Google Play for Education Announced
Huge news for Android in the classroom: Today Google revealed Google Play for Education, a forthcoming service to help teachers manage, discover and install learning apps on classroom tablets. Designed specifically for the needs of educators, the new section of the Google Play Store will be organized by subject matter, content and grade level. The [...]
Searching for a Data Specialist
Data, process and precision: If these words resonate with you, let’s talk. Penn Manor is in search of a full-time data specialist. Working as part of the PM Technology Team, you will orchestrate all district data initiatives, conduct PDE PIMS collections and tune student instructional data reporting to better harmonize with classrooms needs. Your precise, [...]
High School 1:1 Laptop Program Announced
Penn Manor continuously cultivates a culture of learning to better prepare our students for life after high school. Educational technologies are central to this mission. Today, we are undertaking the next great step in student learning opportunities. Next school year, all Penn Manor High School students will be issued a district-supplied laptop as part of [...]
Elementary School Wireless Upgrade Complete
Teachers and students increasingly rely upon a high-performance network for innovative teaching and learning. As classroom technology grows, and mobile computing devices expand, strengthening our technology infrastructure is vital. The wireless network, in particular, is the core hub through which virtually all classroom technology projects flow. Without wireless, the district would grind to an unpleasant [...]
Student Programming Project Featured At PETE&C
Penn Manor High School students, Andrew Lobos and Ben Thomas, demonstrated their custom-programmed Career Day sign-up and sorting system at the 2013 Pennsylvania Educational Technology Conference and Expo Student Showcase. The web portal and accompanying scheduling system made student High School Career Day seminar selections simple and reduced the complex scheduling process. The program eliminated weeks of [...]
Open Campus PA Website Launched
As we start our second semester of online courses, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the new Open Campus PA website: www.opencampuspa.net. Open Campus is the virtual course collaboration between Penn Manor and our two partner districts: Hempfield School District and Manheim Township School District. During the second half of the school year, students [...]
Nexus and Open Source at PA Educational Technology Conference
I’m thrilled to be delivering two presentations at the 2013 PA Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C) in February. The first talk is titled, Android Tablets: Power Up Mobile Classrooms. We’ve had great success with Nexus 7 tablets in our classrooms and I can’t wait to share our experiences. Here is the session description: Android tablets offer [...]
2012 Technology News Recap
With 2012 drawing to a close, it is time to reflect on Penn Manor technology accomplishments. Let’s recount major IT highlights from the past 12 months: Nine school buildings received a much needed communications upgrade during the spring. The new phone system, powered by open source sipXecs software, replaced our nearly decade-old, proprietary 3COM NBX [...]
Let’s Build a Computer
The Penn Manor IT team recently spent the day building 40 new staff computers. Rather than purchasing more costly finished PCs from a traditional vendor, my staff assembled the systems from individual components. The computers will serve as upgrades to 7 year old systems currently in use by various district personnel. My team has hand-assembled [...]
