I currently serve as the Instructional Technology Specialist for the Everett Public Schools. Everett Public Schools serves approximately 18,000 students in 26 schools in the cities of Everett and Mill Creek and in unincorporated areas of Snohomish County. Most people know Everett as the home of of the Boeing wide-body jet plant, which boasts building in the world by volume (472,000,000 cubic feet).
In 2002 the Everett Public Schools community approved a $20 million bond for technology updates. For the past four years we have completely replaced every computer in the district, standardizing on a Windows XP platform to streamline support and deployment. We are in the final phases of planning a 10 GB fiber optic MAN to connect the district schools and offices. When completed, we’ll have bandwidth to support many exciting programs.
We have worked hard for the past four years to train our teachers to use the technology we have provided effectively in the classroom. By standardizing on a core set of software and focusing on curricular needs, we’ve been able to offer hundreds of workshops with thousands of participants (well over 8,000 attendees over the past four years). Each classroom in the district is equipped with the technology needed for that curriculum. All classrooms have what we call a classroom presentation kit: a computer, projector, and digital camera. In the next year we’ll add a document camera and wireless keyboard and mouse to that kit, and placing all the equipment on a mobile desk. This new arrangement will be called a Multimedia Teaching Station, to better reflect its purpose.
Keep up with my latest exploits (workshops, conferences, etc.) by visiting my web page!
