In preparation for a possible meeting this week with Cisco and senior Doe execs, Gregg requested we get our technology ask in order. Please make suggestions for me to bring. Below is what we submitted to Gregg's office already as part of a preliminary budget.
Capital, Technology Support, and Equipment:
Technology Buildout (wireless access, servers, social network)
Systems Administrator
Software
Hardware (1-1 laptop program, smartboards, mobile devices, etc.)
Licenses
Broadband for families (24/7 access)
This is not a time to be shy, we have been invited to ask for anything we want, however we should be able to articulate the reason for the ask and prioritize them.
3 comments:
Cementing this list sooner rather than later is very important. In agreeing to a site, it should be clearly stated that the site should have electric and routing capacity to support the level of technology required e.g. simulataneous use of lap tops for every child in every room.
hi all,
i want to weigh in a little on the Cisco ask. one of the things that would be most beneficial is for Cisco to fund a position, rather than just hardware or software. i believe rebecca and arana made a similar suggestion last week, and i think it is a good one. We can have hopes for all the tech integration we want, but without a position dedicated to this--as well as a researcher dedicated to understanding the role of technology within our model--it doesn't matter how much hardware we have. this position COULD come from the school budget, but if we could get it funded elsewhere, that would allow the school budget to fund other needs.
it is worth taking the research angle with Cisco--they could fund true research by funding a couple of positions dedicated to research and implementation of a tech integration model.
i don't know what platforms Cisco prefers--i think probably PC--so this is something else to keep in mind. we have always talked about being an Apple school, since they have such a good suite of free software that can be seamlessly integrated with mobile platforms (itouch, iphone). so i don't know if it does us any good to get software from them.
with that said, it seems like a good idea to use the meeting in an exploratory way--to find out the kinds of things they MIGHT be able to support. aaron, it would good for you and leah to describe to them the kind of tech infrastructure we envision--Leah and arana have been working on this as part of the TECH INFRASTRUCTURE working group, so Leah will have some clear ideas there to share. it would also be good, as mentioned above, to see if they would be willing to fund positions--they could be framed as Cisco Fellows. Cisco has also done work with Bob Mislevy around his assessment model--perhaps they would be interested in supporting work around assessment with us?
we don't want to jump too quickly into a partnership without weighing their potential contribution against the overall needs of the school and the resources being brought to the table by other partners. if you guys could find out as much as you can at the meeting and bring that info back to the team for discussion, that would be great.
also, it is worth exploring how they might be able to help us on the infrastructure end of things--wiring, servers, wireless support, wireless access for families of our students, in other words, supporting the build out of back end needs that we might have.
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