Harwood Union has a well-earned reputation for being a leader in the state when it comes to responsible and effective use of educational technology. Over the past several years, Harwood has gone from a school largely reliant on desktop computers to a school that currently manages over 400 hundred mobile devices, including iPods, iPads, Macbooks and HP/Lenovo laptops.
Harwood Tech Department Update (09/16/11)
"Roles, Responsibilities, Office Hours, and Procedures"
The purpose of this email is to give the Harwood community a greater sense of clarity about the Tech Department for the 11-12 school year.
New Position Added
We have added a new 1/2 time staff member this year, bringing the total number of Tech Support staff to 1 full-time position and 2 half-time positions. This was an attempt to bring our tech support/student ratio closer to that of other Vermont secondary schools with a similar demographic. Even with this addition we are still not at full parity with other schools, however we are confident that this added support will help us provide you with much better and more timely support for the upcoming school year.
Roles, Responsibilities and Hours Defined
Dan Birdsall
Office Hours: M-F 7:30am - 3:30pm
Primary Role: Department Head
Primary Responsibilities:
Matt Henchen
Office Hours: Monday (8:30am - 11:30am and 3:00pm - 4pm) Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday (8:00am - 11:30am), Friday (8:30am - 11:30am)
Primary Role: Web Facilitator and Technology Integrationist
Primary Responsibilities:
Taggert Haslam:
Office Hours: M-F 12:00pm - 3:00pm (times may change slightly due to coaching responsibilities)
Primary Role: Library Support and Generalist. Taggert's role will become more solidified throughout the school year. Stay tuned for changes and updates.
Primary Responsibilities:
Note: As the department head, Dan Birdsall retains ultimate responsibility for all technology related tasks.
Location and Availability:
During office hours Dan, Taggert and Matt can be found in the Tech Office. There should always be somebody in the tech office for your needs, but in the event that both individuals need to leave at least one of them will carry a radio with them. Please use channel 1 to contact us or call us at extension 106.
Our Goals for the Year
1) Improve our Wireless Network:
We will continue to work on the wireless network until there is ubiquitous and reliable high-speed internet access throughout the school. With upwards of 400 mobile devices on the network at any time, in addition to hundreds of desktop computers, this is not a simple task. We are hoping that the addition of several new wireless access points (AP's) will solve most of the problems we've been having. If not, we may have to limit the open network and give priority to teacher and staff computers and devices. Stay tuned for more...
2) Increased efficiency and accountability through the improvement of our Tech Support Ticketing system:
We are placing a new emphasis on the use of the Tech Support form located on the Harwood website. Dan receives all tech support requests and will assign either Taggert, Matt or himself with responsibility for these requests. When the request has been worked on or completed an email will be sent to the person who sent the original request. Ray Daigle will be overseeing the entire system and is the go-to guy if you feel like your problem is not being addressed in a timely fashion.
3) Improve communication to the Harwood community through improvements to the Website and the Newsletter system:
A new Harwood website has been under development for the past 4 weeks and it is just about ready to launch. This new website will be much less complex and easier to navigate, it will load 10 times faster, and it will be updated with more content on a regular basis. Currently all information from the 'old' site is being manually added to the new site. Stay tuned for more...
4) Increase the quality and availability of in-class technology integration:
With the addition of Taggert, who will slowly take over some of the hardware/infrastructure responsibilities, there should be more time for Matt to work with teachers on integrating technology into their curriculum. ( He is excited about the possibility to have more time to work with teachers and students). If you would like technology integration services, please use the tech support form and be sure to click 'Technology Integration in the Classroom".
5) Improve the efficiency and quality of our infrastructure through the standardization of equipment:
We are asking that all major technology purchases are made through our department. We will no longer be buying equipment based on it's initial cost alone. We have learned that investing in top-quality equipment is a much better long-term investment when longevity and dependability issues are taken into account.
6) Create more equitable and transparent policies for large technology purchases:
We are working on procedures and policies which will make the purchasing of new technology more transparent and equitable. Please stay tuned for more information...
We have many others goals on the agenda for the year, but these are our top priorities. If there is something else you feel we should add to the list of our top priorities, please email us at techsupport@harwood.org
ONE FINAL NOTE: All tech support requests need to be made through the Tech Support form on the Harwood Website.
Thank you for your time,
Matt Henchen
Taggert Haslam
Dan BirdsallRay Daigle
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