District technology director reports Lightspeed parent portal, internships and device metrics

At the Dec. 11 meeting Jeff Gibbs delivered the district’s annual technology update.

Gibbs reported that in the last 12 months the technology team closed 11,624 support tickets and repaired 1,362 Chromebooks from a fleet of just over 10,000 devices. He said the district uses a combination of MESD network services and federal E-rate discounts (the presentation cited an 85% discount on eligible equipment) to provide high-speed connectivity at low cost.

Gibbs described a new Lightspeed parent portal that allows parents of district-issued Chromebooks to review web history and, for some devices, disable functionality outside school hours. He emphasized the portal controls are limited to district devices, not personally owned devices.

Gibbs also announced two student internship programs: a current partnership with CAL where students rotate to the technology office to learn Chromebook repair and project work, and a planned internship with a comprehensive high school beginning in the fall to provide repair, customer-service and troubleshooting experience.

Board members asked for details about parental access, browser requirements and where to find a recorded parent webinar; Gibbs said the webinar is posted on the district’s YouTube channel and that instructions are available via the district website under Families > Technology Tools.

Next steps: The technology office will continue to monitor device-aging and interactive-panel replacement options and will provide updates on cybersecurity-pilot funding as federal approvals arrive.