Welcome Back!
You can easily tell that the summer is coming to a close. Classroom teachers are coming into the buildings again to get their classrooms ready for the first day of school, hallways are closed off due to wet wax and the districts Vtel & Polycom systems are being dusted off for another great year. It is great to see the classroom teachers return from vacation with new vigor and fresh ideas for their students. I am happy to hear that IVC will be playing a roll in our teacher’s plans and the project will see the return of two former project members. There have been some exciting changes to the consortium, the state and the local video systems.
Third Frontier Project and the LEECA Fiber project
More bandwidth = great opportunities! Ohio E-Tech and the Lake Erie Education Computer Association (LEECA) have been hard at work this summer upgrading the school networks. LEECA is finishing their upgrade to Columbus and the Fiber Project is near completion.
As many of you have heard through the network grapevine, Ohio’s K-12 video network has moved bridging services from OIT Video (commonly referred to as DAS) to Ohio E-Tech. We will miss the staff of OIT and the countless hours spent on the phone with their technicians. E-Tech has some large shoes to fill, but I am confident that they will provide our district with the same quality that we have come to expect from the state network. E-Tech still plans to support and maintain the ATM network, but the transition of IP is just around the corner. As with any change we expect a couple bumps in the road and ask that everyone use patience with the new network staff.
New IP numbers for Avon’s IVC systems
We have a new ISP which means all of the external IP’s have changed. New IP numbers will be posted on the TV’s of our systems in the fall. ATM & ISDN numbers are not expected to change.
Schools that would like to test their IP connectivity are welcome to dial Avon Middle School at 208.108.90.88. To help sites test their connections a camera is pointed out the window. Last year we had several schools take advantage of the site for testing, demos to staff and for presentations. We look forward to continuing this service to the IVC community.
IVC systems find new classroom homes in Heritage North and South
The Avon Local Schools student population is still growing which makes locations for IVC more difficult each year. Heritage South has converted two science rooms and the former DL room to classrooms this school year. The IVC system has been moved to the choir room and will have to split time with the schools indoor recess. The room is twice the size as the former classroom which will provide classroom teachers with great opportunities, but will need to schedule programs around the recess schedule in case of bad weather. Heritage North Elementary School has moved their IVC system to another wing of the building.
We hope to see you online this school year!
The Avon Schools and the LCDLC are hard at work planning collaborations and projects for the 2006-07 school year. We have several teachers grades K-12 looking for projects and partners. If you are looking for a school to collaborate with or have a project needing partners please keep us in mind. We look forward to see you online!
Paul Hieronymus
Curriculum Technology Coordinator
Avon Local Schools, Ohio
HieronymusP@Avon.k12.oh.us
