STAP Overview: To extend student technology skills throughout Beaver Area School District, the Student Technology Assistance Program (STAP) was developed.
The process begins in middle school, where students may take an Introduction to STAP elective and Minion class. Before entering high school, the STAP Board interviews applicants. The program is geared toward individuals who exhibit a resilient, responsible, confident, mature, independent, thoughtful, respectful, and trustworthy nature. STAP takes the initiative to train students in the field. Thus, prior knowledge is not required ton join. Those who receive a position may remain in the student-run course until they graduate. STAP is led by the Student Administrative Team, STAP Board, and department heads who manage the technicians. Members are divided amongst departments, lending to an organized system addresses technology matters and issues for students and staff.
Admin: The admnistrative department typically consists of four students who oversee all departments and department heads. This group runs STAP Board meetings, grades the department heads each quarter, helps collect finances, and organizes events that occur within the program.
Front Desk: A STAP students may sit at the front desk. This area is designated for members to resolve school-issued technology problems, interacting daily with students and staff. Valuable communication skills are required to answer questions.
Maker Lab: The maker lab is a separate room purely run by STAP students. This area contains numerous machines, such as a laser engraver for wood, metal, iPads, and iPhones, 3D printers, a vinyl cutter, button makers, and a multifunctional printer with a heat press for shirts, hats, buttons, magnets, and stickers. Ultimately, this department saves money by developing school resources. Furthermore, the students assist with staff requests. When a class project requires machinery to build items, these in the maker lab will work directly with the students to make their designs come to fruition.
Website: Students involved with the website perform many tasks, including adding, removing, and changing the websites information. Additionally, they help with redesigning the school districts page, essentially making navigation easier for parents. In STAP, the website serves as a form of distributing and sharing updates on important information to parents and students.
Teacher Training: STAP teacher training provides opportunities for teachers to attend monthly sessions that focus on strategies that will make their classroom run more efficiently, limiting the number of technology interruptions during class. A different app or concept is selected each month, and any Beaver school administrator may sign up to learn about the chosen topic. Additionally, teacher trainers run Starfleet over the summer, which is a training session for new teachersleet that span over multiple days. The goal of Starfleet is to get new teachers their usernames and passwords so they can log extra hours. Furthermore, teachers can email teacher training students with any questions concerns that they may have, which decreases the amount of classroom interruptions throughout the day. If needed, teachers and students who are involved with this department can meet individually to resolve specific issues.
Communications: The communications department includes many focal points, including TV's, newsletters, website, OD, advertising, The Bobcast, and finance. Additionally, the head of communications is responsible for grading the students who oversee the following departments: finance, website, TV, OD, advertising, The Bobcast, and maker lab. It is imperative that the head of communications connects with all sections in order for each department to run efficiently. The head manages and works with OD, which is the school's informational website system, as well as at the front desk, helping those with iPad issues. Furthermore, the communications department leader is one of a few who handles monetary transactions and disseminates information to the head of the finance department and Mr. Shay, Director of Technology.
New Student: The New Student Department is in charge of supporting students through their transition into Beaver Area High School. This department teaches new students how to work their iPads and other apps commonly used in the curriculum. After explaining the apps and practicing some tasks that students use each day (sending a PDF to notability, submitting to Schoology, checking emails, etc.), we embark on a tour of the school. We work alongside the guidance office to get the student's schedule, and we make sure to show the specific classrooms. After providing the student with their iPad, the tour, their passwords, and their schedule, we let them go to their classes. In the following two weeks after our meeting, we check in on the student and ensure they have adjusted nicely to the school.
iPads: The iPad Department is in charge of all iPads district wide. They wipe the iPads of who graduated of left the district. If there are new students, the iPads are distributed, and the information is placed into the system. Broken iPads are repaired or replaced. They also assist with WiFi, username, and password issues. The iPad department also pushes out apps to classes and individuals through JAMF, which enables students to access designated apps on their iPad. Additionally, they set up iPads and help log people out of their account.
Networking: The Networking Department is responsible for managing the switches in each building to provide a reliable system of communication within the schools. Unlike most other departments, networking students spend some time over summers in the school learning the fundamental ideas of networking before they are able to apply their knowledge using an application called Terminal. During the school year, members are required to back up switches monthly and configure ports. A crew called the "ceiling monkeys" are assigned the job of manually pulling wore through the ceiling in order for new devices to be connected to WiFi. Networking students may also be tasked with installing cameras and access points throughout the building and helping staff connect computers, phones, or access points to ethernet ports in their room.
PPPC: The PPPC Department manages all the printers, projectors, phones and computers in the high school and middle school. Printers require toner changes and maintenance checks. Projectors require installations of bulb replacements, filter cleanings, and wiring. Phones are installed and connected to the network. These tasks are all done by our PPPC Department. This group is also required to come into school, during their summer break, to make sure everything is up and running for the upcoming school year.