Race to the Top Wireless Project RFP--1/4/2012

Franklin County Schools Technology Department is currently receiving RFPs for a massive wireless infrastructure project tied to Race to the Top.

See more information by clicking here

Student Summer Camps--5/16/2011

Franklin County Schools Technology Department will once again hold a series of free technology summer camps for students. While somewhat abbreviated compared to years past (due to the emphasis of completing the technology at the new Franklinton HS), FCS students will particpate in four exciting camps, from robotics to digital animation to creating websites.

See more information by clicking here

Microsoft IT Academy--3.17.2010

Due to a partnership between the State of North Carolina and Microsoft, students and staff will be able to earn certification in Microsoft products free. Students will also be able to take newly created IT Academy courses in high school. Read more about it here.

Students Assisting Adults--12.17.2010

Three teachers at Franklinton High School, Dottie Averette, Gloria Kearney, and Evelyn Crudup wanted to provide opportunties for their Busines students to showcase their skills. They decided the best way to do this would be to invite adults from the community in to a series of afterschool workshops. The teachers and students provide workshops over a number of weeks on applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and email. The three teachers also completed and were awarded a grant to provide prizes and refreshments to the class. With successful survey data from the participants, Ms. Averette plans to offer the series again in February.

FCS Email on Personal Devices--11.19.2010

Have a Droid, iPhone, or Blackberry of your own you want to receive FCS email on? Check out our new email page at: . While we cannot support personal devices, if you can follow the directions, you should be set.

Click here for the Email page

FCS Network Status Updates--10.5.2010

As a department, we always want to provide the most current, updated information to our users (students, parents, teachers).  To that end, we developed the Network Status page.  If you visit http://www.fcschools.net/networkstatus.htm, you will find the most current information regarding the FCS Network and applications.  Check it to see if Moodle is down, what the status is with Internet connectivity at your school, or for every other technology purpose.

Network Upgrades--9.8.2010, 9.10-9.12.2010

Upcoming network upgrades will leave the FCS Network down on certain days.

On Wednesday, September 8th, we will upgrade out Filtering Appliance. To do this, external traffic will cease at 4pm. The upgrade will continue through the evening. It will be finished in time for school on Thursday morning.

On Friday, September 10th, the entire FCS Network will go down through the weekend. Replacement wireless radios will be installed throughout the district. The Tower at BMS will also be repaired. Traffic will resume Monday morning, with a more robust, reliable network.

Parent Involvement Fair--6.15.2010

Thanks to all parents and families who came out on the Last Day of School to our Parental Involvement Fair. Parents could see all the different programs available to them in their schools and throughout the County. The Technology Department's SMART Table and SMART Board were definitely popular draws! Thanks to all for making this a successful event!

Parent Involvement Fair Coming!--6.9.2010

Come out to the FCS Central Office (53 West River Road--Google Map) on Thursday, June 10th from 4pm-7pm. You will be able to see information from all 15 schools in the County and all departments. For our Technology Department, we will showcase our SMART Boards and our latest tool, the SMART Tables. Come and also receive a handy booklet, Chatting With Kids About Being Online. Hope to see you there!

SMART Tables for Smart Teachers--5.3.2010

Recently many kindergarten through second grade teachers participated in a grant that awarded three SMART Tables to teachers. While many of us are familar with SMART Board, the interactive white boards that provide interactive content to be used in classes, currently, Franklin County Schools do not possess any SMART Tables. So what exactly is a SMART Table? Many associate SMART with interactivity, and that is exactly what you get with a SMART Table. Picture the SMART Board, turn it sideways, and allow for MANY hands and fingers to manipulate content such as the human body, the globe, letters, and much more. You can see more on an FCS Tube video, available inside the FCS Network at: http://fcstube/safevideos/Video.aspx?id=ZU-CYeiKmP4. The three lucky teachers to win this batch of SMART Tables are:

AnnaBeth Williams from BES, Sharon Reams from LMES, and Jessica Wolschleger from BES. Congratulations to all three!

And The Winners Are...--2.8.10

The FCS Technology Department received MANY excellent applications for our NCTIES Conference contest. Out of them, five clearly stood out. The five teachers below will receive full registration at the conference, including the luncheon with keynote Ron Clark.

The Winners:

Billie Jo Abney--Bunn Elementary School
Dean Reed--Long Mill Elementary School
Elaine Ihrie--Bunn Elementary School
Maria Styers--Franklinton High School
Myra Bridgers--Bunn Middle School

Calling All FCS Teachers--1.19.2010

The FCS Technology Department would like to offer five classroom teachers the opportunity to attend the North Carolina Technology In Education Society conference in Raleigh on March 3rd-5th, 2009.

Five FCS teachers will have the opportunity to attend this innovative conference emphasizing the integration of 21st Century Skills into the classroom. 

In order to ensure equitable access for this opportunity, the technology department devised and revised a contest we began last year.  The Tech Department will accept applications for the five available slots from now until Friday, January 29th, 2010.  If interested in attending, please follow the guidelines below and submit all entries to Chris Shearer by January 29th at 5 pm.  Any applications received *after* 5 pm will be excluded.

Please use some creative way (some examples are below, but you are not tied to them) to show:

How Do You Prepare Your Students to Become Global Citizens?

Some possible ways to illustrate this include, but are not limited to:
·1 PowerPoint slide
·<2 minute video
·Lesson plan/activity in Moodle
·SMART Notebook file
·Submission of a lesson artifact created by students (photos, video, or actual artifact)
·Photos (including files created with photos such as PhotoStory, VoiceThread, etc)

**PLEASE COLLABORATE WITH YOUR TECHNOLOGY FACILITATOR!!!!

Please email all submissions to ChrisShearer (at) fcschools.net by January 29th, 2010 and include the following info:
Name
School
Grade(s)/Subject(s) Taught

As a team, the technology department will review submissions and select the winners based on creativity, with priority given to first time applicants.

Winners will be notified in February 2010.  Each of 5 winners will receive:
·Paid conference attendance
·Paid substitutes for the days of the conference
·Conference luncheon ticket for Ron Clark Luncheon