Transcript Dynamic Landscape 05 - Techmaster Training and Consulting

FINALLY, A First Class, A-1 Solution
A tour of how a project called the Virtual School
Network has helped bring technology off the shelf
and move it forward in the district.
Neil Manders,
Technology Coordinator
Windham Central Supervisory Union
Quick Overview of District
April, 2004
 The district:
– 10 schools: 2 admin offices; Covering 365 sq.
Miles
– Most schools single grade or grade clusters
– Student population approx 1100
– Teaching, support staff and admin approx 225
 The technology:
NES
BES
Verizon’s
Frame Cloud
TES
JES
Sover Net
WIN ES
ISP
Ward ES
DES
MES
WCSU
WCSU Technology
High school centric
LGUHS
Modem Bank
Pop Mail accounts
Apache Server
The Technology (Continued)
 Lack of technology staff to provide local
assistance and motivation
 No centralization all under local control
 Varied use of technology from school to school
 A few individual initiatives but no broad
initiatives
What Were the Issues
 Tech-lethargy
– No district-wide initiatives
– Lack of local support
– Other interests on plates
– Technology thought of as add-on
 Need for collaboration across the district (teachers,
administrators & students)
 Very limited Dollars for Technology
– Small schools; small dollars
Sover Net
So. Vt. Cable
Newfane
ISP
Jamaica
Harmonyville office
Central Office
Wardsboro
Verizon Frame
Cloud
Windham
SDSL
Brookline
Duncan Cable
Townshend
LGUHS
Marlboro
Dover
The Match that Ignited Change
More Matches
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NCLB awareness and requirements
Technology GLEs
Reduction of District Technology Position
Desire to get more out of the districts investment
in FirstClass
– SVTC First Class Project
– Admin Use of First Class out of the box
 The Superintendent
 Is that all there is?
The Two Yarmouths
Yarmouth School District
Yarmouth Maine
Dennis-Yarmouth
District
Cape Cod, Mass.
What Did We Want
 Increase the use of technology in the schools
 Keep system costs ALAP (as low as possible)
 Use the limited tech coordinator time to supporting teaching and
learning not infrastructure
 Get/nudge/pressure local involvement
 Maintain some school identity but create district unity
 Small learning curve in order to get up and running
 Flexible system to grow with use and need
 Cross Platform use
 New and useable web sites for all schools
– Easy publishing of school information
– Non-techie management and content loading
– Lots of people able to contribute directly
– all sites reach out and include their respective communities
– All teachers to have easy web publishing for their classes
What Did We Get
 Professional accounts for all teachers and staff
 Heightened awareness and participation by
school personnel
 Workshops, discussions, and trainings at all
schools
 School board attention, training and involvement
 AND
Intranet/In-house communications
Customized User Desktops
Internet/ Web Communications
School Web Pages
Brookline elementary
Dover Elementary
Jamaica elementary
Marlboro elementary
Wardsboro elementary
Newfane elementary
Windham elementary
Leland and Gray HS
Lets take a First Hand Look
What next
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Increase participants involved with sites
Build up all school sites with CONTENT
Work with teachers
Create new templates
Expand use of forms, form tracking and paper
reduction
 Create on-line learning environments for PD and
student use
 Integrate local SIS actively into the system
Cost
 Design and Set up fee
 Hosting fee
– Example (a): 1 district + 1 HS + 7 elem
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Design/setup = $9300
Hosting = $5000
Year one = $14,300
Year two + = $5000
– Example (b): 1 elem. school with VSN Lite
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(web site only)
Design/setup = $400
Hosting = $400
Year one = $ 800; Yr. 2 = $400