1. Improving Communication and Collaboration Across the School District
District Administration
Improving Communication and Collaboration Across the School District
Debbie Karcher CIO Miami-Dade County Public Schools

2. Who is M-DCPS? Fourth-largest US school district
390 public schools; 80 Charter schools
Serving 2400 square miles
340,000 students
53,000 employees
131 Unique Home Languages

3. Foundation Projects Active Directory Account and Auto Update
Password Synchronization
District
District wide Gradebook
Metro Ethernet to each remote site
Patch Management and Virus Protection
Data Warehouse
OLAP (On-line Analytical Processing tool)
Self Service for Technology Support
Leveraged Existing Microsoft Licensing and Experience

4. The Big Picture The Vision The Challenges Tactical Objectives
Have all users connected to all information at anytime
The Challenges
Giving all of our users access to their systems
Providing our parents an easy and consistent way to
monitor their child’s progress
Tactical Objectives
Increase parent involvement
Connect silo systems
Provide easy and consistent access to information
Reduce paper-based systems

5. The Solution www.dadeschools.net
Students
Parents
Community
Employees

7. Teacher Portal

9. Personal Information
Grades
Schedule
ESOL

10. Teacher/Student Class Collaboration
Teacher Created
Home Learning
Upcoming events
Online Discussion
Post Documents

11. Student Portal

12. Student Portal

13. Student/Teacher Class Collaboration
Gradebook
E-Textbook
Student/Teacher Class Collaboration

14. Parent Portal Features Student Schedule Student Assignments & Grades
Attendance
E-Textbooks
School Bus Information
Free and Reduced Meal Application process
Ask A Question
and many more resources

16. My Collaboration Site

17. School Site Collaboration
Site Actions Show common commands for the site.
Tabs Display subsites and link to them.
Announcements Post messages on the home page of the site.
Calendar Display important dates and events.
Quick Launch List key site pages on this navigation menu.
Links Post links of interest to site members.
Document Library Contain and display team documents.
Use Web Parts as building blocks for your site.

18. School Site Collaboration Instructional/Non-Instructional

19. Lessons Learned Portal Lite
Over Estimating Services, Under Estimating Staff
Mapping and Establishing Environments Beforehand
Change Control in Place
Getting all Parts to Work Together
Limited best practice for MOSS as it as a new product
Deployment issues (test -> staging -> production)
No build process

20. Benefits Helping with 40% student mobility Flexible & Agile System
Highest quality of education for students
More student use of technology
Provide parents opportunity to participate in education process
Give teachers tools & information to succeed

21. Benefits Safe “My Site’” and collaboration space
Can see daily attendance and grades
Online textbooks and curriculum
Involved in student’s education and school activities
Catch problems before the end of grading period
I left my book at school no longer an excuse!
Enhanced Productivity & Decision Making
Teachers can parents, prepare lesson, enter grades, & prepare for parent-teacher meetings in one tool
Principals have operational reports, monitor KPIs, view attendance & suspension data
Improved Collaboration
Parents are more involved in school activities
Teachers & Parents can share information on each student
Improved Access to Information
Empowers students to teach each other
Single point of access for teachers
School administrators can streamline processes
Highly Successful Implementation
Created an Agile and Flexible Organization
Opened Up MDCPS to the World
Enhanced productivity
Access to information they never had before
Systems are easier to learn
Easier to participate in activities (less bureaucracy)
Customized gateway to M-DCPS
Flexible and agile for future programs

22. Microsoft Live Meeting 2007
The District needed to reduce out of office travel time associated with meetings
Solution had to be cost effective, scalable and easy to use
2007 began using a commercial software product. This usage showed administrative staff and schools that this delivery method would work
Downside, very expensive - $12,000 to $15,000 per web cast. Consequently, due to budgetary concerns in 2008, all funding for the web cast tool was eliminated
Microsoft recommends LiveMeeting; a windows-based meeting. Based on existing licensing already purchased, the use of LiveMeeting would mean no cost to the District
Have successfully used the tool for many meetings chaired by Administration. Most recently, their desktop was shared with over 300 principals

23. Microsoft Live Meeting 2007
Travel less. Communicating and collaborating online saves time and money by meeting online and avoid all the hassles of business travel
Increase productivity. Avoid downtime associated with getting to and from meetings
Reduce costs. By conducting online meetings, online training, and online events
Conduct trainings and large events. Large-scale training and events with hundreds or even thousands of participants.

24. Microsoft Live Meeting 2007
Collaborate in real time. Share, collaborate, and discuss projects in real time. Make critical decisions quickly, with all the stakeholders, regardless of geography.
Simplify administration and deployment. Can easily enable everyone to conduct effective online meetings