An initiative of Jasper County Schools
When Jasper Schools have an IT problem or want to capture new opportunities, Adrian Guzman, Aaron Kurtz, and Luke Zuber are the first boots on the ground. It's no different when the One-to-One technology project was rolled-out several years ago.
Heroes
of
Tech
Aaron is the homegrown product of Jasper County Schools and Adrian joined the Jasper County team when his wife, Mrs. Guzman became its elementary school principal, and Luke came on as a Technology Support Specialist in late 2019, just before COVID hit. The trio is hard at work supporting the school community on several levels beyond maintaining routers and organizing Cat 5 cabling. Aaron says they oversee more than a thousand Chromebooks — one for each student and teacher from third grade up. In addition, they’ve distributed and routinely maintain approximately 300 iPads for students from kindergarten through 2nd-grade. Both Adrian and Aaron note the impact the program has had on attentiveness and the level of student engagement.
I think we're in an age where we're inundated with so much of it that [the school] is not asking for it," Adrian explained of ‘new tech,’ "But that doesn't stop us from looking into what else is out there that we can bring to a classroom to make things easier and supplement what they're already doing.
By Nate Fisher
One-to-One: Aaron Kurtz, Adrian Guzman, and Luke Zuber on Jasper County Technology
While there's no rush to move on to the next layer of education tech, the IT guys are always on the lookout for new opportunities through technology. "I think we're in an age where we're inundated with so much of it that [the school] is not asking for it," Adrian explained of ‘new tech,’ "But that doesn't stop us from looking into what else is out there that we can bring to a classroom to make things easier and supplement what they're already doing." He reasons that one day, the board, students, or teachers WILL ask for the thing, so the best approach is to preemptively explore opportunities in tech today.
All three gentlemen's vision for their work is wrapped in Eagle pride. "We want other schools to look at Jasper County and say, 'Look at what they're doing," Adrian says, "I don't want to be the school that says, 'Look at what they're doing.'" It's a fine line, though. Adrian says though the Chromebooks and iPads are an overwhelming success, it can be a gamble to move ahead too quickly on the commitment to new technology. While it is this tri-cornered brainstrust that helps shape the recommendations for technology within the school community, they are really part of a large team of stakeholders, from students and parents to teachers and board members, all of whom must work together to invest in the best initiatives to benefit student outcomes. Among the most visible of all the technology implementations in recent memory is the One-to-One program, which has its roots in 2016, but for which exploration began several years earlier. Not in a financial position to commit to upfront costs for devices after initially being denied state funding support, Aaron tried a medley of netbooks, mobile computer labs, and other 2010s-era technologies to cobble together an early form of the solution our schools have today: accessible technology available to all students and faculty. Through an abundance of research and persistence, Aaron was eventually able to resolve a more unified approach through the Google suite of tools, which allowed for easy implementation across One-to-One Chromebook implementation. And, with Luke’s addition to the team in 2019, he has become the go-to-guy for most of the Chromebook repairs, as well as day-to-day tech support of both student and staff needs at the high school and junior high.
Grant monies, district funding, and substantial early donations from within the community came together in a way, which enabled the program, financially, and so — in that window — it was time to move. The Chromebooks were put in the hands of high school Juniors first and thoroughly vetted as part of the larger, connected system of teacher utilization and seamless integration before being rolled out to the other grade levels. Aaron anticipates the inevitable switch from Chromebook devices as technology evolves, but per the district's evaluations of the program and Aaron's own two eyes, he shares, "I feel like, by and large, it's been a successful program. All of our teachers are utilizing their Chromebook devices in one capacity or another."
"I have a fifth and six grader," Adrian says, "One of them, last year, was excited. He was like, 'I got my own device.' I think there's a teaching moment there; It's not your property, this is a school device on loan to you. So how do you treat other people's things? That's the teaching moment." Aside from the noticeable improvements in engagement with class material, Adrian says there's quite a bit for students to learn about the permanence of the digital footprint. "You have to be careful because that footprint is going to follow you. It's about making good digital decisions in the present," he adds.
Aaron, Luke, and Adrian have set a precedent for a tech-enabled teacher and student experience at Jasper County. Access to information at our students' digital fingertips is no longer a luxury in education, it's the name of the game, and these three dedicated tech professionals are giving our students access to those gateways to the world; directly supporting their ability to step to the other side of discovery.