Introduction

Welcome to the Technology Department of Ardmore City Schools. Instructional technology is a growing part of day to day operations across Ardmore City Schools. In recent years there has been a tremendous growth in K12 software; data warehousing, curriculum, assessment, managerial, library systems, student management, and the list goes on. The latest evolution is to web based (browser compatible) software and becoming SIF (School Interoperability Framework) compliant throughout our organization. We recognize that our goal is to increase learning and support the district in the most efficient measures possible. Through a MIZUNI ZIS (Zone Integration Server) we are able to manage SIF and leverage the data to the latest reporting platforms and truly begin to look at data for its analytical and decision making abilities. We believe through technology new doors due truly open and we can pave the road for creative thinkers and enhance the learning process.

Overview

Ardmore has grown to over 1000 desktop computers and 21 servers at our network core. The server core consist of Windows 2003 Raid 5 SCSI servers with Dual Xeon processors and Symantec Corporate Antivirus running Active Directory and Group Policies. The desktop computers are all Intel Pentium 4 or newer with LCD screens and Windows XP Professional operating system. All computers login to the Ardmore Domain and all printers are network based controlled through print servers.

Network Services

The entire infrastructure of the ACS network runs over Cisco layer 3 switches with each site connected via single mode fiber optics forming a redundant ring for fault tolerance and a GIG connection to the desktop district wide. This enables central point of control and allows remote access to any computer in the district based upon our unique naming convention for immediate response and allows us to take over computers and see what the users are seeing as well as push out software and updates.

Filtering/CIPA

Ardmore is proud to be fully CIPA compliant and uses Secure Computing/BESS as a filtering device. This content filtering server blocks all known bad or malicious websites and is updated each night. This product is very comprehensive and records each user and each computers access to all web sites and categorizes sites for historical reporting. The filtering appliance does DNS reverse lookups and also blocks web sites by I.P and all proxy redirect sites.

Software

Ardmore is proud to use web based Renaissance Place for all Accelerated Reader/Math, Fluent Reader, and Star products. All Renaissance Learning products run through a browser with no software to install on client computers.

Smartboards

Ardmore is proud to have over 50 smart boards district wide and is continuing to purchase more in the next year. Our goal is one for every classroom.