Saturday, April 16, 2011

Annual Public Technology Presentation April 28th

Here is an advanced peek at the presentation outline.

District Technology Goal
2010-2013 Technology Plan completed
A success story from each school
Village parent/student website, Google Docs, Guest Wireless Network,
World Language Lab, student response systems, etc.
Advances in Assistive Technology (sound field systems to touch screens)
PowerSchool Parent Portal, eAlert, AlertNow and the district website
Position on Social Networking & Web 2.0
Student to computer ratio
2011 hardware/software deployment plans
- 150 desktop and 26 notebook computers district wide
- 114 thin client devices at Satz and Indian Hill
New Satz computer lab project driven by changing curriculum and access needs
Tech-related Professional Development model and activities
Cost savings and energy savings
Forward looking challenges and some possible solutions
Conclusion-Q&A
Every two years the district participates in a capital lease-purchase program in order to finance capital items such as computers.

The tentative purchasing breakdown contingent upon budget approval for 2011/2012 is as follows:

136 Desktop Computers, 114 thin client computers, 26 Notebook computers, 3 Tablet PCs, 22 LCD Projectors, 5 servers, WiFi controller and wireless access points, a new core data switch and several PoE edge switches, Internet, virus and mail filtering hardware, expanded security access control as well as camera surveillance and finally 11-26 classroom sound field systems.

The 114 new thin client computers replace painfully slow computers that were purchased in 2003. The new thin client computers consume only 5 watts of power compared with 200+ watts and are 50% less expensive to purchase.

This summer we will create two new computer labs. The first lab will be a new 27 station graphic arts lab at the high school loaded with the latest Adobe Creative Design Suite software,

The TV production studio will also replace two aged video editing workstations and receive a software update as well.

The second computer lab is a new 30 station lab at William R. Satz School constructed to satisfy an increasing number computer access requests and the needs of a new technology education curriculum.

Many new online resources have been made available over the last several years including subscriptions to BrainPop, First in Math, Study Island and Discovery Education's United Streaming. Some teachers have leveraged the power of web-based applications to take their classes virtually paperless and have their student collaborate electronically in real-time.

Learnia is an online resource and a formative assessment tool that was implemented several years ago as part of a 50-district pilot program and is used in grades 3-8. Learnia results can provide early guidance to teachers and administration on areas that deserve added attention and holds the potential for improved NJ ASK results.