Happy New Year Maynard! I hope everyone had an enjoyable and restful break. I wanted to share what the technology department has been up to over the past month.
Digital Leaning Committee
I wanted to lead off with a reminder about the Digital Learning Committee. There have been a number of questions and emails from staff, students, and parents about technology use and policy in district.
The Digital Learning Committee meets once a month to discuss these issues. Anyone from the Maynard community is welcome. The meeting dates are posted in the website.
If you’d like to be involved in the discussions, but are unable to attend the meetings, please email helpdesk@maynard.k12.ma.us. We use an online project management system to discuss topics and share ideas with everyone in the committee. Members are able to stay involved even when not present.
Website Updates
We are constantly working to improve the Maynard Public Schools website. After returning from break you may have noticed updates to navigation and some new pieces added. If you find anything on the website that doesn’t look right, or you think could be improved, please reach out to the technology department at helpdesk@maynard.k12.ma.us
Website Domain Name
Keeping with the website theme, our old domain names now point to the new website. The subdomains GMS, FMS, and MHS now all point to the new website. If you are still finding the old Google Sites website, please let the technology department know and share a link to the page you found.
Adobe Creative Cloud for HS
We have signed a new contract with Adobe to offer Creative Cloud to our students. In the past, Maynard had individual licenses for Adobe that students could use on specific computers.
With the new structure, Adobe is being expanded and installed on more computers at the high school. We are also able to offer student the ability to download the software on their personal devices and use the school license for the software.
The new Adobe software was installed on school computers over winter break. The licenses/accounts are being distributed to students through teachers, as requested.
Basecamp
The Technology Department, as well as others in district, use a tool called Basecamp for project management. This is also the tool used by the Digital Learning Committee to communicate and collaborate asynchronously.
Many members of our staff have already been invited to use Basecamp for various projects. We are now opening it up to everyone. If you would like to use this tool for a project or just to try it out, let the helpdesk know and we'll send out an invite.
iPad Cart for Fowler
The Technology Department has put together a new cart of iPads to be used in the classrooms. If you with to use this cart, please sign it out on the same Google Sheet used for the Chromebook carts. It will be stored in the Tech Office.
The iPads have the standard Apple Apps available. If you need any Apps installed before using the cart, please let the helpdesk know so we can load them onto the iPads.
If you have any questions about anything in this month’s announcements, please contact the helpdesk.