SMASD sees vast improvements in technology
ST. MARYS - A technology update spanning the last five years noting the vast improvements made in the information technology (IT) department within that time frame was presented to the St. Marys Area School District Board of Directors during their recent monthly meeting.
This year, more so than others, technology was at the forefront of the education field not only in St. Marys but throughout the world with schools opting for remote and virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aaron Simbeck, SMASD’s Information Technology administrator and owner of Advanced Computer Solutions (ACS) in St. Marys, discussed an array of technology related items during his presentation to the board.
Over the years the district’s IT Dept. has worked to streamline the imaging process by ensuring the computers throughout the district were equipped with the latest security patches and features are applied. This process is done every summer and take approximately two weeks to complete compared to the 3.5 months prior to 2016. PCs can be updated on-demand with changes and fixes capable of being pushed to the entire fleet of computers. Imaging allows the IT department to maintain uniform PC names year after year, allowing the printers, folders, and more to automatically install for users.
SMASD continues run
ning the latest versions of software including Windows, Adobe Readers, VLC Media Player, Microsoft Office, Data Recognition Corp. Testing. They have also added more functionality this year to retain teacher settings and files throughout the upgrade process.
An entire lab can be imagined in less than 15 minutes.
Currently SMASD is supporting 3,500 devices during the school year all at the same time on its network, improving from 250 megabits per second (Mbps) to 1,000 mbps. On average the district utilizes 450-650 mbps from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. On some days they move 2 terabytes of data.
Simbeck emphasized how the district maintains and consistent student and building safety.
Fox Township and Bennetts Valley Elementary Schools have fully independent cellphone boosters.
All systems are able to function for nine hours in a complete power and network failure as the systems do not rely on the district’s network. Bennetts Valley has utilized this system numerous times during power failures to reach maintenance and various other departments. BV also had two network extenders on each side of the building providing complete coverage depending on network functionality. Aramark provided all installation.
SMASD continues to utilize a state of the art Barracuda Web Security Gateway and CIPA Compliant Perimeter Firewall
According to Simbeck, “we are frequently creating additional creative firewall rules crafted to battle the ever-changing internet environment.”
“We utilize Gaggle to detect and identify students which may be searching harmful things, such as self harm, etc.,” Simbeck said.
In terms of network security ACS continues to monitor all servers around the clock for antivirus alerts which may include malware, out of date antivirus definitions, out of data programs and loss of communication. Perimeter firewalls are configured to prevent inbound connections from any country except the U.S. while the district is also protected from know threat patterns on the web.
They also regularly conduct routine firewall log and configuration auditing, explore and apply methodology against Ransomware attacks and conduct routine security discussions with users from the top down regarding the latest threats and what to watch for.
The iT Dept. continues to place ActivPanel LCD touchscreen interactive displays into classrooms.
“Our one to one initiative has gone super smoothly,” Simbeck said.
Currently they have rolled over 1,200 devices into the network this year and that number continues to rapidly increase.
“Our WiFi network continues to outperform any and all expectations given the rapid increase in devices,” Simbeck noted.
As for what’s next the IT Dept. continues to assess the Wifi and network reach throughout the district, adding access points and coverage in areas as needed. The servers are slated for Hypervisor Upgrades in the coming months.
“We continue to convert areas in the district to meet the changing demands of technology,” Simbeck said.
The high school library is on this year’s agenda for a remodel including the installation of a projection and audio system.
In regard to providing tech support to district staff, the IT Dept. continues to maintain two or less tickets, which are a request for tech support, as a norm from day to day. Tickets are generally resolved within 5-10 minutes of submission with 90% of requests being fulfilled remotely for users.
Simbeck noted since inception in 2016, he and his staff have resolved a total of 6,091 ticket requests.
Upcoming projects worth noting according to Simbeck include a triple display 4K presentation system to be installed in the high school auditorium with building integration; a broadcasting studio fully integrated with Zitomedia with broadcasting capabilities from anywhere within the district; numerous improvements along side Aramark on the gym audio systems and building intercom systems and phone integrations; continuation of improvements to IP security cameras between buildings and simple, but effect tasks such as email alerts to all administrators when 911 is dialed from any desk phone in the district.