Technology_old

The Instructional Department works directly with teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum. The professionals in the Instructional Support Department who carry out these tasks are the Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRT's). This group of professionals perform numerous tasks in working with the teachers. their tasks include but are not limited to the following: research; individual, small and group training; team teaching; classroom observations; collaboration and more. The Instructional Technology staff also provides opportunities for teachers to obtain skills necessary to use technology as a productivity tool. Teachers can hone their skills with Microsoft Office tools to enable them to simplify and manage many classroom activities. Additionally, teachers have the opportunity to learn or improve skills in using technology as a valuable research and Instructional tool. There are numerous search engines and on-line research tools available to teachers who need rapid access to information. Teachers may also use a multitude of multimedia applications to enhance their instruction and meet the needs of the diverse learners in their classrooms. As the usage of mobile devices such as iPads have grown, ITRT's can work with teachers to streamline the apps that are selected for use in the classroom in the instructional process. Finally, the Instructional Department makes countless opportunities available to enable teachers to work diligently toward integrating technology into the curriculum. Whether the applications engage children through drill and practice or whether the applications engage students in a complete comprehensive manner and provide immediate feedback via built in assessment tools, technology integration opportunities exist in all subjects and grade levels in the school system.

Technology is used in some form by every organization and group in the school division. Some of the services and the systems mentioned are only going to cover the tip of the iceberg as it relates to Franklin County School Division Technology. Technology Representatives, Resource Assistants and Library Media personnel all represent additional personnel who are actively involved with the implementation of technology. Email, web pages, specialized lab systems and other packages represent many of the resources that are available to personnel in the school system.

Technology has and continues to revolutionize education in a number of ways. It will continue to be a powerful resource and will continue to have an enormous impact on the education of the children of today and of tomorrow.

Students at Computers

HARDWARE AND NETWORK SERVICE AND SUPPORT

The Service and Support Department has the task of installing and servicing all of the computer hardware and the computer hardware peripheral devices in the school division. The Department members are also responsible for performing basic servicing for instructional devices such as Activboards, projectors, sound enhancement systems and a variety of other devices and systems used in and supported by the district. This department also is responsible for full or initial level of support for the major software installations in the district. Equally important is the department's task of ensuring that ongoing communication takes place throughout the division concerning all networked systems and devices. The support department is made up of individuals who work in either the hardware network or data areas. All of the full time personnel working in hardware are A+ certified computer technicians. This is an industry standard that measures proficiency in knowledge of computer hardware. They provide support to over 4,000 computers and mobile devices, more than 350 printers and more than 50 file servers.

Students at Computers

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The Information Systems Division of the Service and Support Department has the task of working with all administrative software packages in the school division. These packages have grown significantly in the past two years and now consist of a student information database, a fund accounting database, library administrative software, curriculum management administrative software, a teacher certification administrative application, and a verified credit administrative application. There has been a major growth in the area of SIF and a major search for data repository solutions. Reporting at the state and federal level have increased significantly. Reporting at the local level is proving to be the major method behind instructional decision making. This is the division of the support department that enables administrators, teachers and often the public to have access to the wealth of data that exists regarding our schools and our children so that we can collectively make decisions based on the available data and benefit the students that we collectively serve. Through the multitude of information systems packages available we truly can be Data Driven Decision Makers.

Students at Computers

TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS IN THE SCHOOL

Technology is used in some form by all organizations and groups in the school division. The services and the systems mentioned only cover a small portion of the existing technology and technology services available in the Franklin County School Division. Technology Representatives, Resource Assistants, and Library Media personnel all represent additional personnel who are actively involved with the implementation of technology. The Technology Representatives serve as a liaison between the Technology Services Department and the school. Tech. Reps perform minor technical assistance at the building level. They also may perform additional training in areas covered by ITRT's or Technology Services support personnel. They are the first point of contact from the school to the Tech Services Department. They have the task of promoting the technology used in their school to the rest of the school system and in the community. Library Media Specialists are the librarians from years past. Their tasks are still the same; however, they are now responsible for a completely different type of media. Film strip projectors, 16mm video projectors, record players, tape players, Polaroid cameras and many other types of media of yesterday have passed on by and now have been replaced by Kindles, Nooks, mp3 players, laptop computers, iPads, iPod Touches, digital cameras and digital video cameras. All of these comprise a fraction of the new tools used today. The Technology Resource Assistants (TRA's) comprise the final group of Technology partners in the schools. These individuals are the persons who operate the specialized labs at each school. As a result of this, most of them are very proficient with numerous software titles. They normally see several classes of students on a daily basis and must cover variety of programs with different classes. The Technology partners are very valuable in helping the Technology Department provide the best assistance possible to the end users in Franklin County Public Schools.

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Technology Plan

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