Meeting Minutes for 28 October 2015

Attending: Sean Crowley, Karen Newburg, Doris Parker, Ben Polito, Tammy Quinn, Stephanie Russo, Joanne Tankard Smith, Michael Hauck

• Google Apps Deployment status updates
• new resources for calendar
  Doris did not have any update; the request has been conveyed to Laura but there has not been any action. Doris will relay the request to Laura again.
• teacher portal pages
  Links have all been set up for teacher pages; teachers have been informed and provided instructions. Most have taken action. We should also insert a link from the faculty directory file to the portal page. A few typos were pointed out to be fixed.
• new student Dashboard
  A few suggestions to tidy it up. Plan to launch on Monday 11/9. Freshman and sophomores will get an introduction through Science classes; Juniors and Seniors will get their introduction through Math classes. Michael will provide a "How To" document for teachers and shared to students.
  The iPass link should stay, so students can check grades using parent account.
  We would like to install analytics so we can track usage - mobile access, which browsers, what apps, etc.
  Still need to find a good, clean solution for creating individualized links for student to teachers' sites/blogs/wikis.
  Question if we could make this dashboard the default page on login to our domain. Yes, but that will require an administrative setting which is problematic to get done.

• Re-Deployment of PCs for Teachers
• Status update
  Tammy indicated that PCs were being swapped for failed tablets to specific teachers. However, we wanted to have several machines deployed as community resources positioned in faculty planning rooms.  Sean will work with Linda to generate a list of rooms and number of machines to be deployed. This will provide guidance to Doris who will need to prep (s/w updates, hardware check-out) and install.
  There was some concern expressed that with the limited number of ethernet drops in each room, every PC installed means one of the tablets will need to disconnect from the wired network in its docking station. (The tablets are wireless enabled, so they will still work).

• Tech Plan Review
• Benchmark 5 re-work
  After review, unanimous agreement. minor correction for grammar. Michael to re-publish.

• Developing near term action plan
• Action plan to enhance Google Apps adoption rate/pace
  Discussion began with the observation of how many people are still printing documents, students printing assignments, etc. Several issues related to the ease of use and features of Google were discussed.  Sometimes, printing is not WYSIWYG, which can be a big hassle; commenting on printed work can be easier than online, more likely to be read by students, and can get complicated and cumbersome especially for things like sentence & paragraph structure. [I will do some research on apps for teacher commentaries on student work, such as Turn It In and Kaizena]
  Sean aptly pointed out that compared to where we were at this time last year, we have made tremendous progress, despite issues.
  Discussion turned to the fact that many teachers are not utilizing Google, or utilizing it well, because they don't understand the capability or how to effectively deploy in their curriculum.  Training is a big issue.
  Jo suggested a survey to assess where people are at and what they need. Michael will set it up.
  The afternoon seminar series Tuesdays and Thursdays is not having much traction due to so many scheduling conflicts. Need to look for some alternatives.  One idea is to hold sessions during the day at targeted times when many teachers are available (prep period). However, Michael does not have access to iPass scheduling info in a useful form to find a good time. Another idea is to offer a session multiple times on a single day.
  Tammy re-iterated her commitment to have coverage or a sub for teachers who want to do an in-house training. Sean will work with some small teams (4 to 6) to set up customized training session.  The theory is that once this is done successfully  with one or two groups, others will catch on.
  Sean recommended devoting a faculty meeting to Tech Training. November is too soon to get it organized. Tammy agreed to make the December (12/1) faculty meeting a tech training meeting. Teacher trainers would be ideal; this is very appealing to teachers to have 'one of their own' leading a session. Michael will work to get this organized.
  
• Driving Digital Citizenship across the curriculum
  no action
• Planning for 1-to-1
  no action

Meeting adjoirned 3:50