School Board approves Internet bandwidth increase and District website redesign

At last night’s school board meeting, two significant contracts related to technology were approved…

Increase of Internet bandwidth for 12-13 school year
A contact with Iowa Communications Network (ICN) to increase our internet bandwidth for the 12-13 school year.  We are currently operating with 125Mb access, with 100Mb from netINS and 25Mb from ICN.   Starting July 1st, we will move to 200Mb from ICN and continue with 100Mb from netINS, bringing out total capacity to 300Mb.

Web site redesign contract with Flying Hippo
The district is contracting with a local firm to redesign the district web site, including the Community Education section and eventually the school sites as well.  This project is funded by Microsoft Settlement funds.  We’re not only refreshing the design, we’re looking to add new features including…

* Enhanced calendar views

* News feature to highlight latest information

* Enhanced staff directory , where staff  can edit their information and update classroom links and resources.

* Ability to edit content without needing software (schools currently use Contribute, which won’t be needed any longer)

Getting big results with just a few iPads!

Adam Nidey (@MrNidey on twitter), 3rd grade classroom at Crestview Elementary was recently notified that he’ll be presenting at the Nebraska EdTech Conference (NETA) at the end of April.   His presentation is titled,  “Obtaining BIG RESULTS from just a few iPads” and here’s a draft of the opening video clip for the presentation…

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Here’s some the key ideas for the presentation….

* The key to getting results from just a few iPads is to create a classroom structure where the teacher can meet with each student in a small group setting EVERY day.  This is accomplished by using small group rotations.

* Small group rotations also enable differentiation that is needed in order to meet the needs of each individual learner.

* We’ll discuss strategies for how to build a rotation schedule that maximizes on task time and flexible groups.

* We’ll cover the specific iPad apps we are using during our rotations, including what roles and tasks students are involved in.

* How to maximize student engagement with a limited number of devices.

* How to use word journals and other techniques to monitor student progress.