Technology+Progress+report

** March 7, 2012 3:40 PM ** ** HS Library ** Minutes: ** Tech Meeting **
 * Tech Meeting **
 * Present: ** David Nicholas, Judie Brewster, Vicky Gopp, Sandy Bishop, Louis Torres, Corry Costle, Tim Martinson, Dave Hammond, Denise Herman, Sami Swing, Jody Rakness
 * Submitted by: ** Kathy Wise
 * 1) AUP – I have attached a copy of the COPPA parent/guardian permission form to be used starting the 2012-13 school year. I think we should copy it on the back of the AUP – in a different color for the “under 13” students. What are your thoughts?
 * 2) // Everyone thought this was fine to put with the AUP for the under 13 students. //
 * 1) Staff Training – District Tech Day – next year will be held on September 17, 2012. We need to look at classes to offer and who can teach those sessions. This will need to be determined by the May tech meeting because we need to register staff starting in August for the September 2012 Tech Day.
 * 2) // Tech Day course offerings include IPod/IPad 1, 1.5 and 2, Promethean Boards 1, 1.5 and 2, Web 2.0, Google Apps beginning and intermediate, GPS/Geocaching, Destiny/Databases, Infinite Campus, SPARK, Technology Tools. We are also looking at Edmoto and Adobe Photoshop Elements //
 * 1) Update from Corry and Louis
 * 2) // 30 work orders completed and many, many more phone orders completed //
 * 3) // East – seems to have improved //
 * 4) // Peplink – firmware update //
 * 5) // Outlook – now on all teacher computers. If there are problems with it, please do a work order //
 * 6) // Promethean Boards & Windows 7 laptop driver issues – USB extenders seem to be helping, let us know if there are problems //
 * 1) E-Rate – Priority 1 – telecommunications/bandwidth and connectivity between schools. This has been determined and should be submitted soon. Priority 2 – infrastructure – special board meeting on March 6 to approve the plan that will be submitted to USAC by March 10.
 * 2) //__ E-Rate Priority 1 __//// – additional bandwidth, connectivity between buildings and telecommunications are included in this portion of e-rate. This has been submitted to USAC. //
 * 3) //__ E-Rate Priority 2 __//// – infrastructure – The school board met and approved the bids that have now been submitted to USAC for Year 15 e-rate funding. Now we just wait for the review process. The funds should be available to the district, if everything goes well, sometime around October/November 2012. //
 * 1) Infrastructure update & 1:1 Computing update – these two are dependent on each other so I put them together.
 * 2) // The infrastructure is necessary for the adding devices that we are looking at for students. E-rate forms have been submitted. We are working on a plan for additional devices at the elementary, middle and high schools. //
 * 1) Tech Plan – will need to submit a district tech plan in November 2012 to be approved by June 30, 2013. We will need to start looking at this. An approved district technology plan is a requirement of the E-Rate program.
 * 2) // I have stated to go through the forms that will need to be completed for the district tech plan. //
 * 1) Other
 * 2) // Apple TV – need to check into this to see about the interactivity and students //
 * 3) // It was brought up that teachers are concerned about purchasing apps for each Apple device and how they are going to be able to afford that out of their classroom budget. //
 * 4) // Sites being blocked – Corry reported that after the March Spring Break, there were many sites now blocked (possibly at the state level) that had not previously been blocked. We are working on unblocking the sites that staff members have been using in their classrooms. Please let us know! //


 * February 1, 2012 3:40 PM **


 * HS Library **

Attended: David Nicholas, Mary Krisko, Terri Logan, Judie Brewster, Jody Rakness, Sandy Bishop, Kitsy Barnes, Denise Herman, Louis Torres, Corry Costle, Merri Miller, Vicky Gopp, Tim Martinson, Vickie Overcast, Sami Swing

Submitted by: Kathy Wise


 * 1)  AUP – We will look at the additions at the February meeting after we have researched what other schools are doing. We also need to add a second page (or back page) for COPPA which pertains to students under age 13 – what is the middle school doing now for permission from parents? That may very well work for us; we just need to put a copy of it on our AUP for middle school/elementary students.
 * 2) // Denise sent me a copy of what the middle school uses for COPPA. I will work on getting that into a form for parent signatures. Our elementary students/middle school students under the age of 13, must have parents sign a COPPA statement before they can use Google Apps or DropBox //


 * 1) Staff Training – District Tech Day – was held on January 27, 2012. The staff had a choice of twenty different sessions to attend. In my opinion, the training was well attended and appreciated by the staff in the district according to the surveys that are being collected.
 * 2) // Good comments/discussion about the training //
 * 3) // Looked at a date for next year. Decided that **September 17, 2012** would be the Tech Day training for 2012-13 school year. Will need to get classes/instructors decided at the May tech meeting so we can schedule staff into classes right away when school starts in August. //


 * 1) Update from Corry and Louis
 * 2) // Completed 60 work orders and at least 60 additional phoned in issues //
 * 3) // Worked on connectivity for open house and tech day //
 * 4) // Looked at two demo interactive projectors and will be sending them back //


 * 1) E-Rate – Priority 2 E-rate consultant – Form 470s have been filed.
 * 2) // Forms have been filed with USAC. //
 * 3) // We are looking at major infrastructure work for the district. Right now it is approximately $1 million of equipment and the majority of it will be reimbursed at 90%. There are some pieces of equipment that need to be replaced that are not e-rate reimbursable. Priority 2 is for any infrastructure that connects our students to the outside world. Computers and devices do NOT qualify for Priority 2. //
 * 4) // The district portion of the Priority 2 plan will cost approximately $197,000 from the district tech budget. //


 * 1) Infrastructure update
 * 2) // January 20, 2012 we had an infrastructure meeting with Rick VanCleeve from PineCove to discuss what the needs are in the district. //


 * 1:1 Computing update
 * 1) // January 30 visit to Cody schools to see their 1:1 computing and visited with tech people, teachers, superintendent and other staff members. //
 * 2) // Thermopolis visit is scheduled for February 13, 2012 to see their 1:1 program. //
 * 3) // We need to be thoughtful and get technology into the hands of our students; useable tool for our students. //
 * 4) // We want to accelerate learning and 21st Century skills. //
 * 5) // Professional development is a major part in the successful integration of the tools. //
 * 6) // Committee will be meeting to discuss a plan with a vision, look at appropriate tools and how to roll out the tools. //
 * 7) // Looking at $100,000 for the tools for the first year through the district tech budget. //

** Tech Meeting ** ** November 2, 2011 3:40 PM ** ** HS Library ** Present: David Nicholas, Mary Krisko, Louis Torres, Corry Costle, Sami Swing, Dave Hammonds, Denise Herman, Tim Martinson, Vicky Gopp, Judie Brewster, Terri Logan, Sandy Bishop Submitted by: Kathy Wise
 * 1) Other
 * 2) // Discussed Google Apps in the schools //
 * 3) // Next tech meeting will be March 7, 2012 at 3:40 at the high school library. //

Minutes:
 * 1) AUP – We need to look this over to see if it still meets our needs – some possible issues to bring up: Student use of cell phones and posting on Facebook during school time
 * 2) We have very little control over internet on personal devices. We can modify the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to address appropriate use of personal devices/data plans. The board will decide on when the modified AUP will take effect. Bring ideas to next tech meeting about the AUP changes.


 * 1) Staff Training – District Tech Day –will be held on January 27, 2012. Choice of two sessions (one in the morning and one in the afternoon)
 * 2) This is the tentative schedule for tech day – our working document. It will be finalized by the December meeting.


 * **__ Session Topic __** ||  **__ AM or PM __**  ||  **__ Presenter (s) __**  ||  **__ Location __**  ||
 * Promethean Boards **Beginning** ||  || Wise/Swing ||   ||
 * Promethean Boards **Advanced** ||  || Kienlen ||   ||
 * I-Pods **Beginning Elementary** ||  || Wyman ||   ||
 * I-Pods **Intermediate Elementary** ||  || Wyman ||   ||
 * I-Pods **Beginning Secondary** ||  || Wiley ||   ||
 * I-Pods/I-Pads **Intermediate Secondary** ||  || Kapptie ||   ||
 * Infinite Campus Secretary Tools || PM  || Villa ||   ||
 * Infinite Campus Teacher Tools || AM  || Villa ||   ||
 * Google Apps **Beginning** ||  || Rakness ||   ||
 * Google Apps **Intermediate** ||  || Kapptie ||   ||
 * Special Forces || AM  || Anderson/Bleicher ||   ||
 * Special Forces || PM  || Anderson/Bleicher ||   ||
 * SPARK & Tech Tools ||  || Clark/Krejci ||   ||
 * Physical Fitness using Tech Tools ||  || Bishop ||   ||
 * PD360 & TIE Tech Tuesdays/Fab 5 ||  || Herman ||   ||
 * Excel 2007 – **Intermediate** Merging Data ||  || Rakness ||   ||
 * Finale (Music Program) ||  || Wiechmann || MS Music Room ||
 * Destiny, GoWYLD, E-books ||  || Overcast ||   ||


 * 1) Update from Corry and Louis
 * 2) Completed 50 work orders and at least that many phoned in orders.
 * 3) Completed a wireless firmware update that dropped 12 access points. These access pointed were replaced under warranty.
 * 4) Yard sale equipment – spent time getting those wiped clean and ready to sell.
 * 5) Worland Youth Learning Center – set up, configured and figured out the licensing for their 10 new computers
 * 6) Mr. Nicholas has been in contact with the governor’s office about the T1 lines that we are paying for that have been abandoned. At the present time, the state has a contract with Qwest (CenturyLink) and we are part of that contract.


 * 1) ISTE Standards – 8th grade reporting – Has been reported and submitted.


 * 1) Wireless in district
 * 2) We are looking at funding options for wireless at East and West
 * 3) With the addition of the fiber connections and more capacity, it is possible that the elementary schools could use up all of the bandwidth that the district has available. Bottom line is that we will need to purchase additional bandwidth.


 * 1) E-Rate – Working with the e-rate consultant concerning Priority 1 services
 * 2) The window is open for bidders to contact WCSD#1 about Priority 1 services – telecommunication services and Internet access. We should qualify for approximately 70-80% discounts.
 * 3) Other
 * 4) Denise is trying to set up a Google Apps admin training through Breez Daniels of Thermopolis
 * 5) Vickie Overcast was asked to train the teachers at the different buildings during staff meetings on the use of Destiny/Quest
 * 6) Tim Martinson was asked to do an afterschool workshop on podcasting.
 * 7) We had a discussion about electronic textbooks are somewhat harder for students to use. We need to revisit this issue.
 * 8) Discussed the 1:1 initiative – even if we had the devices, do we have the infrastructure to support it.
 * 9) Next meeting will be held on **//December 7, 2011//** at 3:40 at the high school library.

We are rolling out Googe for Education Apps. Jody is testing the system with her classes. Jacob and I will train 7th graders on Tuesday, October 18th. Jacob will be training seventh grade teachers. Jody will be training 6th and 8th teachers. I will be training with the elective team.

New Promethean Boards are coming for 5th grade teachers.

10/2011 Bandwidth is now at East Side. 8/2011 High School and South Side are wirless now.

10/20/2011-South Side has their "1 to 1" in place for 3-5 grade.

Our goal is to have enough bandwidth to meet the needs of our school district right now with the idea that we need to be thinking at least a few years in the future in order to stay ahead of the game. The technology will change, so we won't plan on a 10 year plan. RT Communications is now able to provide as much bandwidth as we need since fiber is in all the schools except East (which will happen soon). The pricing given by RT will save us a substantial amount of money and provide us with more bandwidth, but it includes the local piece only. The problem still lies mostly outside our local area. We need ACT or Qwest (bought out by CenturyLink?) in this conversation. We need all of us (the school district, PineCove, RT Communications) and the state to work together in order to address these needs. Rick VanCleeve suggested a PEPLink that has been successful at the Arapahoe Schools. We discussed whether we wanted a dedicated line or best effort. We questioned whether we had to go through Cheyenne for the line or the filter.

** Washakie County School District #1 ** ** Recommendations for 4 Year Connectivity Solutions ** ** Report Prepared by Pine Cove Consulting **

i. File Services ii. Print Server Function iii. DHCP Services iv. DNS Services v. Application Servers (Multiple) i. Servers must have at least 2 years of warranty left ii. Servers must have room to house all functions at the elementary schools for the next 4 years, or be upgradeable to server this function. iii. All servers in the Elementary Schools will also be Virtualized. i. The actual cost will be determined by award of successful bidder ii. The final cost will be part of a four year lease that will be combined with the Switch project. i. To get the district to one standard ii. To take advantage of Hewlett Packard’s lifetime warranty i. The High School/Admin has a system to be implemented this summer. Money has already been allocated and successful bidder has already been contracted ii. Middle School and Elementary Schools i. District-Wide Switch Upgrade ($100,000) ii. Middle School/Elementary Schools Wireless ($45,000) iii. The actual cost will be determined by award of successful bidder iv. The final cost will be part of a four year lease that will be combined with the Server project. i. Accept the proposal from RT Communications and Optimum (formerly Bresnan) i. Investigate an upgrade the DSL Connection by accepting the proposal from RT Communications one year at a time. Costs may lower in future, so we don’t recommend that you enter into multi-year contracts ii. Estimated Cost i. Accept the proposal from RT Communications – 50MB partial leased fiber line ii. Estimated Cost iii. These costs are fairly high in comparison to the entire budget, thus we need to look at alternative solutions in the future. However, it is our best option for the short term. i. Explore leasing a full fiber line from RT Communications to provide 10GB bandwidth (200 times more bandwidth) ii. Explore microwave as an alternative to the leased fiber lines iii. Explore the ability to partially fund through Erate
 * 1) Recommendations for Servers
 * 2) Replace High School / Middle School / Administration Servers with a Virtualization Solution. One Physical Server will be partitioned into Separate Virtual Servers
 * 1) Accounting
 * 2) Student Information Servers
 * 3) Etc.
 * 4) All district servers will be under warranty at all times
 * 5) Replace outdated Servers in the Elementary Schools with new servers
 * 6) Use newer servers from HS/MS/Admin where appropriate for the Elementary servers.
 * 1) One Physical Server will be partitioned into Separate Virtual Servers
 * 2) File Services
 * 3) Print Server function
 * 4) DHCP Services
 * 5) DNS Services
 * 6) Estimated Cost: $100,000
 * 1) Recommendations for Switches
 * 2) Replace High School /Middle School/Administration Switches with core based switches.
 * 3) Move the best available switches to the Elementary Schools where appropriate.
 * 4) Standardize all switches to Hewlett Packard
 * 1) Wireless
 * 1) Wireless needs to be part of the main Switch job
 * 2) This should also be implemented during the switch installation
 * 3) This wireless system costs have not been taken into account in any projects estimated thus far
 * 4) Estimated Cost: $145,000
 * 1) Internet Connectivity
 * 2) Year One
 * 1) 1 DSL line from RT: With 20MB Download and 5MB Upload Speeds
 * 2) 1 DSL line from Optimum: With 30MB Download and 5MB Upload Speeds
 * 3) The reationale for using one from each company is that if one gets slow or goes down, we can use the other one, without any disruption in service.
 * 4) To be combined with the state WEN system provided by Qwest, thru the use of a PEPLink (which the district has already purchased
 * 5) Year Two
 * 1) 50MB Download and 50MB Upload speeds
 * 2) This is done only starting in Year Two as this is the soonest that it can be funded by Erate (USAC)
 * $3,700 / Month
 * 1) $44,400 / Year
 * 2) $925 / Month with 75% Erate discount
 * 3) $11,000 / Year with 75% Erate discount
 * 4) Year Three – Same as Year Two
 * 5) Year Four – Same as Year Two
 * 6) Intra-Connectivity (Elementary Schools)
 * 7) Year One
 * $2,781.00 / Month
 * 1) $33,372.00 / Year
 * 1) Year Two
 * 1) Year Three – Same as Year Two
 * 2) Year Four – Same as Year Two