Evanston Township High School is planning to introduce a series of new technological initiatives to its district by the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, including mobile applications and programming to prepare for the distribution of laptops to all incoming freshmen.

In a presentation on Monday to the District 202 board of education, ETHS’s Instructional and Informational Technology department presented a report that summarized updates to the school’s infrastructure and communication technology.

The staff shared three different smartphone applications that would be released in preparation for the new school year. One app, called the Home Access Center, will act as an online portal where students and their parents can check grades, assignments and schedules. The two others allow parents quick access to school contacts and information.

ETHS Director of Technology Paula Frohman said the applications were developed to aid in communication between the school and its community.

“More people use mobile devices than their computers,” she said. “They don’t have to always just go to the website. So, to access this on your phone is a great thing.”

These applications are part of the district’s bigger aim to utilize new technology in improving the quality of their students’ educations. Students need to be “digital learners” in order to be the most successful in the future, D202 Superintendent Eric Witherspoon said.

“We are using technology in our classrooms and curriculum to maximize their learning and meet their individual learning needs,” he said in an email to The Daily. “It is important that we prepare our students for 21^st century opportunities and careers, and that includes using technology tools effectively.”

ETHS announced earlier this year a plan to give each incoming freshman a Chromebook laptop in the next school year as part of the new one-to-one digital learning initiative. This will allow for virtual collaboration and better accessibility to online resources, Frohman said.

(Evanston Township High School pilots Chromebooks for freshman students)

Technology Integration Specialist David Chan told the board of education on Monday that 100 computers were now ready for use.

The technology department held a training program for teachers in April called “ChromeCamp” to prepare them to work with the freshman and their laptops. Chan also shared that an idea was in the works for a student-run technological support center called “ChromeZone.”

“Students will run all those repairs and exchanges under the guidance of an adult staff member,” he told the Daily. “We hope to eventually turn it into a class … We’re very excited for that, and that is moving forward.”

Chan also provided an update on a partnership between ETHS and Evanston Public Library that would give students access to online library resources.

EPL director Karen Danczak Lyons said students would be able to use computers within the school to log onto databases that provide information for papers and research projects.

“It grew out of our desire at the library to reduce barriers for students,” she said. “(The databases) have allowed us to include ETHS as another library location. It provides a wealth of access to factual vetted sources of information that can assist them with their research as they consider issues that they’re studying.”

Chan also said the IIT department will assist ETHS in installing more than 100 high-definition cameras for the new school year to beef up security both inside and outside of the ETHS building.

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