Technology Advisors – Digital A. V.

Digital AV and CTAS have a long history together, working on various platforms and addressing IT needs since 19xx. Over the years, Digital AV’s relationship with CTAS has evolved from a short-term IT contractor to a long-term IT partner and a trusted technology advisor. Digital AV has also provided a number of design and web development services for CTAS and its sibling companies. Some of these projects are recapped here.

ctas.tennessee.edu

In 2015, Digital AV began working on a number of projects that would overhaul the entire CTAS web presence, starting with the main website.

The previous CTAS website, which had been online for a number of years, was based on a back-end product that the University was phasing out. Additionally, three other pieces of the CTAS web presence were based on this technology. Digital AV proposed switching over the four sites to a system based on the open-source content management system, Drupal. Drupal, which is used extensively by higher education and state and federal government entities, provides the extensibility, flexibility and security needed by a client with complex needs like CTAS. Digital AV had already done a proof-of-concept for CTAS using the Drupal platform by creating the award-winning electronic library (eLi) that is used extensively throughout the Tennessee county government system.

The main portion of the CTAS website contains basic information about CTAS and the services offered. The directory portion of the stie contains detailed information on County and Judicial Officials. In the calendar area, events are displayed for CTAS activities as well as the activities of sibling services, like the Municipal Technical Assistance Service. Site calendars are synched in the background using Drupal feeds. Lastly, the Private Acts for Tennessee’s 95 counties are available to be searched or printed by county employees and constituents.

In various stages of this project, Digital AV acted both as Technology Advisors and Long-Term IT Partners.

Clayton Bradley Academy STEM School

Clayton-Bradley Academy uses a 1:1 technology to students and faculty ratio to allow real-time collaboration for students and teachers. Students learn at their own pace in a technology-rich environment. To help build that environment, this innovative school turned to Digital AV.

Clayton-Bradley Academy is a joint effort between the non-profit organization Innovative Education Partnership Inc. and Clayton Homes. The school bears the names of the Maryville-based business [Clayton Homes] and visionary school leader, Patricia Bradley, a 30+ year veteran educator. The private, coed small-school community opened in the summer of 2013 with up to 75 students in grades K-6, and grew the following year to offer Pre-K through grade 9. Plans for future growth include adding additional grades each year, as demand warrants, until we reach our full capacity of Pre-K through grade 12. Clayton-Bradley Academy is located in Blount County, convenient to Knoxville and the surrounding areas.

Digital AV began working with Clayton-Bradley in May of 2013, approximately 90 days before the school was set to open its doors. Digital AV was able to provide strategic direction through all aspects of the technology that would be used, including server, desktop and user-facing infrastructure, phone systems, wireless access points, network data wiring, electrical, security software, tablets, interactive whiteboards, and more.

In addition to Digital AV’s technical expertise, the company’s project management and organizational processes were also valuable resources for this project. Digital AV worked to coordinate a host of vendors and helped manage changes to the project along the way.

Future plans for Clayton-Bradley Academy call for an expansion into grade 12 next year (the school currently serves students in grades K-11) and the solutions that Digital AV created at the school were done so with this future expansion in mind. Additionally, Digital AV’s ongoing management of the school’s environment will play an important role in keeping the school’s infrastructure working well for both current and future students alike.

In this project, Digital AV not only designed an optimal computer environment for this “school of tomorrow” but the team at Digital AV performed in a way which allowed the faculty and staff to concentrate on school operations, faculty training, family engagement, recruitment of students and teaching and learning rather than worrying about the technology.