Technology Standards for Canon City Schools

Technology Standards for Canon City Schools

The Tool To Maintain The District's Tech Refresh Plan

Updated September 6, 2012

PURPOSE

The following are standards set by the Information Technology department Canon City Schools. Here you will find information that defines the minimum required specifications for hardware and software for new and existing technologies within the district. They should also be used as a guideline for accepting donated computers for use in the district. These specifications are developed to maintain a standard direction and to guide technology based on the Educational Technology / Information Literacy Plan for Canon City Schools. This will allow technology in Canon City Schools to remain within policy guidelines set forth by the Board of Education and Information Technology Department.

Specification requirements are an essential tool to maintain a clean, productive system / network environment and allows our district to grow with new and evolving technologies. The specification requirements provide consistency and compatibilities among students, faculty, and administration. They allow technology to follow curriculum standards and maintain a complete and consistent learning environment for students within our district. They also provide a basis for maintaining system operability and reliability.

HARDWARE

These lists will be updated to meet current minimum standards and may change frequently.

Computer Workstations

All purchases and acquisitions of computer hardware must be handled and approved through the IT Department.

Approved Vendors and Computer Workstation Models for New Purchases
To Be Determined / To Be Determined
Minimum Computer Workstation Hardware Specifications
for Donated, Existing, and New Technology
Processor / Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo, 3.2 GHz 64-bit or AMD Athlon X2 64-bit or better
Memory RAM / 4 GB minimum
Hard Drive / 200 GB IDE Hard Drive
Floppy Drive / Not Mandatory
CD-ROM Drive / DVD-ROM drive
Operating System / System must be accompanied with original Windows OEM License!
Monitor / 15” Flat Panel Monitor minimum must accompany all workstations
Video Adapter / SVGA Compatible Video Adapter
Keyboard / USB keyboard must accompany all workstations
Mouse / USB Mouse must accompany all workstations
External Ports / Must have adequate ports for keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Minimum 4 USB version 2.0 ports or better required.
Network Adapter (NIC) / 10/100 mbps NIC
Minimum Age of Equipment / 3 Years old or newer for donated equipment not to exceed 5 years old from time of manufacture
Additional Software Requirements / 1. For machines that meet or exceed the minimum hardware specifications :
- All software MUST be removed from the system prior to use.
- Machine MUST be reloaded with district standard system software.
- The original physical licenses and documentation for the operating system that was originally purchased with the computer or equipment MUST accompany the equipment and submitted to the IT department.
2. For machines that DO NOT meet the minimum hardware specifications:
- Machine must be used as “stand-alone” systems
- All software loaded on the system must have an accompanying, physical license or removed from the system if no license is present.
Donated computers that DO NOT meet the district's minimum hardware specifications / 1. Schools receiving donated computers will be responsible for all maintenance, support, software, hardware, and any related costs for the equipment.
2. Computers must remain as “stand-alone” computers and must not be connected to the district's network. This is for security and system stability purposes.
3. Computers will not be part of the district's technology refresh plan.
Donated computers that DO meet the minimum hardware specifications / 1. Computers that are not part of the district Technology Refresh Plan will not be replaced at “end-of-life” and must be removed from the network when the computer can no longer be supported determined by IT Department staff.
2. Costs for essential software (operating system, anti-virus, etc.) will be provided by the district's IT Department if a computer is over and above what is provided by the Technology Refresh Plan.
3. Maintenance and support for donated computers will be provided by the Information Technology department if the computer(s) is not determined as “end-of-life” equipment.
Grants / Any grants that require exceptions to these specifications must first be approved by the Director of Special Services and Federal Programs and the IT Department's Chief Information Officer before purchase or acquisition of any equipment outlined in the grant.
For workstations that meet or exceed the minimum hardware requirements, the district will furnish tech support and system software licensing for the workstations. Workstations acquired through grants will NOT be included in the district's Tech Refresh plan. At the end of the grant, workstations can continue to be used while they meet the minimum hardware requirements. Once the machines no longer support the minimum requirements, they can continue to be used only as stand-alone systems. Replacement of grant purchased workstations will be the responsibility of the person, school, or department who acquired the original equipment unless otherwise approved by the Board of Education.
Those workstations that do not meet the minimum requirements will be the responsibility of the person or school who chooses to use the workstation including any related costs including but not limited to hardware additions or replacement, software licensing, technical support.
Estimated Costs for Donated Computers
School Agreement License – Includes Windows upgrades, MS Office, Visual Studio .NET, MS Encarta / $55.00 per computer
Anti-Virus / Anti-Spyware / $20.00 per computer
OEM License for Operating System / $100.00 per computer
Time and Sweat Equity / ??

Printers

All purchases and acquisitions of printers must be handled and approved through the IT Department.

Approved Vendors and Printer Models for New Purchases
Approved Printers / Dell and Savin/Ricoh Printers
Minimum Printer Hardware Specifications
for Donated, Existing, and New Technology
Workgroup / Network Printers / Printer must be able to support printing needs for groups of individuals or workstations. Support for workgroup / network printers will be determined by the IT Department based on needs, technical capacity, and set district technology standards
Network Adapter (NIC) / 10/100 Mbps – HP Jet Direct or TCP/IP compatible
Minimum Age of Equipment / 3 Years old or newer for donated equipment
Supplemental Printers / Printers that are needed to be used in part of a supplemental software or application as defined in the Software section of this document will not be included in a tech refresh. All costs for consumable items, and repairs that fall beyond the scope of what IT can support will be the responsibility of the individual, the department, or the school using the supplemental software or applications.
Stand-alone Printers / Stand-alone printers can be used but will be primarily supported by the individual, school, or department that acquired the printer. Support by IT Department staff will not be provided unless needs are determined otherwise by IT Department staff.
Minimum Age of Equipment / 3 Years old or newer
Donated printers that DO NOT meet the district's minimum hardware specifications / 1. Schools receiving the donated printers will be responsible for all maintenance, support, software, hardware, and any other related costs for the equipment.
2. Printers must remain as “stand alone” and must not be connected to the district's network. Stand-alone printers may be connected to a computer that resides on the network via direct connection to the computer.
3. Printers will not be part of the district's technology refresh plan.
Donated equipment that DO meet the minimum hardware specifications / 1. Printers that are not part of the district Technology Refresh Plan will not be replaced at “end-of-life” and must be removed from the network when equipment can no longer be supported determined by IT Department staff.
2. Costs for essential software (operating system, anti-virus, etc.) will be the school's or department's responsibility if the equipment is over and above what is provided by the technology refresh plan.
3. Maintenance and support for equipment will be provided by the Information Technology department.
Grants / Any grants that require exceptions to these specifications must first be approved by the Director of Special Services and Federal Programs and the IT Department's Chief Information Officer before purchase or acquisition of any equipment outlined in the grant.
For printers that meet or exceed the minimum hardware requirements, the district will furnish tech support for the printers. Printers acquired through grants will not be included in the district's Tech Refresh plan. At the end of the grant, printers can continue to be used. Replacement of grant purchased printers will be the responsibility of the person, school, or department who acquired the original equipment unless otherwise approved by the Board of Education.
Those printers that do not meet the minimum requirements will be the responsibility of the person or school who chooses to use the printer including any related costs including but not limited to hardware additions or replacement, software licensing, technical support.

Peripheral Hardware

All purchases and acquisitions of printers must be handled and approved through the IT Department.

Approved Vendors and Suggested Peripheral Models for New Purchases
To Be Determined / To Be Determined
Minimum Peripheral Hardware Specifications
for Donated, Existing, and New Technology
Minimum Age of Equipment / 3 Years old or newer for donated equipment
Examples of Peripheral Hardware / Digital cameras, scanners, bar code readers, label printers, sketchpad devices, headphones, keyboards and mice that did not accompany a computer or system, monitors, speakers, sound systems, small network hubs or switches, desks, chairs, stands, thumb or USB drives, external hard drives, external CD or DVD drives, external floppy drives, KVM switches, etc.
Donated peripheral hardware that DOES NOT meet the district's minimum hardware specifications / 1. Schools receiving the donated peripheral hardware will be responsible for all maintenance, support, software, hardware, and any other related costs for the equipment.
2. Peripheral hardware must remain as “stand alone” and must not be connected to the district's network. Stand-alone peripheral hardware may be connected to a computer that resides on the network via direct connection to the computer.
3. Peripheral hardware will not be part of the district's technology refresh plan.
Donated peripheral hardware that DOES meet the minimum hardware specifications / 1. Peripheral hardware that that is “end-of-life” will be replaced by the school or department responsible for the donated hardware.
2. Costs for software accompanying the peripheral hardware will be the school's or department's responsibility if the equipment is over and above what is provided by the technology refresh plan.
3. Maintenance and support for equipment will be provided by the Information Technology department.
Grants / Any grants that require exceptions to these specifications must first be approved by the Director of Special Services and Federal Programs and the IT Department's Chief Information Officer before purchase or acquisition of any equipment outlined in the grant.

SOFTWARE

These lists will be updated to meet current minimum standards and may change frequently.

Definitions
System software / All software that is required to support the functionality of a computer system, device, etc. Examples of this would be operating system software (Windows XP, Linux, or other operating systems), office suite software, anti-virus software, system utilities used to maintain systems at the district level, etc.
District Software / Any software that has been approved at the district level that is used by all schools as part of a district goal or mission.
Supplemental software / Any software that is not required for maintaining the technology environment or equipment and fills a particular “niche” or need specific to a particular individual or small group of individuals. Examples of this would be educational software used in a lab, software that help facilitate specific department or educational needs, or any software that is used outside what is provided by system or district software.
Software Requirements
Newly Purchased or Acquired Software / ALL software must be Windows 7 compliant or compatible. Minimum software requirements must fall within the Minimum Equipment Standards (as shown under the link above). Any software (System, District or Supplemental Software) that falls below this requirement will not be supported by the IT Department and should not be used on district computers if at all possible. If there is a desire to continue using the non-compliant software, it may be loaded on a stand-alone computer with the expectations that district or IT support will NOT be provided. Problems that arise from use of non-compliant software will be the responsibility of the school, department, or individual using the non-compliant software. The district's IT Department may, at any time and without notice, remove any non-compliant or non-approved software from district computers to ensure system stability, access, and efficiency.
System Software Support / The district will cover costs of system software (operating system, office suite, anti-virus software, etc.) for computers that meet or exceed the Minimum Computer Workstation Hardware Specifications (see above). Costs for supplemental software such as educational or operational software used to fill a “niche” area at a particular location will be the responsibility of the department or school and will not be maintained at the district level.
District Software Support / The district will cover the costs of district software if the software has been approved by the Board of Education or Administration as part of the district's educational and/or operational goals and missions.
Supplemental Software Support / The school or individual department will cover the costs of any supplemental software.
All software costs (system and supplemental software) for computer workstations that fall below the Minimum Computer Workstation Hardware Specifications and are not included in the district's Technology Refresh plan above will be solely the responsibility of the school or individual department.
Software licenses must be filed and maintained by department or school responsible for purchase of the software.
System Software – Maintained by IT Department
District Software – Maintained by Administration
Supplemental Software – Maintained by School or Individual Department. A copy may be requested by IT to keep on file for support purposes.
Existing Software / Software that falls out of scope of support or compliance either due technology changes or by administrative decisions will be handled by one of the following:

1. Software will need to be upgraded at the cost of the responsible party as described in the definitions above.

OR

1. Software will need to be removed from the system.

NOTE: If school or individual wishes to continue use of the software that do not fall in line with these guidelines on a district owned computer, all installation, support, and associated costs will be the responsibility of the individual or school. The IT department will not support the equipment or other software applications installed while the noncompliant software is in use. District Administration and/or IT Department personnel reserves the right to remove any or all noncompliant software if it poses a risk to the overall health of the network or other systems.
District Approved Workstation Software
Computer Workstation Operating Systems / - Windows 7 Professional
Server Operating Systems / - Windows 2003 Server
- Windows 2008 Server
- Ubuntu Linux
Database Systems / - Database systems, such as Microsoft SQL Express or MySQL, only if needed for local workstation approved software. To be determined by IT.
Office Suites / Microsoft Office -
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Publisher
- Access
- FrontPage
OpenOffice
- Write
- Calc
- Impress
- Database
Anti-Virus / Anti-Spyware / - District Supplied Anti-Virus (currently Kaspersky Anti-Virus and Network Agent)
Plugins / Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Flash
Adobe Shockwave
QuickTime
Java Runtime Environment
Other Approved Software / Microsoft Visual Studio (for specific educational applications only)
Microsoft Encarta
Gimp Graphics Editor (Windows and Linux)
Scribus Desktop Publishing (Windows and Linux)
Irfanview Graphics Editor
Adobe suites
Any peripheral device drivers and applications needed for district owned equipment
Any legally acquired software that supports the mission and goals of educating students and follows the minimum software requirements as stated above.
Non Approved Software / Any peripheral device drivers or applications installed for devices not owned or not approved by the school district (examples include applications for personal cell phones, personal calendaring devices, unauthorized music or media devices,equipment that does not meet minimum requirements, etc.)
All software that does not provide an educational function directly tied to the National and State Educational Technologty Standards or does not provide a critical function to the overall mission and goals of the district.
Pirated or illegally acquired copyrighted software applications.
Donated software that does not meet minimum requirements.