Welcome to the Technology in Education Partnership

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Agenda

September 9, 2010

Greenfield Public Schools Administration Building

195 Federal Street, Greenfield

NOTE: Meeting is in the Middle School Library, NOT the Admin. Building where we used to meet.

8:30 - 9:30 Mark Villinski, Kaspersky

9:30 - 9:40 Announcements
  • Welcome!
  • Financial report
  • New Invoices for FY11 have been sent to all members
9:40 - 9:45 Elections
  • Elect Chairperson for FY11
  • Elect Directors for FY11

9:45 – 10:15 Proposed guests/technical workshops/locations

  • Speakers: N-Computing (10/7), Information & Communications Technologies Center (11/4)
  • Workshops: TechTalk (10/21), Moodle (12/16), Superintendents' Luncheon (3/17)
  • What else???

10:15 -10:30 First Annual TEP Technology Conference - April 7, 2011, Holyoke

  • Planning Committee?
  • Keynote: Allan November?

 

Next Meeting: October 7, 2010 - Northampton

   

WiredWest

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Community-Owned Last-mile Fiber-to-the-Home Network Proposed for Western Massachusetts!


ww logo

WiredWest, a new western Mass. regional organization representing 47 towns intends to complement the 1,300 mile, middle mile fiber backbone that will be connected to anchor institutions in 123 western Mass. towns. Funded with a federal ARRA NTIA grant of $45M plus another $25M from the Commonwealth, the Mass. Broadband Institute intends to connect about 1,500 anchor institutions, possibly including ALL of our schools, who could end up with a 100 Mbps connection! This is great, but there are not enough funds to do the last mile rollout of fiber to homes and businesses. WiredWest intends to build out that network with the following characteristics:
  • Universal Access: every home and business deserves access to 21st century telecommunications.
  • Community-Owned: Participating towns have a role in governance and oversight of the organization, to ensure policies represent the best interests of the communities and the region.
  • Financially Sustainable: The business model must be realistic in its assumptions, and be built on the premise that revenues will cover operational costs, debt service and repayment of capital investment within a reasonable timeframe.
  • Focus on Service and Affordability: WiredWest will strive to provide comprehensive, high quality services, with secure, reliable connections at affordable rates.
  • Future-proof: Building a high capacity network for the region is essential – but the upfront costs are high. Thus, the network must last a long time and be capable of highly scalable, economic upgrades as needs increase.
The WiredWest service area consists of the 47 towns shown in green in the map below:

ww_map

Please visit the web site for more information.
   

Save Net Neutrality!

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Net Neutrality at Risk

 

In a surprising move, Google has joined Verizon in an attempt to seriously cripple net neutrality, the concept that all content is equal. The way the Internet currently works, a user has equal access to all sites, whether they be multinational corporations, schools, or corner grocery stores. In the scenario that Verizon and Google are planning, access speeds to information could vary, based on how much the  content provider pays to the ISP.  This is an issue that should be of great concern to educators. Check out this video:

 

 

For more information: SavetheInternet.com

   

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Why Join TEP?

TEP currently serves 16 districts and 5 educational collaboratives representing more than 60 schools, in Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, and Worcester counties. TEP members pay an annual membership fee based upon student enrollment and, in return, receive numerous benfits including:

  • Discounted software licensing - TEP is one of only a handful of Microsoft Managed accounts with both a Level B School Agreement and an Academic Select Agreement
  • Vendor discounts including15% off Fortinet products, discounted thin client installations (Resara), discounted printing supplies (InkSolutions)
  • Legally inspected policy documents (AUP, Data Retention, etc.)
  • Participation in technology grants
  • Discounted technology services - Joomla CMS and WordPress implementation in partnership with the Hampshire Educational Collaborative
  • Discounted Interactive Video Conferencing Support
  • Monthly professional meetings, often with vendor presentations
  • Monthly Hands-on Technical Workshop Series
  • PCMall Corporate Access Program and Employee Purchase Program
  • GovConnection Corporate Access Program and Employee Purchase Program
  • Moodle course hosting
  • Online forums
   

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