The San Marino Unified School District has a track record of prioritizing technologies to propel its students, staff and parents forward with efficiency.
This foresight was evident during SMUSD Chief Technology Officer Stephen Choi’s three-part information portion of the Sept. 26 Board of Education meeting, where he discussed the possibility of a first-time pilot program, the expansion of a second pilot program, and the continuation of a staff and faculty-centered training academy — all revolving around the advancement of technology within the district.
SMARTBADGE
PILOT PROGRAM
Choi introduced the Board to an innovative partnership and pilot program with Stryker, a leading medical technology company, to enhance SMUSD’s communications and safety through the use of Vocera’s Smartbadge and Minibadge devices.
Vocera Communications was founded by Robert Shostak, who was a “Star Trek” enthusiast. Inspired by the science fiction franchise, Shostak’s business began to take shape with a device modeled after the futuristic way in which the characters communicated.
“He wanted to be able to press his shirt and call someone, and so that’s what he invented,” said Peter Kraslawsky, senior director of Global Partner Programs of Stryker. “He invented this little device that you could clip onto your shirt, press it and a genie would talk to you.”
Individuals wearing the Vocera device could then respond back through voice interaction. This cutting-edge technology was invented 20 years before genies like Siri and Alexa.
While trying to find its footing in Silicon Valley, Vocera instead found its niche in hospitals — eventually becoming a household name in that field. The company since then has built itself around safety, security and efficient communication in the health care world, primarily geared toward nurses and caregivers closest to the patient.
Vocera specializes in “mission-critical communication,” Kraslawsky said. Today, its Smartbadge and Minibadge devices are used in 2,500 hospitals and is the standard for Kaiser Permanente, UCLA and the Cleveland Clinic not only in the U.S., but in London and Abu Dhabi as well, with nurses, doctors and health care workers using it on a consistent basis.
Historically, Kraslawsky said the focus of Vocera was to keep nurses safe and to provide better patient outcomes in a health care environment. However, that focal point in Vocera’s vision has evolved over the years.
In 2018, the consultant group Armoured One called Vocera following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, to forge a partnership with the goal of protecting students like they do health care workers. What is now known as the Parkland shooting resulted in 17 deaths and 17 injuries. Armoured One told Vocera that after visiting nearly 50 schools post traumatic events like that one, they found communication failure was a main factor in the tragedy, across the board.
“Our mission has always been to take care of nurses and patients and translate this into schools for teachers and students — it’s a natural evolution for our company and a natural place for Vocera to be,” Kraslawsky said.
In 2021, Vocera was acquired by Styker. The global tech company, which has 45,000 employees and about $16 billion in revenues, welcomed Vocera into the fold and has been working to integrate its product into the education market. So far, the company has deployed their Vocera devices in a few schools across about five different school districts.
“We really do want San Marino to be a model school for Vocera, safety and efficient communication across the country,” Kraslawsky said.
When Choi initially looked into the idea of using Vocera’s Smartbadge technology on behalf of SMUSD, he said the main reason was to combat reports of some staff not being aware of emergency system alerts going out. The product, he discovered, has the ability to be integrated with Catapult EMS and other notification systems.
Along the way, he also learned about its wide-ranging capabilities and other solutions it may offer the district to streamline day-to-day communications.
The Smartbadge and Minibadge devices each have four speakers and microphones; two are designed to pick up the user’s voice as they speak into it and the others are to cancel out outside noise.
The devices are also customizable. To communicate, the speaker can call someone by their name, role or broadcast something to a particular channel. The user can also train the genie to understand their own accent, language or way of speaking. Additionally, voice commands are optional. Alternatively, it can be tapped to communicate.
“Every time I spoke with Peter or Dane, I learned something new about what these devices could do, and I think that’s one of the most powerful things about this technology — that there are some unintended benefits, and that’s exactly why we are doing a pilot,” Choi said.
In addition to easing everyday point-to-point and group communication, these devices are also equipped for emergencies with a designated panic button.
Unlike a phone, the badge is on your person. Always accessible.
“From a safety and security perspective, teachers don’t always have their cell phone on them in an emergency situation,” Kraslawsky said. “It can be in their desk, in their purse … so you want something that is right there, that you can hear, that is ready for you in a worst-case scenario.”
Choi said SMUSD is in the process of prioritizing use of the devices. At the top of his list is to ensure that staff and faculty are aware of Catapult EMS alerts. He is also interested in group communications — being able to communicate with multiple individuals at the same time, potentially replacing walkie-talkies on campuses.
In terms of implementation of the pilot, Choi envisions starting small — at no more than at one school site at first, zoning in on a particular department or grade level, or a specific use case for workflow to those individuals, he suggested. Eventually, he said this could expand districtwide.
“Our goal would be to provide the badges, the deployment, the software at little to no cost for the entire district, to work through the details of it, and then, in return, be able to use you as that proof site — that center of excellence — to show other schools what educational excellence really looks like,” sales account manager Dane Baxter of Stryker explained to the Board.
Though not yet 100% approved by Stryker’s board, Kraslawsky and Baxter said they are 99% certain that it will be, with zero-cost to SMUSD for the Smartbadge or Minibadge devices in exchange for their partnership in the pilot program. SMUSD, however, would be responsible for covering an annual maintenance cost if they decide to move forward with a software maintenance agreement after the first year, which, depending on what kind of licensing agreement is implemented, can range from $16,000 to $26,000, with an approximate 2% yearly increase, according to Baxter.
Devices themselves would come with a one-year warranty, with a secondary warranty option also available. Kraslawsky said the devices are built to withstand heavy usage in tough environments, typically lasting up to five years in the hospital setting.
Additionally, to ensure clear communication across campuses, the district may need to add wireless access points.
Choi will bring this discussion back to the Board at a future date, when the scope of the pilot will be closer to being finalized.
“It’s a big experiment. It’s really for us to explore the options and test whether or not this will be a fit and a solution for us,” Choi said. “And given that this is a fairly low-risk pilot, I’m really excited about it. … It can transform how we operate.”
TECH ACADEMY
RETURNS TO SMUSD
During Choi’s second presentation, he announced the return of SMUSD’s TECH Academy, which offers professional development and paid learning opportunities for faculty and staff through six cyber-related series that include 24 sessions and will run through Nov. 9.
The theme of the academy this fall is “Power With Responsibility.” The curriculum is aimed to “help participants harness the power of technology responsibly,” said Choi, who noted that each session was designed to be small-groups and hands-on. The sessions were created based on faculty and staff input, he added.
“Reflecting on our past TECH Academies, we have always been forward-thinking and bold in our learning experiences,” Choi said. He recalled first introducing faculty and staff to online video conferencing at a 2015 TECH Academy, when they learned about online etiquette and meeting tools well before long-distance learning was a necessity.
To continue the trend of advancing SMUSD teachers technologically, the series topics for this year’s academy include “Google Educator Certification,” “Artificial Intelligence in Education,” “Classroom Toolbelt,” “Creative Minds,” “Data-Driven: Unleashing the Potential,” and “Cybersecurity Essentials for Everyone.”
The “Google Educator Certification” series, led by Google certified trainers, prepares those taking one of its sessions to master Google docs, sheets, forms, slides and more, aiding them to become a certified Google educator.
Instructed by San Marino High School teacher and Educator of the Year Peter Paccone, along with national classroom AI expert Marcia Kish, the “Artificial Intelligence in Education” series provides sessions on ChatGPT and how to successfully integrate AI in the education space.
The “Classroom Toolbelt” series enables teachers to use GoGuardian, an educational technology software, to maintain a focused digital learning environment, create web pages in Edlio and maximize the use of an Apple iPad.
SMHS media arts teacher and Apple certified learning coach David Basulto will shepherd the “Creative Minds” series, which centers on Canva and the Adobe Creative Cloud suite.
The “Data-Driven: Unleashing the Potential” is dedicated to optimizing the K-12 learning management software PowerSchool Schoology, and customer reports.
Lastly, October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and for the occasion, the series “Cybersecurity Essentials for Everyone” is perfect timing to be paired with this type of knowledge.
Participating SMUSD faculty and staff will be paid up to two hours per session at the special projects rate. Registration is open. To sign up, visit techacademy.smusd.us.
PARENTSQUARE TO GO DISTRICTWIDE
ParentSquare, an online solution that streamlines school-to-home communications, was piloted last year by SMHS for athletics communications.
The application helped streamline and organize communication among various sports teams, making it easier for both parents and students to receive communications via text messaging and app notifications.
Because of its success, Choi announced in his third presentation that SMUSD’s goal is to expand its use of ParentSquare districtwide.
“By doing so, we aim to consolidate some traditional tools, save costs and be more efficient,” Choi said.
“ParentSquare will be rebranded as the new district app for parents and students and could potentially replace our existing mass notifications system for cost savings. … ParentSquare also integrates with Canva, a robust, easy-to-use design tool to deliver newsletters, which can potentially replace the district’s existing online newsletter tool.”
Choi added that the application can also integrate social media and provide a digital directory that is more secure and up to date than the one the district currently has access to, as well as provide classrooms and parents with a secure digital platform to engage parents. Through ParentSquare, parents can communicate, receive alerts and notifications, receive electronic forms, do sign-ups, make payment selections and upload photos.
“Traditional school-to-home communications involve many manual processes that can be challenging for schools to manage,” Choi said. “Sometimes these different systems can make it confusing for parents and students on the receiving end, so ParentSquare offers a new way to unify communication tools in a centralized platform to better serve our students and our parents.”
Another feature includes AI-powered translation, which can facilitate two-way communication between parents and teachers, allowing parents to receive and respond in their preferred language.
When asked whether ParentSquare would replace the applications already in use by parents today like Blackboard, Choi said one would not necessarily replace the other.
“What’s amazing about ParentSquare is that it does unify a lot of the communications tools that schools have traditionally used,” Choi said. “It will help us reduce a lot of the overhead involved in maintaining all these different systems out there and consolidate them into one.”
Choi said he’s excited to see the results of this project.
“I think it’s an opportunity for us to consolidate and maximize the use of our communications and empower not just our administrators, but also empower our parents and our students to have access to information that they know is reliable.”
First published in the Oct.19 issue of the San Marino Tribune
