After 14 years, Watertown City school district updated outdated technology to help make the school day easier and more engaging
Jeffrey Wood, director of technology/cyber security and innovation for Watertown City school district in New York, has been an expert in the IT industry for 38 years. From a computer operator at a local insurance company to creating his own internet company during its infancy, he’s done it all.
After a stressful stint of managing IT for his local hospital during COVID-19, he left the healthcare scene in September 2020 and began his career in K-12 education technology for Watertown City school district.
My biggest job as a director of technology is to ensure that technology is not a barrier to teaching
Jeff Wood, Director of IT
he said. “I do not want technology to get in the way because if it gets in the way, it frustrates the teacher, right down to frustrating the students.”
Jeffrey does whatever he can to make sure that when the teachers at Watertown City school district turn on their tech, it works.
“When they open an app, it works. When they want to do something, it works. It shouldn’t have to be some process that they have to have a checklist to make it work,” he said.
Watertown City school district hadn’t updated their front-of-the-classroom tech in 14 years. Each classroom displayed old projector boards since 2009. They installed the first 20 ActivPanel 7 devices in May of 2022, until the new ActivPanel 9 was available a short time after.
With everything else, the fundamentals of teaching rarely change. But Jeffrey believes the more ways we can deliver information, and the more interactive we can make it, the better. “We can get the students engaged early on and keep that engagement higher,” he said.
Interested in making the switch from projectors?
Learn more about the ActivPanel and request a demo today.
