Making an impact @ TCIS
My tenure at TCIS has been a time of great opportunity and growth for the school. We have made significant strides forward in implementing and integrating educational technology into our classrooms, our administrative offices and in our ability to communicate with our entire school community.
In the Spring of 2014, TCIS went through WASC accreditation and I would like to share the positive findings that the visiting accreditation team remarked upon regarding technology @ TCIS.
2013 -2014 Accomplishments: Strengthening our Foundation |
The 2013-2014 school year began with a significant change in educational technology at TCIS. We implemented a new grade-book system that we had to train our staff on in the first few days before our students arrived for classes. During these pre-service days we also had to train our staff on a new networked Ricoh printing system that significantly increased our ability to monitor and manage printing costs.
2013 & 2014 also saw the following accomplishments.
· With department backing three of our innovative teachers attained Google Certified Educator status.
· We strengthened our adoption of Google Apps for Education throughout the school year via numerous lunchtime and other in-house professional development sessions for our teachers.
· Through strong personal encouragement one of my fellow educators applied for and was accepted into the Apple Distinguished Educator program. He has since transitioned to the educational technology department and now supports all staff at TCIS.
· TCIS launched a new communication tool for parents (in conjunction with our new online Gradebook) called PlusPortals that allows parents to keep track of their child’s progress.
· We launched a new and more mobile & tablet friendly website that is easier to manage and maintain and has become the primary source of communication for our school community.
· TCIS embraced Social Media and launched a Facebook page that has become a significant portal for enhancing communication amongst our students and parents.
· Due to two emergency school closures during the spring semester (a military coup and a hazardous waste fire) our online learning system that we had implemented that year allowed us to continue classes with no makeup sessions needed.
2013 & 2014 also saw the following accomplishments.
· With department backing three of our innovative teachers attained Google Certified Educator status.
· We strengthened our adoption of Google Apps for Education throughout the school year via numerous lunchtime and other in-house professional development sessions for our teachers.
· Through strong personal encouragement one of my fellow educators applied for and was accepted into the Apple Distinguished Educator program. He has since transitioned to the educational technology department and now supports all staff at TCIS.
· TCIS launched a new communication tool for parents (in conjunction with our new online Gradebook) called PlusPortals that allows parents to keep track of their child’s progress.
· We launched a new and more mobile & tablet friendly website that is easier to manage and maintain and has become the primary source of communication for our school community.
· TCIS embraced Social Media and launched a Facebook page that has become a significant portal for enhancing communication amongst our students and parents.
· Due to two emergency school closures during the spring semester (a military coup and a hazardous waste fire) our online learning system that we had implemented that year allowed us to continue classes with no makeup sessions needed.
The TCIS IT Department had a successful school year in 2012 - 2013. The year started with a change with Mr. Brent Zeise assuming the position of head of IT after having worked in previous International Schools in Europe, Africa & the Middle East.
The first major project that TCIS IT worked on was successfully switching our email service from a local server running Microsoft Exchange to hosting our email on the Cloud with Gmail through Google Apps for Education. This exponentially increased the flexibility and usability of our primary means of communication within the TCIS Community.
The first major project that TCIS IT worked on was successfully switching our email service from a local server running Microsoft Exchange to hosting our email on the Cloud with Gmail through Google Apps for Education. This exponentially increased the flexibility and usability of our primary means of communication within the TCIS Community.
In addition this switch to Google Apps for Education also opened the doors for new and expanded functionality, communication and more efficient work flow by allowing TCIS teachers, staff & students to take advantage of the flexibility of Cloud computing with a range of applications from integrated Documents, Spreadsheets, Calendars and Communications.
Another major accomplishment this year was the effective rollout and upgrading of TCIS's Wireless Internet Network. Covering the majority of campus, the new Enterprise Level Wireless network expands the accessibility and ease of use of our impressive high-speed Internet capabilities for the myriad of wireless devices that access our network every day.
We also worked to improve our Social Media communications by emphasizing and using the TCIS Facebook page as well as updating our main website to help keep our community more actively engaged and informed of the latest happenings and events here at TCIS.
Another major accomplishment this year was the effective rollout and upgrading of TCIS's Wireless Internet Network. Covering the majority of campus, the new Enterprise Level Wireless network expands the accessibility and ease of use of our impressive high-speed Internet capabilities for the myriad of wireless devices that access our network every day.
We also worked to improve our Social Media communications by emphasizing and using the TCIS Facebook page as well as updating our main website to help keep our community more actively engaged and informed of the latest happenings and events here at TCIS.
In addition to the positive changes above, the TCIS IT Department also:
The TCIS IT Department is looking forward to the 2013 - 2014 school year as we hope to expand upon and refine many of the initiatives that were started this year as well as strengthening our use and practice of Educational Technology for our students, staff, faculty and parent community.
2013-2014 Report
The 2013-2014 school year began with a significant change in educational technology at TCIS. We implemented a new grade-book system that we had to train our staff on in the first few days before our students arrived for classes. In addition, we also implemented
- Worked with the Faculty Association and Administration to help devise a more equitable and cost-efficient printing solution for faculty & staff.
- Upgraded hardware including replacing three servers and rolling out Apple MacBook Pro's to our High School Faculty for use in our 1 to 1 MacBook Program.
- Continued the successful rollout of our 1 to 1 MacBook Program at the High School.
- Encouraged one of our strongest teachers in Educational Technology, Mr. Wesley Prybylski to successfully apply for and become an Apple Distinguished Educator.
- Participated in the first ever Google Apps for Education Summit ever held in Bangkok, Thailand.
- Instituted a series of Professional Development opportunities for Faculty on integrating technology into their daily practices.
- Reviewed and improved our purchasing and budgetary process.
- Researched a more efficient and streamlined School Information Service and Learning Management Service for the TCIS Community.
The TCIS IT Department is looking forward to the 2013 - 2014 school year as we hope to expand upon and refine many of the initiatives that were started this year as well as strengthening our use and practice of Educational Technology for our students, staff, faculty and parent community.
2013-2014 Report
The 2013-2014 school year began with a significant change in educational technology at TCIS. We implemented a new grade-book system that we had to train our staff on in the first few days before our students arrived for classes. In addition, we also implemented