--- TIC-TECH message:
Seattle Public Schools
Technology Forum
September 27, 2001
Minutes
Call to Order
Charlie Walker called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. Charlie made brief
introductions of John Rowlands, Director of Information Services, and Manny
Ovena, Project Manager for the Technology Levy.
U-Wired - Damien Koemans
Damien manages the U-Wired program for the University of Washington.
U-Wired is a partnership between the UW, SPS, and SCCD to support technology
in the schools. It is a cost effective solution to having technical support
at the school site. The techs are $5,000 per student, 10 hours per week,
for an entire year.
U-Wired students work well with Network Analysts, and have the ability to
work with staff and teachers one-on-one. Techs are available to help
teachers become more comfortable with technology in their classrooms.
Gatewood Elementary is interested in finding out when they will be getting
their U-Wired student for which they applied. Damien does the interviewing
and placements in the schools.
If you are interested in getting a U-Wired student at your school or have
any questions about the program, please email Charlie Walker at
chwalker@seattleschools.org.
Microsoft Family Technology Night- Kristin Kappl
Kristin Kappl is the Microsoft Territory Manager for the K-12 Schools in
Washington.
Family Technology Night is a Technology Night that Microsoft completely
sponsors, it is a school/community outreach program targeted at the parents.
Does not specifically focus on MS technology, it talks about operating
systems, printers, etc. The only requirement is that a site have a
coordinator to coordinate the event. If you are interested, please email
Kristin Kappl at
kkappl@microsoft.com <mailto:kkappl@microsoft.com> .
MCTN Microsoft Classroom Teacher Network - Kristin Kappl
This is on the Microsoft.com/education link off the MS website. The MCTN
site features lesson plans, curriculum, speakers, put together by a
corporate group that tries to make the software usable in the classroom.
Kristin has 20 Teaching and Learning CD's that include fun curriculum and
lesson plans - cross platform, for W98 or better.
Education Road Show - Kristin Kappl
The Education Road Show is on Friday, October 5th, at 9:00 a.m. This is an
education specific road show, which will feature educational products.
Directions to the Education Road Show are available on the website.
Software Licensing - Kristin Kappl
Microsoft has made some changes to licensing. The Microsoft Select
Agreement has changed, effective February 2002, is transitioning into a new
program called software assurance. The annual cost that you pay up front
will allow schools to stay current. If you are considering any upgrades,
there is still the opportunity to purchase Upgrade Advantage until February
28, 2002.
There is a new program called School Agreement 3.0. New version allows
unbundled product selection. There is also a student option component
available to students under School Agreement 3.0.
Kristin is willing to set up a NetMeeting to discuss licensing for Seattle
employees who are interested. Please email kkappl@microsoft.com
<mailto:kkappl@microsoft.com> if you are interested.
Technology Levy Update - Manny Ovena
Manny provided the Tech Levy update. The brochure was distributed and
reviewed. The highlighted schools are completed. This summer we went
through a series of schools, getting them on the LAN and getting their new
phones installed. A fiber optic WAN is currently being installed. We just
selected a vendor to help us install the fiber optic network. The schedule
is to have the new WAN in place by the end of next school year.
Graham Hill is concerned because they have problems getting an outside line
with the new telephones. Manny explained that after the fiber optic voice
and data network is installed, it will be easier for employees to get an
outside line.
Greg Doud asked questions about the phones for John Hay. He is concerned
because of the cost of putting the phone on the teacher's desk. Manny and
the principal have worked out a cost-free alternative that may work for Hay.
Teacher Computer Deployments - Manny Ovena
When will the laptops be deployed to the teachers? After a common platform
is established and the support issues are ironed out, then the deployments
will start. School representatives were concerned about the issue of a
common platform, and requested that teacher computers may be deployed on a
school-by-school basis. Information Services in the planning stages for
deploying teacher computers. It is likely that they will be desktops rather
than laptops. Attendees expressed that laptops need to be deployed to all
the teachers so that they are mobile and can go with the teacher.
Manny anticipates that by the next meeting he will have more information to
share and a prototype of the teacher tools to be installed in the
workstations.
SIS STARS Update - Barbara Lippke/Marjorie Mills
The STARS project is the new Student Information System which is currently
in the development stages. Marjorie Mills, Barbara Lippke, and Mary Brown
from the project team were present. Marjorie provided an update on the
technology. Information Services is currently in the planning stages for
the new Student Information System. A new platform has not yet been decided
upon, however, options are being explored. The project team is trying to
identify the core things that schools use the current system for, and
specifications for the new system. The project team is hoping to release an
RFP by December 2001 or January 2002, review proposals in the Spring 2002,
make a vendor selection and prepare to deploy by Fall 2003.
On Monday, October 1, 2001, an invitation will be sent to schools and
principals, requesting input from the schools on the new Student Information
System. Barbara requested that any interested parties who would like to
participate in being a focus group, should inform their principal on Monday.
If you have any ideas that you would like to share with the project team,
please email the project. All thoughts and ideas will be given
consideration.
Email Update- Manny Ovena
Two brochures were handed out to the group.
The goal of the Microsoft Outlook email deployments is to connect all
District employees to a common email system. 37 schools are on Outlook and
there are about 18 schools that are almost deployed. There is an initiative
this Fall to get caught up with the Tech Levy schedule. Trying to implement
email immediately after the WAN and LAN are in.
The Outlook Deployment Team has been working on adjusting the processes, to
make the process flow more smoothly at the school. Working on creating an
email account for every employee at every school and then ask the principal
for authorization to unlock accounts.
Account request forms should be sent to Information Services, AC-350, ATTN:
Mary Baker.
Schools that need training can have on-site training in Microsoft Outlook.
Wing Luke is experiencing problems and requested training on-site.
School Technology Plans - Bryce Nelson
Bryce Nelson provided an update on the Technology Plans. There are 11
master teachers at Instructional Technology, including: Carl Shutoff, Cheryl
Bohn, Dwight Harris, Eric Caldwell, Gary Cranston, Grace Dublin, Janice
Johnson-Palmer, Juli Swinnerton, Peter Klein, Roberta Johnson, and Rosalind
Wise, whose task is to help all the schools finish writing their Technology
Plans. 41 schools have completed their Technology Plans. Bryce hopes to
get all of the Technology plans completed by Winter 2002. The second task
of the master teacher is to assist the school staff to integrate the new
technology in the curriculum. Next Spring, master teachers will begin
conducting pilots on the teacher computers to be rolled out next year.
Question: Are the library computers calculated in the student to computer
ratio?
Answer: Yes, they are. The library is a classroom and needs to be included
in the Tech Plans.
Bess Proxy Update - April Johnson
The Law, and District policy, says that we must use a filter on the
Internet. We are currently using Bess Proxy. After things settle down we
will see if there are better filtering options on the market. John Rowlands
will ask for volunteers to assist in reviewing filtering options.
Question: How should we filter?
Answer: It is possible to filter differently at the secondary and the
elementary levels. However, we need to ensure that additional flexibility
does not require an inordinate amount of staff support.
Question: What is the policy on site-based proxy servers?
Answer: Not every school can afford it, the process to make that possible
is still in the works.
There is a new Bess system that is 3 to 4 times faster. There are currently
4 Bess servers, and much more activity.
Virus Update - April Johnson
When you get email delivered to MS Exchange from outside the district, any
executable files have been stripped from the email message. If you really
need the file that was kept by the server, follow the steps outlined in the
email attachment to request that the file be sent to you.
A computer can get a virus from a file share, email communications and also
from websites. Nimda was the most recent virus that infected the school
district. Unless you have Norton or Command antivirus software on the
machine, you may not know that there is a virus on the machine.
April requested that all servers have virus protection on them, and also
requested that responsible school staff perform the Windows and IIS updates
and make sure that the servers have up to date software and patches. This
will help prevent viruses from infecting the server.
Internet Slowness - April Johnson
The bottleneck used to be Bess. Now it is the T1 line, because many more
schools have been added to the network.. We lowered the priority of file
transfers and installing software from across the network to keep the
Follett system and other systems running smoothly. There are currently 8
zones in the District, through which the traffic flows, these measures will
make Web performance and Library access faster.
Support Update - Charlie Walker
Several of the Network Analysts are now Dell certified. Please call the
Helpdesk and get a ticket number if you need your machine serviced. Please
do not call Dell directly for support with computers.
Charlie redistributed the 3-tier Support Memo outlining support for the
desktops in the District. The District will be moving to Windows 2000
really soon.
In about one month, edumail clients (which most teachers use for email) will
be moved to the seattleschools domain. When the teachers are moved to the
seattleschools domain, they will be notified. You most likely will not
notice any difference in the performance of the site, but the domain name
will change from Montana to Seattleschools.
Any problems in the field, please report them to the Helpdesk via phone or
email. Information Services will dispatch a Network Analyst.
Standards -John Rowlands
Information Services is continuing to work with schools and staff
departments to develop District-wide technology standards. Technology
standards reduce costs, reduce support requirements, increase reliability,
increase availability, increase 'portability' for teachers/staff/students,
etc. The bottom line is that schools save money and staff is happier and
more productive. As the standards are developed they are posted on the
inside.seattleschools.org web site.
Next Meeting
The next Technology Forum is scheduled for Thursday, October 25, 2001 from
4:00 PM until 6:00 PM at the A&S Auditorium. Charlie requested volunteers
for student activities. Agenda items for the next forum should be sent to
chwalker@seattleschools.org.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 PM.
***************
Submitted to Tic-Tech By:
Lesley Woodcock
Systems Support Trainer
Information Services Helpdesk
252-0333
LWoodcock@seattleschools.org
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