Deer Park ISD Current Trends of Assistive Technology and Implementation of Mobile Technologies in Deer Park Independent School District

Deer Park ISD Demographics 15 Campuses 20 miles Southeast of downtown Houston Includes parts of Deer Park, Pasadena, Lynchburg and Highlands. Enrollment: 12,594 students Campuses: Early Childhood Center: 1 Elementary Campuses: 7 Jr. High Campuses: 4 High School Campuses: 3 Assistive Technology Team-Trained Staff 8 Teams trained by Region IV 3 Teams Currently in Training 14 campuses have at least one team trained staff member

Current Trends of AT in DPISD AT Process Troubleshooting Technology (computers, laptops, mobile technologies) Communication Devices FM Systems Hearing Aids Deer Park Independent School District AT Forms (on WIKI) Implementation of Mobile Technologies

AT Process Flow Chart

Troubleshooting Process

FM System Process

Hearing Aid Troubleshooting

Implementation of Mobile Technologies iTunes Distribution Management Apps/Volume Purchasing Best Practices The Future?

Distribution Started with Administrators. Expanded into Special Education (SLP, SLC, TIC, Special Ed Dept Chairs) for use with students. iPod carts of 30 placed onto eight elementary campuses this school year. CTIS will manage cart – updates, purchases, apps. Apple Academy teachers responsible for integrating into curriculum, creating content and training teachers. 2 iPad carts (30 each) will be placed onto seven secondary campuses next school year. CTIS will manage cart – updates, purchases, apps. Apple Academy teachers responsible for integrating into curriculum, creating content and training teachers. An additional iPod cart will be added to each elementary campus next school year.

Management Setup All iPods, iPads MUST be setup by a technician BEFORE distribution. Accounts An account is created for each individual device or one account per cart. iTunes account is set up for each account created. Each cart has a separate account. Students can turn in assignments on devices via this account. Naming protocol is followed so teachers can find their students assignments. We plan to use Dropbox and Evernote with these accounts. Wireless Setup with filtering - BYOT

Apps/Volume Purchasing Administrator and individual iPods/iPads are given gift cards to purchase apps. Only one Volume Purchasing account is allowed per district. A spreadsheet is kept by each purchasing department to keep up with accounting. Volume purchasing is used for all other devices (Special Education and Carts). Workflow for volume purchasing Teacher decides what apps they would like to purchase They request through the CTIS CTIS and Principal approve or deny apps If approved, request is sent to ITS for processing. ITS completes the associated paperwork; then sends the Apple Codes and which codes go to which devices to the Casper Manager. He puts info into Casper, then CTIS have to physically download the app on one device, sync device to iTunes and it syncs to all devices. We have purchased PowerSync from Bretford to sync all devices at once. Once apps have been purchased, ITS sends notice to requesting CTIS so apps can be downloaded. For costly apps with the special education devices, the special education department manages their volume purchasing. All cart apps are handled via Volume Purchasing. Its all or nothing with apps for carts – all devices get app or none get it. All free apps are managed by the manager of that device or cart.

Best Practices Set Guidelines (Draft copy of DPISD Guidelines shown) Guidelines for District-Owned Wireless Devices All district-owned wireless devices will be subject to Internet filtering in accordance with the Childrens Internet Protection Act (CIPA) set up through the Technology Department before use in the classroom. Teachers using iTunes accounts in their classroom instruction with district-owned handheld devices must use a district account created specifically for iTunes. This is separate from the teachers regular district . All content purchased through iTunes and synched to multiple devices must be made through Apples Volume Licensing Program. Procedures for District-Owned Wireless Handheld Devices All Apple devices must be purchased directly from Apple. No other vendor (K+, Best Buy, ebay, etc.) is approved. This includes any Apple device purchased with funds through an individual campus, Education Foundation Grant, PTO, etc. that will connect to the district wireless. Wireless devices should come (or be sent) directly to Technology Department. Technology will create a unique iTunes for use with iTunes account and set up the iTunes account. If applicable, specific apps will be downloaded to the iTunes account and synced to the wireless devices. The devices will also be joined to the Casper management system and configured to district standards by Network Systems. When the devices are delivered to the campus, a technician will set up the iTunes account on a computer and the devices will be synced. Have good management system set up BEFORE distribution

The Future? Mixed Reviews for Classroom Use Some embrace the use of mobile technology and social networking while others see them as classroom disruptions or fancy distractions Transitioning to Acceptance and Use Current projections suggest that you will be very hard pressed to find anyone without a working mobile phone by Teachers must embrace the value of mobile technologies, while realizing they continue to be the experts in learning and development. Video: Top 10 Reasons to use Mobile Technology in EducationTop 10 Reasons to use Mobile Technology in Education