SISD February Technology Report

As the district faces COVID sporting events with limited numbers of patrons, we are working hard to create a quality streaming experience. With changes to YouTube streaming, a new channel was used to help meet new requirements. We are working hard to keep the channel COPPA compliant. This means chats must be disabled and targeted advertising will be disabled.

As a district, we will continue to use Wirecast to directly stream to Youtube. The licensing for updates and support expired on 1/30/21 and was previously paid for by the ASC. To continue using the software it will be prudent to continue with the subscription for updates to ensure seamless streaming.

Our new website is just in the beginning stages of setup and configuration is the birth of a new website. To ensure our district provides the most accessible platform for all of our communities and to meet ADA requirements we looked for newer options during these COVID times. Apptegy fit the requirements and went above and beyond. By combining the website with a communications system for emergencies and an app as well, to keep our community connected even when on RED status.

There will be more information on this project in the following months.

The tentative Go-Live date will be 03/05/2020

This project will help us meet a selection of our SISD Strategic Goals:

► Improve communication district and community-wide

► Increase visibility to share lifestyle and increase enrollment

SISD is compiling old and aged equipment from switch rooms, classrooms, and offices across the district for the POW island-wide E-Recycling on earth day. Some of our older equipment might be usable by the communities we serve, but others are equipment no longer relevant to current technology, such as a specialized 20-year-old satellite receiver or battery backups long expired.

Each year educators across Alaska travel to Anchorage for the Alaska Society for Technology in Education conference. This is a wonderful training opportunity for staff that utilizes technology-based services. This year the conference is digital, and for $75 any staff member can attend and the sessions are recorded for viewing at any time. This is a very good deal given the usual cost of attending in person and has been offered to the certified staff as an optional oportunity.

SISD will be represented by Matthew Gore, Technology Director, a board member. A presentation on the SISD Computer Systems course will be presented at the conference.

It is important to note that maintaining a database during drastic and high paced changes takes a team. The SISD Scheduling team combines multiple departments to help SISD and it's Student Information System, PowerSchool, stay as accurate as possible.

At some schools, we have had up to 4 schedules in the first part of the year. This required a lot of work to maintain and correct. Even PowerSchool admits it wasn't designed for COVID scenarios. However, with hard work and a great team, we have completed S1 Report cards. The final review of S1 Transcripts is being completed now.

With the new Polycom units bought with the RUS Grant and installed by SKC, we have the ability to have conference rooms and units setup as Zoom Rooms. This is a great function the new units provide and timely due to the removal of a Polycom Bridge from our GCI contract negotiated last year.

With this being a relatively new partnership between Zoom and Polycom it has been a great year to have fewer VTC courses while the software Zooms along...

Preparation for VTC classes to be integrated using Zoom Rooms is underway with testing on a small number of the devices.