District 300 lays out plan for digital shift

By 2020, all students in Algonquin-based Community Unit District 300 will be equipped with a personal computing device, officials say.

The district will be deploying one-to-one electronic devices beginning in the 2016-17 school year for all students entering first through eighth grades, and adding a grade of high school in each ensuing year.

This digital shift is about more than just having technology.

"It's about creating a different atmosphere for students and not having a one-size-fits-all model of education," said Anne Pasco, district instructional technology coordinator. "Technology allows us to provide different avenues of learning for students. It allows for student choice."

Last school year, the district piloted iPads in limited one-to-one classrooms at Dundee-Crown, Hampshire and Jacobs high schools. Hampshire and Dundee-Crown students continue to use iPads, and Jacobs students are testing Chromebooks this year.

The district began investing heavily in SMART Boards and other classroom technology several years ago, and upgraded the technology infrastructure and connectivity within its high schools. Officials addressed the infrastructure and wireless needs at the elementary and middle schools last summer.

The one-to-one technology initiative will go hand-in-hand with a fully aligned digital curriculum and online supplements.

"One of the immense benefits of digital over print materials is, when you buy a book, you keep it for five years," Pasco said. "Information changes every day. When you get digital materials, publishers will update that information much more frequently. It changes how we function in our workplace. It changes how we function in our personal lives.

"This is just about bringing that into the classroom. It also allows us to teach students digital literacy. We can't really have those discussions, if we don't have some of those tools in the classroom."

Preschool and kindergarten students would receive iPads, which provide an intuitive interface and a wide selection of educational applications aligned to kindergarten readiness standards. The device also promotes fine and gross motor skills and development.

Students entering first through eighth grades would receive a Google Chromebook. They can use it to access digital learning content, including textbooks that will be phased in during the next three to four years, create class projects, collaborate with classmates, and complete homework assignments.

Students at Dundee-Crown, Hampshire, and Jacobs high schools can enroll in courses offering a 1:1 device deployment. New high school courses are reviewed and added each year.

Teacher training on this new technology is key to moving forward, Pasco said.

"We want teachers to feel comfortable ... we understand this is a big shift and we will support them as they go through this digital shift," Pasco said. "That needs to be continual support. This isn't something we expect them to go through overnight."

Teachers will receive mentoring and coaching all year long on using technology and tying it to high rigor and curriculum standards. A new District 300 University being launched this spring will offer some of those training opportunities, Pasco added.

Officials will be monitoring how the technology is being used in classrooms. Students also will be able to gauge their own progress in curriculum areas.

Another piece of technology integration is getting parents to buy in and involved with how their children will be learning when they bring devices home, Pasco said.

"It's a very slow process," she added.