Vstar Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 As per the title I seem to have been given some extra budget to to do something interesting to "push IT forward" in the school... I think the head is expecting something big, which can wow the kids, parents, governors, etc... But I've got no ideas... So thinking caps on!? V. PS. I wasn't sure which forum to drop this into, so if I've goofed, could a mod move to to somewhere better!
localzuk Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 I think we may need a bit more info - what do you have already? How much is some money?
Vstar Posted April 30, 2013 Author Posted April 30, 2013 Yes, should have put that in... We've got plenty of PCs, a couple of laptop trolleys, Smart boards/projectors/PC in all the classes, a new-ish big central server, plenty of printers, etc. So the main IT infrastructure is sorted, as far as I can see. The extra budget is £10K-ish.
ThatBoringBloke Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Its all good and well them giving you the extra money to spend, but you need to have an 'end goal' before you start spending it. Your 'Project' should be based on what the powers that be in the school are aiming for as part of their Strategic Improvement Plan, that way it will tie into what the school want to achieve, and not just what IT wants to achieve. I'd be asking your SLT for input or ideas as to what direction they see the school going, and tie your plans to that. For instance, does the school want 24 x 7 learning? would a cloud solution work, or be part of that strategy? Just my thoughts.
Vstar Posted April 30, 2013 Author Posted April 30, 2013 Ah, so it's not just me then... I totally agree, but the balls been put in my court, so to speak. The money is there "to do something great", I just need to come up with the ideas...
AJWhite1970 Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Remote desktop? 24/7 access is huge here and has made a massive difference to staff and pupils. (Maybe not so relevant if you are a primary school though)
Millgate Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Tablets??? Anything from iPads, Elitepads and Thinkpads to the Zoostorm Playtabs. Let me know if you need any quotes
Grey-gear Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Your school maybe intrested in getting a virtual learning environment (VLE), it will give people 24/7 access to school or maybe look into biometreics.
ThatBoringBloke Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Just a thought, have you got any failing depts. in the school? Can you implement the technology to support them?
Sunnyknight Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Buy me a cookie? On a serious note, buy some thinkpads to loan out to students for home use.
Meldrew Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Site wide wireless. TV screens around school showing useful info? 3D printer(s)
ICTDirect_Dave Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Recording Studio? I've built a few excellent studios for ten grand Video editing suite with 7.2 surround? Tablets are obvious. But what about a big touchscreen table? Something to really impress people? or you could invest it all in Lego Mindstorms and buld this!
Sunnyknight Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Recording Studio? I've built a few excellent studios for ten grand Video editing suite with 7.2 surround? Tablets are obvious. But what about a big touchscreen table? Something to really impress people? or you could invest it all in Lego Mindstorms and buld this! That vid dave, has made me fall in love with you.
seawolf Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 (edited) Ah, so it's not just me then... I totally agree, but the balls been put in my court, so to speak. The money is there "to do something great", I just need to come up with the ideas... Can't say I'm impressed with the guidance you've been given from your leadership, but it does present an opportunity. It sounds like you have the basics down, so there are a few options I suppose depending on whether any of the areas below are weak: - Backup/DR: do you have great backup systems and a comprehensive Disaster Recovery strategy? No, it doesn't have ANY of that "wow" factor, bit it might save your school from a catastrophe, and that's far more important. - WAN : What type of connection do you have? Do you have a high speed fibre connection? If not, then the school could get a lot of practical and marketing mileage out of getting one. - WiFi: Do you have a really good campus-wide WiFi for staff and students to use (e.g. Ruckus, Aerohive, Xirrus, etc.)? If not, then might be an opportunity to fill this gap. - Marketing/Social Strategy: Do you have a really good CMS-based website? Are you using Social media effectively? Do you have an app for students and parents to use (iOS, Android) to provide info on upcoming events, news, policies, direct communications between the school and parents, etc? If not, then here's your opportunity. - Distance Learning: You could use the money to setup or extend your website and LMS capabilities to provide distance learning opportunities. - BYOD program: you will find you may have many gaps to fill to properly implement one of these, including an informative parent and student portal for the program, systems such as Absolute Manage, SCCM, or Casper Suite to enrol and configure BYOD devices, additional Server CALs, upgraded WiFi, a good web filter to make BYOD less of a pain in the rear (like an iBoss 3550, which we use), etc. the costs can add up quickly. Of course, you might have enough money to do more than one of these and that would be even better (I don't know what £10,000 will buy you there). I would pick the top three ideas you come up with or are suggested, do a bit of initial costings for them to ensure feasibility, and present them to your leadership and have them decide - that's what they are paid for. Not your job to decide the entire future of the school's IT educational strategy. That's my brainstorm session for you. Good luck. Edited April 30, 2013 by seawolf
ICTDirect_Dave Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 That vid dave, has made me fall in love with you. Again? This happens to me far too often! Isn't it awesome though? I wish I had 600 hours spare and that much lego, I'd build something better!
Sunnyknight Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Can't say I'm impressed with the guidance you've been given from your leadership, but it does present an opportunity. It sounds like you have the basics down, so there are a few options I suppose depending on whether any of the areas below are weak: - Backup/DR: do you have great backup systems and a comprehensive Disaster Recovery strategy? No, it doesn't have ANY of that "wow" factor, bit it might save your school from a catastrophe, and that's far more important. - WAN : What type of connection do you have? Do you have a high speed fibre connection? If not, then the school could get a lot of practical and marketing mileage out of getting one. - WiFi: Do you have a really good campus-wide WiFi for staff and students to use (e.g. Ruckus, Aerohive, Xirrus, etc.)? If not, then might be an opportunity to fill this gap. - Marketing/Social Strategy: Do you have a really good CMS-based website? Are you using Social media effectively? Do you have an app for students and parents to use (iOS, Android) to provide info on upcoming events, news, policies, direct communications between the school and parents, etc? If not, then here's your opportunity. - Distance Learning: You could use the money to setup or extend your website and LMS capabilities to provide distance learning opportunities. - BYOD program: you will find you may have many gaps to fill to properly implement one of these, including an informative parent and student portal for the program, systems such as Absolute Manage, SCCM, or Casper Suite to enrol and configure BYOD devices, additional Server CALs, upgraded WiFi, a good web filter to make BYOD less of a pain in the rear (like an iBoss 3550, which we use), etc. the costs can add up quickly. Of course, you might have enough money to do more than one of these and that would be even better (I don't know what £10,000 will buy you there). I would pick the top three ideas you come up with or are suggested, do a bit of initial costings for them to ensure feasibility, and present them to your leadership and have them decide - that's what they are paid for. Not your job to decide the entire future of the school's IT educational strategy. That's my brainstorm session for you. Good luck. Wan, Wifi and BYOD is out of the question for £10k
Ephelyon Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Just my tuppence worth, but here's the finished presentation I put together for the interview (see this thread) that coincidentally I've just come back from today! It's on how the school might move forward with ICT as part of a strategic vision for learning (with bullet points in the Notes section as well). I've probably got the costings for the products I'm thinking of (but not mentioning). I tend to find Senior Leaders will give you mega-kudos if you can take "a pot of money" and transform it into something that fits well with their overall priorities (I haven't heard back from the school yet so we'll see!). Just in case it helps.
seawolf Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Recording Studio? I've built a few excellent studios for ten grand That's another good idea. Setting up your school's own TV station would also be a very practical and high profile project you could do. Amazingly, my school had a TV recording studio in my elementary (primary) school back in the 70s (showing my age) that was kitted out with professional TV cameras and a fully equipped studio and editing room. I can still remember working the cameras and taking direction from the control booth ("camera 4, zoom in on interviewer..,,hold steady...cutting to you in 5,4,3,2.1.." - amazing experience that influenced me into technology. I think a local TV station had donated it all, because the school certainly didn't have that kind of money. It would have cost a mint back then.
seawolf Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Wan, Wifi and BYOD is out of the question for £10k Wow, it is expensive there then. I could redo either WiFi or BYOD (not WAN though) at our medium size school for the equivalent of £10,000 - and Australia is not a cheap place for IT. The WAN would cost us closer to £40,000, but we're considered to be in the "bush" by Telstra (you know - a whole hour and a half drive from Melbourne).
synaesthesia Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 I think you need to put your foot down. You can come up with plenty of ideas but without knowing what's actually going to help the school as a whole or certain departments you could easily be seen as wasting an opportunity to improve. Speak to the SLT and say you're technical, you're not a teacher and you're not involved with the day to day running or management of departments. Even put the ball in their court whilst appearing pro-active - email everyone ( all staff), and ask what they believe you could do to improve. I will hasten to point out that if you start thinking outside the box a little 10k will get you a lot. You can *easily* do large wifi installs for that money if you use Unifi kit instead of the boxed solutions like Ruckus or Meru and without any further spending and little time resource BYOD will fall into the same pot.
witch Posted April 30, 2013 Posted April 30, 2013 The Lego idea is a good one too - all that programming which is what is being pushed forward at the moment
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