Medford Township Public Schools appoints new Educational Technology Coordinator
Tags: Headlines, Schools, Ipads, Chromebooks, Joseph Del Rossi

On April 13, the Medford Township Board of Education appointed Kirby’s Mill Elementary School Principal Mark Damon to the position of educational technology coordinator for the district.

This has been a position that has been in the district technology vision for nearly 10 years.

“It is something we always knew was needed, but never had the ability to implement or institute it,” Damon said.

Over the past year, a strategic vision committee was created to plan the direction of the district, and a common demand for someone to coordinate technology surfaced several times.

The district’s goal is to advance the educational experience through highly effective collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity for the entire school community.

The committee was interested in implementing a 21st century vision to effectively utilize technology to support student learning but was afraid it would go to waste if someone was not put in the position of managing it, rolling it out and coordinating the training staff.

“The Medford Township School District is committed to developing responsible digital citizens who can adapt to the ever-changing global society,” Superintendent Joseph Del Rossi said.

After several interviews with Del Rossi, district Director of Programming and Planning Tom Olson and the school board, Damon was selected as the №1 candidate for the position.

Damon was looking to get back to his roots after being a principal for the past 12 years and felt this position matched his passion for technology.

As a teacher for five years in Hillsborough, he utilized technology to motivate his students, engage them, communicate with parents and the community, and to allow for collaboration long before 21st century learning goals were even a consideration.

He created materials for both the delivery of instruction and the assessment of learning and utilized one of the first online Gradebooks to allow parents a window into their child’s learning.

Damon was instrumental in piloting the first 1:1 Chromebook classroom in Medford Township along with his Kirby’s Mill computer teachers Andy Reuter and Christy Green.

“Working with them, we were able to do site visits, independent research and put together a plan for implementing devices into the classroom,” Damon said.

Damon will now be responsible for leading the district’s initiative for embedding technology into the daily instruction for students.

He will design new policies, procedures and protocols that will assist in selecting end user hardware for students and staff, redesigning the technology labs, helping the district’s IT engineer to ensure the district’s technology infrastructure accommodates the district’s needsand providing the leadership for professional development for administrators and teachers.

“Mr. Damon will play an integral part in the development ofcurriculum necessary to effectively integrate technology into instruction in a thoughtful, systematic way,” Del Rossi said.

Damon expressed a particular excitement toward being able to work with and learn from teachers throughout Medford.

He has already begun this process after conducting what he referred to as a “Chromebook cohort” with several teachers to explore the ways they are using technology in the classroom and make improvements throughout the district.

Maureen Schoenberger, the computer teacher at Allen Elementary School, even created a Google Plus page for Chromebook users in Medford, enabling them to learn from each other.

“It is people with similar passions to mine in technology and education that I am excited to work with,” Damon said.

The district is looking at a systematic deployment of Chromebooks in grades three to eight with consideration of second grade receiving the same. It also has pods of iPads throughout the district in PK-2.

The top priority is to deploy these devices through a managed rollout and to address bandwidth throughout the district through the IT Department with the help of the district IT Manager, Shaun Gray.

“Students coming back in September to a potential 1,000 new devices will put a strain on our infrastructure, so the most immediate attention needs to be given to a strong backbone to support our vision, and working with teachers to begin infusing the technology into their curriculum in meaningful ways,” Damon said.

He is hopeful the district will begin moving toward more personalized learning through the use of technology.

“We have a solid curriculum in place already that teachers are delivering very well. My hope is we can utilize technology to take it to the next level, to bring the world into the classroom and break down the walls of the schools to allow for collaboration and creation,” Damon said.

Though he is excited for the next step of his career, he could not say enough about what the group at Kirby’s Mill has done for his occupational growth.

“I have become very attached to the people that make up Kirby’s Mill. They are the fabric that makes the school great. They are dedicated professionals who love to teach, love to learn and love to have fun,” he said.

The board has begun to receive resumes and compile a list of candidates for the Kirby’s Mill Elementary School principal position.