School earns Microsoft Associate Showcase School designation, one of only 60 in the U.S.
With more than 1,300 computer devices and an average of 450 gigabytes of network traffic pulsating through every school day, Notre Dame is a major hub of academic technology that rivals some public schools with much larger enrollments.
Eden Konja, who is director of information and academic technology at the school, pretty much confirms that NDPMA occupies a leadership role in technology, particularly information technology, which is vital to the uninterrupted operation of all three Notre Dame divisions.
“I have gone to several conferences since coming to Notre Dame and it is apparent that we are pretty far ahead of the curve compared with other schools when it comes to ed-tech,” Konja said. “We demand a lot from our students and we have to meet their educational technology needs to allow them to learn not only in the classroom but outside as well.”
He said the school continues to invest in the right technologies to improve communication, learning, services and operations.
“In fact, we recently have earned the distinction of being named a Microsoft Associate Showcase School,” he said. “This gives NDPMA a global-scale recognition as an innovative school with a strong leadership vision for change. Technology is always moving quickly and we should be open to learning and understanding its use in our school.”
As leader of the school’s technology operations, Konja, along with the school’s network administrator, Jason Borngesser, and staff members Eleanor McCaskey and Melissa York are overseeing all technical aspects of the school. According to Konja, his main responsibilities are the overall management, planning, organizing and execution of all IT functions at the school, which includes Haiku Learning, NetClassroom and the school’s critical online-enrollment application.
Because of its Microsoft Associate Showcase School designation, Konja said NDPMA now joins an elite and exclusive community of only 60 premier schools from around the U.S. that are recognized due to their true pioneering efforts and innovation in rethinking teaching, learning and assessment in order to drive deep 21st-century competencies.
Anthony Salcito, who is vice president of worldwide education for Microsoft, said Notre Dame and other “Showcase” schools “are shining examples of those applying purpose-driven innovation in a variety of ways to build connection, motivate students and to create community in and out of school. These schools are truly transforming learning and providing more personalized education to students, which is empowering them to achieve more,” Salcito added.
Recent major upgrades
Eden Konja, standing, who heads Notre Dame’s IT department, works with staff member Eleanor McCaskey and a student on one of the school’s tablet computers.
“We are moving our Student Information System hosting from our in-house network to a vendor,” he said. “This model has many advantages that will benefit everyone in our community because it will take better advantage of industry-security standards and we will have much-improved data backup and disaster-recovery procedures.”
He also said it will allow for the use of the latest software and hardware technologies needed to make the system much more responsive and accessible. Overall, Konja said, it will ultimately increase efficiencies and effectiveness throughout its use in the school environment for everyone — students, teachers and staff.
In addition, Notre Dame has a number of other technology-related upgrades happening now or planned in the near future that will improve device management, communication and collaboration. The new tools will help the school in taking a significant digital leap toward improving each student’s ability to learn with technology. Among those upgrades are the following initiatives:
• With so many devices connected to the school network, Konja and Borngesser are looking at improving its internal firewall as well as accessing better tools to more efficiently analyze network usage.
• The school is reviewing a digital-documentation system to help archive and reduce printing. This will allow staff the ability to find archived information more quickly and at the same time provide a better document (disaster) recovery solution.
• Notre Dame is piloting a classroom-management tool that will allow teachers the ability to broadcast content, view screens live and lock screens for each device during the class session. It will also allow the IT department the ability to manage devices even when they are outside of the classroom.
• The school is working on implementing Microsoft Office 365 throughout the facility. Konja said the many apps in the software will be beneficial in the classroom and for student collaboration.
• Microsoft Intune, a mobile- and PC-device management tool, has been purchased by the school to allow its IT department to more easily deploy applications and settings to all devices.
1:1 success
Now in the second year of full 1:1 implementation, Notre Dame currently is using Apple iPads in its lower division, while the middle and upper divisions use Microsoft Surface tablets. The school also invested in a learning-management system called Haiku Learning to streamline the addition of all those devices in the classroom.
Borngesser said NDPMA utilizes Google, Apple and Microsoft in a variety of ways to help students learn.
Tablet use also extends to Notre Dame’s music classes.
“Overall the 1:1 program seems to be very effective in providing our students a way to learn with technology,” Borngesser said. “We have worked closely with Microsoft to build a stronger relationship that has improved our warranty claims and increased support needs. The Surface devices in the middle and upper divisions are functioning well and will prepare those learners with the technologies used at universities and workplaces.”
He also said the iPads in the lower division are working well in engaging its students.
“Our network is functioning well with all of the devices moving all over the campus,” Borngesser added. “Students seem to enjoy having their own device to take notes, open eBooks, and submitting work onto Haiku Learning.”
Konja said his department is also working to implement technology enhancements in the Media Center to better support Notre Dame’s 1:1 device program. This includes charging ports and common TV monitors to allow students to work collaboratively on class assignments and projects.
“In summary, the 1:1 device program is going well and the department hopes to provide a survey soon to get a better pulse from our community,” said Konja. “There is no one solution that fits every school and it has taken a complete commitment and great community support to make this 1:1 device program such a success.”
Technology needs funding to keep up
Konja noted, however, that they certainly are not resting on their successes. He said there is no sitting around and waiting in IT because technology moves at such a rapid pace.
“Having a fully functional network 24-7 is imperative for our 1:1 program, specifically, and for the school in general,” he said. “Our school network needs to be completely operational as we cannot tolerate downtime that will halt the educational process. Federal funds are provided to public schools to improve their network infrastructure, but since we are a private, Catholic school, we do not qualify for much of those funds at all.
“We have an enterprise infrastructure need at NDPMA just like the public schools and we need to continue to constantly improve our network to maintain a positive learning environment,” Konja said. “With continued support from our community, we should be able to keep the network going well within our learning environment.”
He acknowledges and is extremely grateful for the technology fees that are a big part of helping to keep the school on its technology cutting edge. But Konja also wanted to remind all that donations to the “Scholars Way” segment of The Notre Dame Fund is still another important way to support the school community’s strong commitment to academic scholarship by helping to fund technology needed for academic programs, instructional resources and professional development.
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.