Greenfield School District Takes Initial Steps to Move Tech Plan Forward

The Greenfield School District’s technology upgrade plan is moving full speed ahead.

Three weeks after approving a $3.5 million, four-year technology plan, the School Board agreed it was time to move ahead with a handful of recommendations presented by Joseph DuFore, the Director of Digital Education at Wisconsin Lutheran College, who has been contracted by the district.

The most important move, according to DuFore, was for the district to contract specialized consultants with expertise in wi-fi and wide area networks, who will ensure that the district’s wireless, internet and network infrastructures are being used at their full potential.

The contractors, DuFore, explained will inventory what the district already has and what it needs to move forward. He anticipated the cost of hiring the consultants at $30,000-40,000.

The district will also identify technology mentors at each of its six school and provide a stipend or incentives totaling no more than $15,000 for taking on an active leadership role in the tech plan. In addition, professional development will be offered to educators as they learn how to use the new tools

For an estimated $25,000-$30,000, the Board agreed to create a learning management system for the district that will position itself to “offer online content, provide legitimate experiences for ‘all’ students and supplement face-to-face instruction with secure and robust tools for creating, offering, gathering online educational materials,” according to DuFore.

“What not a lot of people know is that there are at least a dozen states where a student cannot graduate unless they’ve been through an entirely online class,” DuFore said. “Online learning literacy is very important.”

The district also agreed to become a Google Apps for Education School, a move that provides schools, teachers, administrators and students with tools for learning, collaboration and communication and could potentially save thousands of dollars in server upgrades and Microsoft licensing fees, DuFore said.

“For the price and the impact, it’s virtually a no-brainer,” said DuFore, who told board members it would cost less than $1,000 to hook up with the Google Apps for Education program.

Along with that move, the district agreed to purchase as many as a “couple hundred” Chrome books at $250 each. The devices are cheaper than tablets and iPads.

Interim Superintendent David Ewald said he was excited about the moves and said Lisa Elliot, who will assume the superintendent position July 1, is as well.

“There are some simple decisions that need to be made,” he said. “It’s not something that needs to be analyzed and analyzed.

“There’s some things that can excite some people, and these will. What Lisa and I talked about is to look at this and make decisions and move on. We don’t want to do a pilot and 27 students will test it. And if it’s a success we’ll move on. We have the students right now. The knowledge is there, and you have to make decisions for the students we have.”

All of the moves approved Monday will be paid for with unspent budgeted funds for 2012-13. The number of Chrome books purchased depends on how much unspent money remains.