--- TIC-TECH message:
Many apologies for the late arrival of the Tech Forum Meeting Minutes.
Have a wonderful summer vacation! We'll see you at the Forum next year.
~The Staff at Information Services
Seattle Public Schools
Technology Forum
June 7, 2001
Minutes
Announcements
New Director of Information Technology
Bryce Nelson will be performing the duties of Director of Instructional
Technology and Libraries. Bryce will be attending the Technology Forum
meetings next year.
Changes to Training Link Under Inside.seattleschools.org Website
Changes were made to the inside.seattleschools.org website under training.
The new page lists Professional Development and Training and contains
training information for three departments.
E-Registration from Inside Training Link Fixed
The link to register for training from the inside.seattleschools.org site is
now fixed. If you submitted for registration within the past three weeks,
Information Services may not have received your registration. Please check
the list to verify that we received your registration.
Verification of Registration for Summer Institute Classes
Please check with Charlie Walker after today's meeting for verification of
whether you have been accepted to the class(es).
New Student Information System Update
Marjorie Mills provided a brief update on the new student information system
project. Currently we have a VAX system, SIS, where we do grade marking,
attendance recording, immunization tracking, discipline tracking, etc. We
are in the process of developing a system that will be more usable
throughout the District. The goal is to make the new Student Information
System accessible to everyone in the District, including teachers and
parents.
New Student project is just getting started. Last year, a consultant was
hired to evaluate our current SIS system and to evaluate our future needs.
The project team has decided to develop a more long-range plan and clearly
define the project goals and objectives.
Judy Margrath-Huge is the project sponsor. Judy Margrath-Huge, John
Rowlands, Manny Ovena, Marjorie Mills, David Engle and Barbara Lippke are
the steering committee members for the project.
It is anticipated that the RFP will be released in the fall.
A team of 12 District representatives visited the Spokane School District's
new student information system. They had the opportunity to view Spokane's
system at an elementary, middle and high school. Spokane's new student
system was both inspiring and informative.
We are looking for involvement from school staff. If you are interested in
participating somehow in the development of the new system please contact
Marjorie Mills or Barbara Lippke. Marjorie Mills email address is
mmills@seattleschools.org <mailto:mmills@seattleschools.org> or her phone
number is 252-0321.
Loyal Heights Student Demo
Janice Ryerson presented student work to the attendees of the Tech Forum.
She worked on multiple projects with different aged children to incorporate
technology into the reading curriculum. Examples of their work were shared
with the group, with explanation of the assignment and process that the
students were taken through.
Whitman Middle School Demo
Rae Hanashiro and her students from Whitman gave a presentation. Rae
received a grant to provide her students with a laptop and participate in a
Start to Finish reading program. The students demonstrated several new
software applications that have been integrated into the curriculum as a
result of the grant including: Inspiration, Dragon Naturally Speaking,
CoWriter, and Write OutLoud. The Start to Finish series is a multi-sensory
approach to reading that allows students to hear and read the stories.
Tech Levy Update
Manny Ovena provided a Technology Levy update. The levy project was
accelerated to complete by 2002. 25 sites are completed and on the WAN.
This summer, 25 more sites will be completed.
When schools complete their plan they are eligible to start ordering their
desktop computers. Our goal is to have 80% new computers, and 20% recycled
computers.
The Exchange mail project is going to be more structured so that the staff
at the schools understands the scope of the project and the benefits of the
change. We are encouraging the sites that are on the WAN to convert to MS
Outlook. That will help everyone to be on a common communication platform
and will provide the schools with some productivity tools. We would like to
have the Outlook rollout completed by September 2002.
The information on the Technology Levy Update June 2001 brochure is
incorrect. There are several schools that are almost complete with their
Tech Plans. The brochure needs to be updated with correct information on
schools that have completed Tech Plans and schools on the WAN
Clarification on the difference between OWA and the full Outlook client was
made. Several schools in attendance at the meeting would like to have the
full client installed on their machines including Wedgwood and Maple.
A request was made for clarification of the process for getting new Outlook
accounts.
How are plans coming for Notebooks for the teachers? The BEX 2 levy
included plans for computers for teachers. Information Services is in the
process of evaluating whether it will be a desktop or a laptop. Looking at
borrowing money to get the project going before next May when the BEX2 money
starts rolling in.
Is there someone at the District that negotiates computer pricing for the
District? Charlie agreed that the pricing information changes quickly and
it is a challenge to keep the website updated. A request was made that the
site be updated on a regular basis.
A request was made to have information on the BEX2 levy available on the
website.
A request was made to including information for Office 2001 for MAC on the
website. It was recommended that individuals with questions about software
direct those questions to Michael Gross at Information Services, at
252-0362.
Is there any information available on how much longer Bess is going to
impact email connectivity speed? Network browsers should be bypassing Bess
to get to Webmail or Edumail. If you suspect that this is not happening,
please call the Helpdesk at 252-0333 and report. Helpdesk staff will send a
notice to the Network Analyst to correct problem.
Apple iBook & Apple Network Admin Demo
Kirk Godfredsen gave a presentation on the new Apple iBook that was
introduced a couple of months ago. The new Apple iBook is relatively
inexpensive. Kathie Davis, District Purchasing, is coordinating the
purchasing of new Apple iBooks.
Dell Demo
Susan McIver introduced Jerry Seaney a Dell Systems Consultant who resides
in the area. Product life cycle is typically 18 to 24 months. Jerry was
here to talk about servers. Dell is the number one server provider by
market share in the U.S. Dell has made a point of becoming an enterprise
provider in the last four years. Dell will build your product to your exact
specifications; it is not built until you order it. Dell also has
consulting and installation service to customize and help you with
deployment and training. Jerry's job is to help spread knowledge of what
Dell can do for you, and help you make educated choices. Systems management
assistance is also available.
Software Licensing
Office 2000 is no longer available from the Microsoft Select Agreement. You
can no longer buy the Office 2000 license under the Microsoft Select
Agreement. XP is now available. Publisher is no longer bundled with XP.
If you already have a 2000 license, you may still use the 2000 version of
Publisher. XP Office is not yet supported by I.S. Therefore, if you buy XP
Office license you will load Office 2000 for now. As soon as XP is proven
to work with all the standard desktop programs you can upgrade to XP.
Michael may be reached at 252-0362 if you have questions regarding software.
Levy machines will be preloaded and licensed with Office. All student
machines will be provided with a license.
If you purchase a pc independently, plan to purchase the license.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
Submitted to Tic-Tech By:
Lesley Woodcock
Systems Support Trainer
Information Services Helpdesk
252-0333
LWoodcock@seattleschools.org
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