The past year has been an active and exciting time for our technology department. With generous warrants from both the towns of Groton and Dunstable, technology integration has significantly increased across all of our schools. The warrant has allowed for an increasing student-to-device ratio of roughly 2:1.
With the influx of educational technology equipment and the strengthening of network infrastructure provided by the warrant, improvements in day-to-day technology integration are evident among both staff and students.
After a successful field test of PARCC in the spring of 2014, we have elected to have our third through eighth-grade students retake the computer-based assessments in 2015. The addition of Google Chromebooks and a strong network has prepared our district well for this new testing platform.
Before the start of the 2014-2015 school year, introductory and data-gathering meetings with administration and members of the technology department were scheduled to identify district strengths and needs. There has been a concerted effort to maintain strong communication with the technology department by organizing and facilitating monthly meetings. A highlight of this time is the early stages of developing mission and vision statements to support long-range district goals.
In preparation for supporting these goals, the technology department is working to transition to new student information and Voice over IP systems. A new student information system will manage student data more efficiently. Increasing our network infrastructure will support a seamless transition to Voice over IP, enabling telephone communications over our network and saving on the underlying budget.
The importance of selecting the proper equipment and getting the most from our dollar is great, given the likelihood of a flat technology budget in FY2016. With this in mind, we have eliminated excess costs and waste in our former printing program and now support low-cost copiers across the district, enabling savings. The standardization of a formal asset inventory across the district will help us identify, replace, and recycle technology equipment in future budget cycles. There has also been a significant push to identify areas of need at each school and allocate available resources either through grants or the operating budget. In October of 2014, the entire technology department attended the regional MassCUE Educational Technology Conference, which focuses on the integration of technology into the
curriculum.
In addition to both attending and presenting at MassCUE, members of the technology department have presented at various other conferences and have also taken a strong role in presenting during in-district professional development workshops for teachers.
Over the past year, our faculty have adopted Google Apps for Education into their daily routines, and Google Apps accounts were provided to every student and staff member. Along with over 650 Google Chromebooks, technology tools have become the backbone of effective communication and are indispensable in our approach to online collaboration in this fast-paced world. Just recently, the development of a digital portfolio website will allow all students to become strong digital citizens and provide a high-quality online showcase for student work and growth.
Thanks to the ease of use of Google Apps, we were able to pilot and automate parent consent forms at the middle school and will look to expand this process across the district. In addition, the technology department has gathered parent and staff feedback using Google Apps to gather essential insights into their perceptions of our website and communication methods, which will be used to develop best practices in the future.
In addition to supporting instructional practice and communication, technology education has been expanded. For example, this past year we introduced a pilot course at the high school called Exploring Computer Science (ECS), which acts as an introduction to robotics and programming. During the national Computer Science Week in December, students at all levels, along with high school student ambassadors, participated in the Hour of Code, which offered an opportunity to program and learn the logic of coding.
This information is a public record and was submitted by Mr. Luke Callahan, Director of Technology, Information, and Media Relations, for the end-of-year town report for Groton and Dunstable, Massachusetts, in January 2015.