23rd
A look back and forward…
Taking a look back in review for the year as things have really heated up where I work. It’s always good to take a moment and see what you have accomplished and where you are headed.
Probably the biggest trend that we have seen over the past 6-months is a major rise in the demand for iDevices. We are nearing 300 iPads and have about 10 to 15 iPod Touch and about 20 iPhones in our system now that interact with our network. We had to set up a dedicated network for these devices and come up with a new system to ensure that the apps would work. The fact that apps are not proxy aware has led us into a new direction with our fitering approach as well. We also have had to come up with a process for buying the apps.
The resounding theme that we are hearing at every turn is more access. Teachers and students alike are wanting more devices to access resources. This probably is one of the driving forces behind the iDevice wave… well, along with the “cool” factor.
Another major trend we are seeing is more assessment. This has presented a challenge in that each assessment solution has its own requirements for devices and the manner in which they are set up. It also means that more devices are occupied for assessment and thus, less availability for research and production of project materials for students.
We have completed a couple of fairly major projects this year already. We migrated our district financial service to the cloud with a fairly smooth transition. We have refreshed all of the teacher computers at an elementary school that were long overdue. We also implemented a new web filtering solution that is still an evolving process. All of this while surviving another start to a new school year and the routing break-fix issues we see on a daily basis. Not a bad four-plus months so far but now the heat rises a bit as we do a 180-degree turn and look forward. Here are the projects we have before us.
AUTHENTICATION GATEWAY
We have had a “Guest” network for about 6-years now that would allow personally-owned devices to utilize our internet access but it has always been so “clunky” to use. This will allow users to bring personally-owned devices in and utilize our network resources in a much more user-friendly manner. This will work with laptops, iPads, iPhones, Blackberry’s, Androids…. any device with a network card.
We will also utilize the resources of this solution to better provide service to our community. The idea is to be more welcoming to community members who come to help in the overall district experience.
SERVER UPGRADE
We have the purchasing process complete and are ready to install a new server environment. This will consolidate the amount of physical servers we have and provide more redundancy, better backups and the ability to provide better service to end users. This project really is long overdue and is key to many of the other projects you see here.
SCHOOL WEB PRESENCE
We are not only redesigning the look and feel of our website, we are adding many services that will provide more possibilities. We will offer an environment to allow for online learning where teachers can create online courses and students can be enrolled and contribute materials. Students will have space to create content and share that content with others. The new site will be set up so that “many” can contribute to the overall web experience when “one” visits.
HIGH SCHOOL REFRESH
We are in the early planning stages of refreshing the high school technology. This is our biggest school so this will be a major project. We have surveyed the faculty and staff and once again we hear loud and clear, MORE ACCESS! This will come in phases as we first will work to bolster the network capacity to a level that can seamlessly handle more devices.
We will be adding some 80 access points to what we already have in our high school. Some of those access points will be located outside so that technology can support learning in areas outside of our buildings where instruction occurs.
Once the network is upgraded we will turn our focus to devices. The jury is still a bit out on the specifics but this will probably end up being the most varied refresh we have ever accomplished at Graves County. There will most likely be a mix of desktops, laptops and slates of various brands when we finish this refresh.
All in all, it’s a busy road ahead and will be a stressful experience but in the end, I think we will see a major increase in the capabilities of our school district.
