Education Technology Professionals: Transformative Technology for Schools

The kind of technological challenges that educational institutions face are not unlike the ones we see occurring throughout the data-driven world. Schools consistently need the software and hardware they use to be up-to-date and reliable. Because of the increasing demands of technology in the classroom, educational institutions have started outsourcing the maintenance and repair of software and hardware systems to other companies. By outsourcing work, teachers and administrators who might otherwise feel burdened in their role as learning providers as well as tech support specialists have more freedom and flexibility.

Among the companies helping schools and teachers to succeed in more technologically-dense classrooms is Educational Technology Professionals, LLC (ETP). Instead of just providing a break/fix IT service to schools, ETP takes their service offerings above and beyond the normal call of duty by providing affordable alternatives to hiring, training, and maintaining full-time IT employees at schools.  The company offers its clients the resourcefulness, experience, and benefit of a full-fledged team of IT professionals but without the additional hiring strains. Instead, Education Technology Professionals services small to midsize school districts with the type of work that fits their needs, whether it be on a part-time, full-time, or more on-demand basis. As a technology company responding to the needs of educational institutions, Education Technology Professionals provides everything from wiring, cybersecurity, firewall adjusting, and maintenance, to providing opportunities for professional development. “We also offer a robust STEM Program. We’ve developed a custom STEM curriculum based on the latest ISTE standards.  We hire, train and retain teachers and place them at our schools” explains Lucas Ostrowski, Founder & CEO of Education Technology Professionals. The company not only provides various services that fit educational needs but also provides a well-versed technology curriculum, so students have the opportunity to learn tech assets and their solutions. In addition to the STEM Curriculum, one big value add is their vast library of STEM resources, that all contracted schools have access to. This includes 3D printers, drone kits, makey makeys, computer kits, and much more.

Educational institutions often run into frustration when they have needs that require fulfillment from a variety of vendors. By eliminating the amount of outsourcing a school has to do to in most cases just one company, Educational Technology Professionals provides customizable and all-encompassing technology support offering. “By being a full spectrum IT provider, and doing the work ourselves, we’ve replaced anywhere from six to eight different vendors that a school has traditionally had to deal with,” says Ostrowski. Not only does the company package on-site IT solutions while filling an all-in-one role of Director of Technology, Technology Coordinator, Cybersecurity Expert, Network Admin, and PC Repair Tech, but they also ensure flexibility and affordability. This even includes options to train in-school staffs to be more nuanced in the specific type of technology used at their individual schools. This way, the educational institutions’ needs are met in a variety of helpful and flexible ways.

Integration and Security 

Education Technology Professionals also offers a robust K-12 STEM curriculum taught by seasoned IT professionals – starting with computer basics to more advanced topics such as coding, robotics, and 3D printing. With this, high school students are able to take CompTIA IT certification courses such as A+, Network+, and Security+. In addition, the ETP team provides full life-cycle technology recycling and disposal services such as safe data destruction. What adds to this company’s uniqueness is its ability to help with all aspects of hardware and software from installation to troubleshooting to upgrading software or memory at any school district. What’s more, Education Technology Professionals’ experts can assist school administrators with product comparisons, helping them save on expenses when it comes to school necessities, as well as longer term Technology Planning, Budgeting, and more.

In terms of security, Ostrowski recognizes his team’s ability to not only help resolve malware/virus/ransomware issues but also to aid in the training of mindful prevention tactics. “As far as security is concerned, prevention and training are crucial. Training staff against threat such as phishing attacks and email spoofing are a huge boon to a school’s overall cybersecurity. We understand the fact that nothing is ever going to be 100% secure. But prevention and training are very important tools at a school’s disposal, and another way that we can help ensure our partner schools are as secure as possible,” adds Ostrowski.

Violence Prevention in Schools

Spotting online traces of bullying and violence before it happens is a very important issue that Education Technology Professionals can also assist with. Their vast array of services includes making software/hardware recommendations, help implement, and actively monitor the technology used in a building or any given system. One of the implemented innovations from ETP includes specialized software that will take screen captures whenever a student types in specific keywords pertaining to bullying, self-harm, or intended violence, among other categories. Moreover, the company can support an entire school IT infrastructure, including networks, databases, servers, and workstations while being readily available to offer support both onsite and remotely. With all these approaches, Education Technology Professionals becomes an organization that truly helps the business of education operate as smoothly as possible.

From Inception to Innovation

Education Technology Professionals is a unique team of technology professionals with over 40 years of combined IT experience who are passionate about technology in education. What makes the company stand out is its capability to provide simple and affordable solutions to keep schools up and running with as little downtime as possible. By choosing to work with Education Technology Professionals, school districts can dramatically reduce variable technology costs while still maintaining an active presence of IT experts at schools.

Founded by Lucas Ostrowski, the company offers a unique blend of extensive IT expertise and approachability. Today, Lucas’ passion for innovation continues to motivate him and his team to provide innovative solutions to all facets of technology in education. The need to provide this grew out of Lucas’ realization that schools, especially those in smaller, rural areas, needed reliable and affordable IT support. Lucas himself has more than a decade of professional IT experience with the majority of that time filling Senior IT roles at two Fortune 500 companies. His equally experienced staff ensures that all education technology needs are met in each school or school district, eliminating the high costs and increasing levels of wasted time so that teachers and students can get back to what matters most in the classroom.