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NYSCATE 2021 Conference Presentations by Rob Zdrojewski


I'm happy to announce I've been accepted to present three sessions at the 2021 NYSCATE Conference in Rochester, NY.  See the conference website here.





DIY LiveStream & Record Your School Events with SlingStudio

Presenter:  Rob Zdrojewski, Tech Director, Oakfield-Alabama CSD
Date:  Saturday, November 20, 2021   3pm - 4pm
Location:  Hyatt Hotel, Regency B

View the recorded presentation embedded below, or on YouTube HERE.


View Presentation slides HERE

Description: Learn how the Oakfield-Alabama School District has created an affordable and portable one-person solution for recording and/or livestreaming school events.  Our portfolio of events produced thus far include monthly school Board Meetings, musicals, assemblies, sporting events, parent forums and graduation ceremonies which can be viewed on our YouTube channel at OAlivestream.org   No longer do you need to spend thousands on hardware or learn complicated setups!  The core of our hardware involves a SlingStudio hotspot and multiple iOS devices used as cameras.  Budget options do exist from low to high end gear, so it's possible to smart small and upgrade over time.  Over the years we’ve grown our collection which now includes external mics, an audio mixer, and most recently wireless robotic camera mounts found on Amazon!  Join us as we explore the many choices you have to build your livestreaming and recording solution for your school or personal video-production needs.





Life After SmartBoards- Why ViewSonic Interactive Flat Panels are the Next Big Thing!

Presenter: Rob Zdrojewski, Tech Director, Oakfield-Alabama CSD
Date:  Monday, November 22, 2021   1:30pm - 2:30pm
Location:  Convention Center, Highland K

View Slideshow Presentation HERE

Description: Learn how one NY State District decided to utilize Smart School Funds to replace their aging fleet of SmartBoards and Windows desktops with ViewSonic Interactive Flat Panel displays and Chromeboxes in every classroom.  More than just a “giant iPad”, these panels offer many advantages in cost, display quality and durability.  As we push the capabilities of Chromebooks and look to the future of cloud-based computing, the demand to create, store and present our content from anyplace, anytime continues to grow.  In this session we will also explore the evolving benefits of web-based presentation tools that allow teachers and students to create and present their information, without being limited to proprietary Windows software such as Smart Notebook or PowerPoint.  We will explore the many options that are increasingly available.  And since they’re all web-based, you are no longer restricted to using a legacy Windows platform.  Join us as we embrace the freedom that anytime, anyplace web-based tools provide!

See Rob's past 2017 NYSCATE presentation on this topic.

Also see a case study of Oakfield-Alabama School District's use of 75" 4K ViewSonic Panels.




No More Waiting for Account Creations:  Digital on Day One with ClassLink

Presenters:  Rob Zdrojewski (Oakfield-Alabama) and Susan Schnaufer (Salamanca CSD)
Date:  Tuesday, November 23, 2021   10:00am - 11:00am
Location:  Convention Center, Highland A

View Slideshow Presentation HERE

Description:  We believe it is critical to be “Digital on Day One" - year over year.  Our most crucial platform is ClassLink.  ClassLink is our single sign-on application.  With one login, students, teachers, and staff have one-click access to their web applications.  We put links to our digital textbooks, online assessments, and other instructional web applications into our ClassLink Launchpad.  We can assign apps to specific users, grade levels, or groups.  Students, teachers, and staff may also add links to their web apps.  We also use ClassLink and OneRoster to roster our textbooks and applications.  Access to the material is digital day one, and so is account creation.  Our teachers and students are not wasting time finding URLs to web apps, nor are they struggling to remember their logins and passwords to different sites.  They have one login with one-click access to content.  
    So beyond a single point of access, and our rostering abilities, ClassLink has a great Analytics portal.  We make decisions based on usage data and other key data points.  ClassLink has been a game-changer and saved us during the pandemic.  Teachers no longer waste valuable time manually maintaining class rosters for these applications.  Join us as we explore all that ClassLink has to offer!