Presented by Frankie Jackson, Independent K-12 Chief Technology Officer, Houston, TX; Glenn Robbins, Superintendent, Tabernacle Township School District, NJ; and Matthew J. Miller, Superintendent, Lakota Local Schools, OH

Program Host and Moderator: Ann McMullan, Project Director, CoSN Empowered Superintendents Initiative

Sponsored by ClassLink
This edWebinar series is co-hosted by CoSN and edWeb.net

Watch the Recording

Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more

Education networks have evolved from addressing district operational and administrative needs to serving students and teachers in and beyond the classroom, anywhere and anytime. Innovative technologies, more access to the internet, and powerful communication, creation, and collaboration tools are driving instructional transformation. Rapid change is increasing the demand for greater network capacity and reliability. In the not-too-distant future, innovations in data visualization, embedded digital formative assessment, immersive, adaptive digital content, and interoperability will place additional demands on district networks. And all this comes in an uncertain funding environment.

in this edWebinar, two school superintendents and a former large-district Chief Technology Officer share how district leaders can make high-stakes infrastructure investment decisions when technology, teaching and learning priorities, and funding are changing so rapidly and so constantly. Six critical areas of network design are explored:

• Multiple paths to the internet
• Two or more data centers and/or cloud services
• Reduction in single points of failure
• Software and services hosted in the cloud
• Near-term requirements are met with a clear vision for the future
• Support for students’ use of devices

This recorded edWebinar is of special value for school superintendents, K-12 school and district leaders, and aspiring leaders. 

About the Presenters

Frankie Jackson is an independent chief technology officer serving as a catalyst for performance excellence in K-12 leadership. She started her career as a software engineer at NASA supporting Space Shuttle and Station Operations. Quickly moving up in the organization, she served as a Baldrige quality examiner and program manager of the Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance contracts. She then moved to the K-12 education sector as CTO of Cypress Fairbanks ISD in Texas. As a nationally recognized influential leader at one of the nation’s largest districts, she led an IT team of professionals in building the largest K-12 SMART Education Network by Design (SEND) in the nation using the most innovative, best-of-breed technologies. She is currently working on a new book that focuses on the critical aspects of transformational leadership and managing performance excellence in technology service organization. The book is due to be released in 2020.

Matthew J. Miller is the superintendent of Lakota Local Schools in Ohio. He has spent the last 24 years serving Ohio communities as a superintendent, director of student services and instruction, principal, and teacher. Matt is actively involved in the prestigious and national League of Innovative Schools through Digital Promise, also serving as an elected member of their advisory committee. He was selected as one of 100 superintendents to attend and present at the #FutureReady National ConnectED Superintendents Summit at the White House, was named to the National School Boards Association Top 20 to Watch in the Nation, and conducted his first TEDx Talk in 2016 entitled Don’t Buy the Book: Cultivate, Curate and Go Open. Having completed his undergraduate and master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati, he was selected for the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Leadership Institute for Superintendents. Matt is grateful for his wife, Kristy, and their two children.

Glenn Robbins is Superintendent of Tabernacle Township School District in New Jersey. His passion is harnessing a school culture that thrives on design thinking skills, innovative digital spaces, high caliber professional development, exponential thinking, BYOD/1to1, and makerspaces. Glenn encourages all students to have a voice, not only in building a school culture, but also in designing student-led courses. He was named as a Digital Principal of the Year by NASSP for exhibiting bold, creative leadership in his drive to harness the potential of new technologies to further learning goals for staff, students, and the school community. Glenn has been recognized by numerous organizations for his innovative technology implementation methods and has been a featured speaker at numerous events across the globe. By empowering students and staff to have a growth mindset through design thinking, while implementing digital tools, we better prepare them for the profound shifts that they will encounter in life.

About the Host

Ann McMullan is a 34-year veteran educator who served as the executive director for educational technology in the Klein Independent School District, located just outside Houston, Texas until September 2013, when she and her family moved to Los Angeles, California. For 16 years Ann led the team in Klein ISD that provided professional development on technology and 21st century instructional strategies to over 4,000 professional educators serving over 50,000 students. During that time Ann also co-chaired the Texas Education Technology Advisory Committee which developed the Texas Education Agency’s Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020.

Today, Ann is based in Los Angeles, California, working as a public speaker, writer, and independent education consultant focused on supporting leadership, visioning and planning to meet the needs of today’s students. She is a frequent presenter at state, national and international education conferences. Ann serves on the Advisory Council of Project Tomorrow and is a leadership consultant with Executive Service Corps of Southern California, serving non-profit associations. In the fall of 2016 Ann co-authored and published Life Lessons in Leadership.

Join the Super-Connected community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

ClassLink empowers your students and teachers with instant access to their learning resources. ClassLink® OneClick® includes a library of over 5,000 single sign-on apps and instant links to file folders at school and on Google, Office 365, and Dropbox cloud drives. ClassLink Roster Server easily and securely delivers class rosters to any publisher using open technology standards. ClassLink Analytics gives decision makers the usage data they need. Accessible from any computer, tablet or smartphone, ClassLink is ideal for 1to1 and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives.

CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders. CoSN provides thought leadership resources, community, best practices and advocacy tools to help leaders succeed in the digital transformation. CoSN represents over 13 million students in school districts nationwide and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education.