ZArchive+11-6-08+notes

NEISSC Study Council Meeting Notes Nov. 6, 2008  __ Current Construction Projects __  ·  West Noble – new wing of Grade 1 at one elementary school, ten classrooms at Middle School, HS assortment: kitchen, auxiliary gym, science lab, FACS, art, social studies, ICE; administration offices  ·  NW Allen – HS remodel that will connect 9th grade building to 10-12th grade building, front offices, technology department, performing arts, industrial technology; new elementary school next fall  ·  Middlebury – new High School is open, Phase 2 to add pool and auditorium with supporting classrooms  ·  East Noble – new elementary north of Kendallville  ·  Warsaw – Step 1 of 3: two new elementary schools replacing Leesburg and Madison, renovations to elementary schools at Claypool and Jefferson; Step 2 of 3: renovations to elementary schools at Washington, Lincoln, Harrison, and Eisenhower; Step 3 of 3: renovations to middle schools at Edgewood and Lakeview  ·  Concord – new junior high and renovations to existing junior high to become 5-6 intermediate, most of high school roof  ·  Wawasee – bus maintenance garage  ·  South Adams – new K-8 building added on to high school using the design/build process (1st such project in Indiana) __ Construction Tips __  ·  Get involved with the architect before any plans are put on paper.  ·  Test every outlet, data jack, and A/V connection for proper operation  ·  Be familiar enough with your blueprints and specifications books so that you can perform your own punch-list evaluation.  ·  Make sure your electrical contractor uses technology certified subcontractors for that aspect of the work. __Roundtable Discussion__ Jim Lemaster, Randy Martz – Warsaw  ·  CCV video (now owned by Embarq) for streaming video  ·  Looking strongly at getting away from Microsoft to Open Office 3, have some teachers lined up to be trial users  ·  Five Linux labs were re-imaged with Windows XP (even after spending lots of time with Forrest Gaston on the inACCESS image) to make them operational Don Chase – SW Allen <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Used CIM to put United Streaming and VBrick solution in place (10 channels of CATV, announcements) <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  No Linux in the district Adela Dickey – NW Allen <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  United Streaming is self-hosted, Sensory Technologies installed VBrick solution for encoding school-owned videos and streaming DVD content across the network <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  No Linux at this point, too many projects in place right now

Julia Robinson – Columbia City <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Using United Streaming, frustrated at the loss of quality when viewing it full-screen. Everyone is learning how to capture clips of videos and embed into PowerPoint. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Going to put video cards in every teacher computer for streaming video across the network through LCD projectors in every room. Jenn Nussbaum – Westview <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  No Linux in place <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Grade 2 laptop grant – the nightly remediation tasks would not be feasible with Amish population <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Best from iTunes: NPR podcasts, Science Friday, Tech Thursday Jan Lehman, Joe Pounds, Dennis VanDuyne – West Noble <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  No inACCESS Open Source classrooms in place, but the State has given them the money like other schools in the program. They will put in a Writing Center where the room design and teacher-student interactions are their best practices. It isn’t a computer lab, but a place for writing and writing instruction. It will be a resource for the entire school. They hope to staff it with an English teacher and peer tutors each period. The visited Ohio State and some high schools in Columbus to get their ideas refined. Kay Reinoehl – East Noble <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Question: Are you selling working technology equipment on eBay – memory, computer parts, …? How do you take these things off inventory, sell them on eBay, and then put the money into a school account? Huntington’s Assistant Superintendent for Business, Dave McKee, has experience with this through an online auction. Julia Robinson shared this site - http://www.interschola.com/home.php <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  No streaming video in place yet, bandwidth is an issue <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Five inACCESS classrooms at High School, but can’t get their image working correctly yet. Also squashed the Grade 2 laptop grant. There wasn’t one cent in the grant for professional development. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  SharePoint is their podcast platform through the media server. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Kay shared an article from Will Richardson that was published in ASCD about getting our students involved in Web 2.0 environments – //Footprints in the Digital Age//. Will has moved to a professional development model that he will do with groups of 20 schools ($7500 per school for one year of being embedded in their buildings). Anyone interested? Tom Ashley – Huntington <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: blue; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Question: Does anyone use Norlight for leased fiber? <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Experimenting with 40” LCD flat panel TVs in some elementary schools. They are satisfied with the size and love the quality. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Adding seven more Open Source classrooms to the High School for a total of twelve. Tom did apply for the Grade 2 Laptop Grant. No real problems with integrating SLED 10 with their Novell network. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Tom has a resident Moodle and Open Source trainer for his inACCESS classrooms, and would like to consider having Moodle be the district web solution. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  The Technology Integration Specialist program has been expanded to the High School. One of the elementary TIS people has been moved to the Middle School. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Alan November and Marsha Tate (__Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites__ author) are consultants Tom would recommend. Tim Tahara – Concord <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Grade Reconfiguration and Title I Restructuring o  Enrollment stagnation and staffing issues are causing us to think out of the box for the next few years. One elementary school must be restructured next year. o  Acuity testing – seems to provide more useful information than NWEA testing. Also has standards-aligned lessons for students according to their test results. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  New Junior High construction project – about 1/3 of the building is under roof so work can continue this winter. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Teacher Evaluation Task Force is in the 2nd year of revamping the district’s plan. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Social Studies adoption – no projectors, please. We’re rather spend more money to get a quality solution place in our classrooms. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Apple exploration – purchased a cart of MacBooks, working on getting them integrated with Novell eDirectory. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  “smart” classrooms might have InterWrite or Easiteach wireless digital pads instead of interactive whiteboards for cost savings. Not sure how well this would work in lower elementary classrooms. Janice Curtis – Plymouth <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Grade 2 laptop grant (IN Academic Standard for Grade 2 Language Arts calls for students to be able to type a paragraph.) was intended to pave the way for Online ISTEP for Grade 3. Janice believes the CTB contract calls for 20% of IN schools to take ISTEP online this year, and 40% next year? The time on computer is 8 hours per child, and the deadline for completion has been extended. Plymouth did apply for the Grade 2 Laptop Grant. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Six Linux classrooms right now, total of nine planned for the start of 2009-10. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Using Discovery Education (United Streaming) and teachers love it. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Accordant software running on PowerStream being used to record School Board meetings and classes for students not in the building – put in by ESCO Communications. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Received a grant for seven iPod Learning Labs (10 touch iPods) from Apple for migrant and ENL students. Each comes with a MacBook. Planning to create a Mac Lab down the road. Cindy Cash, Gary Lengerich, Anita Goodwin, Michelle Lefever – South Adams <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Question: What are you doing with interactive whiteboards, digital pad and rapid response units? Warsaw is going with Mimio, NW Allen and SW Allen are going with SMART Boards. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Using United Streaming <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Have five inACCESS classrooms and struggling to get mapped drives to Windows network. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Supt just got an iPod touch and is excited about podcasting. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  Cindy won a year’s subscription to BrainPop at NSBA. The following had to leave before the Roundtable Discussion: Dave VanLue – Wawasee Dan Rice – Elkhart Susan Parker, Chris Kratzer – Middlebury <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·  No Linux in the district