Penn Manor’s libraries are benefiting from a major upgrade to their online catalogs and circulation software. This August, all 10 district libraries will begin using a new library management system titled: Koha.
Following the open source model, Koha is a free, community-driven library management system developed by worldwide teams of programmers and librarians. Koha is a full-featured, Integrated Library System (ILS) and the first fully open source ILS. Referring to the the Maori custom of gift-giving, Koha was initially developed for libraries in New Zealand between 1999 and 2001. Since being released to the world, Koha has been installed in thousands of libraries worldwide.
Nearly 10 years have passed since Penn Manor installed the previous Follett CircPlus card catalog system. The Koha migration replaces the aging Follett system and provides an extended menu of system benefits and efficiencies. Additionally, by choosing the free open source Koha platform over commercial library systems, Penn Manor will realize approximately $50,000 in cost savings over three years.
Penn Manor’s Koha conversion began last April with a pilot test at Central Manor Elementary School. CM library staff and students worked side-by-side with PM IT staff to migrate from the previous system and test Koha’s new functionality. During the summer of 2010, PM library staff trained on the new system while the tech team further refined and tuned Koha for full implementation. During the upgrade, the district also enlisted Savitra Sirohi and the team at OSSLabs for data conversion help.
We’re proud of the new system and hope you will be too. Please visit our new library catalog at http://library.pennmanor.net.
I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the new Penn Manor School District official website. Our new design has been in development for the past 4 months and represents a significant modernization of our primary community site. The new site is build on the outstanding WordPress content management engine and features a host of new sections, tools and content. During the upgrade process, the PM Education Foundation and Alumni sites also received updated designs.
For the past several years, Apple has run a summer educational promo offering a free iPod touch with the purchase of a Mac laptop or desktop. The offer is again open to college students and educational staff at both schools and colleges. This year, Apple is offering a free 8GB, 2nd generation iPod touch. Check out the details at the Apple Store for Education.
The following district technology status report was originally published in the Above and Beyond Summer 2010 community newsletter.
While the rate of progress and innovation in communications, engineering, medicine, science, and technology continues to accelerate, the need for professionals with innovative new skills becomes critical. As an educational community, we are challenged to prepare students for future jobs that may not yet exist, in markets that have not yet emerged, and with tools and devices currently unimagined. From alternate energy and sustainability specialists, to robotic engineers and genetic architects, future careers will demand that our students possess radically new literacies and talents. Continue reading →
On Wednesday June 9th Penn Manor webcast the High School Commencement Ceremony live on the Internet. The broadcast marks the district’s 11th commencement webcast. Congratulations to the PMHS Class of 2010, we wish you the best!
I’m thrilled to report that Penn Manor students recently took 1st and 2nd place in the Eighth Annual Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC). TARC is a national competition demanding that student teams successfully launch model rockets to specific altitudes and flight time requirements. Read the national press release here: http://is.gd/cd0t6.
Rocket Team Director and PM High School science teacher, Brian Osmolinski, led 4 Penn Manor teams into the competition. Brian writes:
“PMHS team 1 was third and Marticville was about 12th going into the final round. Their second flights went beautifully and PMHS team 1 jumped into first place and Marticville Middle jumped into second place, beating the former first place team by 4/10 of a point. It truly was an amazing experience for these kids who have been launching every weekend since February in cold, snowy, windy weather.”
Congratulations to our students for demonstrating outstanding science, math and engineering skills. PM students at the rocket challenge include:
1st Place Team: High School – Jordan Franssen, Brendan Stoeckl, Tyler Funk, Nate Bernhardt
2nd Place Team: Marticville Middle – Jess Stoner, Tom Sowers, Wyatt Shiffler
52nd Place Team: Manor Middle – Maggie McClintock, Jesse Burkholder, Andrew Lobos, Eric Keefer
100th Place Team: High School Team 2 – Will Shipley, Henry Stewart, Mike Thomson, Ivan Puskovic
We are pleased to be offering Penn Manor teachers and staff a menu of 20 individual technology workshops this summer. Sessions range from old favorites such as Blogging, Podcasting, Moodle, iWork and Online Safety to new workshops on Mimio Interactive tools, Glogster, GoogleDocs and other popular instructional technology resources. The PM IT Team would like to thank the numerous teachers who are leading technology workshops for fellow teachers and colleagues.
A reminder that staff may sign up for district sponsored professional development sessions online at: http://ots.pennmanor.net.
A reminder that Penn Manor will host a free workshop on “Blogging Basics” at 6PM, Wednesday April 14th. Have you considered creating a easy-to-manage website for your small business? If so, blogs are ideal communication tools for small businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs. This session will cover the basics of creating a free blog for business, personal or hobby-related use. The workshop will move at a slow pace and cover blogging setup concepts, site layouts and content updates. Join us at 6PM at Manor Middle School, 2950 Charlestown Road for this free community seminar.
Following the open source model, Koha is a free, community-driven library management system developed by worldwide teams of programmers and librarians. Koha is a full-featured, Integrated Library System (ILS) and the first fully open source ILS. Referring to the the Maori custom of gift-giving, Koha was initially developed for libraries in New Zealand between 1999 and 2001. Since being released to the world, Koha has been installed in thousands of libraries worldwide.
