Technology & Learning - May 2008 - (Page 33)

School CIO Strategies for K–12 Technology Leaders May 2008 Who’s Doing What Recent tech initiatives from the nation’s school districts. SUMMERTIME ‘To Do’ List A look at the different ways to tackle training and development programs that offer big rewards once the school year starts. By Marty Weil To prepare for the technology infrastructure challenges that lie ahead in the upcoming school year, school district CIOs would be wise to tackle some or all of the projects described in this roundup of suggested training, development, and administrative tasks. Our suggestions cover a range of subject matter from personal/ professional development to data audits, social networking, acceptable risk policies, and data security. By embarking on this summertime selfdirected improvement process, CIOs can hope to gain the critical insight and knowledge needed to foster technology-rich learning environments in their districts’ classrooms. its assessment reporting system to the state’s department of education. OCPS tested Certica Solutions to help monitor and improve the quality of data the district is required to submit in a pilot program conducted in early 2008 and found the company’s Certify software reduced reporting errors in attendance and course enrollment by as much as 48 percent. Officials also cite cost savings and operational efficiencies as benefits. C e d a r Falls, Iowa, parents will be able to monitor their children’s grades and attendance over the Internet this fall after school board officials okayed an agreement with Infinite Campus to install a Webbased student information system. The new system, expected to cost $78,100 to install and $42,000 a year to run, will store student information, including grades, health data, and class schedules. The new system will also help the district track state test scores and student achievement. “This will allow those of us at the district level—building administrators and teachers—to access [state testing] data,” Cindi McDonald, director of elementary education, told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. “Right now it’s such a process. It’s not accessible, not easily.” ■ C olumbia, South C a rolina, is increasing its schools’ security by expanding instant sexoffender checks on all visitors to its Richland District Two campuses through an automated identification system. The new machines’ touch-screen interface from LobbyGuard Solutions, LLC scans a visitor’s driver’s license and checks it against a national database for sex offenders. “If a person is flagged there, an administrator immediately steps in,” says BethelHanberry Elementary principal Jeff Williams. LobbyGuard will be installed in all Richland District Two schools by the beginning of the 2008-’09 school year and is similar to systems throughout that city. T h e H i l l s b o ro u g h C o u n t y School District in Tampa, Florida, will provide high-speed Internet access during a massive renovation of the district’s 209 schools. The district will wire as many as 60 temporary cottage classrooms with the Telkonet iWire system, giving 13,000 teachers and 180,000 pre-K–12 students instant access to the district’s network with limited support needed by IT staff. Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida, will be upgrading PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT For CIOs interested in professional development, Greg Davis, PhD, executive director of technology for Des Moines Public Schools, recommends the CASTLE courses for continued on page 34 www.schoolcio.com A Technology & Learning Publication | 33 http://www.schoolcio.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - May 2008

Technology & Learning - May 2008 Contents New@techlearning.com Editor’s Desk News and Trends E-Learning Gets Real Cover Story: Make Students Info Literate School CIO Product Guide Reviews Best of the Blogs What’s New LOY Profile Series

Technology & Learning - May 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.