Information Technology Director Chris Boyle unpacks a projector. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Harvard’s new information technology manager, Christopher Boyle, arrived this summer while implementation of the school district’s new technology plan was in full swing. Fortunately, Boyle says, he was able to spend three days last June with previous tech manager Mark LaVertue to smooth the transition. Boyle’s position involves working on technology issues with the town as well as with the schools.
Praised by Superintendent Joe Connelly for “doing a tremendous job” and being “high energy,” Boyle comes to Harvard with 13 years of experience working in educational technology, both in western Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.
The Star Trek calendar on his office wall is an immediate clue to Boyle’s interest in science fiction. At a previous job in Turners Falls, he was advisor for the school’s science fiction club.
“A big part of my job is to help people feel comfortable” with the new technology in the schools, Boyle told the Press. “We give training along with new technology, and people for the most part embrace it and integrate it into their curriculum.”
He emphasized the importance of ongoing training, sometimes in one-on-one sessions, for teachers, so that they “learn by doing.”
While a new school year is always challenging, Boyle said, “The biggest challenge is that I am new. . . Oksana [Peura, the school’s computer services technician] has been a great help because she really knows the school.”
Boyle explained that the technology plan is being implemented in phases to avoid overwhelming either teachers or students. The Bromfield School recently installed a new wireless system with movable access points that allow building-wide coverage. The flexible system can handle additional devices if needed in the future, Boyle said.
Another ongoing project is a fiber connection to improve the linkage between the Hildreth School, administrative offices in the Bromfield House, and the Bromfield School. This project is currently awaiting approval for connections to a Verizon pole, Boyle explained.
During his time in the Winchester, NH, school system, Boyle said, he saw the effects when touch screens and Smart Boards came into the classrooms.
“Students became more engaged, and scores went up,” he said.
Asked what impressed him most on his arrival in Harvard, Boyle said, “The biggest thing was the support from the School Committee [for technology acquisitions], because a lot of districts don’t have that.”
At a School Committee meeting on Aug. 27, Boyle requested approval of approximately $30,500 for the fourth phase of the technology plan, which the committee approved unanimously. As for later phases, Boyle plans to meet with principals of both schools to ask what they see as the appropriate next steps.
