What is REVAS? (Remote Education Video Audio System)

As school starts in Boulder Valley School District, our teachers are coming back to be greeted by REVAS. REVAS is the Remote Education Video Audio System created by IT over the summer with a simple goal in mind - To create a cost-effective way for teachers to better connect with their students who are learning remotely. Initially designed for hybrid learning where some students are local in the classroom and others are at home, it is being proven to be effective when all students are learning remotely as well. 

REVAS consists of a high definition 1080p wide-angle camera with dual high sensitivity microphones mounted on a 60” tripod powered by a Chromebook using Google Meet. There is a 27” monitor sitting at the base of the tripod to make it easier for teachers to see their remote students via grid view. Remote students see and hear the teacher more clearly due to the HD camera and dual omnidirectional microphones.  

In cases where a dedicated Chromebook is not available, the camera/microphones can be connected directly to a teacher Chromebook enhancing the audio/video student’s experience.   

REVAS is portable! Many teachers are now taking them home, allowing teaching to originate safely from their own homes. 

When being used to originate instruction from a BVSD classroom, REVAS can be connected directly into the Audio Enhancement system now in most classrooms, thanks to the support of our community for bond-funded classroom upgrades installed over the last three years. When REVAS is connected into Audio Enhancement, remote students are heard through speakers in the ceiling, further making it easier for those in the classroom to listen to their remote counterparts. And when teachers wear the lanyard microphone, it is easier for those local and remote to hear better. 

Although technology is not the only solution for remote learning, REVAS is a critical component of the overall learning experience our teachers are leading at Boulder Valley School District.  

ConnectMe! (Connect My Education)

The BVSD move to the digital world reflects the way our economy and society operate in general and allows for learning to happen any place and anytime for our students, who have a digital device and an internet connection. When students lack internet access, these learning experiences and opportunities are impacted. My team and I are working to bridge this digital divide to help ensure equitable access for all students.

Although BVSD IT has run internet into one Boulder Housing Partners community as a pilot program, that option is not viable for all of our students. With that in mind, we are starting a new pilot called ConnectME (Connect My Education).

Background

The BVSD Success Effect speaks to the need for partnerships that help us to achieve our educational goals.

Recently, former Centaurus High School graduate and current CU student Balkarn Shahi approached me with an idea to address the learning gap in east county by partnering with city government, charitable organizations, and BVSD to get families connected who otherwise would not be connected. The key is that Balkarn will lead the effort to go door to door, with help from his CU friends to work through the issues with connecting through Comcast's Internet Essentials or Century Link's Internet Basics which are both $9.95 internet options.

Balkarn described his time at CHS where friends, would come to his house to complete homework, check social media and be connected to the world using his available internet connection. He understands the digital divide that exists for our students first hand and is passionate about working to bring access to all students.

Funding

My department will be working alongside Balkarn to support his efforts to find the funding to provide access to the Internet for families in need. BVSD IT will not be supplying funds for this portion, rather providing the support to build these relationships with the City of Lafayette, Sister Carmen, and others.

Balkarn has even started a GoFundMe campaign to provide startup funds for this project.

Partnerships

This work would not be able to happen without building the partnerships that the Success Effect highlights. The initial reach of this opportunity is for the Sanchez Elementary community to explore how family access can impact an elementary school and the learning of students and families.

Through this partnership between IT and Sanchez, teachers will receive professional development from BVSD’s Ed Tech team to encourage and support the shift in instruction to a balance of the traditional and digitally enriched classroom. With partnering from the school, the team will also lead learning opportunities for parents to experience and learn about the digital tools, much like what is already occurring within the parent community through the 1:Web pilot.

Next Steps

IT will collaborate with the pilot team to articulate details as well as begin working on the financial partnerships needed to make this happen. We should officially launch the ConnectME Pilot in the 2016-17 school year.

Please chime in with your thoughts below and help me support Balkarn and CU in their efforts to help close the digital divide in BVSD.

Andrew

Tech Refresh Gets a New Look

New technology is coming to many schools this summer as part of the BVSD Tech Refresh program. I’m excited to see the technology landscape evolving at BVSD, with Chromebooks now accounting for almost half of the devices in schools. Through this program we can continue to get even more technology into the hands of students. Please read on to get an overview of the Tech Refresh program.

What is Tech Refresh?

Tech Refresh is the program that allows schools to purchase new technology on a recurring basis. Currently there is approximately $1.3M in a technology fund that is shared across the district.

What has it looked like in the past?

Previously, Tech Refresh happened in a four-year cycle. IT replaced elementary and middle school computers once every four years and replaced one quarter of high schools computers annually. In some Tech Refresh cycles, a fifth year was set aside for bigger projects like installing projectors.   

What is the new schedule?

In the new model, BVSD schools* will receive points every other year to purchase new technology. Schools have been divided into two groups: Odd-Year Schools and Even-Year Schools. Click here to view your school’s group. The only exceptions to this schedule are the 1:Web pilot schools, which are getting new technology every year for incoming freshman.

Central administration (i.e., Ed Center staff) will continue to receive new computers every four years.

Also as part of the new model, schools will no longer return their existing gear when their new gear is deployed. IT will support this older technology until there is a hardware failure such as a bad hard drive or power supply.

*Boulder Prep and Justice High currently do not participate in the BVSD Tech Refresh program.

What are the new tools?

Over the years this menu has evolved from a narrow selection of desktops and laptops to a broad array that includes Windows laptops and desktops, Android tablets, Chromebooks, Chrome accessories, and Apple products.

Schools can find out how many points they have and which technology they can purchase by using the Tech Refresh Calculator found on the BVSD Tech Refresh website. Points are calculated based on the previous October Count and may fluctuate from year to year depending on enrollment.

The new selection of tools might spark discussions within your building about which ones are right for your school. Contact an Ed Tech team member to help you find the best tools for your educational objectives.

What do schools need to do?

Since schools will be making purchasing decisions every other year, we recommend that each school reinvigorate their tech committee. This group can provide valuable input about the technology needs of their students and staff.

Mike Goodyear (Director of Service Delivery & Client Technologies) and his team have already started visiting Odd-Year schools to discuss their Tech Refresh decisions. Principals will need to submit their final orders by April 17, 2015.

Do you have questions or comments about the new Tech Refresh model? Please sign in to chime in below.

BVSD Launches 1:Web

After many years of hard work by teams within and outside of IT, I’m very excited that BVSD is on the path towards a 1:Web initiative, which signifies a fundamental shift in teaching and learning in our district. Read on to learn more about 1:Web, what it entails, and our next steps.

First, the term

1:Web is a term derived from 1:1 (or 1 device for every person), a phrase common in school districts across the globe. When we were researching this initiative for our own adoption, we came across the term 1:Web, which emphasized the importance of accessing the internet rather than focusing on the device itself. At its core, 1:Web is about each student being able to connect to the world online through any device.

1:Web is more than devices

Since the focus of this initiative is on the learning that happens when the world is at your fingertips, we knew that purchasing a device for every student wouldn’t be enough. We knew that we had to change instruction at a fundamental level in order to create next generation learners, not just 20th century students with new computers.

That’s why, as part of the 1:Web initiative, we are supporting teachers with targeted professional development designed to enable this shift in education. The 21st Century Cohort is just one example of a program we have in place to fundamentally change instruction at BVSD. For more background and details about 21st century teaching and learning, check out the BVSD Ed Tech blog and the Ed Tech website.

Trailblazers

1:Web wasn’t developed in a vacuum. We were fortunate to be able to learn from the schools that have already started down this path, including Monarch High with their BYOD program, and Centaurus High, who is officially piloting 1:Web starting in January 2015. Both of these schools invested significant resources in teacher professional development and school culture to make a successful transition to using devices instructionally.

Other schools have also started down the path toward a 1:1 environment. Eldorado K-8 has a BYOD program for students who pass a digital citizenship requirement. Angevine Middle allows student to bring their own devices, including cell phones, and their teachers receive ongoing technology integration training. Bear Creek Elementary has a 1:1 Chromebook program for 4th and 5th grade students.

With the help of all these schools, we are able to plan an effective transition for the rest of the district.

Next steps

An initiative of this size needs a lot of resources, especially staffing, funding, and digital content. In order to purchase devices for most every student and to provide professional development to support this initiative, we will need ~$2.2M more per year than what we have today for Tech Refresh. The cost for just the high schools is ~$800k per year, which makes this path more likely in the next few years.

In the meantime, schools interested in making the leap to 1:Web with their own funding are welcome to after talking with Ed Tech on program requirements. I know that for some schools, the excitement for this initiative is outpacing the availability of district resources. Schools can also prepare for 1:Web by investing in professional development for teachers in the area of 21st century teaching and learning. That way once the devices arrive, teachers will already be practicing transformative instruction.

I look forward to providing you with more updates about 1:Web as I learn more about funding and logistics. In the meantime, please leave your thoughts below. (Please login first.)

iBoss - New Web Filter this Summer

A modern, reliable web filter is a necessity for all school districts, especially as more learning is done online. As technology changes, we continue to enhance our tools to ensure a safe computing environment for our students. To that end, over the summer we are installing a new web filter called iBoss that will replace and improve upon our existing web filter. iBoss is widely used in school districts across our state.

When you return in August, you will notice a few differences in your web filter experience:

• You will see a different block page, similar to the example below.

• There will be a simpler way for staff to override the filter. Instead of entering a district-wide username and password, you will enter your BVSD username and password.
• Students will never have the option to override a blocked page.
• Staff will not have the ability to override certain categories, like Pornography and Malware.
• Web sites categorization is a vendor-specific process, which means that sites may be placed in a different category in the iBoss filter than they were in the previous solution. This may result in some pages being blocked that currently aren’t, and vice-versa. Through our testing this summer we hope to identify and resolve many of those issues before you return.

The process for requesting that a site be blocked or unblocked will remain the same. Submit an IT Service Request and include the URL (web address) and the reason why you want the site blocked or unblocked. The Ed Tech team will review your request and notify you of a resolution. Remember that during the first few months the iBoss web filter is in place, you may notice a difference in which sites are blocked/unblocked. Please submit an IT Service Request when you notice these discrepancies.

It’s important to remember that any web filter, no matter how sophisticated, is only one part of keeping kids safe online. Digital citizenship skills are more effective than any web filter, but they require education, evaluation, and effort. I encourage everyone—teachers, students, staff, and parents—to learn how to be good digital citizens. You can learn more by visiting Ed Tech’s Digital Citizenship website, as well as the Digital Citizenship resources from Common Sense Media.

Please chime in below with your thoughts on web filters and digital citizenship.

Andrew