Two local new outlets have published stories on our ideas surrounding transformational technology in the last week or so:
Northfield Patch
Northfield News
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Review: Public Meetings
We held community information meetings this past week about our ideas surrounding transformational technology -- 20 people attended last Saturday, April 21 and 15 people attended on Tuesday, April 24. I shared a presentation very similar to the video I've posted on this blog and took general questions for approximately the first hour. I shared several iPad apps to demonstrate the ability of the tablet device. These included:
We broke the attendees into small groups for the next hour to discuss three questions:
1. What excites you about this idea for our students and teachers?
2. What concerns you about this idea?
3. Please list the top five things you'd want to make sure the District considers as it develops this further.
The groups had many thoughts:
People were excited about the opportunities for interactive content for students, the thought of significantly reducing the weight of student backpacks, and the ability for tablet computers to provide differentiated materials at an academic level and learning style most appropriate for each student.
There were concerns -- and we're happy that they are some of the very same worries we have had already. These included teacher training, misuse of the device, damage to the device, policies covering acceptable use of the devices, and ensuring our technology infrastructure was prepared to handle the devices.
One interesting concern shared by one small group was what happens to our students if we don't choose to integrate these devices in our school district. Basically, if we choose not to "go down this road" and other schools do, are there long-term consequences for our students?
I was very pleased with the participation in these two meetings -- the input we received will be extremely valuable as we begin to develop a "road map" that will be proposed to the School Board in May.
- iBooks text books - Life on Earth and Building a Nation
- MathBoard
- TopIt Addition 0-12
- National Archives
- The Presidents
- Classical Lite
- Garage Band
We broke the attendees into small groups for the next hour to discuss three questions:
1. What excites you about this idea for our students and teachers?
2. What concerns you about this idea?
3. Please list the top five things you'd want to make sure the District considers as it develops this further.
The groups had many thoughts:
People were excited about the opportunities for interactive content for students, the thought of significantly reducing the weight of student backpacks, and the ability for tablet computers to provide differentiated materials at an academic level and learning style most appropriate for each student.
There were concerns -- and we're happy that they are some of the very same worries we have had already. These included teacher training, misuse of the device, damage to the device, policies covering acceptable use of the devices, and ensuring our technology infrastructure was prepared to handle the devices.
One interesting concern shared by one small group was what happens to our students if we don't choose to integrate these devices in our school district. Basically, if we choose not to "go down this road" and other schools do, are there long-term consequences for our students?
I was very pleased with the participation in these two meetings -- the input we received will be extremely valuable as we begin to develop a "road map" that will be proposed to the School Board in May.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Video: Our overall transformational technology concept
Today's post includes a video that provides an overview of the District's current concept of transformational technology. The video is approximately 26 minutes long and is similar to other presentations that we have made to the community. One disclaimer -- the iPad 2 that I am using in the video is our family iPad (this will explain the Madden NFL and other game icons you'll see in the background.)
Friday, April 13, 2012
Community Presentations/Feedback Sessions
A message was sent today to all District families via our Skylert messaging system about two community presentations/feedback sessions that we'll be hosting about transformational technology:
- Saturday, April 21st from 10 am - 12 pm
- Tuesday, April 24 from 7 pm - 9 pm
Both sessions will be held in the Northfield Middle School Media Center.
During this phase, our intention is to visit with lots of people about the concept of transformational technology. We do not have our formal proposal prepared yet -- you will hear ideas that we have and then be given an opportunity to discuss and share thoughts about those ideas. The intention of these meetings is to help the District as we formulate a "road map" concept of integrating this kind of technology.
In the next few days, I'll be posting some videos demonstrating some of the technology that excites us and has motivated this process.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Spreading the word and gathering ideas
I spent quite a bit of time this week presenting ideas about our transformational technology project with students, staff, and community members.
On Tuesday, we ran two student focus groups - at the Middle School and High School. After briefly explaining the research we are engaged in, I asked students (approximately 14 students at each site) to discuss four questions:
On Tuesday, we ran two student focus groups - at the Middle School and High School. After briefly explaining the research we are engaged in, I asked students (approximately 14 students at each site) to discuss four questions:
- What do you think would be positive about all students having a tablet computer?
- What would concern you about all students having a tablet computer?
- What would you expect your teachers to do differently if all students had a tablet computer?
- Do you believe students would take care of a tablet computer? What procedures do you think would be appropriate if students misuse their tablet computer?
At the high school, we didn't get through all of the questions due to the depth of students answers for the first two questions. These students were incredible and their comments and questions were insightful.
We also held staff information sessions at the High School and Sibley Elementary. We plan to visit other schools later this week. While many staff are informed by being part of the working group or through building level discussion, we are making sure that everyone has an opportunity to hear an update on the progress of our research.
Finally, Dr. Richardson and I presented to the Northfield Rotary Club. This is a very large group of community stakeholders and we were very thankful for their time, attention, and questions.
We have scheduled two community presentations/feedback sessions:
- Saturday, April 21st from 10 am - 12 pm
- Tuesday, April 24 from 7 pm - 9 pm
Both sessions will be held at the Northfield Middle School Media Center.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
KYMN Radio interview with Dr. Richardson and Matt Hillmann
Dr. Richardson and I had the opportunity to visit with KYMN Radio host Jeff Johnson this morning. We had a great conversation about transformational technology. Jeff was a gracious host and had great questions about how we are at (maybe beyond?) the tipping point for true technology transformation in our nation's classrooms.
You can listen to the 40 minute interview by clicking here.
You can listen to the 40 minute interview by clicking here.
Monday, March 26, 2012
The beginning...
Over the past couple of School Board meetings, we have begun discussing transformational technology for modern learners. The accelerated development of tablet computers, couple with rapidly expanding digital textbook resources have inspired us to look more closely at the potential for replacing traditional textbooks with tablet computers for students.
In January and February, more than 30 educators from across the District researched, discussed, and analyzed the potential for tablet computers in our classrooms. That group's recommendation, provided to the District Technology Steering Committee, was to consider an aggressive implementation timeline to modernize resources for our students by using tablet computers for each student. The Technology Steering Committee began their review of this recommendation in March and will continue to do so throughout the Spring.
I will be making a presentation to the School Board this evening, highlighting the path we intend to take in regards to evaluating what such an implementation will look like in Northfield. You can view my outline here.
While there are a plethora of items to consider in evaluating this kind of implementation, we also have the ability to learn from the school districts that have already implemented similar programs.
As part of our next steps, we plan to continue to gather feedback from stakeholders. This includes:
In January and February, more than 30 educators from across the District researched, discussed, and analyzed the potential for tablet computers in our classrooms. That group's recommendation, provided to the District Technology Steering Committee, was to consider an aggressive implementation timeline to modernize resources for our students by using tablet computers for each student. The Technology Steering Committee began their review of this recommendation in March and will continue to do so throughout the Spring.
I will be making a presentation to the School Board this evening, highlighting the path we intend to take in regards to evaluating what such an implementation will look like in Northfield. You can view my outline here.
While there are a plethora of items to consider in evaluating this kind of implementation, we also have the ability to learn from the school districts that have already implemented similar programs.
As part of our next steps, we plan to continue to gather feedback from stakeholders. This includes:
- Informational meetings for staff at individual schools
- Informational meetings for community members
- Focus groups with Middle and High School students
These meetings will be scheduled in the near future and announced on this blog and also emailed to District parents via our Skylert system.
Please return to this site to follow our progress during this discussion!
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