eSchool News » eSchool of the Month

Why allow ed-tech access? ‘We owe it to our students’

eSchool News Staff — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 22:48:10 +0000

Unfettered access to technology can be frightening, Sheninger says—but ‘find a way to make it work.’

Technology can be intimidating, and even frightening—but Eric Sheninger, principal of New Jersey’s New Milford High School (NMHS), says that educators must overcome their fear of putting technology into students’ hands.

Through efforts to create a paperless environment, a bring-your-own-device initiative, and the use of social media, NMHS teachers and administrators are integrating technology into all aspects of the school day—and these efforts are paying off. For these reasons and others, we’ve chosen NMHS as our “eSchool of the Month” for November/December.

Here, Sheninger describes the school’s ed-tech accomplishments and the keys to its success. (Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for this award, and to read about past winners, go to http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How does your school use technology to advance learning?

Technology has been embraced as an essential tool in enhancing the learning experience. Teachers have enjoyed the resources, flexibility, autonomy, and professional development to effectively integrate a variety of tools.

With the support of central office and the IT department, the entire district has recently adopted Google Apps to improve collaboration and communication between all stakeholder groups. In math, document cameras record the teacher solving equations. Those mini-lessons are then uploaded to YouTube or Google Sites, where students can refer to them. Students in graphic arts use iMacs and Adobe software tools to create digital magazines, newsletters, and edit photos taken during our newly formed and extremely popular Digital Photography course.

Our Holocaust/Genocide Studies students routinely Skype with Holocaust survivors from around the world and with historians in Israel. When the students participate in the 10-day European Holocaust Study Tour, they actively reflect and share their experiences through a daily blog.

Our teachers in all disciplines regularly integrate a variety of Web 2.0 tools, such as Voicethread, Glogster, Poll Everywhere, Edmodo, Wordle, and Animoto. Over the past two years, we have moved from limited access to interactive whiteboards in classrooms to 15. The latest addition is a wireless IWB solution consisting of Apple TV, an HDMI projector, and an iPad.

Have you noticed an increase in student performance and/or motivation as a result?

New Milford High has become a role model for schools across the country on how to innovate with technology. We routinely host visitors who want to learn more about our use of social media, as well as our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative.

Since beginning to transform our school, we have experienced steady gains in standardized test scores (although they dropped a bit this year). Student motivation to learn has greatly increased, and students have referred to our BYOD initiative and our use of social media in the teaching and learning process as a privilege. Unleashing student creativity increases motivation.

NMHS students are afforded the opportunity to demonstrate conceptual understanding and apply what they have learned through the use of an array of tools. In essence, we are creating a learning culture that is more closely aligned with the 21^st-century workforce than that of an industrial-aged school house. Achievement can be measured quantitatively, and we have seen gains in state and national testing results such as the SAT and AP test scores. But our commitment to improving access to technology for faculty and students also makes for a better working and learning environment. That improves climate and culture, and that improves the world.

How do you use technology to streamline school administration and aid in decision-making? What have been the results?

Massachusetts district’s advice: Focus on learning, not technology

eSchool News Staff — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:13:12 +0000

“Once the students stop producing outputs of knowledge for only the teacher, their level of engagement and commitment to excellence increase dramatically,” Florek said.

Educators and administrators in the Hampshire Regional School District in Massachusetts try to avoid discussing technology—instead, they aim for technology to integrate seamlessly with classroom instruction and administrative processes.

With successful initiatives such as a lease-to-own laptop program and partnerships with local colleges to offer graduate credit for professional development, the Hampshire Regional School District is forging ahead in its goal of making technology an integral part of all operations—and for this reason, we’ve chosen the district as our “eSchools of the Month” for October.

Here, IT Director Kim Florek discusses some of the district’s most important goals—and how technology is helping the district achieve them. (Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, go to http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How do you use technology to advance student learning?

We are building 21^st-century learning environments in all of our buildings. Our goal is not to talk about technology, but to talk about how we can best provide access to resources that enhance the curriculum, while at the same time engaging our students by using modern-day tools. Over the course of several years, we have upgraded our bandwidth, invested in our wireless infrastructure, outfitted most of our classrooms with Epson interactive projectors, and installed ELMO and Avery document cameras. We’ve also moved away from the traditional computer lab and have been outfitting our schools with mobile Apple Mac laptop carts and iPods/iPads. Several years ago, we also initiated a lease-to-own laptop program for middle and high school families in our district that has been very successful.

Equipment alone does not enhance student outcomes. The key to using what we have to enhance learning is rooted in teacher professional development (PD). Over the years, we have been committed to providing rich PD opportunities for our staff. In fact, several times we have partnered with higher education to offer graduate credits for our teacher PD, as well as an actual master’s program in technology.

While we are seeing an increase in the ways teachers are using technology to teach the curriculum, we are also seeing more students using technology to express the curriculum. One such example is a middle school cross-curricular unit called “Compassionate Math,” in which students combine mathematical statistics with a worthy third-world cause to come up with a persuasive advertising campaign. Students work in groups using Macintosh laptops to research a third-world country. They then use Microsoft Word to record facts and create scripts; use Excel to input data to create persuasive charts; and create photos, videos, and audio that are imported into a PowerPoint presentation, along with GPS data and map overlays. The teachers work with the library media specialist, who assists students in validating internet research, proper citation, and the technology being used. At the end of the project, students present their advertising campaign throughout the day in the library media center, where faculty and staff come by to listen.

Have you noticed an increase in student performance and/or motivation as a result of this technology use? If so, how?

Arkansas district knows how to make students engaged and teachers tech-savvy

eSchool News Staff — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 19:44:14 +0000

The biggest challenge has been finding the time to train teachers and reinforce what they have learned with reliable support.

Arkansas’ Osceola School District has students use Renaissance Learning’s NEO—a low-cost, battery-powered keyboard with word processing and quizzing capabilities—for their writing projects and Wii gaming systems for physical education. The district provides teachers with paid training for any technology that is implemented and follows up with training throughout the year. Thanks to the use of these and other resources, participation in phys-ed classes has increased—and students are more engaged in and connected to school activities.

For these reasons and more, we’ve chosen Osceola School District as our “eSchool of the Month” for September. Here, Instructional Technology Director Shantele Raper discusses the district’s ed-tech accomplishments and the keys to its success.

(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, go to http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How do you use technology to advance student learning?

The Osceola School District is dedicated to placing technology in the hands of students and teachers. Technology can be found in every classroom with SMART Boards, NEOs, iPods, student computers, laptop carts, Wii entertainment systems, and a variety of applications to promote student achievement.

Kindergarten through eighth-grade students visit computer labs to work in SkillsTutor and Classworks. The lessons are aligned by the core teachers to reinforce the learning objectives taking place in the classroom, or as our Response to Intervention (RtI) activities. Kindergarten students have begun taking the Northwest Education Association’s Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) computer-adaptive test this year, which gives us data to help teachers create lessons that target students’ individual needs. First through 12^th-grade students have access to Renaissance Learning NEOs, where they can work on MathFacts in a Flash, Accelerated Reading, Accelerated Math, KeyWords, and collaborative writing.

Have you noticed an increase in student performance and/or motivation as a result of this technology use? If so, how?

As digital learners, our students are always motivated by the use of technology. We always see an increase in student participation with the use of technology. For example, we see an increase in writing content when students use NEOs for their writing samples. Another example is the amount of participation in physical education with the use of Wiis. Students who would rather get a zero than participate are actually up and moving with the Wii systems. Of course, students are always engaged with the use of iPods. Using apps and flashcards that correlate with textbooks makes an exciting connection for students.

How do you use technology to streamline school administration and aid in decision-making? To what effect?

The most common tool used in decision making is usage reports from all of our technology resources. We are able to see what teachers are using, how much time students are spending using the resources, and, in many cases, the actual student performance data. This process has given our teachers an enormous amount of student data that can help them see the bigger picture. The most recent addition to our technology resources is Teachscape, which is a teacher observation resource that allows administrators to make better-informed decisions about professional development needs.

A big ‘hoo-ah’ to Fort Huachuca schools

eSchool News Staff — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:06:23 +0000

Arizona’s Fort Huachuca School District has teachers create personalized staff development plans around technology each year, and a tech integration specialist program at each school is evaluated frequently for success. Thanks to the use of students response systems and a one-to-one iPad 2 initiative, among other programs, students are more engaged in classroom activities and view learning with new perspectives.

For these reasons and more, we’ve chosen Fort Huachuca School District as our “eSchool of the Month” for June. Here, Superintendent Ronda L. Frueauff discusses the district’s ed-tech accomplishments and the keys to its success.

(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, go to http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How do you use technology to advance student learning?

We’ve focused on using technology and embedding it into our instructional programs for 10 years. The first steps we took included creating the infrastructure to increase access to technology resources for students and staff. That is an ongoing process in the district, which presently includes fiber and T-I connections in all 3 buildings. We’re also building a new high-tech middle school (with a STEM focus), where we’ll use cloud computing to support a one-to-one computing initiative using iPad 2 tablets for all students and staff members.

The other area receiving immediate attention is staff professional development. Each staff member creates a nine-hour technology professional development plan each year. Students use various software programs to assist with learning: Study Island, Skills Tutor, SOAR, STAR Reading and Math, STAR Enterprise, Discovery Science, JASON Project, and more. Teachers use the software for introducing content knowledge, reinforcement and practice, and for remediation/enrichment activities.

Have you noticed an increase in student performance and/or motivation as a result of this technology use? If so, how?

The one-to-one computing initiative is being piloted in the old school in preparation for the new school to open in August, and the students are very engaged. The apps we have purchased let the students access information more readily and help them ratchet up the quality of research they are doing for projects and activities. The incorporation of SMART Board technologies into the K-5 program has resulted in increased student achievement and student engagement. The middle school programs use Promethean ActivBoards, and the depth of curricular enhancement and enrichment offered at that level is phenomenal. Student responders are used at all levels in grades 3-8 to encourage active participation by the students as they are learning.

How do you use technology to streamline school administration and aid in decision-making? To what effect?

The teachers all use the teacher pages and the parent portal of PowerSchool to communicate class expectations and grading practices, as well as lesson components. This parent communication component has increased parent connections with the school and teachers. PowerSchool also has increased the overall efficiency of the school district staff with regard to student data management. Clerical staff, as well as attendance clerks, use this software to manage attendance data, report cards, and scheduling.

In the new middle school, highly sustainable and energy-efficient components are being placed in the school to help custodial and maintenance staff. Additionally, an energy dashboard will monitor energy use, and the students can use the data for projects and inquiry-based learning activities. Comparative analysis will be possible for each instructional pod in the building, so we can focus on energy conservation at the school level.

Personalized instruction provides HOPE to Colorado students

eSchool News Staff — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:02:24 +0000

HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-Op uses an online curriculum supported by face-to-face instruction.

HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-Op in Colorado’s Douglas County has used a blend of online and face-to-face learning to deliver highly individualized instruction to students, many of whom entered the school at risk of failing. The school’s data-driven approach allows teachers to target instruction to meet each student’s unique needs. This research-based method has helped lower disciplinary problems while increasing student performance on state assessments.

For these reasons, we’ve chosen HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-Op as our “eSchool of the Month” for May. Here, Heather O’Mara, HOPE’s chief executive director, reveals some of the school’s successes and key practices.

(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, go to: http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How does your school use technology to advance student learning?

HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-Op (HOPE) is a public, free, nonprofit K-12 charter school that uses an online curriculum, supported by face-to-face instruction, to increase mastery and learning outcomes for our students. HOPE’s use of technology supports, but does not supplant, high-quality instruction by teachers. At HOPE, technology is a tool to enable individualized learning plans and teaching. By incorporating technology-based curriculum and assessments, teacher instruction is targeted to improve each student’s performance.

HOPE’s use of technology allows teachers to identify the proficiency of each student by grade and subject. From that initial assessment, an individual learning plan is designed to put the student on track for success. The online curriculum benchmarks the progress students make with their plans so that a teacher may easily monitor students’ progress and adjust their learning plans to suit student abilities.

In grades K-12, we use CompassLearning’s Odyssey curriculum, as well as A+ curriculum from American Education Corp. We have seen great success with this research-based curriculum that incorporates a high level of interactivity, audio and video, colorful animation, and engaging graphics. Our rigorous curriculum meets both state and federal standards. Additionally, we incorporate several supplemental programs, including My Reading Coach, Reading Plus, Lexia, Rosetta Stone, and Math HELP to increase student comprehension. Formative and summative assessments such as DIBELS, Acuity, and Accuplacer are used to target instruction to each student’s specific needs.

In the summer of 2011, HOPE’s student services team began to use GoogleDocs to review student discipline and attendance issues prior to enrollment. This practice led to faster response times and increased efficiency across the student services and admissions departments during a busy enrollment season.

Virginia high school uses technology to increase learning time, boost graduation rates

eSchool News Staff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:10:16 +0000

Educators aim to extend learning time and boost graduation rates.

T.C. Williams High School, in Virginia’s Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS), uses technology to create online and blended-learning environments that provide extra support to students who need it. Two of the school’s primary goals are to extend the amount of learning time and ensure that more students graduate—and early results from these programs are encouraging.

For these reasons, we’ve chosen T.C. Williams as our “eSchool of the Month” for April. Here, Mary Fluharty, the school’s online learning coordinator, describes some of her school’s accomplishments—and the challenges it overcame in the process.
(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, go to: http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How do you use technology to advance student learning?

As our school goes through the transformation process, we have become recommitted to engaging students through the integration of technology to increase and sustain student learning. In our 3,000-student high school, we have approximately 10 percent of the student population taking courses online using K12/Aventa and 100 percent of the students learning in a blended learning environment via Blackboard.
Online courses have been integrated into the school day for some students and are helping to meet some of the primary goals of the T.C. Transformation project: to extend learning time and to increase graduation rates. In addition to using Blackboard, our classroom teachers use DyKnow software to manage and monitor student laptop use, SMART Sync to engage students and increase data-driven instruction, and BrainFuse online tutoring that gives students access to a live tutor 24-7 via an online chatroom, to name just a few.
Grant monies were used to roll out the ACPS Academic Access resource that connects students and families to the tools they need to help their students succeed. Academic Access can be used to retrieve course content, grades, assignments, and online tutoring. Students and parents can also view real-time grades, schedules, and attendance data—all designed to increase engagement in academic and school life.

How do you use technology to streamline school administration and aid in decision-making?

T.C. Williams administrators use iPads to collect data on curriculum implementation during walk-throughs and for formal observations. They use Google Docs to collaborate and to collect and analyze data using Google forms. They use Blackboard surveys and discussion boards to reach the staff and students to ask for feedback and suggestions on how systemic improvements can be made. Administrators also use the Blackboard Journal feature a for creating professional learning plans. All this is done to meet our goal of improving instruction and to build relationships with staff and students.

Technology broadens students’ learning opportunities at South Johnston High School

eSchool News Staff — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:03:28 +0000

SJHS students work in the school's Microsoft IT Academy Lab.

South Johnston High School in North Carolina’s Johnston County Schools recently started a one-to-one laptop program for freshmen, which has extended their learning beyond the traditional school day, and has overcome the challenge of an older building to deliver wireless internet access throughout the school.

Students are taking more Advanced Placement classes online, taking advantage of opportunities that didn’t exist before—and school leaders have saved money by moving to online assessments.

For these reasons and others, we’ve chosen South Johnston High School as our “eSchool of the Month” for March. Here, school technology facilitator Bennett Jones describes some of the school’s ed-tech accomplishments and its keys to success.

(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, click here.)

How do you use technology to advance student learning?

This year, we implemented our Freshman Academy, a one-to-one laptop initiative where we distributed laptops to our more than 300 freshmen. We also have gone completely wireless, allowing our freshmen to use the laptops throughout the campus and to be able to use them at home, where many of our students do not have computers. Furthermore, we have purchased and installed 13 SMART Boards, bringing our total in the school to 19. Finally, we have been able to purchase 25 iPads to create a lab where students and teachers can use apps and other programs to enhance learning, especially for our exceptional children’s department.

Have you noticed an increase in student performance and/or motivation as a result?

Absolutely. Our school is relatively old (built in 1969), and up until just a couple of years ago, there was barely a working computer in each classroom. Now, as a result of our dedication to technology and electronic instruction, our student morale and performance have increased. In fact, we were the only high school in our district to be named a North Carolina School of Distinction by achieving high growth, and test scores in all but one area increased last year. Our dropout rate is down, and we had more than a 100-percent growth in the number of students taking online courses.

How do you use technology to streamline school administration and aid in decision-making?

We use GoogleDocs for record keeping in teacher learning communities and during our intervention period that we have every day. All of our administrators are equipped with iPads to assist in quick fact-checking and to use the online observation system. Our teachers are receiving laptops for use during faculty meetings, which will enable them to enter input in GoogleDocs in real time to share ideas and make comments. Finally, we have been able to create videos using Discovery Education streaming and Windows Movie Maker to share with our middle schools and other departments in the district.

Have you realized an increase in efficiency, a savings in administrative costs, or some other tangible benefits as a result of this technology use?

Kentucky district’s ed-tech advice: Involve all stakeholders in planning

eSchool News Staff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:00:45 +0000

The district’s focus on ed-tech accessibility has helped it become a leader in the state of Kentucky and nationwide.

Fort Thomas Independent Schools in Kentucky has made it a priority to improve building security and efficiency, as well as student engagement and achievement, through the judicious use of technology.

This district of 2,600 students ensures adequate time for teacher professional development so they learn to become coaches and facilitators of student learning rather than simply lecturing all day, and full wireless coverage and a “bring your own device” pilot project have helped educators leverage technology’s power to enhance instruction.

The district’s focus on ed-tech accessibility has helped it become a leader in the state of Kentucky and nationwide, with 94 percent of its students from the Class of 2010 going on to college.

For these reasons, we’ve chosen Fort Thomas Independent Schools as our “eSchool District of the Month” for January. Here, Diana M. McGhee, the district’s director of technology and information, describes some of its ed-tech accomplishments and its keys to success.

(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, go to http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How do you use technology to advance student learning?

The vision of the Fort Thomas Independent Schools is to create a technological environment that will enable all students to meet state-mandated goals and objectives, to expand upon the accepted curriculum, and to allow students to enrich their educational experiences. To that end, we begin technology instruction in kindergarten and increase time and skills as the students age. Each elementary school uses Renaissance Place, Successmaker, Everyday Math, and other software programs. All schools use Encyclopedia Britannica and Follett’s Destiny Library Management program.

Have you noticed an increase in student performance and/or motivation as a result of this technology use?

When students are actively engaged in their learning, motivation does increase. We have increased our use of mobile computing and have found that student motivation has increased as well.

How do you use technology to streamline school administration and aid in decision-making? What tangible benefits have resulted?

District-created app improves the home-school connection

eSchool News Staff — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:59:33 +0000

The eBackpack was developed using Microsoft SharePoint as the content management system.

Missouri’s Rockwood School District (RSD) aims to have all district parents as involved in their children’s education as possible. Toward that end, the district has developed a unique communications application that gives parents up-to-the-minute information about school events, as well as important district news, resources, and principal blogs.

For creating this innovative application, we’ve chosen the Rockwood School District as our “eSchool of the Month” for November/December. Here, Karl Weinrich, the district’s senior webmaster, describes the project and its results.

(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, go to: http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How did Rockwood’s eBackpack initiative come about?

In an effort to centralize the location of important information on school websites, as well as shift away from printed fliers in students’ backpacks, the district began researching alternative methods to share this information with families. Because 92.3 percent of Rockwood families have access to the internet (according to a 2010 survey), RSD’s communications department decided to develop a web-based solution to keep parents in the communication loop.

Parents frequently commented that they appreciated the breadth of information found on school websites, but they had difficulty navigating the websites to find what they were looking for. The eBackpack, a one-stop-shop for school news and information, was created in response to this need.

RSD uses the eBackpack as a comprehensive approach to communications and parent involvement, which promotes student learning. The eBackpack was developed using Microsoft SharePoint as the content management system. The Rockwood mobile app, a feature of the eBackpack, connects parents to school and classroom news and information. The app is available to parents through the iTunes App Store, Google’s Android Market, and BlackBerry’s App World.

Prior to implementing the eBackpack, RSD sent information through a once-a-month newsletter eMailed to parents or sent home with students. With the implementation of the eBackpack, schools can send up-to-date news, which includes principals’ blogs, a “Friday Folder” system, a community resource center, announcements, a calendar, a photo gallery, and an AlertNow phone/eMail retrieval system. The Rockwood App offers immediate access for parents to view all of the above items on their smart phones.

Central High makes student achievement, tech access its top priorities

eSchool News Staff — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:26:08 +0000

Central High's best ed-tech advice? "Ensure that everything you do is student-centered."

Philadelphia’s Central High School focuses on making its technology initiatives student-centered, with an emphasis on boosting achievement—and this focus has paid off in a big way.

Administrators, teachers, students, and parents are able to able to access grades, news, and pertinent communications instantly, and students have access to a wide range of applications to advance their learning. By strengthening the home-school connection, Central High is enhancing students’ chances of success.

For these reasons, Central High was chosen as our “eSchool of the Month” for October. Here, Brian Howland, a teacher and technology committee member, describes some of the school’s accomplishments and its keys to success.

(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, and to read about past winners, go to: http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.)

How does your school use technology to advance student learning?

Central High School uses in-school wired and wireless networks on iMacs and PCs. Our website, Centralhigh.net, based on the Edline platform, is used by administrators, faculty, students, parents, and alumni. Teachers have individual class pages; all sports teams and clubs have pages.

Integrated throughout are Grades (an application from EasyGradePro Web), interim reporting, calendars, school communications, and more.

We have five servers, five computer labs, and several smaller clustered labs, all using iMacs. We use TurnItIn plagiarism detection software, subscription-based research databases, and Follett Software’s Destiny online card catalog.

The purpose of technology at Central High is to serve the school community, to break down communication barriers between home and school, and to get as much information to the right people in the right format at the right time.