Department of Information, Technology and Media Services (DITMS)
The Department of Information, Technology and Media Services was formed in 1998. In a reorganization, the Superintendent decided to merge two departments; data processing with the library and media services department, thus expanding our ability to support the escalating number of technology needs in the school system.
DITMS Responsibilities
- Implement and maintain technologies to track student information to meet federal and state reporting requirements.
- Maintain and train users on more than 3,000 computers system wide
- Install and maintain our city and school system infrastructure, allowing over 1,100 staff and 9,000 students Internet access.
- Technical and professional development support for users of StarBase, the Internet, our email system, our web site, specialized classroom and administrative software and Microsoft Office.
- Implement and maintain technology for the accountability requirements of MCAS.
- Maintain and update the Student Information Management System or (SIMS) as required by the Massachusetts DOE.
- Maintain and update the StarBase database used by over 700 school staff to track information on our students including grades, discipline, attendance, emergency information and more.
- Maintain and update the electronic course scheduling system at use at Quincy High School and North Quincy High School.
These are but a few of the many expectations that have become our department's responsibility.
Media Center Support
Each of our 19 buildings has a media center with an electronic card cataloging system. Our office provides hardware and technical support to each media specialist and is responsible for the installation of software upgrades. In addition, we provide system support for audio-visual supplies as well as receiving, stamping and disseminating media books and other media materials to all 19 buildings. We assist with system-wide annual events such as the literature contest and the coordination of summer reading requirements with the Thomas Crane Library.
We also provide a system-wide videotaping service for major school events. These events are shown on our local cable Channel 22. Morning high school announcements are filmed at our own television studio and our staff supports the students involved with this production.
Technology Professional Development
Our department trains staff daily on many levels. It could be a formal class in something from the Microsoft Office Suite such as Excel, PowerPoint or Word. It could be a specialized class on software that we support such as Easy-Grade-Pro or it could be individualized training for our school web masters who are using FrontPage.
We are continually introducing new technology as part of our technology plan that calls for using technology as a tool to increase communication between the home and the school. Each new technology require professional development. Teaching our attendance staff to use the new "School Messenger" software and our high school teachers to use the new web site creation software "School Center" and our principals to post announcements on our local cable access "Channel 22" are a few examples.
Technology Support
We use a work order management system to record, track and respond to requests from over 1,100 staff who use the approximately 3,000 computers in the district.
Hardware
Our computers range in quality from Pentium 1 to Pentium 4's with the majority of computers being Pentium 2 or 3 computers. We accept and refurbish computers from donations from our business partners and other donors. The school network is part of the city-wide network and administered by the City's Network administrator. We work with the network administrator to complete ERATE reimbursement applications and with the roll-out of upgrades to our infrastructure. The latest initiatives involve replacement of ISDN lines at our elementary and middle schools with cable modems and servers with an installation of virus protection software.
Software
In order to support this number and variety of computers we have worked to support two platforms running either Windows 98 with Microsoft Office 97 or Windows XP with Office 2002. We are the administrators of our school web site www.quincypublicschools.com. We maintain the content of the information on the district and common links listed on the main navigation bar and the individual schools have their own webmaster. We are also the administrators of our email system setting up new users and providing training and troubleshooting support for over 1,100 staff.
Contact Us
Need support? Want to schedule some training? You can download a copy of our Work Order Request Form or send us an email. If you send a request via email, please be as specific as possible including your name and contact information, the location, what you need and the what equipment is currently on site. We will make sure that your request gets to the right person so that we can get you what you need. Or call us at 617-984-8770 (Fax: 617-984-8922). We're here to help.
Richard F. O'Brien, Director
Sheryl Erikson, Departmental Secretary