Jessica Main and BCCTC students
In February, Questeq’s Jessica Main and The Challenge Program distributed financial awards to underclassmen at the Beaver County Career and Technology Center. Questeq was a partner of The Challenge Program at BCCTC during the 2016-17 school year.
To read the full press release, click here.
We previously shared our involvement with The Challenge Program and BCCTC.
Questeq partner school, Hopewell Area School District has been selected to host edcampPGH. This free, unconference event will be held on Saturday, March 24, 2018 from 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Teachers and other educational stakeholders are welcome to attend this unique professional development opportunity, centered around collaborating, sharing and learning from your peers. In this collaborative environment, presentations are not pre-scheduled but are determined on the day of the event. All attendees have the opportunity to present and share their expertise with interested participants.
For eligible attendees, DPW Credits and Act 48 Credits will be offered in partnership with WQED Education and Trying Together.
Questeq is pleased to be able to sponsor breakfast and lunch at the event. Congratulations to the dedicated teachers, staff and administration for bringing this exciting event to Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
For more information and to register, visit the edcampPGH website or registration page.
Wilmington Area School District has transformed into a regional leader in Educational Technology and is a pinnacle example of how Questeq can transform K-12 schools from tactical to strategic.
Just over two years ago, Wilmington partnered with Questeq with the hope of revitalizing their technology and every aspect of it. The District had major issues at every level. As Wilmington’s new Technology Manager, I believe that if “school choice” is going to be a thing, then Wilmington will be the best choice. Over the past two years, Aaron McConahy, Infrastructure Engineer, and myself have worked hard to make that happen.
The District is now 1:1 K-12 with a solid infrastructure. Everything has changed for the better, and it all started with a change of culture. We’ve turned the Tech Department into a Department of “Yes!” where we do everything possible to meet the needs of our faculty and staff. No matter how small or insignificant the request might seem to us, it may mean the world to a teacher. So, we exhaust every effort to say “yes” instead of defaulting to “no.” When the default response of technology staff is “no,” faith in the Tech Department will diminish so far that most teachers won’t bother to ask for help. With a positive change in culture, the whole district has regained trust in their Tech Department, and teachers are eager to learn and try new technologies.
Recently, Wilmington has fully immersed itself in everything Google. We are 1:1 with Chromebooks 5-12, and are using G Suite for Education extensively. The usage of Google Classroom, for example, is a requirement of all middle and high school teachers. Several teachers are now Google Certified Educators, and many more have expressed interest. Wilmington’s usage of Google products and services has spiked so high that even Google took notice. In July, we were selected as a Google Reference District.
Google Reference Districts are distinguished schools that utilize everything Google and are intended to show other districts what Google can do for education. Becoming a Google Reference District can only start with an invitation and involves a detailed application process. There are less than 200 districts in the world with this distinction. Needless to say, everyone at WASD is very proud!
Questeq’s impact at Wilmington has been positively remarkable. In just two years, Wilmington has changed its entire culture and is now a leader among leaders. We’ve shown that enrollment numbers don’t matter. Any district can accomplish the same feats regardless of size. All it takes is a Technology Department with motivation, perseverance, and a heap of gumption.
– Matthew E. Maine, Technology Manager
It’s no secret that the innovative juggernaut, Google, has found its way into many educational institutions worldwide. Their website boasts that 70 million users and seven of eight Ivy League schools utilize their education suite of tools. This suite, called G Suite for Education (formerly known as Google for Education), uses a philosophy perfectly fit for today’s schools: To provide simple, innovative, and cost effective solutions tailored for the education workspace.
In 2015, the Cornell School District partnered with Google to help deliver a fresh learning experience. While at first reluctant to change, teachers have embraced the switch and are pleased with the results. Every year, more of our educators get on board and set up their own ‘cloud’ classrooms where students can access lessons anywhere, any time, and from any device. Adding Google Chromebooks has enhanced classrooms and continues to be a driving force in personalized learning. But to make it all work effectively, the students can’t be the only ones learning.
Professional development is a must in any occupation, especially dealing with technology. As a technology administrator at the Cornell School District, I’m always looking for ways to do my job more effectively. Because of my limited knowledge of G Suite for Education, I decided to take a relevant online course created by Google. This course is called “G Suite Administrator Fundamentals” and is specifically designed for administrators who manage G Suite for their organization. Completion of the course takes 15-30hrs and is provided online through Coursera. In summary, the course teaches organizational best practices as well as how to manage users, control access to apps, configure security settings and much more.
I completed the course in July and passed the end of course exam to become a Google Certified Associate – G Suite Administrator. The biggest benefit for me was learning what is possible through the suite. For example, there are advanced email options to authenticate organizational email, which can be used to prevent email spoofing. This feature will more than likely be implemented at Cornell since the school has been the target of multiple email spoofing campaigns. I definitely recommend taking this course and exam for any administrators using G Suite for Education. My gained knowledge will be a small contribution to helping the Cornell School District in their on-going mission of pursuing excellence in public education.
– Cody Thull, Questeq Technology Coordinator @ Cornell School District
Crawford Central School District has agreed to extend their existing ETM partnership with Questeq by signing a new five-year agreement. The newly signed agreement includes adding two full time Technology Specialists to the existing onsite technology department. Questeq’s onsite technology team has been instrumental in the recently approved one-to-one program. The program will begin by providing devices to students in grades seven and eight during the 2017-2018 school year. The rest of the secondary students are set to receive devices the following year. In preparation for the one-to-one program, the district has been making significant investments in networking technology, cloud storage and application virtualization. Crawford Central has also recognized the need to enhance data security, by implementing Dell DDPE (Dell Data Protection & Encryption), as well as Microsoft EMS (Enterprise Mobility Suite) for their laptop and email solutions.
The district serves approximately 3,800 students in Crawford County, located in northwestern Pennsylvania. Questeq has provided ETM services to Crawford Central since 2013. When powered by Questeq’s Educational Technology Management (ETM) service, schools experience a positive cultural change towards digital transformation.
The agreement was celebrated by the Crawford Central technology team along with CEO, Jeff Main and COO, Jason King, during an all-team meetup in July.
