The Technology Steering Committee of the Stevens Point Area School District discussed the upcoming plans for creating a district technology center for the Stevens Point Area Public School District at a meeting Monday, March 11.
The district technology center plan focused on the potential to move forward and the phase two partnership grant with Sentry Insurance. Three updates to the existing plan were discussed.
The first update was an infrastructure meeting between Gerry Thrun, the technology manager, and specialists from the Sentry IT Department, who discussed improved and expanded wireless coverage.
The second update was a device-testing process for educators to determine which products they would want to use in the classroom.
The third update is the suggested plan of using Jackson School as the professional development center, which would include employing a new director of technology and technology support staff.
Jon Vollendorf, the director of secondary education, said the Technology Steering Committee is looking at continuing the one-to-one laptop initiative program at the high school level, which includes grades nine through 12 and expanding the program to grades seven and eight.
The committee is also looking to expand the program to elementary schools. Vollendorf said that with the increased use of laptops and other technologies, it becomes increasingly important for educators to be taught how to use and implement technology into classrooms.
“While there’s a lot of focus on the device, we’ve learned that professional development and breakdown of how we teach with those things is really what it’s all about,” Vollendorf said.
He said the plan is exploring the integration of other technologies, such as netbooks, tablets or a combination of the two.
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