May 2010 CRS Advanced Technology
IN THIS ISSUE
SPRINGFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS PERFECTING PEAK-USAGE STAFFING REPORT: MOBILE AND TECHNOLOGIES SURGE IN SCHOOLS CARBON FOOTPRINTS 101: WHAT IS IT AND HOW TO REDUCE YOURS
QUICK LINKS CRS WEBSITE NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE CALENDAR SUBFINDER MEET MAXX
The trees are green, and the garden is beginning to sprout – it must be May!
Welcome to the 5th edition of InTouch Online for the year 2010. I think we can all agree that May is one of the finest of all months; everything outside is full of life, the warm breeze can still chill you a bit--just enough to remind you it’s not quite summer yet, and when stepping outside, the sun fills you with excitement for outdoor activities. When we think of May celebrations, we think of Mother’s Day, as well as celebrating the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and the coming Memorial Day weekend!
May is a full month of celebrations! There are many different traditions around the world that are celebrated on May Day (May 1st); traditionally in the United States, May baskets with flowers and treats are made and left on someone’s doorstep. On the 5th of May, many participate in the celebration of Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexican Army’s defeat over the French forces on May 5, 1862. Toward the end of May, Victoria Day is celebrated in parts of Canada; a statutory holiday celebrated in honor of Queen Victoria’s birthday and is also considered an informal mark of the beginning of the summer season.
We have some great information in this edition of InTouch Online. First up is our Customer Highlight! This month I spoke with Terry James, SubFinder Operator for Springfield Public Schools. See why they have been a customer of ours for 15 years! There’s much more in store for you in this edition of InTouch Online – ENJOY!
Customer Highlight:
Springfield Public Schools, OregonCustomer Service, Number One Goal
Interview by: Corinne McLaughlin, Marketing Coordinator
Interview with: Terry James, SubFinder Operator
Springfield, Oregon is located in Lane County, a neighbor to the city of Eugene, and is situated between the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers. The location has proven to be ideal and attractive for new businesses and residents because of having easy access to the coast, the rivers, and the mountains. Springfield was settled in 1848 by the arrival of Elias and Mary Briggs and their family. As many settlers did when looking for a homestead, Elias found a convenient spring of water and in no time fenced in this land and the Briggs called it home. The fenced-in land became known as “spring field, “and has been the name of the area since. As generations of hard workers began to settle in the Springfield area, millraces were dug and flour and lumber mills were opened. The reputation of the area quickly stuck, and Springfield was known officially as a mill town. Even today, the Springfield High School’s official mascot is still “The Millers.”
Today, Springfield continues to grow, attracting diverse citizens such as: loggers, environmentalists, historic preservationists, and much more. Still a small town at heart, Springfield has a close community that believes that success begins in the classroom. As is stated in the website several times, “We believe that the schools belong to the community and the community belongs to the schools.” Springfield Public Schools has been a long time customer of CRS, and I was fortunate enough to speak with SubFinder Operator, Terry James, about SubFinder – and how it has helped their staff and guest teachers.
Springfield Public Schools has been using SubFinder for over 15 years! Why is it that Springfield has relied on CRS for their absence management and substitute placement needs for this long?
It’s simple! SubFinder meets the needs of our district, staff, and guest teachers (substitutes); SubFinder is very user friendly and provides our users with the choice of calling in, or reporting to the Internet portion of SubFinder. SubFinder is always moving forward with upgrades and provides excellent customer support.
Back in December 2009, Springfield received their FREE upgrade to SubFinder 5.9. Do you feel it’s important to stay up to date with the upgrades?
Yes, upgrades are extremely important and assist our district by remaining competitive in the substitute market; our needs change, and SubFinder has always been responsive to suggestions and besides FREE is always good!
In 2009, you and a co-worker attended a Regional User Group Conference. Did you find this conference beneficial?
The Regional User Group Conference was very beneficial and cost effective; our district, like most, has experienced reduced funding and the Regional User Group allowed us to affordably attend the conference and learn about all the new features available in 5.9.
Springfield is enrolled in the Maxx Advantage Program. How has the unique, FREE customer service program been beneficial to you?
The Maxx Advantage Program has kept us up to date with information. The monthly webinars are a valuable resource in reviewing information, and introducing us to options that are available that are beneficial to our staff and guest teachers.
Can you describe your experience with CRS' customer service?
CRS’ customer service is amazing! Our account specialist is the best! He is always patient, answers all my questions, and walks me though any problems I have and clearly explains what has created any problem that arises. You would never know we are located across the country! There is always support available regardless of the day of week, or time of day. Importantly noted, all calls are returned immediately.
In over 15 years, there has never been an occasion that CRS was unable to assist us with getting SubFinder up and running. It is very obvious that customer service is your #1 goal. Thanks for the great job you do!
Thank you to Terry James for participating in the Customer Highlight! And for 15 years of service and counting! If you would like to read more about Springfield Public Schools, visit their website at http://www.sps.lane.edu.
Perfecting Peak-Usage Staffing
Published in American Libraries Magazine
By: Katie Bane - writer, American Libraries
The Fort Vancouver Regional Library District in Vancouver, Washington, serves a population of 436,605 and is composed of 13 libraries and three bookmobiles. The libraries experience peak-usage times around holidays and summer vacations. The district uses a large number of substitutes during those weeks, which once required manual calls and e-mails to potential substitutes to cover these time periods. This time-consuming task needed a solution.
Sherry Braga, Volunteer and Substitute Coordinator, researched several options and found CRS Advanced Technology and the SubFinder product. With SubFinder, a library system has the ability to schedule substitutes, volunteers, and part-time help; track substitute and volunteer hours; utilize preference and skill lists; access the system via internet or phone; and verify and approve substitute job information before exporting to payroll to protect from manual entry mistakes. SubFinder is available to libraries on two platforms: box on site, where a library’s technology department will maintain all hardware and software at the library; or as an ASP solution where all hardware and software are housed at the CRS Data Operations Center and maintained by CRS Advanced Technology staff.
Braga explains, “We mainly use SubFinder to schedule subs and track sub hours, including part-time staff who want to work extra hours. We use skill levels and preference lists to meet union contract requirements and limit what staff sees as available hours. Additionally, we utilize several of the reports for a variety of reasons. Many help us in tracking costs of projects, budgeting, and so much more.”
Report: Mobile and Classroom Technologies Surge in Schools
Published in The Journal – transforming education through technology
By: David Nagel
About half of all public schools in the United States are providing handheld devices to administrators, teachers, or students, and, according to a new report released by the United States Department of Education, every single public school in the country is using computing technology in some way as part of instruction.
The report, "Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools: Fall 2008, First Look," gathered responses from more than 1,500 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in fall 2008, with data weighted to represent all primary and secondary schools in the United States. The report is designed to provide national estimates on "the availability and use of educational technology in public elementary and secondary schools" for the reporting period. It's part of a triptych of reports that includes district, school, and teacher surveys.
According to the report, most public high schools were providing handheld computing devices to administrators (56 percent) as of fall 2008, as were nearly half of primary schools (47 percent). But teachers and students aren't so fortunate. Fifteen percent of public schools were providing their teachers with handheld devices as of fall 2008, and only 4 percent provided them to students.
Among those schools providing mobile devices to administrators, the mean number of devices was two. The survey found that among schools that provide mobile devices to teachers, there were, on the average, four teachers for every handheld. And among those that supply mobile devices to students, there were 21 students per handheld device, on average.
But classroom technologies have achieved even deeper penetration.
Computers and Internet Access
Every public school in the United States had at least one computer with Internet access that was used for instruction as of fall 2008. The mean number of students per Internet-connected computer was 3.1. And most of these computers (76 percent) were desktops.
The vast majority of schools in fall 2008 were running Windows XP (84 percent), with Mac OS X 10.x at 31 percent of schools, Windows NT or 2000 at 27 percent, Windows 95 through Me at 23 percent, Mac OS 9 or earlier at 15 percent, Windows Vista at 13 percent, and Windows 3.1 or DOS at 2 percent.
Almost all (98 percent) of instructional computers had Internet access.
Wireless access, however, was a different story. Seventy-eight percent of public schools reported having some form of wireless network on campus, but only 39 percent said their wireless access was available across the entire campus. Another 30 percent said wireless was available in only part of the school. And 9 percent said their wireless connections extended only from a laptop to a cart, with the cart plugged into a wired port in a wall.
Classroom and AV Technologies
Further, a full 97 percent of public schools had installed projectors on campus, with an average ratio of 32 students per projector. Interactive whiteboards also saw significant penetration, with 73 percent of public schools reporting deployments at an average ratio of 65 students per device.
Read article: http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/05/05/report-mobile-and-classroom-technologies-surge-in-schools.aspx
Footprints 101: What Is It and How to Reduce Yours
By: Green Life Staff
*article from Green Life (http://agreenliving.net) – Start A Green Living Now!
Our existence on Earth generates its own set of carbon footprints by virtue of our use of natural resources, even in the times of the hunter-gatherer society. As time went on and tools were introduced into society, ostensibly to make life easier on humans, humanity’s carbon footprint increased proportionately. Thus, we now experience troubling events like climate change brought by human activities.
Carbon Footprint Defined
What exactly is a carbon footprint? The accepted definition is the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the activities of individuals and organizations as well as their consumption of natural and manmade products. It is expressed in terms of the quantity of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted. At present, global warming can be attributed to more than 90 percent of human activities and products. As such, the need to lessen one’s carbon footprint takes on more meaning and urgency.
Causes of Our Harmful Carbon Footprints
There are many causes to the increase of our harmful carbon footprints. For one thing, we cause so much land, air and water pollution by our excessive use of natural and manmade products as well as our activities like dumping garbage without thought to recycling and reusing them. For another thing, we steadfastly refuse to embrace alternative sources of energy and ways of living. We stick to fossil fuel when we have water to power our cars. We use commercial personal hygiene products containing environmentally harmful ingredients when we can make our own homemade products.
Solutions to Lessening Your Carbon Footprint
Fortunately, you can reverse this deplorable trend by adopting green living habits. These are very practical tips that only need careful consideration and thoughtful execution until you do them almost automatically in your daily life.
Reduce your use of natural and manmade products by sticking to the basics of modern life. Buy new things only when you have to and only when you are assured these are eco-friendly. Reuse your old things to make new things. You will be lessening one less garbage on the landfills and incinerators. Recycle your junk and maybe even make money out of them by re-selling them.
Get moving by walking to your destinations, using the stairs and riding your bicycle, all of which will also make you healthier in mind and body.
Use solar power to provide energy and light to your home. If solar panels are too expensive for you now, start with solar lights for the garden and pathways as well as portable solar water heaters.
Choose organic and natural products for the home and office as well as personal hygiene and foods.
Be mindful of your food consumption and waste - can fruits and vegetables, reheat leftovers and cook only what you can eat.
Switch to energy-efficient home and kitchen appliances as well as make your home more eco-friendly like planting deciduous trees near windows receiving the most sunlight.
Of course, you must also know of the latest in conserving the environment. As time goes on, more and more knowledge toward this end is being discovered and it is up to each one of us to adopt them as we see fit.
Would you like to receive SubFinder product information?
CRS Advanced Technology is the leading provider of employee absence management and substitute placement solutions serving over 1.5 million throughout the United States and Canada. Our flagship product, SubFinder, completely automates employee absence reporting, substitute placement, data management, and payroll tasks. If you would like further information about SubFinder, please contact us at 800.782.3463.Sincerely,
The CRS Advanced Technology Team
