Faculty Tablets instead of Interactive Whiteboards

Faculty members are issued tablets that include a touch-screen function and can be used in conjunction with classroom projectors to simulate interactive whiteboards.  The allows for multi-modal instruction: teachers write on the tablet, project onto a white board to add to the image, and students have another level of interaction with the material.  At the end of instruction, the files can be saved and emailed to students or posted on the class website for student reference.

360-Degree Classrooms

Technology advances help students get up and move around the classroom while working on traditional math equations. In the Math Classroom in Timken 012, faculty and students alike take advantage of multiple projectors in the room.  The projectors aim at three walls of the classroom. Images project in front of white boards and retractable screens. The experimental audio-visual system allows teachers and students to work beyond to their desks and helps make math come alive.

Parents View Grades Online

Since switching to the OnCampus student information system at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, the Academic Office is no longer emailing report cards to parents.  Instead, parents can look at their student's progress through a secure password-protected online account and view grades as a PDF.  Under the Performance tab, parents are also able to view monitor letters and advisee reports.  The switch was a collaborative effort between the Academic Office and the Technology Office.

Taking Attendance by Phone App

This year saw a launch of the OnCampus system for taking attendance in class.  For the first time, faculty have the ability to save the mobile site to their smart phone home screens and take attendance directly from their smart phones.  This makes it easier to submit student attendance during the day for classes and other student commitments, such as athletics and activities.

Collaborative Technology Project for Day of Giving

Custom videos and the love of the Blair community come together in an innovative technology project to enhance Blair’s Inaugural Day of Giving this past April.  With the guidance of fine arts faculty member Ms. Schiller, Shane Lusby '18 was able to collaborate on the project with Ms. Marsh, Director of Annual Giving. Shane used his DJI Phantom 3 Aerial Photography Drone to capture campus views. He also compiled footage of students and editing in Final Cut Pro for a sleek and professional look.

Google Docs, NPR, and the Presidential Debate

Mr. Fortunato has been meeting with students for a weekly seminar focused on the current presidential election, a process which has included live video conferencing with guest speakers.  Technology is playing an increasing role in real world events. Most recently, the collaborative features of Google Docs have been used during the Presidential Debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.  NPR provided a live fact-check over a real-time transcript of the debate. Using a closed-captioning service feeding into a Google Doc, more than 50 people comprised of reporters, editors, researchers, and copy editors had access to quickly write, review, and publish annotations while the transcript was appearing on a website. There was only a one- to two-minute delay between what was said in the debate and what appeared on the site.  Google Docs collaboration is making a difference not only on our campus but beyond.

Here's a link to the NPR page: Fact Check Presidential Debate
Click here to read more information on the technical aspects of the NPR's page.

3D Printing in Two Colors

The first dual-extruded 3D project was printed eariler this year using one of Blair's Makerbot 3D printers. Each component is planned and built together, with the machine switching from one color to another.  Layers are built using both colors in strategic positions so the final object has sections in two colors.  The printed object in this photograph is a white dragon wrapped around a black egg.

Showing Videos without the ads

Looking for a way to show YouTube videos in a class assignment or presentation without the advertisements?  Video content is being shown in classrooms more than ever here at Blair. YouTube is popular, but what about those ads and video content 'suggestions'? There is a free service anyone can use to stream ad-free video content from YouTube.  It can be found at http://safeshare.tv.  Simply enter the YouTube URL and get a "safe" link to just the content video, nothing else.

AudioVisual Instruction Cards

Audio visual systems are an increasingly important part of the classroom experience at Blair.   To better support faculty who often switch classrooms during the school day, instruction cards are available in every classroom as a resource for those who need a quick refresher.  Instructions include how to screen-share, how to stream video, and how to play CDs or DVDs.  Last year, text-heavy instructional cards were replaced by visually appealing and easy-to-follow guides.  As systems are updated in the classrooms, so are the cards.

Enrollment Software

Starting this February, the enrollment and re-enrollment process will be simplified for parents and administrators. Our database administrator, Hal Kay has been coordinating the effort to launch SchoolAdmin, a sophisticated online Admissions and Enrollment software. This will replace the previous software which provided enrollment and re-enrollment online forms. Highlights of the software include enrollment contracts, forms, deposits, and document uploads in a intuitive and user-friendly environment. The project is similar to last year's upgrade in the Admissions Office to use SchoolAdmin for application forms.

Robot Progress

Progress continues in the robotics class on the a life-size humanoid robot made of 3-D printed components.  Construction of the basic torso is completed and half of one arm is done.  Students are now are disassembling and reassembling components as they file parts to fit them, and connecting and testing electronics.

Network Sentry Upgrade

The Technology Office upgraded our network authorization controller and the software in our wireless controller.  Sean Lex, our Assistant Director of Technology worked at the beginning of the school year to ensure a smooth live deployment.  The result of this project was that users were able to connect their devices to the internet using email passwords, rather than a separate 'internet' password.  This also helped to improve wireless internet performance during peak times.  This entirely phased out the hardware component which caused the most unplanned downtime over the past few years, resulting in less network downtime.

Screen Video Recordiings

With the increase in technology use among faculty, the ability to show students what is on their screen becomes an important piece for technology integration in the classroom.  Screen video recording software is in demand on campus. Some of our teachers have begun incorporating Screencastify into their lesson delivery and planning.  It is a free Google Chrome plug-in that enables you to record everything happening in a tab in your browser. Voice-Overs are supported and a pointer is included by default. Completed recordings can be saved to your computer or uploaded directly to YouTube. All faculty have YouTube channels, which makes this a very nice solution to getting video screen recordings here at Blair.

Classroom Audio System Upgrades

Nearly 25% of classroom audio systems were replaced at the opening of this school year. We upgraded the equipment and configured it in ways which are easier for teachers to use.  The result is a simpler system, professional audio speakers for improved clarity, one remote to manage all inputs, and uniformity among the upgraded classrooms. The initial feedback has been positive and we will be continuing upgrades next year.

English Teachers Test Membean

This Spring, students in Mr. Dougherty, Ms. Lunger, and Ms. Connell's English classes are trying out a new vocabulary software entitled Membean. The multi-modal interface provides several distinct tools for learning. Some of the highlights include pages with word constellations, context, roots, modern usage, and memory hooks. With the software, teachers are able to customize vocabulary learning for each student. Membean is entirely web-based, requiring nothing to install. This appears to be a good fit for Blair's BYOD technology environment.

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Peak Internet Usage Continues to Rise

Demand for internet capacity continues to grow at Blair.  Our current peak usage has been frequently nearing our total capacity, especially in the evenings.  In response, we are increasing our bandwidth from 300Mbps to 500Mbps, and upgrading our Internet Web Filter and our Bandwidth Equalizer to accommodate the full 500Mbps.  The last upgrade was in April 2014 when we tripled our bandwidth from 100Mbps to 300Mpbs.  We expect the next set of upgrades to be completed within a few weeks.

Voicemail System Rebuilt

This month, a critical card inside the PBX voicemail system died and had to be replaced. We rebooted the system and the PBX backup recovered correctly from disk. However, the Meridian Voicemail backup did not recover because it's data cartridge tape snapped during recovery. As a result, we had to replace the failed card and rebuild the voicemail system from written documentation. Users on campus needed to reset their passwords and re-record their greetings. The technology team helped users through the process by providing instructions in may different formats. These included sending an email, posting directions on the technology training website, providing a printable quick reference guide, and responding to ticket support requests.

Art History Student Video Project

Students in Mrs. Ryerson's Art History class made excellent use of technology to create "khan-Academy-like" videos that summarized a period of Art History. The students were required to record their own voice-over and use images from the unit to create the visuals. Platforms the students used included Vimeo, YouTube, FinalCut Pro, and VoiceThread.

Blair Tests Google Classroom

We receive a lot of requests to help students and faculty keep track of submitted and returned work, especially if the teacher is striving for a paperless classroom environment.  Google Classroom first appeared on campus during the 2014-2015 academic year, and Blair was among some of the first in the country to test it out.  The interface automatically creates Google Drive Folders for classes and helps keep track of what students submit and what teachers have graded and returned. This allows for less time working to "set up" class folders and more time for classwork. More teachers added Google Classroom to their instructional technology tools this school year and so far the feedback has been positive from both teachers and students.

New Faculty Technology Training

During the first weeks of the school year, all new teachers are trained on the classroom audio visual systems before classes began so they could hit the ground running.  Training was completed in person during individual sessions and also delivered via online training components. The dynamic surround sound systems and the large projected images enhances student experiences of video in classrooms.