Friday, January 4, 2013


CENTRAL BERKSHIRE REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
BECKET-CUMMINGTON-DALTON-HINSDALE-PERU-WASHINGTON-WINDSOR


TO:                  CBRSD Technology Committee
FROM:            Robert R. Putnam
DATE:             January 4, 2012
RE:                  Technology Meeting 3:30-4:30 on January 3, 2013

Quick Points:
·         The meeting was held using WebEx.  Andrew Garcia, Hal Westwood, Katylin Manns, and Dave Lennon participated via WebEx while Melinda Gowdey, Kelly Markland, Gary Stergis, and Rick White attended in person.  Gary Stergis suggested that the use of a conference telephone would improve the presentation for participants.  The members who joined via WebEx said that the shared desktop was helpful.

·         You can log into the CBRSD Google Apps by going to http://www.google.com/a/cbrsd.org. Your initial username is your CBRSD e-mail address and your initial password is cbrsd0320. Remember to change your password once you are in. You will want to look under the “Sites” tab to find CBRSDTechCommittee.

·         The Marshall Memo featured the following link for Digital Literacy.  Please give attribution to the Marshall Memo and to the authors if you share the link because this complies with their guidance on copyrights: Digital literacy website – Digital Passport is a free web-based tool from Common Sense Media to help students in grades 3-5 use online and mobile technologies wisely: https://www.digitalpassport.org/educator-registration . For more information, see this article: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/blog/digital-passport-educators-grapple-digital-literacy-citizenship  “Towards Digital Literacy” in PEN Weekly NewsBlast, Dec. 21, 2012


January 3, 2004 Notes

1.     Strategic Tech Plan Review
a.    Hal made a suggestion that the staffing section clearly indicate the goal of hiring 2-3 Technology Integrators, one dedicated to K-5, one dedicated to 6-8, and one dedicated to 9-12. He also suggested listing the technology we currently own.  The group agreed that Rob should include a table listing CBRSD hardware and software currently available as was done in the Burlington Hich School Technology Plan.
b.    Committee members will review the draft plan on the CBRSDTechCommittee website and insert comments in the comment section on the “Strategic Plan” page.
2.    Copyright Law and Education
a.    The issue of copyright law and education was illustrated in an example given by Gary Stergis in which a school promised students a viewing of a Disney movie if some goal was achieved.  The school was successfully sued by Disney for copyright infringement.  The committee agreed that CBRSD teachers should be aware of copyright laws and that the Technology Committee needs to identify the key information and determine a way to disseminate that information to staff.  The following websites served as a starting point.  Members will look into the issue and post resources to the comments section of the Copyright Law and Education page of the CBRSDTechCommittee website.
3.    Proposed Professional Development
a.    Andrew Garcia’s CBRSD course will start on Jan. 7.  There are currently 11 participants.  His course description is available for download from the website on the under the Professional Development Proposals tab on the “10-15-12 Google Apps Proposal by Garcia” page.
b.    If you or someone you know would like to offer a 10 hour professional development course, you can download the Request for Proposals from the “Professional Development Proposals” page by selecting 9-10-12 RFP for Pro Dev. 
4.    iPad Proposals
a.    The group reviewed the Marshall Memo summary of the Tom Daccord article in Edudemic http://edudemic.com/2012/09/5-critical-mistakes-schools-ipads-and-correct-them/.  Of particular interest was the bullet dedicated to Unprepared Teachers.  It was observed that the RFP process required applicants to imagine how they would use iPads before they had an understanding of all of the issues involved.  Rob explained that he is negotiating with a trainer who specializes in the training “on workflow issues like cloud computing, the interaction of different apps and file types, file format compatibility, file conversion tools, all-in-one management solutions, and translating these concepts so students can use them.”
b.    Kelly brought up the view that the 10 iPad RFP was not well suited to implementation ideas discussed among high school staff.  The high school staff has been discussing implementation based on classroom carts of 20+ units.  Rob will work with Kelly to prepare a proposal.
c.    The issues of printing from iPads, voice recognition, and management software were raised as difficulties to be overcome in any iPad implementation. 
d.    CBRSD Google Apps slipped into the discussion.  Rick observed that any student email accounts required parental permission, but that Brian Rabuse had already worked through the development and had a form that could be shared district-wide.  Rob said he would support any professional development necessary to increase the use of the CBRSD Google Apps. 
e.    Rick reported that the distribution will commence after the arrival of the carts in late January.  Rob said that all of the applicants will receive some iPads.  The administrative team believes that professional development is a key component of a success full implementation so Rob is organizing training for grant recipients.

5.    Professional Development Providers

a.    Committee Members will take a look at Mike Mino and CES providers.  They will suggest other providers on the website. 

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