This year is shaping up to be a great year. My business futureTeched is growing beyond my expectations. I’ve learned quite a bit about wifi network installations, security cameras, VOIP and so much more. The amazing thing about working with schools is that they are all unique and each one requires a new and different approach to tech integration.
Here’s some of my favorite projects:
Over the Summer 2017 I felt it was time we went 1:1 at St. Saviour High School. It’s important to get the timing right for innovations like this. Before pulling off something like this we needed to upgrade our switch infrastructure and that required some new wiring as well.
I’m a big fan of Ubiquiti Networks wireless equipment. Fast, reliable and reasonably priced equipment that is not subscription based.
Chromebook rollout.
So this was my first time prepping 200+ Chromebooks and navigating a rollout. It was a little chaotic but it went better than I could have expected.
We chose the Dell 11 with touchscreens for our students and teachers. I’m really impressed with the device and the ease at which Google Apps for Education makes tech integration.
My experiment with white board paint is over. I experimented with 3 different brands and all of them were expensive and performed horribly over slate surfaces. I finally found the solution. Post It Dry Erase Laminate Sheets.
Lobby large screen presentation:
Improving communication is always essential tool in a school. Here’s one simple way to inform.
Another project I’ve had my eye on for a long time was updating the school’s stage lighting. I had no previous experience with lighting so I had to get up to speed quickly. The gym had very old halogen lights in rafters on the gym ceiling connected to independent DMX controllers and “managed’ by an old, donated Eurolight LC2412 board. They required an enormous amount of power, generated a ton of heat and were only white lights.
After a lot of research on DMX and LED lighting I replaced all the old halogens with more efficient Chauvet Par64 LED lights and replaced the Eurolight board with an Chauvey Obey 70.
Relatively inexpensive and fairly easy to manage the school now enjoys a more robust and dynamic lighting rig for future events.
On the curriculum front i’ve added AP Computer Science to my teaching repertoire this year. My first class is eight seniors and it’s been an enormous challenge but overall i’m please with the results.
As part of our Chromebook rollout, I made an agreement with my principal that I would only agree do it if we teacher professional development on a consistent basis. It’s almost an year and we’ve held weekly sessions in small groups and had several full faculty pd’s. Vast improvement over years past. Small incremental progress over time can have amazing results. This in my opinion was one of my proudest achievements. It’s shifted the entire school culture in a more positive direction.
Anthony Tricarico 