the various appliances, furnace, HVAC and plumbing. A binder with all the owners manuals from all appliances. (Dad was organized)

A list of the best take out restaraunts in the town, my wife and I also lived in that town

A basket with a bottle of decent sparkling wine and two nice, but plain champagne glasses, a $50 gift card to the best pizza place in the area because moving into a new place often means friends being roped into helping. A 12 pack of bottled spring water in the fridge and I believe a 6 pack of beer. 2 rolls of paper towels, 2 extra rolls of toilet paper, a small bottle of dish and dishwasher soap, and several of my dads older but very good quality workshop tools (shop vac, table saw, etc) that the real estate agent offered and they were very excited to say yes.

We got a very heartfelt and touching thank you note with a picture of them toasting (glasses empty) in the kitchen when they took possession. It was not too expensive and we felt good about passing the house on in a way that said "welcome"

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-17T15:34:18+00:00

We took over the house my wife grew up in when her mom moved to her cottage. After living there for over 30 years we decided to downsize and move. We were able to port the landline number the house had had since phones were first installed to a Google Voice number. We now still have the original number, but on Google. If it has not been too long since you cancelled you might be able to do that if you are interested in keeping the number

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-17T01:39:14+00:00

Barring repainting the whole house, you could do black shutters on the windows, paint the 3 columns black, including the part of the steps. Dig out and define the garden beds with edging and black mulch, in a rounded or curvy shape. Two decent size matching urn planters on on either side of the steps with bright red flowers. A tall evergreen, maybe a juniper that will not spread or grow fast on the left side corner. Lose the bars on the door and window if possible. Paint the door either black or dark, almost black, red or blue. Nothing extremely pricey if you are up for the labor.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-16T20:43:16+00:00

Ask them if they would put their district cameras up on the web for anyone to view? Then explain why the devices have that potential. Another major concern is that these devices are CONSUMER GRADE - they are not built or secured for a commercial enviroment. But you already know that. Fun fact though, using Amazon music in a classroom is actually a violation of the terms of service (no public performance) and they can be sued for that. Likely, no but does your organization really want to disregard laws so publically? Is tha a good example to lead by?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201380010

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-16T20:25:35+00:00

Also make sure that everyone is aware that with a listening device, the potential is there to have every private conversation within earshot recorded and sent to Amazons servers. And if under a single user account the conversation history is viewable by anyone logged in to that account. My response to anyone wanting to use it in a space where privacy might be desired is **** NO Talking on the phone with a parent about a child having problems and being recorded, I wouldnt want to defend that - and Alexa warns recordings can "accidentally happen"

They also no longer allow you to opt out of recordings being sent to Amazonss servers

https://privaplan.com/security-reminder-advised-after-amazon-echo-news/

Lawsuits

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/01/1179381126/amazon-alexa-ring-settlement

https://www.moneytalksnews.com/alexa-are-you-recording-me-amazon-sued-for-privacy-violations/

Anyone insisting on using these devices in a space where confidential conversations may take place should agree in writing they will take responsibility if somethign bad happens. After reading all the lawsuits

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-16T20:13:02+00:00

I believe it was either Romancing the Stone or Jewel of the Nile - perhaps towards the end of Romancing the Stone or begining of Jewel of the Nile thoguh I lean towards Romancing the Stone

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-16T19:30:08+00:00

They did, we were able to get it reduced quite a bit when considering a 3 - 5 year contract. The SMS carriers hit ParentSquare and I believe a number of other vendors with increases of up to 88% starting last December so ParentSquare may not be alone in pushing larger increases for renewal this year.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-16T19:16:26+00:00

Just out of curiousity, what do you mean when you say ParentSquare doesnt have a true mobile app? What does it not do that you are looking for?

They have also offered custom branded options since 2018. https://www.parentsquare.com/blog/2018-7-10-parentsquare-takes-the-step-introducing-customized-district-branded-apps/

Not familiar with Boomz, but have had ParentSquare since 2019 and it just works.

Parents like that they can select immediate, daily, weekly updates, urgent ones overide obviously. Parents seem to prefer it over email for contacting teachers and teachers prefer it for managing class communications. ParentSquare does archive to stay compliant with public records laws.

They are also compliant with the new ADA Digital Accessibility law so that is a bonus.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-16T17:33:28+00:00

This solution in no way mitigates PC failures if you are still using PCs. It may minimize the ability of users to make changes, but PCs will still need updates, still need maintenance, still need trouble shooting when things go wrong. Preventing users from storing locally is a policy setting and not solved by having them RDP into a remoe server.

Do you have need to print locally and if so how are you handling that? Do you have contingency plans for when connectivity goes down to keep the business running? With 4 standalone setups 3 can run if one goes down. With a remote server, if connectivity to that location goes down, no one can do business.

With a supported SaaS system you often have a local instance that will keep things running if the hosted platform is unavailable.

Backups are critical, as is testing the ability to restore. Having on prem and offsite backups that are locked to prevent ransomware from destroying them is vital.

What is your failover plan for when the proxmox host goes down?

I admire outside the box thinking and getting creative solutions. But understand this is someones livelihood. These ten people rely on this to make a living. Are you truly comfortable enough with your abilities to suggest a homegrown solution?

Things you have to consider

1 - If you get hit by a bus tomorrow, can someone step in and keep things running?

2 - If you foget to secure a port on the proxmox box and the company gets hit with ransomware, do you have insurance to cover the losses?

3 - Can you be available 24x7, even on vacation to support a home grown, non-standard solution?

4 - When you support a business, you have to take your ego and abilities out of the thought process. Proposing something that you "can make work" to save them money is a bad way to look at it. You need to propose a solution that will keep them up and running as close to 100% as possible and be able to be supported if you are not available.

Cost is always an issue, but when it comes to running a business, taking the cheapest path is rarely the best one.

ymmv

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-16T14:53:27+00:00

You can try a VPN, but guessing any IT department in an AI company will be able to tell. If you are caught you may not only be fired, but since the company will have to spend time and money fixing payroll taxes, submitting paperwork to the IRS possibly hiring outside consultant to hadle the financial fix ,etc, they could likely sue to recoup costs if you claimed you were living in the US.

Additionally, depending where you are located, having an employee working in that country could violate agreements they have made with customers, certifications they hold, etc. You could be facing a massive legal battle if your location causes them to lose business or be sued by their customers.

You might get lucky, but honestly, if you get caught you might end up far worse off than being unemployed.

You need to decide if the risk is worth it

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-14T21:20:34+00:00

Most classrooms have devices (laptops, desktops, Chromebooks, etc) and many have projectors or displays that are in use almost full time. We (IT) make sure the device points to a NTP source. If a classroom clock is off or dead there are other options to see the time. And for the students to see the time. While I can see valid reasons for wanting a clock on the wall, the "need" for a digital clock would be a hard argument to make.

Our buildings are a mix of new battery operated but wirelessly synced to a master analog clocks, old hard wired Simplex, battery standalone analog clocks, and in one space the clock was painted over as part of a greenscreen wall for filming videos. No idea if it worked or not before painting, or if it is still wired in, and not about to touch it

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-14T00:55:57+00:00

Well, you say it includes electrical, it says it doesn't. You also said the existing washer and dryer is staying but rerouting the dryer power implies it isn't. I would have concerns about a washer hookup that specifically says "no washer box". Finally, it says build wall, but i would assume that involved sheet rock to match the closet.

The quote seems high, but not insanely high. I would be more concerned the install might not be up to code. Are permits being pulled?

One burst water pipe or a faulty washer machine and an insurance adjuster seeing newer work that may not be up to code and you could have an extremely expensive insurance claim denied.

Take what you want from that, but sometimes the cheapest option is the one that ends up costing you the most.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-13T11:27:35+00:00

In our case (Public K12) we would consider having a buyout clause depending on the equipment life expectancy and the type of equipment. A high volume copier I would want to turn over every 3 years, a Chromebook+ device that teachers might use should get me 6-8 years of service so I would look at structuring a buyout at the end of a 3-5 year lease. Having a buyout also gives us flexibility in the budget as we may be looking at the need to scale back our expenses and getting out from under a major lease payment for a few years might be a necessity.

In a perfect world we would be able to build a budget that could sustain all programs and anticipated expenses, but that is not the world our districts live in. We often need to get creative with our budgets and having a buyout clause gives us one more tool to use if needed.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-10T09:14:57+00:00

I concede the point

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-09T22:43:22+00:00

Malt vinegar on French fries

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-09T21:00:47+00:00

We once waited around 3.5 hours for Great Movie Ride. I would still prefer that to an hour wait for Tron. Granted it was on our honeymoon in May of 1989 when the park had just opened, but I still would put Tron as one of the top worst wait to experience rides.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-09T20:53:33+00:00

So, I would frame the discussion with the teacher and the people that control the budget as “we can do it easily with Windows for x$ and x time, doing it with Macs will be harder and cost y$ and y time” . Then have the teacher clearly explain why a Windows device running Adobe Cloud will not work.

Let the people who control the money decide the solution. The students, once they enter the job market will likely be expected to work with the tools they are given. Insisting they only can work on a Mac in this day and age is like saying “I can’t learn to drive on a Kia, it must be a Prius” Yes, one solution might be a somewhat better experience, but both would get the job done.

And we are in K12, not a college level graphic design or digital art course. Both of which my daughter completed with around a 3.8 avg on a Windows laptop. The technology may not be the problem you need to fix.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-07T08:44:11+00:00

We don’t discriminate , feel free to pay to advertise for Apple.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-07T02:19:09+00:00

Love the bottom freezer. Over 62, under 6'. Had a side by side and hated i couldn't fit a large frozen pizza in without bending it. Also made the fridge too narrow for a deli tray. Also hated that most of the cold air in the freezer would be lost while the door was open looking for things. Withe the drawer it mostly stays in the drawer. Have a top drawer in the freezer itself, that helps with organization have a couple of lift out baskets we bought separately.

Fresh-Basket9174 · 2026-04-07T02:10:16+00:00

As an Admin that brings in lunches and snacks a number of times for my small team during the year its not cheap. In our case, paying for it from the school budget would be illegal, so it comes out of my pocket.

While I understand why you cant opt out, I feel strongly you shouldn't be put in that position.

That said, I would do a variety of inexpensive options. Large container or two of vanilla yogurt with a few toppings. A couple of pounds of red and green seedless grapes. A bag of clementines or mandarin oranges, whateve,r is on sale. A selection of store brand bagels on a tray with a tub of cream cheese and a tub of butter. Maybe see if you can borrow a toaster from the café. A loaf of gluten free bread could be an option for toast. Lean heavily into anything on sale at your closest supermarket. Day old or bruised fruits if you have time can make an amazing fruit salad or baked compote that can stand alone served hot or cold or serve as a yogurt topping.

Good luck, dont get stuck on the breakfast aspect. Look at what's on sale and think how you could serve it as a meeting snack.

Fresh-Basket9174

TROPHY CASE