Tech Committee Catch Up

As I visited my blog this morning I figured out that it was woefully out of date and I needed to get it caught up. Since my last post on 8/10/09, the Technology Committee has met twice. Both meetings were well attended. This Monday, 10/26, the Committee had a lengthy discussion about making a proposal to the school board for a technology initiative. There are 4 main parts to this initiative.

1. 1 to 1 Laptops for students grades 9-12 (24/7)
2. 1 to 1 Laptops for staff grades 7 - 12
3. Interactive technologies for classrooms K-12
4. Professional development for implementation of this plan

The 1 to 1 laptop program is something the Earlham School District has been researching for some time now. The committee believes that there are 4 reasons to implement such a program.

1. Options for learning - student engagement. Laptop classes tend to be more active learning environments, with students computing skills showing in their finished assignments/tests/projects. Laptop students tend to be more attentive and interested in learning.
2. Employability of students - Economic flexibility when looking for jobs. The idea of the computer being embedded into everyday life activities - preparing students for life after high school. Laptop students demonstrate superior writing skills and have two seemingly important advantages over Laptop students. One is that their teachers placed greater emphasis on research and problem-solving tasks. Second, Laptop students have greater accessibility to and better skills at using application software geared to solving open-ended learning problems. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)
3. Equity - students 9-12 would have equal access to the technology.In the Year 1 evaluation of the program results indicated greater uses in the Laptop classes of student-centered teaching strategies, such as project-based learning independent inquiry/research, teacher as coach/facilitator, and cooperative learning. Overall, the Laptop classes Were "busier" and more active learning environments. Research suggests that most students already own and use digital tools on a daily basis for their educational, social and personal needs
4. Options for assessment - teachers would be able to explore assessment options beyond the traditional.

While 1 to 1 makes up a majority of the budget, there are other things to consider as well. The committee feels that it is important for the whole school - classrooms PK-12 should benefit from the initiative. Some of this will be through a trickle down effect from new computers, the installation of interactive white boards, LCD projection equipment, and sound amplification systems would be other areas of spending, and perhaps the most important aspect of this - professional development.

The Technology Committee will be presenting to the board this evening, 10/29 at the regular board meeting. Attend if you can!

David put together a great presentation for the School board. I have posted it on my school site and you can download it there.