Tech Meeting--November 2012

Teachers of the year (who are also tech facilitators)  acknowledgment:  

• Leslie McMillian Bolton, 
• Nathan Kottlowski  Cash 
• Vanessa Edwards, Parkland

CL Marshall:  Tuesday November 27:  4:00-5:30—dedication of CL Marshall Technology Learning Center

• Sending invitations to media and tech facilitators at schools
• Downstairs here at cenral office.

Pilot Schools:  Mobile Learning Communities

• Mike McDowell (Jefferson Middle)
• Rose Ann Throckmorton (Rural Hall Elementary)
• Betty is thoroughly convinced we need to do these pilots and study the results and have true mobile learning communities.
• Teachers are learning...We need to “white paper” give evidence that learning is taking place from these mobile learning communities.

Rose-Ann's story with the Pilot Program:

• Teaches 4^th grade, been in business field, not tech savvy…leans on tech facilitator, learned she leaned too much; variety of kids in her room.  
• Story of an hispanic boy who used a nook last year, showed major gains in reading and that inspired her to do this
• Went to teacher academy and hoped to learn new things.  Was inquiry based/problem based learning using technology.  
• Felt she was in over her head, and thought about quitting.  She decided to reflect and decided to quit, and then three friends inspired her to not quit. 
• Cathy Musci taught her the technology part of it. 
• Most everyday teachers are going to have issues with it--that's just the reality
• She wants a list of resources from us.
• Reflected on writing lesson plans—used Certl training lessons, downloaded books on the tablet
• The stuff rolled out, taught kids how she knew how to teach.
• When she did open house, some tech problems happened. 

Mike McDowell: 

• Started day 1, and the first mistake was trying too much too fast
• Common Core has added stress to the situation
• Marty’s advice to use PBL instead of text book was great
• He is using the tablets
• Leading up to this, he had been beefing up his website--having those resources set up helped
• Training:  Not toys, not replacing a textbook, are these getting us up higher up on blooms taxonomy?
• Don’t try doing too much
• Edmodo—try somehting as simple as posting a poll, then take one step forward
• Marty Creech—Mike will bring him an idea and he will tell you if it’s terrible or not
• Tablets—explained to the kids what a challenge this is, not toys, and dealing with higher level thinking
• PLC’s can’t really share with other teachers since they don’t have the same resources available to them yet. 
• One to one meetings they have once a month very helpful:  http://wscommunityoflearners.blogspot.com/
• Looking up APPS for example, he didn’t even think of it until one of these meetings
• Problems: very heavy flash/java programs don’t work well with tablets
• Also there have been a few problems with charging stations
• Have to be flexible; sometimes you have to switch from 1 to 1 to 2 to one

Biggest change?

• Doing PBL for Mike has been the biggest change.
• Rose: Making time to learn the tablet, finding the right APPS, wants them to build and make things.

Advantages now that every student has access?:

• Not relying on the teacher for learning
• Students are finding answers for themselves
• Students are finding their talents, new leadership roles
• Student with Autism for example—device moves as fast as their mind
• Changes learning styles

How do you handle student who are off task?

• Behavior modification plan/intervention plan—one student off the tablet until further notice
• Level of engagement is higher for sure
• Sometimes they loose privilege for the day
• Rose had one major incident--She talks to the students when creating videos to never make anything your grandmother wouldn’t approve

"Words of wisdom"

• Mike:  Suggestion of laptops over tablets because of problems with java and flash
• Rose:  also suggests laptop over tablets
• Saving work is a major issue

How documenting achievement gains:

• Steven--There is a huge evaluation plan and it will definitely part of this, and the stories they tell not just test data
• Archiving artifacts, using live binder and edmodo, etc.

Imagine a classroom with multiple devices: 

• Mcdowell--Nearpod:  http://www.nearpod.com/  Combines all applications into one program, and results in the teacher becoming more of a facilitator

Adobe issues:  Adobe has no intention of making flash available on tablets, so this will likely remain an issue for certain websites

Classroom support?

• Marty and other instructional technologists were great support
• School tech facilitator too
• Kids when trained become troubleshooters
• They could text Marty and other tech facilitators

Jody, Tech Facilitator at Rural Hall: 

• The teacher (Rose) did a great job learning the tablet
• Have to train the teachers how to troubleshoot
• Takes true dedication and commitment

Betty believes we need more tech support but it also definitely takes that commitment to want to learn by the teachers, and finding ways to train in ways that people become more self sufficient.

• This is why she is so in favor of this pilot
• It's also why DOT has not committed to buy thousands of one device.  
• She has heard this repeated at national conferences over and over again.
• Teachers have to find alternative ways—“times are a changing”—our roles are changing.

How do you advocate inter-personal skills:

• Mike:  There are a lot of collaboration/group projects so the students  still have discussions with each other.  
• Rose:  Students have roles/jobs and they rotate, and not everyone has the device at the same time or all the time.

For the science teachers:  will there be troubleshooting training?

• Jackie person—have to redefine "training"--support doesn’t always mean “fixing”
• problem solving needs to be taught, it will just take time.

Betty--use of cell phones at meetings?/multi-tasking

• We need to listen to what they have to say, sometimes when you have "visitors, you have to give more undivided attention
• Classroom behavior management will be important in all of this, we see the same issues with adults at these meetings.
• Don’t do the “how am I going to support all this” –don’t do that to yourself!

Laptops for Science:

• 10,000 laptop deployment begins the week after Thanksgiving (High schools first, then Middle Schools) All expected to be done by December 15^th. 
• Never done this volume before
• Email will go to principal and tech facilitator specifying date of deliver (may only be a day ahead of time) They will not email the science teachers at this time.
• The workday training took place only because they had the time, and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. There will be a one time make up of this training.

Leased laptops:

• DO NOT mark on leased laptops
• DO NOT engrave the leased laptops
• You mark it, you buy it at full market price ($600)
• They know beyond a shadow of a doubt, some teachers will be tempted to take one of the cart laptops and make it theirs, but we can't let that happen.
• Help her keep the carts “in tact”
• Media Coordinators have heard this and gotten it in writing (Jackie Pierson)

Renegotiated Wake Forest contract:  

• Deploying for all teachers minus the teachers who got them last year
• Tell teachers to hang tight, as they figure out exactly how many and will start sending out those notices next week. 
• Not prepared to give you the numbers yet, because still working with testing for kids with accommodations for schools that need laptops for kids with mods that need CD drive for read alouds.
• Testing laptops may be in the hands of curriculum coordinators not sure yet—checking with Dana Wright

TBT have to be the main source of information to keep everyone on the same page

• Title 1 schools should they lease or buy new computers?  That's a discussion to have with Kevin

Classroom  Solutions for Science Teachers (5th,8th grades and high school)

• They were approved unanimous by commissioners, minus the clickers
• Class room surveys are complete
• Installations will begin in December and continue through February
• Carla will take the lead on communicating to each school the schedule for installation as it approaches

Microsoft work at Home Licenses:

• School district does now own licensing for MS Office
• Still questioning the work at home rights
• Will involve logging in with email address
• $9.95 charge?  Sounds like the charge version will be to have a permanent license on your computer at home that would stay even if you leave the district?  Otherwise the free one would be suspended if you leave?
• They are looking at fine print between owning a license and a copy of the software, trying to determine if home users can install for free or $9.95?
• Answer will come back later (probably by the next meeting).  She will let us know which it is.

Boosters for Phones at schools?: 

• Sprint repeaters are being tested at maintenance, Piney grove, NW Middle and Reagan HS
• Email access can be enhanced using wireless capacity within the school
• Have not heard the results of this pilot yet
• In TBT there will be information about this and they would like every principal’s phone checked. 
• Some basic rules:
• Don’t look for 4G—it’s sucking up the battery
• Use wireless for classroom walk troughs
• Tablets the same thing…use wireless-data plan is gone
• When you get this check list, help the principals and AP’s and others in your buildings with phones to complete this check list--They need are help with this

November 12^th:  The wireless will be reconfigured and in effect

• Managed and MLC networks in effect
• WSFCS _ mic wireless accounts will be issued per request to the Help Desk

Teachers who did not mark "post to parent" assist is huge—SAS portal shows that report--help teachers get the word on this

Power School: http://www.ncwise.org/powerschool.html

• New NCWISE product replacement
• DPI is very lean now, and they are outsourcing to power school
• Secondary scheduling should be completed in esis by MAY 1
• Will be deployed in August 13-14
• Only way to do it is to cut off scheduling by May 1^st
• DPI is not budging on their date
• May 1^st, teachers still have NCWISE, gradebook, attendance, etc. That will not change
• What will change are counselors etc who do scheduling won’t be able to do anything new in scheduling (in NCWISE) Well,  they could, but any changes after May 1st will NOT move to power school
• Middle Schools normally finish scheduling in the summer, and will have to be backed up to May 1^st unless Betty is able to get the date changed.
• As Betty finds good training modules, she will start sharing those
• Betty is also happy to come to schools to talk with teachers/staff about this transition.

Kevin Sherrill and Carla Miller:

Laptop roll-out:

• It is a big project
• Schedule:
• Carts are shipping tomorrow (290)
• Starting Nov 12^th laptops will come in three shipments
• Walkertown Middle in Auditorium is their staging head quarters
• Building is secure and alarmed
• Will need through thanksgiving to get staged
• There will be 6 teams each of five people, 3 assembly lines per day, naming  joining laptops to domain, and testing wireless, etc.
• Should be 12-15 days of work subject to change
• Naming convention:
• 3000 range for carts
• M516LL300101
• This is a start-over standard for these, and makes sense

Labeling of laptops:

• DOT has permission to mark with a colored number –permanent painter pen
• Will use a card with cart name that is color coded with pen mark
• Should help keep carts and laptops matched
• Repair process will continue as normal
• Only mark will be a number
• Under battery there will be a QR code that can’t be rubbed off
• Tell the machine name and serial number, date issued, etc. 
• One cart label will be a QR code with names of laptops that should be in that cart
• Lenovo will also have a database they will maintain for which serial numbers at which schools
• Betty said don’t make a big change in inventory procedures
• These will go on AMTR

The laptop Cart: 

• Holds 32 units
• go in vertically with plug at top
• Two keys for each cart
• Same keys for every cart
• Betty—no to requests for power strips in classrooms—will not support additional
• Power supplies have to stay in the cart (but T60 and other laptops you may have in the building have the same power supply)
• Batteries hold minimum 6 hours
• No blue tags for these?  Not sure yet.—but DOT will do that most likely if required
• Based on high theft
• Full computrace will be on each one, and can be used in theft sitautions
• Image for this?  Hopefully will be one...we have sent them, but we will know later
• If all is good, X131 image—will be pushed out to imaging server, office 2010, windows 7, IE 9?
• Kevin recommends no printers on them, goes in line with BYOD which kids won’t have printers on them.
• When they bring laptops to the school, Principal will sign off: 
• 27-29^th high school testing (will not be a good time to bring them to  during those dates)

How will they handle damage to the devices?

• Will be repaired in the same way laptops are now—
• There is a 3 year warrantee, and they can be sent in to Lenovo too—
• covering abuse and neglect?  Not sure yet on that
• Overall, these are no different than any other equipment in your school
• Stay in the science rooms?, up to us and the principals
• Kevin supports the idea of using them all over the school

Teacher laptops—

• last year T400 issued last year (those are the teachers who will not get these)
• They should have about 2160 extra laptops (after the science cart deployment) and those will get pushed to the teachers who did not get Wake laptops last year

Other miscellaneous info on laptops

• Carts are either 28 or 32
• Should not need any charging stations since battery life is as good on these as any they have seen
• Laptops charges all at the same time

Wireless change:  on November 13^th

• School Phone carriers will remain in the group to connect to wireless with Active directory 
• What will stop working?  
• "foreign devices" for people who have been activating with AD
• MLC going away at school, but continue to issue via service desk
• Any other questions, contact Kevin

Buddy Martin:  

• computrace sometimes is mysteriously disappearing; put in a ticket if you see it.
• If laptops get stolen—best to involve the SRO, get police report and then Buddy will be able to help with as much  info he can get from computrace

License  office 2010—full details next meeting.

Carla Miller:

• Surplus—been on hold because of science class walk troughs
• Bill Hall being contacted from "e-cycling"
• Be sure to respond to Carla if conflicts or testing on the date she sends them for surplus pickup

Chris Corbin: 

Some issues with  driver missing on certain images (like specific T60 laptops)

• He has created a Driver depot
• \\340srv12\driverdepot

• Start , run, type that in
• Complete repository of computer and printer drivers
• You can browse for the drivers in device management under advanced search

They are now aware of laptops dropping off the network—they will put something in TBT? (Several reported this, and Greenwood will submit a Kace ticket)

• Assign ticket to Kevin about these issues—
• Another issue--power issue of the new computers going into sleep mode and kicking out the sound driver (T. Greenwood)

Steven Anderson

• What they are showing us today with regard to training for science teachers are  just conversation “starters”—they need more time with the science teachers
• Edmodo
• Curriculum pathways/digital textbooks
• Management plan section—teachers ask questions, and tell them their fears
• Celia and Marty provided management plans which teachers can modify
• All this will be in tech facilitator edmodo group (Steven will put edmodo group code for tech facilitators in the TBT

Celia –Questions about instruction?

• Have stressed less paper is better
• Management plan Science teacher were asked to come up with five things that are important that apply to you, and to share in edmodo group to share with each other
• Strongly encourage same student with same machine daily
• Having a spreadsheet with the last three or four digits of serial number assigned to students?  was an idea for managing the laptops
• Science teachers don’t necessarily want to share them with other teachers based on the survey of hands at their meeting--they want to use them everyday apparently!
• But, If not being used everyday, they should share
• Celia, Marty and Evan will be doing more training
• Teachers were encouraged not to call but put in a ticket if problems
• They also stressed for the teachers to share in edmodo the varipous tips and tricks they encounter in their classes
• Teach the kids how to fix things
• Told them to do what school policy is first, in terms of contacting tech facilitator for problems

Curriculum Pathways  Brian Piekarski

Any teacher using it, needs IE 9 or above or google chrome

www.sascurriculumpathways.com

• Do a System check on the machine
• Teachers can Create a login
• click on Subscribe now
• Use active directory login if possible
• Put in school email address that has to be verified
• Have to make curriculum pathways a safe sender in google chrome…Brian will have instructions in TBT for that

Four types of activities

• There are quick launch numbers
• In edmodo group—there is a science curriculum pathways group
• There are school passwords for students (southeast)
• Teachers can copy link to activity and post on their webpage
• Curriculum pathways does not grade, but could use with CPS/Active inspire
• Curriculum pathways can look as a supplement to what they are doing:  could be a front loader or a review, etc.

Benika Thompson—no text book in years.  Publisher based digital text—vs. text flex

Ckflexbooks
http://www.ck12.org/teacher

• Can blend books together,
• Kids don’t have to have an account.
• Can link activities in the flex book to curriculum pathways for example)
• There is a PDF version that can be downloaded
• Teachers will get a lot more information on this, and they will make some and share with the teachers.

Other miscellaneous instructional:

• Could there be Web-X's that we could post?
• We realize they will be overwhelmed with technology to begin with…
• There will be more on curriculum pathways
• Code for tech facilitator edmodo will be in TBT and Steven will share what they have been sharing in science in that group.

Betty –this could potentially be the last big purchase of computers with BYOD coming on.

That’s the big picture—focus on the curriculum

Training for classroom solutions—training for active expressions still needs to be encouraged.