A time to reflect.
Coming into a new position has been much like working for a start up company. I am responsible for the strategic and financial oversight of the technology program at Millbrook. I personally provide direct Macintosh technical support for 350 users, act as an advisor to students (4), teach two classes in programming (Advanced Placement), coach skiing, participate on the Academic Committee (Department Heads), support our SIS (Whipple Hill), supervise study hall and work on the schools burgeoning farm.
Here is a list of projects I have successfully created and deployed.
Change of Consultants: The most difficult program to change has been removing our legacy-consulting group. Finding a new organization that can better meet our long and short-term needs has been a challenge. We are on the right path.
Faculty Laptop Program: Technology programs in education follow specific policies and goals that can be measured. This program has given me the greatest joy in knowing our faculty have the right tools for the job. I provide the technical support for all these laptops as well.
Asset Inventory/Ticketing System: The school had no record of who had what device etc. when I arrived. We use Google sheets to track all devices. Rather than use a complicated ticketing system we simply use a shared email account called “tech” for all tech items – this also provides us with good reporting.
Technology Associates: As a part of our community service program, and following from the work I did at Boston University Academy, I developed and run a student tech support program. These students run all the printers on campus.
Cloud Migration: When I arrived all email and files servers were on premises. Now we use Drop Box for business and moved to Microsoft 365 over this past summer with great success. Not only has this limited our exposure to risk but it has changed people perception of about their data and how they can access it. We also just inked a deal with Adobe for 100 creative cloud licenses – another awesome addition to the school’s educational technology program.
Audio Visual: AV work is one of those thankless tasks. People only complain then it is not working. After careful research, beta testing and soliciting bids from numerous vendors we cut our costs in half by installing these ourselves. I spent a good amount of last summer on ladders in all the classrooms with AV. We are using NEC laser projectors that are fantastic!
Student Laptop Program: For new and returning students, having a laptop with the printers, web portals and software tools pre-installed is a wonderful thing … especially on your first day. I have worked closely with a local Macintosh provider provision over 60 laptops for students with the “Millbrook Image” installed.
Virtual Reality: We just created from scratch a high end graphics workstation and Oculs. This is an extremely interesting technology. In addition to working in VR I also manage and operate the schools 3D printers.
