eLearning Progress Report

DCPS eLearning Progress Report 2003- 2007

updated 09/03/2007

2003

• May 2003

– Pilot Project Steering Committee Formed

• June 2003

– Wireless access points added to high schools

– Demo pilot laptops that meet specs received

• July 2003

– Pilot Laptops ordered

– Policy issues resolved

– Technical staff trained by IBM

• August 2003

– Training Team Assembled

– Teacher Training- 6 hours for every Pilot teacher

– Pilot Laptops imaged

• September 2003

– Pilot Laptops delivered to students

– Student e-mail accounts for all students grades 4- 12 created

2004

• October2003- February 2004

– Pilot Project Implementation- students use laptops in classes

– Pilot Project Evaluation

– Held weekly train-the-trainer sessions for HS staff developers

– Offered weekly parent training classes at both high schools

• March 2004

– Evaluation instrument applied to pilot vendors submissions

- Standardized on one laptop- IBM!

– Leased 200 faculty machines

• April 2004

– Received and distributed teacher machines

– Began teacher training process

• June 2004

– Leased replacements for Apple

– Fortified infrastructure

– Licensed software

• July 2004

– Held two day teacher training conference

• August 2004

– Delivered Projectors to teachers

• September 2004

– Delivered replacement laptops to students

– Created eLearning Teacher Standards and Indicators

– Established teacher mentors at the high schools (eTeam)

– Presented to the DCPS School Board on teacher training

• October 2004

– Began negotiations to create high-speed county-wide wireless broadcast

- Began Internet safety program at middle schools (iSafe)

• November 2004

– District team attended NSBA’s Technology and Learning Conference

– Presented to DCPS School Board on eTeam

– Applied for NCLB Title II D Competitive Grant

– Updated software on all eLearning machines

December 2004

- Created District Moodle Server

- Created eLearning Funding Subcommittee

        - Began preparation for Daviess Instructional Technology Academy
             July 27th, 28th, 2005
        - Met with Citizens Committee on Education about collaboration

- Purchased Novell licenses for student users

- Re-allocated Macintoshes from eLearning pilot project

2005

January 2005

- Purchased network and e-mail client access licenses
-Began preparations for Exchange 2003 (new student and teacher e-mail)

-Received Enhancing Education Through Technology Grant to help implement the eLearning Project

February 2005

March 2005
- Meeting with ConnectKY about providing broadband access for all Daviess County residents

-Meeting with IBM about hardware specifications
-Meeting with WKU about possible collaboration
May 2005

    -District leaders attend IBM Thinktank, Chapel Hill, NC
    -Web-based print installs instituted
    -Network folders for each teacher created

    - 8 eTeam members attend The Laptop Institute in Memphis TN
    -166 teachers received 2 days of "teaching with technology" training
    - Freshman Academy teachers set schedule for student training
Aug 2005

- eLearning Steering Committee explores availability and discounts for high speed Internet access for home users.

-established eTeam for 2005-2006 school year (8 teachers in each school available for technology help on planning periods)

-Printing to any available printer in the highs schools from anywhere in the high schools enabled

-each high school held eLearning Parent Orientation at their freshman orientation meeting

-2 parent trainings offered in the evening at each high school to introduce laptop basics to parents

-Student help desk staff (30 students from both high schools) received a day of training from IBM

- Freshmen textbooks for Math, Science, Social Studies and Foreign Languages uploaded to district server and made available for installation on freshman laptops

-Text to speech software uploaded and made available for installation on special education freshman laptops

-KET Encyclomedia (United Streaming video on demand) made available to all schools

-Conversations held with ConnectKY, DCI and Spectrum Telecom about high speed Internet provision to areas of the county that do not have high speed access

-Results of evaluations discussed with school leadership. Feedback was given on project progress and recommendations for adjustments submitted to eLearning steering committee.

-eLearning teachers demonstrated "cool tools" at the Learning Center open House on Oct. 6th

- Overview of the eLearning project was presented to the Owensboro Area Information Technology Group on Oct. 19th

- DCPS School Board received 2nd in the nation from the National School Board Association for "Tech Savvy School Board". They were awarded this for their use of technology in their school board business procedures and innovative instructional technology programs.

-Representatives of the DCPS eLearning leadership team attended the NSBA conference in Denver on Oct. 25th- 28th.

-Met with OMU and Spectrum about possible collaboration for high-speed Internet to student and employee homes

-E-mail Pal Program between Daviess County High School and Hejčín Gymnazium in Olomouc begins
- DCHS purchased Interwrite Schoolpads for the 9th Grade Academy teachers and a representative from GTCO came to DCHS and conducted a training on techniques for classroom use

- Filed 471 for change of Internet Access ( applied for 10 meg connection upgradeable to 45 meg)

-Began Daviess Instructional Technology Academy Preparations (DITA) - July 31, Aug. 1 2006

-AHS students presented at STLP regional conferences on eLearning Student Help Desk

- Began gathering supplemental textbook resources from high schools for the Sophomore textbooks

5) Worked with KDE to increase bandwidth before August - infrastructure changes began

6) Worked with GRREC to secure trainers from Henrico County, VA and schedule courses for DITA

8) Drafted "eLearning Mentor" job description and determined it to be a certified position at each high school

10) Set timeline for the collection and distribution of existing and new laptops, parent/student orientation dates, and textbook resource information

- Susan Smith presented to GA educators on eLearning at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta

    - Began planning for a networked projector, sound amplification system and DVD/VCR in every classroom in our school district
    -Apollo STLP students presented at the state Student Technology Leadership conference about Apollo's student help desk. Delana Hill, Casey Cambron and Matt Henry WON STATE! They received an all expense paid trip to NECC in San Diego .
    -Daviess County teachers began planning for DITA. Latricia Clark, Bob Dych, Kelly Zaborac, Melissa Ashby will present the mandatory class on "Classroom Management" in a laptop classroom.

    -Began loading textbooks on software server
June 2006
    -Continued loading textbooks on software server
    -Steve Burton and Susan Smith attended the IBM ThinkTank at Seton Hall, NJ
    - Began re-imaging of class of 2009 machines
    - Continued working with KDE to increase bandwidth
July 2006
    -Continued loading textbooks on software server
    -Susan Smith presented about eLearning at the KySTE conference in Murray, KY

    Apollo help desk students presented at NECC
   - Two additional technicians began work at the high schools
   - Began work on new walkthrough instrument
   - Completed re-imaging of class of 2009 machines
   -Received class of 2010 machines and new laptop cases

   -Began development of new eLearning Assessment Instrument
   -Susan Smith presented overview of eLearning to Brescia University staff
    -Linda Salyer conducted Internet Safety parent training

September 2006
-Began pilot of Tablet PC's with networked projectors at Apollo and Tamarack
-New "Learning Walk" (formerly Walkthrough) instrument created.

October 2006
    -KDE allows outside access to DCPS proxy filter
    -Moodle server optimized
    -Pilot of tablet PC continues - additional pilot site named- DCMS
    -Broadband for home access project continues

November 2006
-Broadband for home access equipment installed
-NetDay Survey conducted with all schools participating.

-Proxy configured for laptops to go through the filter EVEN WHILE THEY ARE AT HOME

-Jana Beth Francis and Linda Salyer conducted student focus groups
-Computer Operations began work on next year's laptop image

February 2007
-iSAFE training for community leaders
-Planned for replacement of teacher laptops

    -Planned for High School summer technology training
    -eLearning Steering watched student focus group videos
March 2007
    -All wireless access points in HS upgraded to 802.11g
    -All network hubs removed and replaced with 100mb switches
    -Internet access from district to ISP upgraded to 100mb
April 2007
-Finalized plans for PD - both high schools will have 'Birds of a Feather" sessions
    -Finalized 2007-2008 laptop models (R61 for students and staff, X61 for 24 teachers)
      Teachers will receive docking stations and extra batteries will be ordered

-Submitted EETT Grant application to fund 2.5 positions to help teachers integrate technology
May 2007

-Discontinued eTeam - function will be transferred to the Technology Integration Specialist

-Ordered 8 Bretford carts for laptops that were formerly teachers that will be assigned for use by seniors

-Broke down some existing HS labs and re-distributed them to classrooms for students that "opt-out" of have laptops taken away for disciplinary reasons