School Board asks for committee to study the “why” question related to 1:1

This past week, our district’s Teaching & Learning Advisory group (which contains admins, teachers, parents, and a few board members) received a request to form a committee to study 1:1, or the ability to provide a technology device to students.  After discussion, the request was approved – but with some very significant guidance and expectations.

The committee’s task is to report back on…

1) What are the pros / cons of providing devices to students?

2) What are the benefits and anticipated results of going 1:1? If we did 1:1, what do we expect to see as results?

3) What specific benefits are other districts seeing as a result of 1:1?

4) Gauge community (staff, parents, community) interest in 1:1

What tasks are NOT to be done by the committee…

1) No discussing devices: There is no need to compare technology devices – we do NOT have approval for deploying 1:1, there is no need for this discussion yet.

2) No discussing roll out or training plans:  There is no need to discuss which grade levels and/or which schools are impacted.

3) No discussing time frames:  There is NO approval for 1:1, so the time frame / deployment options does not need to be discussed at this time.

Q1.  Why are there all these restrictions/limitations, what’s the concern?
A1.  Any 1:1 implementation is a major project involving significant time and resources.  We must be very clear about WHY it should or should not be done – and to help us focus on the “Why”, we are removing the discussion points about  “when”, “how”, and “what device”.

Q2.  Is there an assumption that “new” money will be available for a 1:1 project?
A2.  First, there is no assumption that 1:1 will happen – but the committee is to take the angle that NO new money is available.  Instead, we are focusing on “Would we be willing to use our existing resources and change what we currently do to have this?”

Q3,  Who will be on the committee?  How are individuals being selected?
A3.  This has not be answered yet.  However, the advisory committee has asked that that group consist of individuals from a variety of audiences (not just staff).  In addition, they have requested that it be a mixture of technology experiences.

Q4. When is the study committee meeting?
A4. Dates/times have not be set, but will be published when the process is finalized.  We’re hoping to get information out in the next week.

Even though the details haven’t all been worked out, you’re welcome to drop me an email or respond in the comments section of this blog if you have thoughts, idea, etc.

Brian Abeling
abelingb@wdmcs.org

Is the district going to deploy more iPads to classrooms?

When is the district going to deploy for iPads?

Q1. Last year, the district had an opportunity for teachers to apply to get 3 iPads in their room… Does this district have plans to buy more iPads this school year (spring 2013)?
A1. The district does not have any plans to purchase additional iPads this spring (2013).  We are not ruling out future deployments – but for this spring we know there will no additional rounds/deployments provided by the district.

Q2. How many iPads were deployed by the district?
A2. Jan 2012, the district purchased 300 ipads and deployed them to 100 classrooms.

Q3. Schools were allowed to purchase iPads on their own, correct? Is this still true?
A3. Yes, schools were allowed to purchased iPads on their own  – this is still accurate.

Q4. How many iPads are in the district now?  
A4. In Jan 2013, district-wide there is over 1,000 iPads.  This means that buildings, parents groups and others purchased an additional 700 iPads over the last year, at a cost of $280,000.

Q5. Why are we not proceeding??  Wasn’t the iPad roll out successful?
A5.  The roll out during 2012 was successful for many classrooms, but not all. In general, we are seeing that the iPads fit naturally into  K-6 classrooms that utilize small group rotations with students.  With only 3 iPads available, it was much harder to utilize the iPad in classrooms that did not use small group work / rotations. In addition, some content areas had a harder time finding appropriate apps.

Q6. When will district decide if/when its will proceed with buying more?  
A6.  We are not purchasing any additional iPads during the winter/spring of 2013.  We are waiting until the K-6 reading adoption selection is finalized, which is expected to be March/April 2013.  After that time, we will have a better idea of what resources are needed to support the new curriculum adoption.  At that same time, we can review what is needed at secondary level as well.

Q7. I was asked by some parents…   If the district proceeds with purchasing more iPads – will each school be assured an equal amount of iPads?
A7.  Based on the information from question 4, I believe that district technology will need to play the role of “equilizer”  which means each school will NOT receive the same amount from the district.  Instead, we will need to fill in the areas where devices are needed to bring everyone to a standard level.