Front row (left to right): Mike Stone, Webster County Schools; Amanda Ball, East Bernstadt Independent Schools; Tonya Beard, Estill County; Jake Young, Jackson County; Instructor Kevin White Middle Row (left to right): Jason Bowman, McLean County Schools; Nikki Stone, Webster County School Back Row (left to right): Thomas Burns, Lawrence County Schools; Richard Harris, Harrison County Schools; Jed Maggard, Knott County Schools
Dataseam announced this week nine district technology leaders representing eight Kentucky school systems participated in training supporting Apple technologies for their Kentucky K-12 districts.
The week-long training was designed by Dataseam in concert with Kentucky K-12 technology professionals to be responsive to the diverse enterprise-level technology environment Kentucky districts support. Successful participants earn Apple desktops bringing new and advanced curriculum opportunities to prepare students for the future workforce.
Mike Stone, Webster County Public School CIO, shared, “Most schools have funding capacity for basic student access. Tablets and Chromebooks generally have met those needs. We still have those, but what we earn through Dataseam allows consideration for directed placement and higher-end classroom activity. We want to expose students to all technology choices. Plus, these devices provide computing horsepower to important cancer research. That program mission is indisputable regardless of personal technology preferences.”
Dataseam-provided computers are linked statewide forming the DataseamGrid. This virtual supercomputer environment drives University of Louisville’s Brown Cancer Center drug discovery, reducing cost and time of therapy development and increased competitiveness for federal funding. To date, the DataseamGrid has been a critical resource supporting 30 research teams in $80 million NIH funds having a $200 million impact for the Commonwealth.
The University of Louisville funds the Dataseam Scholars program, providing 4-year scholarships supporting STEM and STEM-education disciplines to students from participating schools.
“Lawrence County School District has participated for 20 years in Dataseam efforts improving our local workforce”, said Thomas Burns, Lawrence County Director of Technology and Operations. “Dataseam training and opportunity has allowed me career advancement beginning as an elementary math educator and School Technology Coordinator to the district’s efforts I lead today.”
Burns continues, “Along with my direct staff, we’ve earned over $130,000 of high-end Apple desktops by successfully completing two week-long training sessions during the last four months. These workstations directly benefit instructional outcomes. When our annual district technology funding is roughly $47,000, Dataseam helps us leverage and augment district resources.”
“Dataseam’s inception was to support Kentucky-based university research. Research brought the workstations. The Apple operating system allows us to move drug discovery applications from traditional academic supercomputing environments directly to the DataseamGrid efficiently and cost-effectively”, said Brian Gupton, Dataseam CEO. “Training participants are learning how to support technology earned for everyday classroom activity and support life-saving cancer research. They improve Kentucky’s workforce and health outcomes. It’s a win-win.”
Dataseam currently serves 59 Kentucky K-12 districts representing approximately 40% of public-school students statewide. Funded by the US Department of Labor, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Kentucky General Assembly, these workforce development efforts include technology and educator training, as well as USDOL-approved Registered Apprenticeship in Information Technology for Kentucky high school juniors and seniors. Due to Dataseam’s efforts, Kentucky has the largest cohort of Apple-certified Systems Engineers in the United States.
Download a PDF of this press release HERE.
