Update 6.22.12

We received confirmation yesterday that our iPads have shipped and will hopefully arrive sometime next week. Once they arrive, staff will be tagging the devices and entering them into our inventory system. Thanks to our Rebecca Glassing, our awesome Northfield High School Media Specialist, the iPads will be entered into our Destiny management system so we can check them out to staff just like a book!

We also have scheduled our Tech Boot Camp sessions - this was sent to District staff today. The iPad sessions offered initially will be focused on the general use and operation of the iPad. We'll continue throughout the year with additional professional development - focusing more on teaching with the iPad rather than operating the iPad itself.

We've had 22 staff sign up for our task forces and will begin to set those meeting schedules next week.

One of the projects taking place this summer to support the transformational technology initiative is the improvement of our wireless networks. This week, we have some data cabling being installed to prepare for the addition of several higher density wireless devices at the Middle School and High School. This is an important component of this project that we hope to have completed in early August.

As always, let me know if you have any questions about the project. You can contact me by phone at (507) 645-3458 or by email at matt.hillmann@nfld.k12.mn.us.

Recent media coverage

Over the past week, there have been two newspaper articles and a radio interview that have covered our transformational technology project. I've shared them below:

• 6.12.2012 KYMN Radio with Jeff Johnson
• 6.9.2012 Northfield News article
• 6.6.2012 Northfield News article

Board approves Phase I

The School Board approved Phase I of our transformational technology project last evening. We now begin the process of ordering the equipment for staff and preparing training sessions for them. We'll also be setting up six task forces to get into even more detailed planning for our potential Phase II student implementation.

You can watch the Board meeting, shown below. The transformational technology discussion begins at 8:05.




There have been many people involved in getting this project going -- literally hundreds! This project started with 35 teachers and then involved more than three dozen community members. It included presentations and feedback at each school and several Board presentations. Thanks to all who have assisted in formulating our approach to this project.

We will use this blog to continue to provide updates throughout the summer, approximately once per week.

As always, please feel free to contact me by phone at (507) 645-3458 or by email at matt.hillmann@nfld.k12.mn.us.

Public Information Meeting Review

We had between 15 and 20 people attend this evening's public information meeting at Northfield High School this evening. The highlight of the evening for most attendees were the excellent questions and comments offered by a rising Freshmen.

The presentation we used this evening is embedded below.




Thanks to the folks who attended!

Public information meeting scheduled for June 7

This message will be sent to parents in the District today:


The Northfield School District will hold a public information session regarding the progress of the District's transformational technology proposal on Thursday, June 7 at 6 pm in the Northfield High School auditorium. The District's transformational technology proposal  considers the use of tablet computers by teachers and students. The agenda will include presentations about the vision of the use of tablet computers by students and teachers, the potential implementation process, the cost of the project, and the method being considered to fund the implementation district-wide. The public will also be able to ask questions about the proposal. Please view the District's Transformational Technology blog for more information at:

 http://northfieldtechtransformation.blogspot.com/

Please contact Matt Hillmann with any questions by email at matt.hillmann@nfld.k12.mn.us or by phone at (507) 645-3458.


In addition, we plan to send it to the Northfield News, KYMN radio, and Northfield Patch.


The purpose of this informational meeting will be to give district residents another opportunity to hear about our ideas regarding the transformational technology project.  Unlike our previous community meetings, this will be a presentation and a question/answer period.


We hope to see you there!

Board Presentation

We will be proposing the "road map" concept of our transformational technology project at this evening's School Board meeting. We aren't asking the Board to take any action at this meeting, just giving them the nuts and bolts of the plan. Since we have already established the vision of how we can potentially use tablet devices in our classrooms, we won't be revisiting that tonight. I encourage you to view this video the presents the vision if you haven't already viewed it.

You can click here to view a copy of the presentation we are sharing with the Board. You can also watch the Board meeting video, embedded below. The Transformational Technology presentation starts at 52:10 on the timeline.






As always, feel free to contact me with any questions by email at matt.hillmann@nfld.k12.mn.us or by phone at (507) 645-3458.

Update

The past two weeks have been spent reviewing and reflecting upon the feedback we received from the numerous presentations and focus groups conducted throughout the District. We are working on finalizing our proposal to the School Board, which will be presented on May 29. The meeting begins at 7 pm and will be held in the Northfield High School Media Center.

The keys to the proposal will include:

• Timeline for proposed implementation
• The type of device being recommended
• The implementation task forces needed to ensure a successful start
• Focus on the types and frequency of professional development needed to ensure a successful start
• Policies/practices that will need to be updated/put in place to support the initiative
• The cost - not just for next year, but for the next several years in order to ensure sustainability

I will post the proposal here once it is finalized and presented to the School Board. We are not going to ask the Board to take any action on May 29 - this is an informational presentation. We would hope the Board would consider adopting the plan at their June 11 meeting.