Vision 2017

The following DRAFT document is intended to help us imagine where the District needs to be by 2017. It seeks to reflect the culmination of ongoing initiatives at this time.

The document is divided up into the following components:

Digital Campus - Explores what technology looks like in 2017 at the campus level.
Digital District - Explores what technology looks like in 2017 as embedded in various district functions.

Digital Campus

Classroom Technology Access
1. Each teacher has a personal computing device - whether that be a desktop computer, laptop computer, or Chromebook+iPad. Teachers receive this device when they sign a contract with the ECISD.
2. Staff and students (grades K-12) have access to their own Google Apps for Education accounts.
3. All classrooms have a digital projector (mounted), document camera, sound system and access to web-based multimedia resources, online textbooks, and web 2.0 tools, along with district-provided and state-provided collaborative tools.
4. Some classrooms have other digital technology items such as digital still cameras, video cameras, web cameras, student response devices, digital microscopes, and digital data collectors.
5. All classrooms have a pull-down projection screen, typically in the center of the front wall.
6. Voice Over IP (VOIP) phones with web-based voice mail features and an app for smartphones are available in each classroom in place of traditional telephone connections.
7. Expansion of EC3 Digital Classroom Program at each school designed to model the integration of new teaching and learning with the help of mobile/tablet technology. This EC3 digital classroom will set standards for what the digital classroom can look like in the future and will redefine the way teaching and learning take place.
Network Connectivity
1. High-speed Internet access is available on a minimum of 4-6 hard-wired drops in each classroom.
2. A wireless access point is in place in each classroom capable of supporting 40-60 mobile devices and is...
3. ...part of a campus network of WiFi access points capable of supporting all district-owned and BYOT wireless devices. Guest access is available for student or visitor devices.
Campus Technology Access
1. Desktop computers deployed in computer labs allocated at a ratio of 11 students to 1 computer (appropriate for calculating lab deployments)
2. Different configurations of mobile device carts (e.g. Chromebooks) for sharing across the campus are available based on campus size and instructional needs.
3. Schools conduct broadcasts using web-based tools (e.g. Adobe Connect, Google Hangouts) from which they can broadcast daily announcements over the campus network.

Digital District

Curriculum & Instruction
1. District-Level
  1. Leverage technology for both curriculum delivery and day-today operations.
  2. Digital textbooks are available on a wide-range of devices for student use in school and at home.
  3. The District has provided more online learning opportunities for students and teachers.
  4. The ECISD Digital Curriculum Guide includes the integration of technology in core content areas.
  5. District teaching and instructional support staff need to embrace and use adopted electronic instructional materials purchased through IMA
  6. The State Standards for curriculum for technology (Technology Applications TEKS) are fully integrated into the ECISD Digital Curriculum Guide.
  7. The District has transformed teaching by ushering in a new model of connected teaching and learning.
  8. Professional learning communities for administrators include technology integration and information services priorities.
2. For Students
  1. Increased home internet access for economically disadvantaged students has been made available.
3. For Educators
  1. Campus leadership model model data assessment analysis, as well as technology use at the Modification and Redefinition levels of SAMR.
  2. Professional learning for all teachers on the SAMR model--and employing technology in meaningful ways relevant to classroom instruction--are embedded in core content areas occurs during every professional learning session.
  3. All staff have successfully completed professional learning on classroom management in learning environments with tablet and mobile devices.
  4. Teachers are provided time during school devoted to learning ways to integrate technology.
  5. Professional learning communities for administrators include technology integration and information services priorities.
4. Data Warehouse
  1. Consistent access is available to a web-based Data Warehouse that provides just-in-time access to juxtaposed sources of student assessment data, and effects of instructional interventions.
  2. Interim assessments that are digitally developed, delivered, and instantly available for teachers to guide instruction are available. This data management solution has enabled increased application data availability and access for 24/7 teaching and learning.
  3. Data Warehouse Development and Report Standardization - The continued development of the data warehouse to meet the goals of providing timely data for evaluation, as well as the continued definition of standard reports to help facilitate effective operations.
Human Resources
1. New staff are issued accounts in District systems (e.g. Active Directory, AESOP, GoogleApps, Eduphoria) within a 24-48 hour period.
2. All new staff are required to complete 100% online staff development courses on critical topics such as Sexual Harassment, Child Abuse, Bullying, Digital Citizenship, Responsible Use Agreement, etc. within 30 days of beginning work in the District. Inservice staff are expected to annually "refresh" their training.
Technology Operations
1. A Digital Education Network (DEN) will be in place that enables the District to achieve its goals of providing mission critical Internet, mobile and 24/7 learning access, enhanced security, access to cloud-based services and increased use of server and desktop virtualization technologies for improved disaster recovery/business continuity.
2. A student device program for 24/7 learning that enabled improved access to the District's Learning Management System (LMS) platforms (e.g. Edmodo+GoogleApps, Moodle) and improved support of BYOT through ubiquitous CIPA-compliant WiFi access.
3. Regularly scheduled and thorough communication regarding updates to district wide technology projects are published.
4. Each campus has an active, regularly updated web site with links to classroom data and classroom-specific learning management systems.
5. Budget and Staffing
  1. Technology staffing models are continually evaluated to support instructional, technical, administrative and operational needs.
  2. The Technical Support Staff is composed of 8 technicians at minimum to ensure a ratio of 500 devices to 1 technician.
  3. Technology budget and revenue allocations are continually evaluated to best meet District needs.
6. Equipment Refresh Cycle
  1. A 3 year equipment refresh cycle for all administrative computers at Central Office and campus offices.
  2. A 5 year equipment refresh cycle for all district computer labs, including mobile device carts, printers, digital projectors, and document cameras.
  3. A 5 year equipment refresh cycle for replacement/upgrade of network infrastructure (e.g. routers, UPS, WiFi access points, cabling), servers, data storage, telecommunications, and firewall.
  4. Equipment issued to teachers will be upgraded as needed and determined by the campus technology committee with no more than a 5 year refresh cycle.
  5. An equipment "aging" process that calculates obsolescence of deployed equipment in closets and the public eye for the purposes of effective budget planning and projections.
7. Network Operations Centers
  1. The fiber Wide Area Network (WAN), data center and Internet infrastructure designs will be modified to support private/hybrid/public cloud services.
  2. The District has implemented an enterprise virtualization platform that enables more robust disaster recovery, power management efficiencies, enhanced security and cloud capabilities.
  3. Cooling, space and fire suppression concerns have been addressed at the District's Network Operations Centers (NOCs) at two separate locations in the District.
  4. A separate building that addresses fire suppression, cooling, and space concerns houses Network Operations Center #1 (the primary NOC) featuring 1 gigabit per second of bandwidth.
  5. Disaster recovery backups of NOC #1 are made in real-time to the fully independent Network Operations Center #2 which has its own Internet Service Provider serving 250 megabits per second).
  6. A diesel generator is in place at Network Operations Centers (#1 at Heritage Technology Building and #2 at ECHS) to protect and keep networking and phone system equipment up in the event of a brown out or complete power loss.
  7. A robust, responsive to instructional needs security infrastructure has been deployed that includes firewall, content filtering, Virtual Private Network (VPN) hardware.
8. Telecommunications System
  1. Legacy digital phones, as well as end-of-life phone system cabinets, at all district and campus locations have been replaced with VOIP while maintaining support for security, fire, elevator and fax).
  2. VOIP in the Cloud system is in place and actively used by all district staff with a central, searchable index.