Information Technology
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2017 Retrospective
With the clock ticking toward 2018, it’s once again time to reflect on another year of technology projects and programs at Penn Manor School District. Here are highlights from an incredible 12 months: The tech department undoubtedly transformed this year. A cascade of staff departures, reassignments, and promotions spurred the most substantial team reorganization in…
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Open School Leadership
Free and open source software is the catalyst for Penn Manor School District’s award-winning student learning programs. For one, they save the school district more than a million dollars on its technology budget. Besides fiscal savings are the open leadership principles that foster innovation among teachers and students, help to better engage the community, and create a more vibrant…
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2016 Technology Rewind
With 2016 slipping into the history books it is time to reflect on an exciting year of technology projects at Penn Manor School District. Here are a few highlights: The year started with a ring. In January, we unveiled a new automated attendance call notification system. When a student is marked absent, their parent or…
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Mattermost – An Open Source Slack Alternative
The Penn Manor IT Team relied on a self-hosted IRC messaging server for many years. IRC is great for a technical crowd, but the old-school feel and cryptic conventions never resonated with students and teachers. We’ve experimented with IRC alternatives, but an affordable, school-friendly platform has been elusive. Slack was a promising option–and a few…
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District of Distinction Award – Open Source Laptop Program
Penn Manor School District’s open source 1:1 student laptop learning program has earned a District of Distinction award from District Administration Magazine. Every student in grades 7 through 12 receives a laptop computer running the Linux operating system, as well as dozens of open source learning programs. With 2,500 1:1 laptops in grades 7 through 12, and 1,500 Linux laptops in its elementary…