Minutes of the Greenwood Technology Committee

2:45 PM - April 18, 2001

Present: Dr. Moseman, Dr. Dan O’Reilly, Linda Azeez, Hugh Brewer, Shae Johnson, Joe Shantz, Dr. Mary Byrne, Kathi Beasley

Dr. Moseman and Dr. O'Reilly were contacted by an Missouri State staff member and told that computers from one of the dorms were being removed. Greenwood has been allowed to request 20 of these computers from Missouri State. Joe Shantz will receive and test these units before they are put into service in either classrooms or the lab. They are Pentium I 166 MHz computers and are faster than many of the computers already in use.

Even though these computers are free, there will be cost involved for electrical power and in some cases Internet connection fees. Dr. Moseman estimates that $5500 dollars will be needed to install these where they are needed. There was concern that some sort of ongoing technology fundraiser will be necessary to help install and maintain all computers and technology that Greenwood utilizes in its teaching. For now, some of these dollars will have to be reallocated from next year's budget. Other sources of funding need to be found.

Dr. Moseman found a program at Missouri State that would help relieve some of the financial challenges in technology. The CIS department, headed by Jerry Chin, has a program whereby students from his program assist local schools with their hardware maintenance and software upgrades as an internship. The program, is called the Linda Luke project and was established after the death of a faculty member's spouse. Many Missouri State students don't have cars to travel to these sights so Greenwood is a great opportunity for them to participate. Greenwood needs to plug into this..

Linda Azeez felt that we need to formulate a technology wish list from teachers that PTA and others can circulate and support.

Dr. Moseman met with David Hough, who will be speaking at 4/23 PTA meeting about the eMINTS program to faculty and parents. The eMINTS program in next year's third and fourth grades will be partially funded by his department, the Department of Ed. They will provide funding for monthly line charges, hookup fees, additional security, and upgrades. Greenwood will provide electrical power wiring, furniture, and stipends for subs when teacher development begins. Staff development will be coordinated by Mike Gardner along with Linda Azeez. Some training may be possible in the week before students return.

Dr. Moseman has talked to secondary students and they are wanting more technology in their curriculum. They are also asking if it would be possible to use computer and science labs on the Missouri State campus when they are empty and not being used.

Mary wants to approach Dr. Hough for more grant support for additional technology. Funds may be necessary to help write a curriculum that integrates international technology standards into what Greenwood may be doing in the future. If the Greenwood faculty helped write this curriculum, we could perhaps tap into OPTEI grant monies.

Other ideas for fundraising were discussed and Dr. Moseman reiterated that we need to initiate some type of permanent ongoing fund for technology.

Dr. O'Reilly feels that eMINTS should be started up this fall and implemented in other grades. Even though funding sources are uncertain, he feels we should move forward with this change.

The consensus of the committee is that making Greenwood a complete K-12 model for technology could bring expertise and dollars to our school as well as prepare future teachers for technology issues.

Hugh stated that many schools in our area are moving in this direction as well including Nixa, Branson and Ozark.

Mary stated that she feels very strongly that PTA and parents should be an integral part of the fundraising so monies can be managed by parents of the students and a source of lifecycle funding can be established for the school. No school can do this on its own without some type of funding support.

Dr. Moseman reported that the cost for 2 rooms of eMINTS technology is $24,760.

Meeting was adjourned at 3:45.