Technology in ACS
About Technology
The Department of Technology strives to provide teachers and staff with the technology resources needed to complete work tasks and improve student learning. The use of technology permeates all aspects of personal and professional lives and is a vital part of every day life.
The school district mains a gigabit network to the desktops and a 10 igabit to the core. We have a 100MB fiber cable wide area network (WAN) with 21 physical servers, 24 virtual servers. Our physical inventory currently maintains approximately 1,200 desktops, 1,760 MacBooks, and 1,400 iPads. There are Promethean interactive whiteboards in all classrooms. All of our schools have wireless technology to support the use of the mobile devices. Teachers and administrative staff also use a student management system, STI InformationNOW, to manage attendance, grade reporting, and student demographic information. Additionally, numerous instructional software programs and online resources are used in every school to enhance learning and reinforce curriculum concepts.
The school system recently launched its digital learning initiative, Powerup, with the goal of ensuring that every student and teacher has a mobile device by August of 2015. A mobile learning environment creates the opportunity for collaboration among students and ,most importantly, extends the learning well beyond the should day. To learn more about this program, visit our PowerUP website.
The technology department works to maintain local area and wide area networks by enhancing data wiring and network equipment. Internet filtering software is used in an attempt to protect students and staff from inappropriate information on the internet. Virus control and anti-spam software are also used to protect computers and the network from computer viruses and spam mail. The school district has an "Internet and Computer Acceptable Use Policy" that outlines acceptable uses of the internet and the equipment provided by the district. Employees and students are expected to abide by the policies outlined in this document.
The integration of technology into the curriculum is a priority. This goals of this department are to help teachers identify ways to enhance their curricula goals with the use of technology and improve their personal productivity by utilize technology tools. Student technology competencies are outlined in the Alabama Technology Course of Study. This document helps teachers identify appropriate technology activities based on grade level. To help achieve these goals, various technology-related staff development opportunities are offered to teachers during the school year and during the summer.
The department welcomes suggestions for improvement and volunteers. Please feel free to contact us or drop by our office at any time. The office telephone number is 256.771.7144.
The Office of Techology Resources is located in Athens City Schools District Office at 455 U.S. Highway 31 N., Athens, Alabama 35611.