Schools giving students technological edge

Students are getting a technological edge in the Wrangell Public School District, as emphasis is placed on enhancing or else expanding the use of technology in the classroom.

To meet the district's information technology (IT) needs, this year two new full-time positions have been established. Cyni Waddington has been hired as the technology coordinator, and Matt Gore began as the school's technology director. Together they improve technical support for the district, fixing issues in-house and maintaining different systems.

A change parents may notice up front will be a new and improved website for the school district.

Waddington explained they have been trying to create one cohesive place to get updated information, improving communication between the schools, parents and students.

The website redesign is a goal Waddington had been passionate about since her time on the school board. She said the current site's design is limited in functionality, and can be difficult to maintain.

"It's really difficult to change anything," she said. "Now we're working towards having something that's completely functional."

Hosted by content management company Schoolwires, the site will allow teachers to create their own pages and tabs, and upload content. Google applications will play a role in improving use as well. The new school year kicked off with a comprehensive "All Things Google" training for staff in September. Faculty and the administration last year switched over to a Gmail-based messaging system, and Google Calendars will allow them all to update events in real time to a unified schedule. Gore said YouTube Live is an option they are considering for streaming different sporting events and activities.

Waddington stressed that the goal is to facilitate communication. "It allows for every department and teacher to have access to their own portion of it," she explained. The Wrangell School Board will also have its own tab, allowing people to contact board members directly by email.

The launch date for the new site, at wpsd.us, is set for Jan. 1. However, Gore said it may launch well before that, running concurrently with the old wrangellschools.org page. Once the new year begins, the old site will automatically redirect traffic to wpsd.us.

Other improvements to online accessibility are either underway or else in development. This year parents are able to access reports for multiple students on PowerSchool using a single account, rather than having to log in individually for each. And over the coming summer, Gore said they will work on unifying student access to disparate programs with a single password.

Gore and Waddington's joint role has an educational component at the school as well. They aim to provide a secure environment for students to learn, and promote a culture of digital citizenship.

The schools have already been putting laptops into the hands of high school students, who are encouraged to use the devices for homework and class projects. Last year the Wrangell School Board approved the purchase of iPad tablets for use at Evergreen Elementary and Stikine Middle School as well, taking a wider K-12 approach to technology.

"We have some great ideas on the table at the district here on how to move forward with technology," said school superintendent Patrick Mayer.

For example, the high school is looking at expanding professional development in technological fields. The high school has encouraged its pupils to get involved further through its On-the-Job Training (OFT) program, and already one junior classman has signed on.

Several days each week, Joe Hommel helps administer the network and assists students with IT issues.

"It's fun so far," Hommel explained. He has long had an interest in computers and electronics, but lacked the resources to do more than dabble. Now through OJT, Hommel can get hands-on experience working with networks, servers and a variety of systems.

For instance, this fall Hommel helped set up a shared file server for the shop's Rhino's automated computer-animated design (or AutoCAD) software. Program instructor Drew Larrabee had requested the feature after difficulties students ran into last year using USB drives to share projects. It was difficult to coordinate, and drives could be lost or forgotten. After the server was set up, Gore explained students can now work on projects remotely through the school network, and so collaborate on projects with less hassle.

This week, Hommel and Gore are setting up a new flat screen monitor in the high school commons to act as a centralized bulletin board. Utilities mounted the monitor to the wall over Halloween, and the tech department is working out the bugs so information can be updated remotely.

"The point we're at is implementation," said Gore. Once set up, the board will replace the old intercom announcements, which could be hard to schedule and could disrupt class time.

Technology has proven useful inside the classroom too, from presentations to standardized testing. The industrial arts program has been incorporating new tech into lessons, last year having students make use of a 3D printer and Universal Laser cutter for projects.

This year the program has acquired another, larger 3D printer, capable of designs 12 inches wide and sporting a dual extruder for greater detail. A work station for the new devices was previously located in a classroom next door to the workshop. Dust and a limited space proved to be problematic.

"We decided they needed a different home," said Gore.

Operations were moved to a newly-set up tech center, which was formerly the school's computer lab. The old lab was being used for storage, after laptops and mobile devices rendered a central work area unnecessary.

With the larger space, an additional terminal has brought the count up to eight, with room for 13. The work center gives students a clean, quiet place to design and produce projects, and is right next door to the technology department and server room. A large-format printer donated last year by the city is also stationed there, allowing students to see design projects through to the final finish.

"We're still in the migration process," Gore said, but the center is shaping up to be a valuable asset. "Really this is kind of one of our flagship programs."

Infrastructural improvements have been necessary in order to keep up with the program, with the school's Internet connection upgraded at the beginning of the year with fiber optic cable. Gore explained the new line boosts bandwidth from 25 megabits per second (Mbit/s) to 100 Mbit/s. The schools have been working with provider GCI to improve service.

The goal of all this investment is to widen students' horizons in a world where new technologies continue to drive changes in society and the marketplace.

"It's really helped with a lot of my wants," Hommel said of his OJT experience. He also has time to work on various personal projects and experiment with different software. For instance, he plans to start working on creating a video game with friends after the quarter ends.

"It's just a time I can hang out and do what I like to do," he said. The experience has also been helping him figure out what he would like to do in the future, career-wise. "I do want to get into coding, a lot of the software design."