HCST Schoolnet Becomes HCSTedConnect NJ

This spring the District was awarded a $120,000.00 grant from the NJ Dept. of Education to participate in a state-wide educational improvement initiative using Pearson Schoolnet. The Dept. of Ed. after evaluating a number of programs determined that Schoolnet was the best package available to integrate curriculum, lesson-plans and assessments as well as provide a systematic method to track student progress. This was a competitive grant process and the state funded a limited number of districts. The DOE is calling this initiative “edConnect NJ.” To learn more about this project: goals and objectives, how it works and timelines, go to http://www.state.nj.us/education/techno/iis/about/assessments.shtml .

Since we had already started to use Schoolnet the state wide initiative has set back our implementation timelines but all HCST instructors will be provided with login credentials in the first two weeks of September and 4 days of training for approximately 40 staff members will be scheduled from late September into October. Principals will be designating the staff to attend these training sessions within the first week or so of School.

This is a long term project which will be implemented gradually over the next two-three years. Updates and status reports will be sent our regularly.

HCST Technology Services

Welcome Back to a New and Exciting School Year

This year more than ever” Technology” will play a role in our lives as teachers, staff and students. Online testing will begin in earnest, the district will be migrating to Google for Education, a new Academy focused on computer aided design and manufacturing will be getting off the ground and we will continue our migration to online lesson plans, curriculum and assessment. To support all these activities its important all of us, students, teachers and staff understand the technology resources we have available to us, take advantage of them and use them to their fullest potential.

This blog will function as site where Technology Services will post up-to-date information and reminders about the services available to our community and any questions or concerns that may come up during the year. We will also communicate in other ways, including emails, school announcements and any other way that is appropriate to get information out to our community in a timely manner

First let’s do a quick rundown of what was accomplished this summer:

• Numerous network and switch upgrades were done in individual classrooms and sections of buildings. Some of this work is incomplete due to delays in delivery but should be finished in Sept.
• All student and instructor computers were re-imaged and all computers now have Microsoft Office 2013 installed
• The District Wireless Network was reconfigured and now works more effectively and is easier to gain access to. (A tutorial and procedure page will be posted and made available to staff and students)
• We moved to a brand new Help Desk Package called KACE 1200. This system is faster, easier to use and provides additional options for staff when entering technology requests.
• We created a simple maintenance request system for North Bergen staff to use when submit requests.
• A major “behind the scenes” project that is just about complete is a major upgrade to our phone system. This project was done with the assistance of Dyntek Services Inc. one of our primary vendors and took many hours of work to make sure that the transition will go well. When complete the new system will provide the latest features in voice over IP phone systems including, higher quality audio, easy to integrate audio and video conferencing.

To learn more read the upcoming posts.