Author Archives: William Stites

About William Stites

Currently the Director of Technology for Montclair Kimberley Academy, occasional consultant, serial volunteer for ATIS, husband, and father to two crazy kids who make me smile everyday.

Design, intent and actual use.

While running a few errands today I had to withdrawal some money from the ATM.  It was freezing outside so I want to make use the drive-up machine so not to have to get out of my nice, warm car. … Continue reading

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The iPad is not considered an educational tool?!

“Hi… I went to the apple store and asked for an educator’s discount on the iPad and they told me that they do not give a discount on iPads because they are not considered an educational tool.  After you picked … Continue reading

Posted in iPad | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Where’s iDVD? Apple’s move away from optical media.

It’s the day before Christmas and all the through the house not a creature is stirring… except for my cousin who is trying to put together a DVD project on a brand new Lion iMac and couldn’t find iDVD. With … Continue reading

Posted in Technical | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The AppleID in your 1:1 Program – COPPA

We have a great 1:1 program at my school. In grades 4-12 every student (and all faculty) have a 13″ Macbook Pro with a 500GB backup drive along with a suite of software we’ve installed for productivity, content creation and … Continue reading

Posted in 1to1, COPPA, Evernote, iPad, Technical | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Dealing with COPPA: Compliance, the lies and the future.

I don’t know about you but I am struggling with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). As we look to use different online tools in the classroom we evaluate them on the service(s) they provide, whether they meet our … Continue reading

Posted in Administration & Management, COPPA, EdTech, Teaching & Learning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Defining Data Domains for Entry, Ownership and Support

[NOTE: This is the second in a series of posts on the issue of Data Management in Schools. Read the first post here.] In an earlier post I discussed a project I was undertaking to define “a clear set of rules and style … Continue reading

Posted in Administration & Management, Data Management, Schools | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Interested in talking about Moodle? Moot anyone?

Are you interested in talking about Moodle? Would you like to come to a conference devoted to Moodle? Would you be willing to present at a conference devote to Moodle? Are you are curious about how Moodle can be used in your school? Would you … Continue reading

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WordCamp Philly Version 2.0

There are certain things I look forward to in my job and the opportunities it affords me to learn new things and expand knowledge base.  WordCamp Philly 2011 provided me with the opportunity and delivered on learning in spades. This … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Community, Conferences, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rogue IT in Education and the BYOD, DIY model.

Chris Lehmann (@chrislehmann) of The Science Leadership Academy and founder of EduCon, said of technology: “Technology must be like Oxygen: ubiquitous, necessary, and invisible.” I couldn’t agree more with this statement, but, as a Director of Technology, I also need to … Continue reading

Posted in 1to1, EdTech, Schools, Teaching & Learning, Technical | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

EdCampNYC 2011 – It’s all about the conversations

On October 1st I attended my second EdCampNYC.  It was a somewhat gray day, but the weather  would be no indication of the quality of the day ahead of me. I had attend the previous year (My Day at EdCampNYC … Continue reading

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