What’s the status of the district 1:1 study team?

This past winter, our school board asked the district to establish a 1:1 study team to investigate the idea of providing a mobile technology devices (laptop or tablet) to students.

Full details of our 1:1 study team are available at:  https://wdmtech.wordpress.com/11-study/

What’s the status of the district 1:1 study team?
The study team has been asked to present to the school board during a workshop session, which will take place on Monday, May 13th at Walnut Creek Campus in the media center from 5:15pm to 6:30pm.   Presenting for the study team will be Kevin Neal, VHS social studies teacher; Scott Brown, Crossroads Park 6th grade teacher; and Brian Abeling, Director of Technology.

What is the study team making for a recommendation?
The study team is NOT making any recommendations related to implementing 1:1, as we were not asked to make a recommendation as to whether the district proceeds with 1:1.  Instead, we were asked to investigate the following questions…

1. Why are other schools doing 1:1?

2. What are the benefits?

3. What are the concerns?

4. How will this change teaching & learning?

5. What is the interest level from students, parents, and staff?

6. Information and factors related to cost.

What about the device?  Is the group recommending a device, like the iPad or laptop?
The study team was not asked to recommend a device – and will not be doing so, it would not be appropriate.  Our district has NOT determined if we will pursue 1:1, so there is no need to recommend a device, grade level/content areas, or any thing related to roll out details or time frames.

Within the last month, there was an online survey about 1:1 –  was that a vote for whether we  go 1:1?  
The survey that was sent to parents, students, and staff was used to help answer question #5) What is the level of interest students, parents, and staff?    The survey was NOT a vote for whether we will do 1:1, instead, it was used to measure current interest in the topic.

So where are the results from the 1:1 surveys?
After the board workshop, we will post online (on this blog) the full results of the survey, including all written responses from staff, students, and parents.

Has the study team finished their school visits?
Yes, our school visits have been completed. Members were invited to visit…

Council Bluff Schools

Waverly-Shell Rock Schools

Johnston High School

Cedar Rapids Prairie

Bettendorf High School

How Burley Elementary is redefining classroom spaces.

This past week, I visited Burley Elementary School located in Chicago, Illinois. It’s a PreK-8 public school that is well-known for its 1:1 iPad program and its turn around in student achievement results.  I’ll write more about their 1:1 iPad program in another post, but for now, I’d like to share the aspect that immediately stands out when you enter their school.

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Even though their building is over 125 years old, their classrooms are incredibly warm, inviting learning spaces. They are nothing like traditional classroom spaces. 

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Several years ago, as part of their buildings turn around plans,  teacher study teams created a new teacher designed curriculum.  They also created a list of things they wanted to see happen for every student, in every classroom, every day.  This list included: read aloud, independent reading, small group work, and access to a classroom library.  In order to accommodate these needs, they also changed their classroom layouts.  No more rows of traditional student chairs – they were replaced by large meeting places, independent reading areas, and small group learning zones within each classroom.

If you’re interested in more about rethinking your classroom spaces,  I would also encourage you to visit….

John Spencer’s “We need to rethink our classroom space“

and

Russ Goerend’s “A whole new classroom“

A first grade room that’s as warm and inviting as they come..

No standard student desks – just a variety of small furniture pieces.

Each classroom has a large meeting space, which commonly has a large rug/carpet as well as soft furniture.

Even in the hallways there are small nooks for small group or individual work.

Each classroom has a high quality classroom library to give student access to quality literature each day.

Each room has at least one couch and comfortable seating.

Another view of comfortable furnishing with their classroom library.

We joined a group of about 17 that toured Burley classrooms this past week.

Even when student desks were used, they were clustered for small group work and there was still a large group meeting area with carpet and a couch.

Another shot of anchor papers and lights used to divide the classroom into different learning zones.

Need headphones? Visit the headphone lending tree!

Notice how this table was taken down to approx 10 inches.

A variety of drapes and other materials were commonly used to divide the classrooms into sections that served different purposes.

Notice the soft pillow seats used with this shortened table.

Many classrooms do NOT use their district provided ceiling light fixtures – they reported that the lighting was too much. Instead, many classrooms used small lamps to provide more comfortable learning spaces.

A picture looking down on a small nook created for partner learning.

A comfortable reading nook.

A science inquiry station.

Another warm, inviting area within a 1st grade classroom.

As you can see through these decorated windows, Burley Elementary is a neighborhood school.

Door ways leading to the stairwell.

This year they received a small patch of turf – otherwise, they have no grass for their playground.

Their playground.

The hallways are wide and spacious at Burley, in fact, they are often used for pull groups and learning activities.

Our tour concluded with a debriefing session with their teachers.

A stitched panoramic photo of one of the 1st grade classrooms.

Another stitched photo showing the use of anchor papers to divide classroom into work zones.

During our visit, we ran into Amber Cordell, a Valley High Graduate, who now teaches at Burley Elementary. From left: Brian Abeling, Annie Orsini, Amber Cordell, Brooke Dey, and Adam Nidey.