School District166 has contracted with TIES to perform a technology audit for the district. TIES is an educational technology business based in the Twin Cities. Principal Gwen Carmen reported at the April 3, 2014 school board meeting that the audit included looking at the current infrastructure and cabling as well as the curriculum and how the school is using technology in the classroom and with the students. Other aspects such as back up plans and catastrophe recovery were also discussed. “They came up with some very excellent, fairly specific recommendations,” said Carmen. She added, “The whole purpose of it was to grasp where we’re at and where do need to go.”
Superintendent Beth Schwarz elaborated on the audit, “We put in a lot of wireless access points last year and we’re feeling pretty good about it and the auditors pointed out that maybe we might need quite a few more.” The current system was based on one or 1.2 devices per student active at one time. The audit recommended 2.8 devices per student, which would allow for a computer, a telephone and in many cases an IPod.
Schwarz also cited a report of what’s on the horizon in way of technology over the next few years.
One such advance is the increase in the use of Google Drive that revolves around the storage of documents to “the cloud.” The cloud refers to saving programs or documents over the Internet to an external source. This would allow for staff to access an item from multiple locations and devices. The item could also be linked with other users who could then work in real-time, simultaneously with the staff member from a different location.
Another future plan could include the use of three-dimensional printers, which produce solid objects of virtually any shape by layering material together. This could be combined with other tools, equipment and resources to create a “makerspace.”
A makerspace is essentially a place for different individuals to develop, design and manufacture products that would be cost prohibitive if the individual attempted to create the product on his or her own. This would be something that could benefit not only the school and students but also the community at large.
Schwarz summed it up, “Multiple groups can use that space to make things. Which is exactly what we were talking about with this industrial arts program and having Higher Ed use it, which to me was just like, ‘Oh, we are so on track!’ You know this is really exciting that we’re going down this path, because we’re going to have a makerspace, and very soon, in our county.”
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