Teacher Computers

Teachers will be receiving one of of 161 new MacBook Pro laptop computers with this summer rollout.

These computers are similar to the student computers since they have no moving parts, include 128 Gb of storage, and have a 13" screen.

There is still some setup work to complete to have the mass deployment ready.  This includes the creation of a school-issued Apple ID for every teacher.  It will come in very handy when it comes time to update or install any applications either on an iPad or teacher laptop.

We should be on track to have teacher computers ready during the week of July 11-15 25-29.  I will send out emails about how the check-in / check-out procedure will work.  There will be times available each week until school begins to make the switch.  Any teacher can wait until the start of school, but I would really like to see most of the new computers deployed long before that.

Teachers:  Please Please Please get your data backed up.  This can be done using your Google Drive, a large flash drive, or and external hard drive.   Let me know if you need help with this.

Check back here for more details.

Computer Labs

The computer labs at Fairview, Bailey Park, and Davis are each getting upgrades.  The 25 computers in each will be switched out to iMacs that have Apple's newest operating system, El Capitan, installed.

Most classrooms had 3 or 4 iMacs in them, but this will no longer be necessary with the new carts. These are replacing the lab computers, but this also gives us plenty of computers to go around to update the custodian, kitchen, and check-in stations. The labs may become functionally obsolete, but we need to see how well the iPads handle our standardized testing during the school year.  There should be a distinct change in how they will be used. Our summer tech help is going through the tedious process of completing the updating in each.

iPads

This week we unloaded 516 iPads to be placed in 23 carts.  This includes 18 carts of 22 computers for each grade K-2 with 16 Gb of storage.  It also includes 3 carts of 25 iPads to be used in the 3-4 classrooms.

We had another outstanding group of volunteers to help unpack the iPads, place them in the new protective cases, and install the charging wiring.
Each cart has a capacity of 42 tablets and have carefully installed charging cables.
Each cart was labeled by building, grade level, and section. B21 indicates Bailey Park, Grade 2, Section 1

MacBook Air laptop computers

 There is significant work to do yet before the new student computers are ready.

An 'image' needs to completed for all of these computers.  This is the template that is provided on all computers at the start of the school year.  All of the computers are then cloned, except for login details.  This included a management system, called Casper.

Each computer has a unique identifying asset tag.  The same number is also placed on its charger block and sleeve case.  Before a computer is taken home, a form must be signed agreeing to the District's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).

1046 new MacBook Air computers have arrived that will be issued to students in grades 5-12.  These computers arrived last week on 16 pallets and were carefully unloaded. The computers have 13" screens, 128 Gb of storage, and 8Gb of RAM.
Our summer tech staff carefully unloads the pallets.  5 high school students have been working this summer and staying very busy.
A big thanks goes to Mrs. Wolfe, who ordered these heavy duty shelves for her classroom.  They make a great temporary storage for the boxes.
A generous team of volunteers opened every box and removed the computer boxes from the outer cardboard.  This helps save significant time when the time comes to begin the imaging process.
The resulting large pile of boxes were all taken to the city recyclables collection site.  For a brief time, there was a cardboard mountain by the auditorium.

Student Computers and Tablets

Here are the basics of how tech will look like in the upcoming school year:

Grades 5-12:  1046 MacBook Airs.
5th grade students will work from classroom sets and will be allowed to take theirs home later in the school year.

Grades 3-4:  300 refurbished MacBook Pros on 12 carts and 75 iPads (64 Gb) on 3 carts
Each classroom teacher will have a classroom set of refurbished MacBook Pros.

Grades K-2:  440 iPads (16 Gb) on 20 carts
Each classroom teacher will have a classroom set of iPads.
The computer labs will also be upgraded to refurbished imacs.

Every teacher will be issued a new MacBook Pro.
Teacher Assistants who need one will be issued a refurbished MacBook Pro.

There are some other potential projects in the works, including switching internet service providers, upgrading Internet bandwidth at the elementary buildings, updating the District's phone system, and updating the District's website.  There are several other initiatives progressing in the upcoming school year that will not be addressed in this thread.

Look for more tech details in upcoming postings.

Introduction

This is a lively summer for all the new changes in technology that will serve to continue to transform instruction for all of our students.  This is a result of an impressive commitment by our community, school board, administration, and staff to purchase and support some new and amazing tools.

This blog serves to show some insight of the work progress happening this summer.  The intended audience is our fine staff, but not exclusively.  It is a communication tool to be informed and know what is going on.

I am the Technology Integrationist for the District, but am serving a larger role in this transition time between outgoing and incoming technology directors.

-Bill Gruman