Future of Education Technology

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Future of Education Technology Conference and it was such an amazing experience to meet up with so many folks working hard to bring the best educational experience to the classroom. There were people there from all over the country and even across the globe. There is definitely a shift in the way technology is being used in the classroom, and I am excited to work with our own staff in implementing some new ideas that will bring about the meaningful experiences that our kids deserve.

Pre-Conference Future of IT Summit

One of the best parts of this conference was the pre-conference summit where over 300 educators gathered to discuss the future of IT, network and listen to a few amazing speakers talk about the importance of building strong relationships with students. Eric Sheninger, Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on Digital Leadership with the International Center for Leadership in Education, gave an inspiring keynote on "bringing the awe back in to learning." It is so easy to get caught up in the chaos of standardized testing and big data, that sometimes we forget to inspire. Obviously, testing is a necessary evil, but we have to be mindful about the way our students best learn and if that means moving away from traditional methods of educating, it is something that we should do.

VR and Robotics

Photo credited to
@AmyBradshaw_KET @LShafferKET

One of the trends this year is Virtual Reality and Robotics. These technological tools have taken off in the classroom due to the affordability, engagement factor and the real learning experiences that come with them. Virtual Reality has allowed the classroom to break outside of the traditional 4-walls and move into a new reality where students can increase their depth of learning and experience classroom content in a very engaging way.



Another fun tool happens to be classroom robots. These cool little gizmos allow students to think creatively and work on coding skills and even solve real-world problems. There are many different products out there, but I was fascinated with the Sphero bots because of their ease of use and affordability. These wonderful tools can help supplement classroom instruction and inspire students to take ownership of their learning.



Fear of Technology

Technology grows at an exponential rate and some of the world's most greatest advancements have happened in the last 20 years. This is exciting and scary at the same time as it highlights the advancement of our civilization but also shows how difficult it is to prepare our students for a world that will be much different than our own. Sometimes the fear of the unknown can be paralyzing, but we must not let that deter us from taking that giant leap forward. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." This is especially true in education. Even though we don't know what the future holds, we must have faith in our abilities and in our own students to take this world on. This is why it is important to inspire our students to think critically and problem solve on their own, to show them how to communicate and collaborate, because our world will never be perfect. Since our world will never be perfect, there will always be problems to solve, and people to help. This is where we can make a difference, not in how well our students test, but how they impact the world.

Dan Townsend
Director of Technology and Media Services
@dtownsend20

New Music Recording Studio Goes in at Lee MS/HS

When the Superintendent and I visited Albemarle School District in Charlottesville, Virginia, we noticed a few things that we wanted to bring back to our home school district. One of those things was a Sound and Music Recording Studio for students. We noticed that kids were so passionate and enthusiastic about the opportunity to create something of their own. We even had the opportunity to speak to a few kids who talked about how much the studio has helped them in their overall development. Some students are in love with music but don't necessarily participate in band or choir, so this has become a way for them to express themselves and show off their talent.

The Christine Vettese Sound and Music Recording Studio

I knew that we had some of those similar stories here in our district and I wanted to ensure that we were offering our students a way to be creative and produce something that they could share with the world. It is almost impossible for a kid with no real income to afford studio time in a quality production studio, so that is where we can help. In the first week of opening the doors of the studio, we had several students sign up to use it. There is some pretty sophisticated equipment and software in there so it is taking some time for students to get the hang of production but the discovery of it all is an important part of the journey. I can't wait to see the talent of our students shine through this experiential process.

Dan Townsend
Director of Tech and Media Services

MACUL 2013

On March 21st and 22nd, I attended the MACUL conference in Detroit, Michigan. There were many great sessions throughout both days and Kevin Honeycutt gave an outstanding keynote as usual. On day 1, I had the opportunity to present alongside Chris Scott, educator at Santa Ynez Schools in California, on Ubermix. On day 2, I was able to present alongside my own team on building effective professional development. Both presentations went amazingly well and I loved talking with folks from other school districts.


Looking back at the conference, it was so astonishing to see so many passionate educators in one place. I wish the rest of the world could see how valuable these teachers and administrators are and how much they care about the education process. Instead, these educators are having to justify themselves to the public and fight for their classrooms. I for one, have realized the value of an educator and I am inspired to stand with these professionals and work together to bring the best education possible to our community. 

Godfrey-Lee Tech Department: A Year in Review

The Godfrey-Lee Tech Department has been extremely busy this year. This was my first year serving the district in the capacity of Technology Coordinator and I couldn't have been more happy with what we accomplished. Below is a lengthy list of our accomplishments, I usually try to keep my postings short, but I couldn't find a better way to list our proud moments for the year. For more information on our department, please visit tech.godfrey-lee.org.

Successful PBL Training

Sarah Wood (Tech Integration) and Kelly McGee (District Media Specialist) organized a productive and inspiring training for Middle School teachers revolving around Project Based Learning. Many of the teachers in attendance were thrilled at the format and used many of the examples shown in their own classrooms.

Implemented 150 New Wireless Devices in 6th Grade 1:1 initiative
As part of the district’s One-to-One initiative, we purchased, unboxed and imaged 150 new Dell Latitude 2120 netbooks with Jim Klein’s latest Ubermix image. These devices were used in the 6th Grade classrooms. Godfrey-Lee has approximately 240 additional devices used in 7th and 8th Grade in accordance with the 1:1 initiative.

Welcomed a New AV Tech
As I made the transition into this position, I knew I needed to find a replacement that can relate to the teachers and truly cares about this district and its vision. I recommended and the Board approved the hire of Mr. Jason Faasse. Jason is a graduate of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools and was/is heavily involved in district activities and events. Since his hiring, Jason has proved to be a valuable member of this team and embodied everything I needed as a supervisor.

2nd Annual RebelU Conference
The Tech and Media Team held its second annual RebelU Ed Tech conference for district teachers and administrators. Thanks to the leading efforts of Sarah Wood, the conference was very successful and many teachers walked away overwhelmed by the abundant knowledge that was available. We certainly can’t wait until RebelU 2012, I promise it will be the best one yet!

Implemented two new carts (30) at Elementary
At Godfrey Elementary, the Tech and Media team deployed two mobile carts with 30 Dell Latitude 2120 netbooks in each cart. Now there is one mobile cart per grade level in the building. This expansion of devices allowed the flexibility for teachers to schedule computer time between grade levels instead of building wide check-outs.

Welcomed a New Network Administrator
Our previous Network Administrator left Godfrey-Lee for a great opportunity working with a local College. He contributed so much to the success of the district and we really needed someone who could maintain or exceed those standards. After a thorough interview process, I recommended and the Board approved the hire of Mr. Jesse Burrows. Jesse came well qualified and seemed to jump right into the action at GLPS. Since his hire, Jesse has been working extremely hard revamping our infrastructure and following the district’s vision for future success.

Implemented 1 cart (30) Google Chromebooks
Every year we evaluate which mobile device is most effective for our students and staff. Working with the Dell Netbooks has been an up and down process and ultimately we feel that we can provide our users with a better device. We decided to give Google a try and we deployed a cart of 30 Samsung Chromebooks in the Middle School. We received mixed reactions from our pilot with these devices which only allow access to Google’s Chrome web browser. I personally love the devices, but we still needed something more comprehensive; something that everyone can be productive on.

Switched Internet Service Providers
As part of the Kent Intermediate School District, we were able to participate in a consortium pricing plan provided by AT&T. We were able to make a successful transition thanks to the help of the ISD. Not only were we able to save some money on our Internet bill, but we were able to maintain our 50 Mbps up/down bandwidth pipe.

Successfully Subnetted District
Trying to manage a large network with no subnets is extremely difficult. It was hard to troubleshoot network issues and provide efficient networking for many of our users. With subnetting, we essentially put a “circuit breaker” on our network splitting it up into individual networks defined by buildings. This will make our network far more efficient by helping us troubleshoot issues and differentiate our IP pool.

Purchased iPads for All Administrators
Communication is an important aspect of any workplace and since our administrators are constantly on the move, we decided to provide them with iPads. These devices will allow them to stay mobile and collaborate with other administrators whether they are in the district or not.

Implemented New Devices for RTI Program
Scholastic Read180 and System44 programs have yielded amazing results in our district. The district decided to expand the program in our Elementary building and we were able to deploy Dell Latitude E6420 Laptops and utilize some existing desktops to support this remarkable program.

Replaced Teacher Devices with Mobile Laptops at ELC
James Jensen (Principal of East Lee Campus HS), in an attempt to make his teachers more mobile, worked with the Tech Department to bring in Dell Laptops for all of his teachers. This is the first step in increasing technology infrastructure to provide a blended learning environment for his students and staff.

Added Multi-Purpose Mobile Laptops at HS Media Center
The HS Media Center has seen some amazing transformations over the last couple years. Kelly McGee (District Media Specialist) has designed the Media Center to function as a multi-purpose learning environment. To accommodate his vision, we implemented 15 Mobile Laptops to be used within the Media Center for educational use.

Integrated New District Website
Emily Truax played an integral role in designing the districts new website which is far more user and mobile friendly. The website was designed with assistance from Edline and is an aesthetic upgrade from our previous site.

Refreshed network switches at GEL
Some of the oldest switches in the district resided at Godfrey-Elementary which badly needed to be upgraded. Although we were planning to upgrade all of our switches in the Summer, we just couldn’t wait. We decided to have them implemented ahead of schedule.

Replaced Admin Workstations with High Powered Models
Most of the district’s operations are located at our Administrative Central Office where most of the work completed there requires a dependable computer. We upgraded for machines with higher processing power and dual monitors to handle the multitasking workload our admin staff are required to perform.

Completed 3 year Tech Plan for District
This April, I completed the district’s 3 year Tech Plan and it since has been approved by our Board of Education, the Kent ISD and the Michigan Department of Education. This plan will help guide our decisions for the next 3 years and serve as a living document representing the successes and efforts to promote student achievement.

Revamped Wireless Controller Settings to Handle Mobile Devices
With the increase in Mobile Computing Devices, we needed to ensure that our wireless controller could handle the workload of all the devices. We consulted with an outside group to provide expert advice on how we could adjust the settings of our controller to provide the best wireless experience for our end users.

Signed a 4 year deal with Apple Inc.
Over the last 3 years we have been purchasing Dell 2100 series netbooks for our secondary one-to-one initiative and we have not been amazed with the performance. We knew we needed a more comprehensive device that was not only a consumption device, but a device that encouraged productivity through creativity. We decided to provide our 8th grade teachers and 5 High School teachers with MacBook Pros and their students with MacBook Airs. These devices will be paid for over the next 4 years through a lease agreement. After the 4 years, we have the option to keep the devices or sell them back to Apple for upgraded devices. This option will allow us to keep our current budget but provide more devices to our staff and students, essentially doing more with what we’ve been given.

Welcome!

Welcome to Vision First, my personal blog about my experiences working with Technology in Education. Hopefully you will find the content on this page to be helpful, informational or at the very least...entertaining. Obviously in the world of technology, things don't always go as planned, but having a solid vision aligned with contingency clauses is key to coming out alive on the end.

I see way too many educational institutions spending a crazy amount of money on Technology because it looks fun and shiny. That's something that consumers in the general public do, that shouldn't be a practice in education. In education it is not only about consuming information, but creating, innovating and sharing it with the rest of the world.

I always ask myself the same questions... Do I have a plan for this technology? How is it going to improve student achievement? How am I going to measure if it is or it isn't? How am I going to ensure that this technology is creating opportunities for the majority and not restricting them to certain tools or ideologies?

Am I putting Vision First?