Partnership for Powerful Learning

 

On April 20, the Forest Hills School Board approved the “Partnership for Powerful Learning”, a 7th pilot project giving students the opportunity to bring in personally owned devices. On April 21, we hit the ground running.

To help guide us, we administered a survey to all 6th grade parents. The majority of the questions centered on the following:

• Security and care of the devices

• Online safety

• Educational value

• Equity These questions would become the driving force behind all of our work.

We established an online presence as a place to house information and communicate details of the pilot project to parents and staff.

 http://fhsdppl.wetpaint.com

We installed additional access points and electrical outlets in the 7th grade rooms.

Cornerstone of the Pilot Project

The

Partnership

Students

Teachers

Parents

Students

Digital Citizenship Tool Box Student Voice

Schoology

CampL(Conversations About My Learning)

Teachers

Professional Development-f2f and online

• Personal Learning Networks • Characteristics of 21st Century Learning • 21st Century Skills • Instructional Design • Experienced Voices

• Technology Workshops • Parent Voice • CampL • Three evening sessions

• Q & A • Choosing a Device • Learning with Technology Showcase

Parents

Launch January 24

353 (Number of 7th graders who bring their own device to school) plus 160 (District devices dedicated to the 7th grade) equals 513 (Total number of devices) for 559 7th graders

The Devices

Students are bringing in tablet pcs, laptops, netbooks and a few iPads.

Seventh graders share the best parts of the pilot project:

.

   

Having  it  when  I  need  it.  

The  best  part  about  bringing  our  devices  to  school  is  seeing  how  the  learning  has  changed  and  how  much  more  kids  are  

involved  in  their  studies.  

I  have  all  of  my  documents  and  OneNote  notes  on  my  laptop  and  can  access  them  anytime.    I  also  like  that  I  can  quickly  email  

homework  to  my  teachers  and  not  have  to  worry  about  losing  hard  copy  homework  assignments.  

My  device  is  personalized  to  me.  

You  can  find  new  ways  to  learn.  

The  whole  new  access  to  technology  opens  so  many  new  ideas  and  doors  for  

creative  learning  and  projects.  

It’s  20  billion  times  faster  than  school  

computers.  

Seventh grade teachers share the best parts of the pilot project:

 I  have  totally  turned  my  

teaching  upside  down.    I  am  doing  more  preplanning  but  students  in  the  classroom  are  doing  more  exploring.  

 Student  engagement  and  interest  in  learning  has  

increased.  

 The  students  who  have  the  laptops  are  beginning  to  take  ownership  of  their  

learning.  

 It  has  changed  the  way  I  design  lessons  completely!    

 Students  are  eager  to  take  

notes  and  organize  information.  

 Students  with  organization  problems  are  much  less  likely  to  lose  things.      

 Students  can  communicate  ideas  more  easily  and  at  the  

same  time.  

Parents of seventh grade students share the best parts about the pilot project:

I  feel  technology  can  expand  access  to  every  field  of  study  and  is  a  tool  which  can  enhance  learning.    My  son  responds  in  a  very  positive  manner.    Ability  to  access  information  and  communicate  information  via  the  internet  touches  all  careers  now.  

After  participating  in  CampL  and  seeing  what  they  can  do  with  the  computers,  why  would  anyone  NOT  

participate  in  the  program?  

I’m  100%  for  laptops  for  every  student  and  wish  FH  would  hurry  and  solidify  this  for  high  school  students.  

 I  think  technology  skills  are  critical  as  well  as  being  able  to  work  cooperatively  with  others  all  over  the  world.    I  am  not  tech  savvy  enough  to  know  what  types  of  

technology  skills  our  kids  will  need  which  is  one  reason  I  am  pleased  with  the  pilot  

project.  

 Adaptability,  higher  order  thinking,  global  awareness,  and  sound  reasoning  are  all  21st  skills  that  are  critical  for  student  success.  

The most challenging part of the pilot project: • Fitting it into my locker • Learning new tools. • Remembering to charge it. • Keeping it from being a distraction. • The weight of my backpack. • Keeping it safe because I do 3 sports for Nagel and I need to

keep it as safe as possible. • Flash player because I have an iPad.