SchoolTechTools.com

I recently returned from a road trip to St. Louis, MO where I was visiting two schools that have been doing 1 to 1 for quite some time now. While in St. Louis, I visited Lee Tilley of Chaminade College Prepatory School, and Alex Inman of The Whitfield School. Both of them were able to share a great deal of knowledge, and really made my trip worthwhile. It is interesting to see how different laptop programs are setup, and how they compare with our program. Much of what we do is similar, but each program has little things that differentiate it from others. For example, all three of us have been using Lenovo ThinkPads (we recently switched to the Toshiba Tecra A8). One school uses an alway-on laptop bag, whereas the other school uses a top loading messenger bag.

Some of the things that we will be looking into for next year are:

• Secure DHCP server to prevent unauthorized systems
• Using Group Policy Software Restriction Policies to white-list applications that students can run
• Examview software for teachers who administer electronic exams
• Partition hard drives into C: (OS and Programs) and D: (student data)
• Charge students for missing keys on keyboards ($1 per key and more than 5 keys means the student buys a new keyboard)

These are just a few things we are looking at, and will likely change quite a few things, especially Professional Development and Technology Integration. Thank you both for your time and expertise!