Christopher Nelson, Sewanhaka’s director of student achievement and instructional technologies, presented a state-required, three-year technology plan that will begin to take effect in the 2015-16 school year at the district’s board meeting Tuesday night.
“Our goal is to make technology mobile, simple to use, and inter-connective,” Nelson said. “I think that if we achieve those goals, it would take our technology to a new level of integration.”
Nelson said his technology team is focusing on six different areas for improvement.
These areas, which he refers to as shifts, include teachers, classrooms, students, libraries, labs, and programs.
He said that out of all of the six shifts, teachers are the team’s main focus at the time.
This past school year, the team worked with teachers in the social studies department to conduct a pilot program with the Microsoft Surface device.
In the upcoming school year, he said he hopes to expand the program to the rest of the teaching faculty, meaning that 450 more teachers would have access to the device.
“We simply want to bring awareness,” he said, referring to the technology goals for the upcoming 2015-16 school year. He also mentioned that his team has created a comprehensive professional development schedule for teachers that will start in September as the teachers return to the school and receive the device.
Once teachers become familiar with the device, Nelson said, the next priority is advancing skills in terms of integration and new software during the 2016-17 school year.
By the third year, he said, he plans that teachers will use a software called Schoology, which will allow them to regularly communicate with students on the Internet.
This program, which is similar to a popular program at the undergraduate level known as Blackboard, is intended to advance communication between students and teachers both inside and outside of the school building.
In terms of classrooms, Nelson said he wants to simplify tools that are currently present in classrooms, beginning with advancing Smart boards, a technology that was introduced into many school classrooms throughout the country over 10 years ago.
“It doesn’t mean that we eliminate access to the tools that are available,” he said. “It just means that anyone can walk into any classroom at any time and utilize the technology that is there.”
Nelson said he wants to advance the technology from the 48-inch Smart boards to 80-inch Smart TVs that are connected to the Internet and run much like smart phones.
With this technology and its wireless ability, he said any student could hookup his or her device to the TV and share work with the entire class.
He said he hopes to have 500 classrooms upgraded with this technology by the end of the 2017-18 school year. The upgrade, he said, will eliminate the need for additional pieces of technology, such as projectors and cables. He also said that this elimination will align with the district’s sustainability goals.
When asked by Trustee Jean Fitchl if the Smart board technology is considered obsolete, Nelson confirmed the comment.
Nelson moved on to speak about students, recognizing that although they are part of the plan, his team does not have a solution at the current time.
He said they plan to do research in the fall to make progress in the area.
“We want to expand the conversation to parents, community members, local libraries, and schools in the area,” he said.
Nelson said that libraries, on the other hand, are an active conversation point.
“We have asked our librarians to reflect and say, ‘Are you ready for this shift?’ And, if not, we’ve asked what kind of things need to be put in place to prepare them for this shift,” he said.
He said that two libraries in the district have already taken charge to reduce the amount of print materials and reorganize their spaces to free up square footage. He said they would like to use the extra space to develop collaboration areas to allow students to study differently, research differently, and access information in new ways.
In terms of labs, Nelson said the state will be piloting online meetings beginning in 2017-18 school year, and it is encouraging the schools to be ready for that time line. He is looking into the creation of digital science labs for that school year.
Looking at the last focus area — programs — Nelson said that instructional shifts will require new and different ways to use technology that will affect his plans over the next year.
Currently, his team wants to provide resources to support the Academy of Finance and support a new STEM program.
“We hope that with these shifts we have tried to include all the changes that are taking place,” he said.
Funding for the plan will come from New York State Aid, SMART schools bond, and new e-rate regulations. Nelson said that by basing the budget off of these funds, it will not impact the general fund for the district.
“Our goal here is to support our students,” he said at the conclusion of his presentation. “Our 7th graders have grown up after the year 2000. They know a world no other than being connected to the Internet. We need to build a campus that will support their demands.”
In other business, board members discussed details regarding charges for school meals for students who forget to bring meal money to school.
Board member Bernadette Gaffney explained that to claim a meal for reimbursement, the school must adhere to the strict guidelines, including providing students with whole grain bread, a protein, and two ounces of fruits and vegetables, each.
She said that the board should consider forgoing the reimbursement and limiting the meal to a cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a serving of the food of the day, and a container of milk.
Last year, she said, the board would have received $8,000 if it filed for reimbursement.
“It’s not a lot of money, and the amount of prep work and the cost of the food — we’d be spending a lot of money buying fruits and vegetables, which are the most expensive, and then the ladies on the line would have to make sure the children take all the components that would be reimbursable,” Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Kevin O’Brien said. “So, it’s easier to just do the sandwich and the milk.”
Gaffney said she thinks the policy should be reexamined after the 2015-16 school year.
“I want to make sure every child eats,” school board President David Fowler said.
