Tech literacy a core value at charter school

West Denver Prep designed network for teachers, students

Darrell Proctor, Rocky Mountain News

Monday, November 13, 2006

The stage was set for the first year of classes at West Denver Preparatory Charter School, and the school needed computers.

It wasn't as simple as buying PCs and plugging them in. Security, privacy - and the school's detailed standards for learning - were part of the equation.

There needed to be a network. With servers. Hardware and software. Students would need learning opportunities in a laboratory setting. Teachers would need to track students' progress across the curriculum.

Faculty also needed to be able to work from home, and students needed not only to learn their way around a keyboard but also the challenge of learning about - and using - digital media.

"This is a college prep school," said Chris Gibbons, head of school at West Denver Prep. "Our kids have to be technologically literate, and we need to assess our kids' progress as frequently as we can."

So Gibbons set about creating a technology plan for the school in order to qualify for a federal grant to help build a computer network.

Here's how the plan came together:

Step one: choosing a bid

West Denver Prep got three competitive bids for setting up its computer system, and Gibbons & Co. reviewed them.

They chose Business Network Consulting (terms were not disclosed), a Denver company, because "we were pleased with their work and they had the most competitive bid," said Gibbons. "They were going to give us the tools to be successful."

That meant:

• Laptops for teachers.

• Desktops for students in the school's computer lab, set up so 25 students - with 25 computers - would be able to get instruction and work in one room.

• The ability for teachers to access the school's network to work from home and to move among classes.

• Two servers at the school - Gibbons didn't want them off-site - with BNC having remote access so any network or other problems could be fixed more expeditiously.

Step two: finding software

While BNC went about securing the hardware, Gibbons and his faculty were sifting through software.

"We do online computer assessment (of students) every week," he said. "And we wanted technology that included digital media.

"We wanted the students to be able to learn about (Microsoft) Word, Excel and PowerPoint." And they would learn to type as part of that study.

The school settled on Yearly Progress Pro (http://yearlyprogresspro.com/), a "research-based, assessment, instructional and intervention tool" from McGraw-Hill Digital Learning that would enable teachers to track students' progress online.

"It's a powerful piece of software," Gibbons said. "It's aligned with all the Colorado (mandated) standards really well. It enables the computer to do all the data analysis.

"It's a progress-monitoring tool."

Step three: faculty training

Faculty would need five weeks of training on the computer system, using both wireless and hard-line hookups, to learn how best to utilize the hardware and software.

And they'd have to hit the ground running from the first day of school.

So along with Yearly Progress Pro, the school would use Infinite Campus (www.infinitecampus.com). Since West Denver Prep falls under the purview of Denver Public Schools, there were requirements - say, tracking attendance - that would need to be met. Infinite Campus, an information management solution tailored to local school districts, would provide an online way to organize that information.

"Data analysis is not just about giving (students) tests, it drives instruction," said Whitney Bride, the school's director of operations. "It gears instruction to what (students) need."

Step four: student use

Ultimately, the success of the technology plan depended on the school's students, currently all sixth-graders (the school plans to expand with seventh and eighth grades over the next two years).

"I love coming (to computer lab) on Fridays," said Mariana Avitia. "It's a chance to show what we learned over the week."

Betsy Peterson, a math teacher at the school who conducts technology classes, said the lab "is good preparation for actually using computers in life.

"It's exposing (the students) early on how to type, how to do research, learning how to name a file, how to transfer data into a file.

"It teaches them how to use basic programs, everything they'll need to do in high school and college."

Said student Kenny Gaytan: "Teachers ask us a question, and we can google or yahoo, and we can have the answer."

Students also can do projects. Blanca Favela had put together "a PowerPoint presentation on nebulas," and Antonio Grijalva was editing pictures. A far cry from the days of book reports.

Hardware and software

Equipment to implement the technology plan at West Denver Prep, a first-year charter school with 100 students:

FOR FACULTY

• 10 Dell Latitude laptops loaded with Windows XP Office 2003 Professional Academic Edition.

FOR STUDENTS

• 25 Dell Dimension computers loaded with Windows XP Microsoft 2003 Student Teacher Edition.

COMPUTER LAB

• 25 workstations integrated with speakers and optics to minimize desktop footprint. Internet access through an Iprism Internet Content Filter.

• A Dell Poweredge Server was used to accommodate more students and faculty as needed. A dedicated Microsoft Exchange Server would allow faculty to sync locally or remotely with the server to send and receive e-mail, among other functions.

Source: Business Network Consulting