School CIO: CIO Profiles


The world according to Curtis Bonk In his new book “The World Is Open,” author Curtis Bonk makes bold predictions about a more personalized age of learning. Everyone will need and likely have an electronic coach or e-mentor. By 2020, there will be access to learning gurus who understand the innumerable learning pathways available on the Web.
Testing goes wireless in Arizona Marie is in the seventh grade at Pine Junior High School. She starts every morning by text messaging her friends on her cell phone. She continues through breakfast, one hand spooning cereal, the other texting. During the day, she spends
Monroe Township School District expands teacher training Monroe Township School District’s Challenge In addition to providing differentiated instruction to its 5,500 students,Monroe Township School District (MTSD), located in Middlesex County, NJ,also believes in delivering differentiated professional development to morethan 500 teachers. However, attending to the individual needs
New report links achievement and video streaming A new report completed by the independent research firm Cometrika shows a link between usage of Discovery Education streaming and higher achievement scores—specifically, in grades 3 8 in math and reading. The report, based on data from the 2006 07
Western Wayne SD chooses thin clients In efforts to keep up its strategic use of technology in classrooms, the Western Wayne School District (Northeast PA) has announced that it will implement Wyse Technology thin clients. Western Wayne received a “Schools of Excellence in Technology” award in
California gets results with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Schools across California are finding success with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s suite of standards based curriculum data analysis. The company collaborated with California educators to create assessment platforms that quickly collect and analyze student performance data, evaluate student progress, set achievement
David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center revamps video production lab Based on an interview with Jennifer Bryant The Donitz Career Center High School (DCC) is part of the Dayton Public School District in Ohio. It is an urban school, and of the nearly 400 students enrolled in
Idaho schools saves money, reduces energy with Faronics' PowerSave Coeur D'Alene School District (ID) was looking for ways to save money on its energy bill. With over 10,000 students and 1,300 staff members, the district had about 4,000 workstations operating on Microsoft Windows XP. Bryan Martin, the district's Director
Moses Lake SD chooses Hitachi Software StarBoards Moses Lake School District (WA) has selected Hitachi Software StarBoards for all grade level and subject curricula. The district, with the help of Troxell Communications, allocated over 100 Hitachi FXDUO 77 StarBoards along with the Hitachi CP A100 3LCD ultra
PA first to integrate Keyboard Town PALS keyboarding program The Jeffrey Primary School (Glenshaw, PA) will be the first public school to integrate Keyboard Town PALS (KTP) into its curriculum. Keyboard Town PALS is a computer keyboard method that incorporates successful association and memory techniques, as well as story
Clovis USD chooses thin clients for 1:1 With over 37,500 students in 42 schools, the Clovis Unified School District’s goal of 1 1 computing for students is ambitious, to say the least. The district, located in California’s San Joaquin Valley, is coming closer to achieving its goal
Rutherford County picks Lenovo for new pilot program Rutherford LEAP announced its selection of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e netbook as the computer for its pilot program at Kittrell School in Rutherford County (TN) for the upcoming school year.The county’s technical administration team and Rutherford LEAP found the netbook
Tennessee school launches netbook program On June 20, Rutherford LEAP announced its selection of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e netbook as the computer for its pilot program at Kittrell School in Rutherford County (TN) for the upcoming school year.The county’s technical administration team and Rutherford LEAP
Laredo Independent School District chooses Scientific Learning to improve reading Laredo Independent School District’s twenty elementary and four middle schools have incorporated Scientific Learning's Reading Assistant software into their resource classrooms, with the goal of improving students’ reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.Alma Rodriguez, Assistive Technology Coordinator, explains that since over
New study released on Walden’s master’s educated teachers A recent study titled Linking Teacher Learning to Student Success, conducted by Arroyo Research Services and Tacoma Public Schools, has compared the reading fluency of students taught by Walden University’s master’s educated teachers with students taught by non Walden master’s
Idaho virtual school selects Starfish student tracking system On June 1, Idaho Distance Learning Academy (IDLA) adopted Starfish Retention Solutions, Inc., a provider of student success systems, to help identify at risk students and connect them with support resources to assist them. IDLA is a state virtual school,
Indiana district chooses Calypso to manage AV Michigan City Area Schools (IN) has chosen Calypso Systems products as key components of their total classroom technology solution. Calypso products are already being used in 41 Michigan City classrooms and another 40 are expected to be converted by next
Florida rethinks RTI Florida educators have announced a statewide plan for “response to intervention” and will be targeting individual instruction for students with the help of Pearson, an education and technology company. Pearson has developed a comprehensive suite of K 12 math instruction
Texas district takes new approach to testing The Richardson Independent School District (RISD) in Dallas, TX has used a new approach on testing for several years now with the program TI MathForward. It incorporates real time assessment using technology, and allows teachers to see who exactly understands
Formative assessment gets results in Arizona schools Mesa Public Schools is the largest school district in Arizona, serving 70,000 students in a diverse population east of Phoenix. The district includes two Native American communities, and approximately half the student body is composed of minorities. Mesa Public Schools
NComputing saves district a over half million in hardware Steve Young, Chief Technology Officer of the Judson school district in Texas, recently performed his own energy cost analysis a year after beginning a major computer upgrade and expansion program in his school district of 21,000 students outside of San
Arizona schools graduate first seniors without textbooks Empire High School (Vail, AZ) seniors will be the first group of students to have started and completed their high school careers without the use of traditional textbooks, using personal laptops instead. When the school began its 2005 school year,
A Virtual Good Idea: Virtualization software allows districts to stretch dollars, conserve resources School districts across the country always have had to do more with less. Funding only goes so far, leaving administrators and IT staff to find innovative ways to save money while maintaining a high level of academic quality. Creating virtual
Making the Word Heard: Routine announcements, emergency messages easier with notification software Routine announcements, emergency messages easier with notification softwareTechnology has widened the options we have to communicate, but contacting people seems to be harder than ever. How many times have you left a voicemail on a home phone, sent an e
Bulletproof Remote Access Making school or district database and network resources available to IT employees, administrators, and teachers from remote locations can greatly improve productivity, but at what cost? Despite the vast improvements in
Assessment Data at Your Fingertips by Matt Bolch The ever increasing standards of No Child Left Behind regulations and various state assessments have put more pressure on teachers and administrators to monitor the learning process. Fortunately, the advent of technology is allowing teachers to test more often to
An Ounce of Prevention: Technologists Use Network Access Control to Protect System Resources, Students School CIO talks with three IT administrators to learn how each is dealing with the issue of network access control (NAC).
Watch it by Matt Bolch For the school CIO, safeguarding students and facilities is as much a part of the job description as keeping the data networks running and the servers protected from hackers. Here's how two districts of different sizes secured their surveillance systems.
The Dark Side of Tech: How CIOs Tackle Security Breaches by Matt Bolch The proliferation of ed tech is certainly cause for celebration. But that celebration carries a dark side--the potential for fraud and abuse. Tech & Learning asked four technology directors about five security challenges that keep them up at night.
Q&A: Mike Donlin by Sheila Riley Standing up to Cyberbullies
Saving Time and Money in Michigan by Jeffrey Branzburg Peter J. Young talks about professional development, parent communication, funding and partnerships.
iPods in the Classroom by Susie Meserve Education Technology Coordinator Robert Craven says the Apple device could revolutionize the way students learn.
Conferencing across Coasts by Lindsay Oishi CIO Frank Rizzo of East Aurora, New York, talks about the power of videoconferencing.
What's New in 2007? by Susie Meserve CTO Darryl LaGace talks about what was hot in 2006, what's not in 2007, and his big plans for the new year.
A CIO Story by Amy Poftak Boston Public Schools' Kim Rice is changing the role of technology in her community, one customer at a time.
Running a Virtual School by Susie Meserve With the motto 'Any Time, Any Place, Any Path, Any Pace,' the Florida Virtual School has become a national model for online education.
Performance Pays by Lindsay Oishi Between implementing a teacher pay-for-performance system and organizing the CIOs of his state, Ed Freeman of Denver Public Schools is a busy man.
Taking Tech by the Horns by Sheila Riley A rural district in Texas squarely faces the challenges of keeping up in the digital age.
Taking Wireless to the Max by Christopher Heun At the Milwaukee Public Schools, James Davis is building one the nation's first WiMax networks.
L.A. Story by Susie Meserve Themy Sparangis talks about the challenges of tech planning for the nation's second largest school district.
Inside the Mind of a Web 2.0 Developer An interview with Elgg cofounder David Tosh.
The Innovative CIO by Miguel Guhlin Abilene's top technology officer Mark Gabehart shares his ideas on change and innovation.
Laptops for All by Lindsay Oishi Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation president Bruce Dixon is on a mission to put a laptop in every child's hands.
At Your Service by Susie Meserve Miami Dade's Debbie Karcher discusses the art of top-notch customer service.
Words of Wisdom from the Technology Experts Excerpts from School CIO's archive of CIO Profiles.
IT Inside the Country's Largest School System by Christopher Heun An exclusive interview with New York City Department of Education CIO Irwin Kroot.
Working Smarter by Sheila Riley For Preston Coppels, dealing with rapid growth is about planning, planning, planning.
Dealing with Rapid Growth by Lindsay Oishi Ernie Stripling sees a large influx of students as an opportunity to transform IT in his district.
Mission Possible by Miguel Guhlin Patti Holub keeps things running smoothly using project management techniques.
The Zen of IT Portfolio Management CIO Charles T. Thompson, Sr. reveals his district's decision-making process. Hint: It's not ad hoc.
Virtually Learning by Susie Meserve Jhone Ebert creates community through e-learning.
E-learning: Not Just Child's Play by Lindsay Oishi Sharnell Jackson believes virtual learning is the future of sustained professional development.
Lead, Follow, Or Get Pushed Out of the Way by Howard Baldwin An interview with Gartner analyst Michael Bell about CIO leadership.
Beyond Open Source by Matt Villano According to Jim Hirsch, open technology, not open source, is the wave of the future.
Open Arms for Open Source by Matt Villano Why Sharon Betts of Maine School Administrative District 52 is embracing open technologies.
Wireless Not for Everyone by Matt Villano According to one computer teacher, wireless networking may not be the best choice.
Best Practices: Wireless Security by Matt Villano Network manager Scott Friberg talks about how he's securing his district's new wireless network.
Q&A: Helmut Porcher by Matt Villano IT disaster recovery, step by step.
Q&A: Philip Rothstein by Matt Villano When it comes to disaster recovery, it pays to plan ahead.
Q&A: Gerald Crisci by Matt Villano Measuring value, one dollar at a time
Q&A: Ed Zaiontz Chief technology officers in Texas present an organized front.
Q&A: Craig Honour by Matt Villano An outgoing CIO reflects on his approach to governance during his tenure.
Q&A: Scott Wright by Matt Villano When it comes to organizing IT, Katy ISD follows a corporate plan.
Q&A: Patricia Renzulli by Matt Villano The School District of Philadelphia's top technology leader knows good governance.
Charles County, Maryland: Bijaya Devkota by Richard Hoffman As CIO of Maryland's Charles County Public Schools, Bijaya Devkota is intensely focused on one fundamental question: How can IT be used in the service of instruction?
Fairfax, Virginia: Maribeth Luftglass by Richard Hoffman Maribeth Luftglass, CIO of Virginia's Fairfax County Public Schools, sounds off on wireless networking, open source, and IT service delivery.
Cleveland, Ohio: Peter Robertson As CIO for the Cleveland Municipal School District, Peter Robertson developed a data warehouse, launched an online report card system, and managed a 75 percent reduction in IT support costs while keeping service levels high.
Los Angeles, California: Margaret Klee Margaret Klee oversees 600 employees, a $58 million budget, and a mind-boggling 900,000 users. Hear how this retired Navy Captain is keeping LAUSD's IT in shipshape.
Washington, DC: Charles T. Thompson Catch up with Charles T. Thompson, Sr., CTO for District of Columbia Public Schools, and his thoughts on data warehousing, IT governance, and organizational performance.