Trends in classroom technology shifting

The classroom of the future will feature textbooks on touch-screens and more interactive learning systems.

Technology is changing at the speed of light, and e-readers, particularly the iPad, are redefining how learning materials are distributed to students.

"It's not there yet, but I can see it coming," said Brian Hall, technology coordinator for the Cape Girardeau School District. "Within the next five years I see a major trend shift."

For now, Hall and his crew of seven integrated technology employees are working to bring all schools in the district up to 21st-century tech standards. They're getting close, he said.

But even as the department keeps up with the rapidly evolving needs of technology in education, its successes are threatened by growing maintenance and upgrade costs and IT salaries lagging behind public-sector wages, Hall said.

About five years ago, the district's tech team started on a plan to replace computers and support technology in school labs. That project is rolling along.

This year's $584,000 technology budget includes about $108,000 for computer lab replacements. The tech team is now handling most of the in-house services, from network to web and wiring to phones and security cameras, according to a report Hall presented Monday to the Cape Girardeau School Board. So far this school year, the district has spent less than $200 on contracted technology services, effectively cutting its contract budget by about $15,000. Wireless access can be found in almost all areas of all buildings.

And Hall said the district has strengthened its data security and disaster recovery measures, with triple redundancy protection on data.

As far as the school day of the future, there will be video presentation, projectors and audio systems in every regular classroom, and many rooms in the secondary ed buildings are equipped with smart response systems -- remote technology for large group learning. Teachers could handle all grading data electronically. All technologies with costs and savings.

Hall and his team are custodians of some 2,000 computers and four terabytes of data, or about 4,000 gigabytes.

Declining funding

While Hall said the IT staff is adequately meeting the district's tech needs, he said the end of stimulus funding and declining funding sources in general could slow technology. Budget cuts, for instance, could mean a delayed computer and software replacement schedule, putting students and teachers in front of technology that's lagging behind.

Hall said comparatively lower wages for the district's tech staff are detrimental to recruitment and retention of qualified employees. Salaries start at about $35,000 a year, around $10,000 lower than similar private-sector jobs in the region, with less responsibilities, Hall said.

"I ran across this almost five years ago," he said. "There wasn't a shortage of applications, but when it got to salary, a lot of people said, 'No, I can't do that.' I have an excellent staff. It would be really hard to replace the people who work here right now."

One of two part-time positions in the department will be eliminated at the end of the school year as federal grant dollars run out, Hall said.

More than $300,000 of the district's technology budget is marked for salaries and benefits, although the total budget is offset by nearly $150,000 in federal E-rate discounts for network and communication line items.

The district is expected to launch an updated three-year technology plan in 2012. There'll be plenty of questions about funding and technology that promise to complicate that planning process.

"We're doing the best we can to help us keep moving forward," Hall said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau MO