CILC eNote - June 2009
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Tips for Site Coordinators
June 2009
FEATURING
C. Michael Lay
Technology Coordinator
Scott County Schools
Helenwood, Tennessee
Best Experience
Mike contacted a TANDBERG associate and they decided to contact the hospital to see if they would be allowed to bring in portable equipment. Once they received the okay, they worked with the
hospital's IT administration to connect to their MediaPlace 880 unit back in Scott County.
The day came that Makenzie was able to talk to her teacher and best friends all the way back in Scott County. Mike says, "There wasn't a dry eye in the house."
A Lesson Learned
Mike says: "Success breeds success. When something good happens, be willing to share it."
I found that out by:
- creating stories with lots of pictures for the media.
- sending out email to administrators, vendors, state department officials, vendor partners, and anyone else who would listen.
- doing presentations at several local and regional conferences.
I asked teachers involved in videoconferencing (IVC) to get their students to write down some thoughts about their experiences; be it a virtual fieldtrip trip on the Holocaust or a college class delivered via IVC. Not only does it reinforce what they have just learned, the outside world loves to hear what they have to say about it.
Your willingness to share with the rest of the world will definitely bring more opportunities for your district. Scott County was so beset with requests to visit that we had to set up distance learning workshops and invite groups in at one time. This past year alone, we connected with five (5) regional sites in Tennessee and had over 100 participants attend to listen to experts on grants and content related to videoconferencing. From these workshops over the past two years, several million dollars to fund videoconferencing initiatives have been channeled into Tennessee schools.
Success breeds success, but only if you let people know what you are doing. Be willing to share the good news!"
Lingering Question
Mike asks, "With the technology now in place, when will there be enough inexpensive bandwidth available to enable the general public to 'attend' school from home?"
All this year our highlighted Site Coordinators have posted their lingering questions in the NING Site Coordinators' Community. Each question is posted as a different Forum Discussion. Have you responded? If we all share our thoughts, we may find new ways to promote the possibilities we all know come through this incredible technology!
Visit our NING Site Coordinator Community today! It is open to all!
Final Comments
"Videoconferencing has brought me the greatest challenges of my career and the greatest rewards. It has truly revolutionized education, especially for those of us in the more remote parts of the nation. How else can you be a part of a presentation to school officials in Sydney, Australia one day and then get to listen to a Holocaust survivor talk about her experiences to World History students the next? You haven't lived until you've seen first graders talk to SpongeBob Squarepants just after he read "The Little Engine That Could" to them! And when students generate over 21 hours of college credit while still in high school, you know you've made an impact on their lives.
"The world around Scott County may not be flat yet, but we sure have a better view of it than we did before!"
About Mike
C. Michael Lay is retiring this June after more than 30 years in education, serving as math teacher, coach, computer lab instructor, technology trainer, and technology coordinator. After graduating from Stetson University, where he majored in mathematics, Michael began teaching in Florida. While there, he was given an opportunity to learn about personal computing at a time when you used a cassette recorder to store data. After that, he spent most of his time in education working in the technology arena. Mike spent most of his career in the Scott County Schools in Tennessee.
During this thirty (30) year period, Lay has been part of over $3.7 million in grants and E-Rate funds brought in to enhance the technology in the Scott County Schools. Michael also spearheaded many firsts while there; the first
- PC in 1978
- computer lab in 1983
- networked lab in 1988
- Integrated Learning System in 1988
- VOIP system with phones in every classroom in 2005
- interactive board technology in 2007
- videoconferencing system with equipment in every school in 2006
- national award
Mike has presented some of Scott County Schools' success stories, both live and virtually, in many conferences across the globe; including Australia, Alaska, California, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, and Washington, DC.
Contact information:
Michael Lay
(423)663.8486
Do you have a Best Experience, a Lesson Learned, and a Lingering Question?
Contact
Dawn Colavita
866-474-5226
CILC Can Support Your Efforts to Enhance Education through Technology by
Contact Monica Cougan at 317-231-6526 or 866-826-2452 (toll free)
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