Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School. Lincoln Sudbury School District. Grades Technology Plan

Transcription

1 Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School Lincoln Sudbury School District Grades 9-12 Technology Plan L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 1 (revised )

2 TOPICS COVERED A. Introduction B. Goals C. Leaders in Instructional Technology D. Budget E. Evaluation F. Technology Integration G. Technology Professional Development H. Student Computer Literacy I. Accessibility of Technology J. Administrative Uses K. Infrastructure for Connectivity L. Access to the Internet outside the School Day M. Summary L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 2 (revised )

3 A. Introduction Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School is a one-school district enrolling students in grades nine through twelve. Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School was built in The building project allowed the school to purchase a vast amount of computer equipment. Currently we have 600 computers (including laptops) and 200 printers serving 1640 students and 240 staff members. Staff members and students are allowed to bring their own devices. Thirty ipad tablets used by teachers and administrators and a dozen school-owned ipads are used by students in classroom or special education settings.. There are desktop computers in a laboratory setting in most departments along with three teaching computer labs dedicated to scheduled courses, which rely upon the computers for each class. The computers used in courses are two to three years old. Most of the staff laptops are now 5-7 years old and are in need of a refresh. The Educational Technology Coordinator serves as both the coordinator and Instructional Technology Specialist. Additionally, one network administrator and one computer technician serve the entire school community. The 0.25 FTE database manager is also a 0.75 FTE mathematics teacher. There has been little time or money allocated for proper training on new technology-related initiatives. The students must fulfill a 2 credit course for a computer technology graduation requirement, so that they are prepared for the world beyond high school. The biggest shift in the last three years has been the explosion of personal devices draining the resources of the network infrastructure. Recently the town approved funding to replace the aging network infrastructure and create a robust wireless network. This improvement creates the proper environment to support meaningful education for today s standards. The next steps in this initiative include the ability to provide services which foster communication and collaboration and the professional development and training to utilize new digital tools in the curriculum. B. Goals Communication is an important goal both within the building and the community at large. The current web site is managed by a club called the L-S Web Team, comprised of students and two staff advisors. The school website has transitioned from using Dreamweaver to WordPress. Regardless of the platform used for the creation of web pages, the on-going struggle continues to be providing timely, accurate and relevant content on the site. The student web team members will help train any interested staff members in hopes that more content will be available on the site. The teachers contribute to the web site by adding class pages, but are not required to do so. Other goals include: Add a dditional computer technology staff Coordinate professional development especially the use of on-line tools Explore the use of tablets and other computing devices in the classroom Explore E-learning opportunities for students Promote a better understanding of ethical computer use for students and adults L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 3 (revised )

4 The obstacle to these goals is the insufficient funding on both the state and local level. Lincoln-Sudbury will have to prioritize what can be accomplished with diminishing resources. C. Leaders in Instructional Technology Many educators at Lincoln-Sudbury are interested in and excited about the possibilities computers and the use of digital tools offer for classroom instruction. A wide variety of staff members have been leaders in instructional technology. This representative group has worked to establish a model for students to become computer technology proficient. The committee is also interested in providing professional development for their colleagues. Many of the group participants supply computer technology support for their department in a stipend position called a labervisor. There is still a need for additional staffing in the computer technology department to keep up with hardware, software and instructional issues. Computer Technology Leaders Jim Berry Instructional Technology Specialist, Computer & Math Teacher Virginia Blake Curriculum Coordinator Maureen Bolton - Science Teacher, Labervisor Donna Cakert - Registrar Patrick Collins- Finance Director Nicole Digenis - Science Department Coordinator Jennifer Dubois - Math Teacher, Labervisor Nancy Errico-Educational Technology Coordinator/Instructional Technology Specialist Katie Garland - English Teacher, Labervisor David Grace - History Teacher, Labervisor Conor Hanover - History Teacher, Labervisor Shoshi Kahn-Woods - Special Educator, Labervisor Dan Lewis - English Teacher, Labervisor Mike Malone Computer & Math Teacher Paula Myers - Librarian Timothy Nikula - History Teacher, Labervisor Jason Medeiros - Housemaster Carol Padden - FATA Teacher, Labervisor Dennis Phillips - Computer Technician Paul Sarapas - Fine and Applied Technical Arts Coordinator Kim Schultz-Language Teacher, Labervisor Paul Shultz Applied Technology Teacher, Labervisor Mark Sobkowicz-Science and Computer Teacher, Computer Department Liaison Marci Stoda - Wellness Teacher, Labervisor Dave Walsh - Network Administrator MJ Walsh - Special Educator, Labervisor Lisa Weiss Math Department Coordinator Seth Weiss - Math Teacher, Database Administrator Matt Wentworth - English Teacher, Labervisor Bella Wong Superintendent-Principal L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 4 (revised )

5 D. Budget Lincoln-Sudbury has been astute to provide funding for the district computer technology operating budget. The budget has decreased 25% in the past 5 years. The next area of focus within the operating budget will be to create a reasonable replacement cycle of equipment. Currently, each educator does not have a computing device supplied by the school and many have laptops which are 5 years old. The district will also explore the use of tablets and chromebooks in the classroom. The district technology budget covers the following areas. Each department has fiscal control over subject specific software. STUDENT HELP SUPPLIES SOFTWARE CONFERENCE/TRAVEL REFERENCE BOOKS MAINTENANCE OF EQUIPMENT TELECOMMUNICATION & NETWORK NEW EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT In regards to staffing, professional development and support, minimal funding has been available; the maintenance of hardware and support of 1900 users cannot be sustained with the present staffing. For example, in the old building there were 350 computers, 20 printers and 1600 students, faculty and staff. In the new building there is an inventory of 1158 pieces of computer related equipment, and 1900 students and staff with the same support listed below. Staffing 0.5 FTE Educational Technology Coordinator 0.75 FTE Instructional Technology Specialist 1.0 FTE Network Administrator 1.0 FTE Computer Technician 0.25 FTE Administrative Database Funding for 8 stipended departmental $2600 per stipend When appropriate the district applies for local and global funding if eligible. L-S annually applies for the E-rate discounts. Obtaining outside funding require s time to research and write grants and often times Lincoln-Sudbury does not meet the criteria for grants. If staff members are involved in writing grants it takes time away from helping staff and students during the school day. Funding needs pertain to all categories: hardware, software, network infrastructure, staffing and professional development. The priority for funding needs to be applied to the network infrastructure, the computer technology personnel/staffing, annual software updates, replacement of equipment and maintenance of the infrastructure. The entire community has become dependent upon computers. When the institution loses power or network maintenance needs to occur, students and staff feel crippled. L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 5 (revised )

6 E. Evaluation Individual academic departments choose specific software or on-line tools and subscriptions for their subject matter. They work as departments to discuss what products are most successful with their students. Departments discuss computer technology as they see fit. Although departments do not have a budget line for hardware, they indicate their needs to the Educational Technology Coordinator. Since the district technology budget has decreased over the last 5 years, the departments often purchase their own hardware at the end of the year with remaining funds. The departments have the line item and authority within departmental operating budget to purchase subject specific software. Each fall a survey is administered to teachers for feedback regarding school wide computer technology. Based on the feedback, the Educational Technology Coordinator can decide whether there is more user training necessary or whether an initiative should be refined. Many department rely upon Educational Development & Evaluation funds to provide the opportunity to learn about the use of technology tools within their disciplines. F. Technology Integration Teachers have been using computer technology at L-S since the early 1980s. is our most consistent and well-used form of communication for all L-S staff members. Another vehicle of communication and collaboration is a wiki. There are 250 internal wikis being used by different groups and teachers for their classes as an alternative to communication. Wikis allow teachers to create virtual classrooms and post assignments and worksheets. Students are able to contribute to the wiki and access information from their homes via a browser and using their school network account information to log in. At least 98% of teachers use technology every day, including some of the following areas: lesson planning, administrative tasks, communications, and collaboration. Teachers share information about technology uses with their colleagues. Some staff members are exploring the use of Web 2.0 tools. The district plans to provide a new suite of communication, collaboration and productivity tools in the summer of The use of Google Apps for Education will provide increased opportunities for students to share their digital work with teacher. It will be an adjustment for some staff as we have been using our system for 21 years. Those on the computer technology staff havebeen training themselves on the product and hope to train the rest of the staff. A presentation regarding the benefits of the tools took place in December 2014 and a series of outreach sessions and workshops will be planned for the spring, summer and fall. The school does have an Acceptable Use Policy posted on our website The district is CIPA compliant. It is unclear how many teachers are aware of the details of the AUP. It is part of the student discipline code. Staffing regarding technology integration has not kept up with the district s increasing demands. The district has a 0.5 FTE district-level technology director/coordinator. The district provides 0.5 FTE Instructional Technology Specialist for 160 faculty members and also provides support to administrators and support staff. The state recommended benchmark for this position is a 1.0 FTE instructional L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 6 (revised )

7 technology specialist per instructional staff. The district has one 0.25 FTE person dedicated to data management and assessment. G. Technology Professional Development In the school year 14-15, there were a few in-service workshops focused on computer technology. These included: the use WordPress for creating web pages, Google Docs and Exploring Digital Tools. During the summer of 2014 there was a network renovation and the typical workshops could not be offered. There are high hopes for a variety of workshops on Google Apps to be offered the summer of Computer technology has been at Lincoln-Sudbury since the early 80s. A few teachers in each department have advanced skills in technology integration and serve as role models to their colleagues. Each department s staff looks at new software in their discipline. Department members work together to learn and to teach with the software. The Educational Technology Coordinator and Integration Technology Specialists work directly with both the advanced technology teachers and beginning technology teachers to help them learn more about software which would enhance their teaching. Every year a survey is administered to the teachers regarding their technology proficiency and the types of workshops they would like to be available. The Massachusetts Technology Self-Assessment Tool has been reviewed by labervisors and classroom teachers. The committee feels that this tool is quite thorough however, 95% of the teachers would find it too cumbersome and a burden to fill out given their overtaxed schedules. For this reason we choose to develop a more succinct on-line survey. H. Student Computer Literacy At L-S we have a student expectation, all L-S students are able to use technology appropriately to help create, investigate, and communicate. The graduating class of 2009 was the first class that completed the computer technology graduation requirement. A ll courses which meet the requirement strive to help students use computer technology in ways which meet this expectation. Teachers in all disciplines will be encouraged to incorporate technology into their curriculum where appropriate. Hopefully with this two-prong ed approach we can better meet the needs of students. This approach is in alignment with s tate and nation al standards. L-S has intentionally avoided a check-list approach to promote student computer literacy. L-S wants student s to become independent and life-long learners. Computer technology changes so rapidly students need to acquire the ability to learn with these changes. L-S Computer Technology Graduation Requirement Each student has the ability to use technology appropriately to help create, investigate, and communicate. Each L-S student will be required to take a 2-credit course in one of the designated areas. Students will: * Acquire the ability to transfer computer skills learned in the course to other learning environments * Become comfortable experimenting with new computer software * Emphasize the ability for students to become more independent learners L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 7 (revised )

8 An exit survey was administered in the spring of 2010 for all students enrolled in one of the required courses. Of the 261 students who took a course that fulfilled the requirement, 80% of the students felt comfortable experimenting with new software. 70% reported they could transfer the computers skills from the course to other situations and 68% felt they could tackle a situation with new software independently. Visit the Massachusetts Department of Education Website to read the entire document Massachusetts Technology Standards - Grades 9 through 12 Technology Standards and Expectations: Throughout high school, as students take courses to prepare themselves for college and the work world, they should acquire increasingly sophisticated technology skills. Depending on the pathways and courses they choose to take, high school students will become more adept with certain technology tools than others. Moreover, as the curriculum demands more complicated learning tasks, students will discover advanced capabilities in tools such as database and spreadsheet applications. During high school, students also should have the opportunity to use more specialized technology tools that enhance their learning. These might include simulation software, geographic information systems, computer-aided design software, or any of a wide variety of content-specific tools. In addition, students should have the opportunity to learn how to write code in a commonly used programming language. By the completion of high school, students should have developed an appreciation for the capabilities of technology resources, as well as an understanding of how these tools can be used for lifelong learning. In addition, students should be knowledgeable about the role technology plays in various fields of work, enabling them to better plan for their careers in the 21st century. (From the Mass DESE) Answers to Frequently Asked Questions What courses are available to meet the requirement? Each year a list of courses, which meet the computer technology requirement will be reviewed. Current courses which meet the requirement include : Creative Computing, Exploring Web Communities, Web Publishing, Flash, Digital Imaging, Game Programming, ios development, Architectural Design, Introduction to Programming, Intermediate Programming, Multimedia Music, Topics in Algebra II, Topics in Advanced Math What if a student already knows everything offered in the above courses? In the field of computer technology the change is rapid. It is highly unlikely any student or teacher is well versed in all of the above courses. Due to the nature of the ever-changing field of technology the more exposure to the use of different software the more prepared the student will become. I. Accessibility of Technology L-S has developed a system where each L-S member (student or staff) must have a network user name and password to use any features of the computer system. Within the Student Information Management system, faculty members have access to the initial student user name s and password s and are L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 8 (revised )

9 encouraged to teach the students how to use the system when the students enter a computer lab. There is also a guest account to access the school computers which provide a more limited range of services. Currently there are over 200 relatively new desktop computers throughout the building ( in the library, 6 computer labs and classrooms/labs which require computers for their daily course work). In addition, classroom s have computers the 11 student mobile computer labs with 15 laptops each have been refreshed in the last two years. These mobile carts are available for teachers to use with their classes. The use of Chromebooks and ipads are being piloted on a very small scale. The issue with these devices is using them as a shared resource rather than a 1 device for 1 user situation given that they are designed as personal devices controlled by one user. Now that the new wi-fi network is in place there will be more exploration in this area as funding allows. Most departments have dedicated desktop computer labs and they make regular class visits to these labs. There are three computer labs, which are dedicated for scheduled classes in the Computer, Math and FATA (Fine Applied and Technical Arts) departments. A sample of course offerings include: Creative Computing, Web Publishing, Robotics, Introduction to Programming, Game Programming, Intermediate Programming, Topics in Advanced Math, Digital Imaging, Digital Photography, and Architectural Design process. The library has 24 desktop computers for student use during their free blocks. The librarians run a ninth grade orientation on the uses of information technology with the aid of a projector which creates an interactive whiteboard environment. Students are required to take a two credit course which encourages them to learn more about the uses of computer technology in our society. Proper planning and attention concerning hardware acquisition goes hand in hand with personnel needed to maintain this hardware. It is of no value to have non-operating computers in a classroom environment. Administrators and support staff rely heavily upon the computers and servers, and malfunctions impact their productivity. The running of school network has become more complex over the years. There are now 184 Wi-Fi Access points in place and management software to control these devices. If more mobile devices are acquired there needs to be more personnel resources dedicated to support technology equipment, infrastructure and the productivity of students and teachers. If funding were available, another computer technician could be hired, re-institute another 0.5 FTE for an Instructional Technology Specialist or certain faculty members within each department could be released from teaching classes. ( L-S had a model at one time where a teacher was released in each department to help department members with both software and hardware issues. This model was effective for faculty members, but was discontinued due to lack of funding. ) J. Administrative Uses Computers are an integral part of the administrative work at L-S. Since L-S is a one school district, the finance department is housed within the building. This department once utilized PC computers with a dedicated server. The business staff computers have been replaced with Apple computers running Windows connected to a dedicated Windows Server. This will be helpful when it comes time to replace the Apple computers as they can be deployed in other parts of the building. The computer technology staff assists the business office in terms of the school wide network and any emergency problems with their computers. L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 9 (revised )

10 Other areas of administrative use include the registrar, student services, scheduling, curriculum coordinator, housemasters, counselors, nurses and special education. Over the past five years the state and federal governments have been demanding in terms of both staff and student reporting via the web. The state requires more than 52 data elements for each student be maintained on our network and transmitted during different times in the year. The registrar has taken on this task that is a large increase to her workload. There is a new Educational Data Warehouse that someone has to learn how to use. The data needed for Education Personnel Information Management System, (EPIMS) has put an increased work load on our Personnel Director, Scheduling and Curriculum coordinator. Student MCAS results dictate success plans which now have to be developed and worked into our Student Information Systems. In terms of scheduling and report cards, the Student Information Management System software package is ipass with customizations by the in-house database manager. This web-based software enables administrators, teachers and students to access different information. The database manager works closely with the vendor in terms of customizing the product to the way that L-S does things rather than changing our procedures to meet the software s constraints. These external forces (state and federal mandates) require schools to do more while providing less funding. This has taken a great toll on our staff. The increased work takes time, energy and communication. The special educator liaisons use a web-based software, to generate Individualized Education Programs for their students. Training of this software for the special education staff takes place within the special education department with support from the computer technology staff. The Counseling Department uses Naviance, an electronic tool used for students and families as guidance through the college application process. Teachers will also use the system to upload recommendations. The counseling department will be training staff and students throughout the school year. The Business Department uses BudgetSense for the operating budget and Harpers Payroll to manage the school s payroll. Each of these areas demands that the computer staff remain in close contact with staff members. The faculty needs support to learn the new applications. K. Infrastructure for Connectivity The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional HS computer network consists of redundant 10 gigabit fiber connections from the main server closest to each of 21 wiring closets and 10/100/1000 Mbps copper (Category 5e) wiring to each network jack. Each classroom has between seven and fourteen network jacks, which provide independent 10/100/1000 Mbps connections to the wiring closets. L-S has a/b/g/n/ac wireless networking that was recently upgraded during the summer of The wireless network is available around the clock and students are allowed to bring in their own portable computing devices, which will be filtered through the L-S network. Our Internet feed for the public file, web and servers is a 300 Mbps fiber optic link. For backup Internet access we also have a secondary 50 Mbps fiber optic connection in case the main 300 Mbps feed fails. All internet feeds are connected through a CIPA compliant filter for the wireless and hard-wired network users. L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 10 (revised )

11 The main server room consists of a rack of servers providing separate , web, DNS, database, backup and file servers all connected to the 10 gigabit fiber network with 32 independent gigabit copper connections. We have five separate servers for file sharing: two for students, one for faculty and staff, one for administrators, and one for the yearbook staff and students. All servers are either using RAID 1 or RAID 5 volumes for hardware redundancy and are backed up to either a 3.2/6.4 terabyte tape library or an external drive weekly. L. Access to the Internet outside the School Day The school website is maintained by staff and students. The L-S Web team has implemented a Web Content Management System using WordPress. Hopefully, staff members will find this system more user-friendly and will be inspired to create course web sites. Students on the Web Team have the opportunity to acquire skills in web publishing and design. There are definite pros and cons to this system. The positive side is the student involvement in their school web site. The negative side is that often, information is not posted or removed in a timely fashion. In order to assist in the upkeep of the website all faculty members and interested staff members are allowed access to certain portions of the web site. Ideally time and resources should be dedicated to an adult member of the staff. Currently two staff members are paid an activity advisor stipend to supervise the students on the Web Team and assist staff members working on their web pages. Students have access to computers both before and after school hours but must be with a teacher or in the library where there is adult supervision. It does not make sense to leave expensive equipment unattended. The wireless network is available any time the building is open for the use of everyone. Filtering of inappropriate content is provided at the firewall that moderates connectivity with the Internet. M. Summary The Lincoln-Sudbury faculty, staff, administrators and students are eager to use the available computer technology. Hopefully, more funding will become available within the next few years to refresh equipment and increase personnel to provide professional development along with software/hardware support. L-S TECHNOLOGY PLAN page 11 (revised )