Select a campus in the USD 365-Garnett
It was a busy Summer and Fall for the USD 365 IT dept. IT team members, Preston Peine and Brad Miller, made several major technological improvements at Greeley and Westphalia Elementary schools including Anderson County Jr/Sr High. Highlighting some of the improvements was replacing the old Macs in the ACJSHS Industrial Technology, Science, and Special Education areas with new Dell desktop computers.
At Greeley and Westphalia elementary schools, IT partnered with Dell to help implement the Connected Classroom. The Connected Classroom incorporates various technologies into the classrooms to aid in the learning process. Teachers were provided laptop computers and docking stations which are connected to new Dell interactive projectors. The projectors turn an ordinary dry erase board into an interactive workspace. Included with the projectors was the installation of a classroom audio system and Promethean ActivInspire software. Students share Dell netbook carts between the classrooms and lab. A product called Impero enables the teachers to remote control the netbooks as well as has the capability to share their computer screen with the students.
The existing Aruba wireless local area network infrastructure was expanded to Greeley and Westphalia from ACJSHS to provide internal high speed connections to the new laptops and netbooks along with increased security and reliability. Also, a Guest network was implemented providing anyone with a Wi-Fi enabled device filtered Internet-only access before and after school.
At the district level, a new software licensing agreement with Microsoft helped save thousands of dollars in annual operating expenses. New 10MB DSL lines replaced slower T1 internet connections to Greeley and Westphalia for even more cost reductions. Other infrastructure improvements included implementing a new combined Help Desk and client/server management solution. Moving to the new system allowed IT to improve response and resolution times. The contract for the district website expired therefore the search for a new provider was required. The new web solution allowed for an improved layout and a much easier interface for teachers and staff when developing their websites. The district and school websites were updated and training provided to the staff.
The IT team now looks ahead to bringing online the new elementary school slated to open August 2012. This will certainly keep those involved busy until the bell rings signaling the first day of school.
