The importance of technology in education cannot be underestimated. District Ambassadors were given an overview of Carroll County’s commitment to the best technology to help our students and teachers.
Director of Technology Zachary Morris-Dean rounded out the District Ambassadors introduction to all things Carroll County Schools near the end of last school year. A new group of District Ambassadors will begin meeting soon.
Morris-Dean explained how his department operates and noted that Carroll County is fortunate to have such a large team of technology professionals. The office includes three techs, a network administrator, administrative assistant and Morris-Dean.
“I am very appreciative of our school board for prioritizing technology in personnel,” he said, noting that everything in the district is connected to technology. Air conditioners, heaters, badge readers and clever touch boards in classrooms to name a few.
Morris-Dean, who has worked on Panther technology since 2012, said he takes this job very seriously. “I have a lot of personal stake in this. A lot of the infrastructure in this district I built.”
Carroll County Schools is fortunate in that it only pays a fraction of the cost for things like fiber optic and internet connections. The district qualifies for the Federal Communications Commission E-rate program, which typically pays 90% of technology expenses.
“Every dollar they pay for is a dollar I can spend on getting a device in front of a student,” Morris-Dean said. “We make sure people have what they need to be successful.”
He also explained the level of security on all district devices and networks is very high and monitored closely. District devices are filtered in the same way whether they are used in school or at home. Presently, high schoolers are the only ones who have devices to take home.
“We try to stack the right number of tools so we can do the best to protect them,” Morris-Dean said, noting media specialists also spend time teaching students to be good digital citizens.
This summer the technology department has added a number of tools throughout the district that will make Wi-Fi access easier and more dependable. “We’re trying to get network access anywhere it is needed,” he said, which includes athletic facilities and outside some of the school buildings.
The technology department is responsible for maintaining 2,500 Chromebook devices (laptop and desktop), 800 Windows devices, 350 iPads, 390 wireless access points, 7,500+ network ports, 165 CleverTouch boards and 15 time clocks throughout the district.