Page 21 - School Planning & Management, June 2019

Defining a vision supported by goals and expected outcomes makes purchasing technology that will have the greatest impact on the largest number of students easier.
(CHISD), in Texas, we used E-rate funds to vastly improve the density of our wireless network environment and greatly increase the district’s internet bandwidth.
Additionally, it’s useful to create budgets for account creation/provisioning software and buying or creating a single sign-on (SSO) tool. Ideally, budgets would also cover a dedicated employee for the import and export of employee and scholar demographic information, including names, birthdates, classes, periods, and ID numbers—along with yearly renewals and programming updates. In Pickens,
we have a digital resource specialist who works with our OneRoster processes and troubleshoots issues for teachers.
To make sure it all runs smoothly, a clear process with realistic timelines for hardware and software purchasing must be developed and communicated to all district leadership. A good order tracking system is essential, as well.
4) Hire or train tech-savvy staff.
Making sure you have an adequate techni- cal staff, both inside and beyond the IT department, to implement and support
all initiatives, is also absolutely essential. Keeping everyone properly trained on all digital resources and their updates is a real challenge.
The cost of any technology, whether it is hardware or digital content and tools, is far greater than just the purchase price. Providing adequate, ongoing support
to technical staff, teachers, administra- tors, and students cannot be overlooked. Districts must make investments in teach- ers who can fill the role of a technology integration coach.
5) Provide automatic account provisioning and SSO.
Automatic account provisioning from your student information system (SIS) is vital. Whether you are using Active Directory, Google, or use both as we do at CHISD, hav- ing accounts created the first day that staff and students arrive is essential, as is having a single location for all digital resources.
The biggest challenge is ensuring data is accurate from the SIS and human re- sources. Inaccurate data hinders automatic account provisioning and prevents users from being assigned to their proper groups.
ClassLink is the SSO portal we use
to keep all resources in one place. Its Launchpad makes it easier for teachers and students to find and login to everything they need, and also allows us to add and remove applications when necessary, while only granting access to those who need it.
Whatever SSO you select, it’s impor- tant to create policies for registration and enrollment to help keep data as accurate as possible. Districts must adopt policies that clearly define the rostering and single sign- on requirements a vendor must adhere to before the district can purchase it. Ensure that acceptable use agreements are signed at the beginning of the relationship—and that they are enforced.
6) Choose the right resources.
To be digital from day one, a district needs to choose high-quality digital content
and resources that can be implemented
as smoothly as possible. When research- ing digital content and resources, check
to see if vendors comply with the open standards set by the IMS Global Learning Consortium. These standards, which have been adopted by thousands of educational technology companies, were created to help provide educational institutions with a
seamless user experience, while also lifting the expensive burden schools face integrat- ing products into their systems.
7) Offer up-front and ongoing training.
Without training, these initiatives will not be used. You may have your network and all the tools your teachers wanted in place, but if they don’t have adequate training in using all that new technology, they’re likely to get frustrated and use something else.
One measure of the success of your PD is how many teachers log in per year. In Pickens, our logins have grown from 7,300 on average our first year with ClassLink
to more than 18,000 on average this year. In Washingtonville, our monthly logins increased from 36,000 in 2017 to 50,000 in 2018.
Being digital from day 1 requires planning and communication throughout the district, but the payoff is giving your teachers one less thing to worry about as they prepare for the school year. They’ll become more likely to integrate technology into their lessons when they know they can count on it being ready to go. SPM
>>Barbara Nesbitt is the executive director of technology at Pickens County School District. She can be reached at barbaranesbitt@pickens. k12.sc.us.
Joe Catania is the director of data management and technology for the Washingtonville Central School District. He can be reached at jcatania@ ws.k12.ny.us.
Neil Bolton serves as the executive director of technology for the Cedar Hill Independent School District. Reach him at neil. bolton@chisd.net.
JUNE 2019 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 21