Innovate to Educate Entry

Saint Viator High School

Eileen Manno, Principal

What innovative technology initiative or project are you most proud of, and how has it improved teaching and learning in your school/district?

The flipped classroom is the innovative technology initiative that has benefitted our 1:1 environment at Saint Viator High School. This model flips the cycle of acquiring knowledge and applying it. In the traditional model, students would come to class and sit for a 45-minute lecture and take notes. Then the follow-up to that would be done at home,whether it was a handout or a summary write-up. Homework has become classwork, students have the opportunity to question and review information with the teacher. We have seen a dramatic increase in AP scores where teachers are using the flipped classroom.

What were some of the biggest challenges to your initiative, and how did you meet those challenges?

There were a number of challenges to the implementation of our iPad initiative. First we had to determine what device we would use in our building. A committee was formed of teachers, parents and administrators; after researching various products the iPad was chosen. Next we spent a year evaluating our infrastructure; we hired 3 different companies to assess our needs. We then implemented the suggested changes. Training our faculty became the next biggest hurdle. We spent a year having our faculty use an iPad on an experimental basis. During that year we had 5 in-services geared to integrating technology into the classroom. We then hired an instructional technology coordinator who every Tuesday conducts training for the faculty after we launched the 1:1 program. In addition, we had to figure how our parents were going to pay for the iPads. In the end, the iPad paid for themselves in the first year. Every teacher was asked to find textbooks available on the iPad. Our textbook costs went from over $1000 to $100 in the first year. Parents were actually saving money through the implementation of the 1:1 program.

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What are the three biggest components that need to be in place for tech innovation to succeed are:

	Infrastructure should exceed expectations
	Training/professional development of instructors
	1:1 devices and access to computer at home

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