iPad initiative in Corvallis KEZI Article

CORVALLIS, Ore. — It is a big year for three schools in the Corvallis School District, where every single student will have access to his or her own iPad.

It’s out with the old technology, and in with the new as the Corvallis School District makes plans to move forward with technology. Linus Pauling Middle School, Cheldelin Middle, and Mountain View Elementary are all going 1:1 this year. One-to-one, meaning one Apple iPad for every student.

“We’re really excited,” said Superintendent Erin Prince. “We have a new initiative called One to World.”

One to World: connecting every child, every day, to the future.

Dr. Erin Prince says it’s about opening the classroom doors to the world through the Internet and the immediate resources that iPads provide.

“This is not about the gadget,” Prince said. “It’s about changing the teaching and learning for our teachers and students. And about closing the opportunity gap.”

Prince says 275  kids in the district are homeless and do not have the same access to technology as other students.

“The iPads create an opportunity to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots,” Prince said.

The district says the benefits of the iPads outweigh the cost – a sum of $1 million per year to maintain. But Prince says the district has been able to shift funds in order to purchase the tablets.

“The funds are not coming away from the teachers, but they’re funds we would normally use for other materials,” Prince said.

She says with iPads, the district will save a huge sum on items such as computers, laptops, textbooks, and paper materials.

So why iPads? Why not a different type of tablet?

“We like the iPads because of the immediate connectivity,” Prince said. “But there’s the ability with iTunes University and iBooks to create curriculum. We’ll have access to free resources that have been built by professors across the country, teachers, and students.”

The district says it spent a great deal of time looking at different tablets and laptops, but decided the iPad was the best route. Prince says the district has set up a management system on the devices, so teachers can lock students into a particular app during class. The district is also able to block students from downloading particular apps on their iPads.

Administrators say despite the new wave of technology, the school libraries aren’t going anywhere. Some textbooks might disappear in order for teachers to use more current tools online, but novels and other book resources will still be available in the schools.

“I know there might be some fear that kids sitting under a tree reading a book – that those days are over,” said Assistant Superintendent Kevin Bogartin. “I don’t think those days are over, but I think maybe the days of the huge psychology textbook that you might lug around – those might be over.”

Prince says the middle schoolers will be able to take their iPads home with them to use after school. Though only three schools have full implementation of iPads, she says there are other departments within the district that have the tablets already. She says this is just the first phase of the iPad rollout, and students at all other schools can expect to see the tablets soon.

“We hope to scale this project to include the whole district by next year,” Prince said.

Because this is the first huge iPad distribution within the district, Prince says there will be challenges. Not all teachers know how to use the iPads yet, but the district is hosting workshops next week to get everyone on board.

“If we wait for the adults to be ready with our technology, it will never happen. And we don’t have time to wait.”

Welcome Back!!!! by Eric Beasley

Dear Pauling Pride Community,

Welcome back to an exciting 2013-14 school year at Linus Pauling Middle School! 

Thank you for taking the time to read through the important information in this newsletter and partnering with us in preparing for the school year ahead.  I thoroughly enjoy how each fall brings a fresh start and new opportunity to collaboratively build our culture at LPMS.  If you are a new family to LPMS, welcome!      

On a personal note, I enjoyed my favorite northwest summer activity of backpacking in July!  Observing my passion for the outdoors in recent years, my three daughters have been asking when they could come along on a trip.  With optimism and a little trepidation, we headed to beautiful Pamelia Lake near Mount Jefferson.  The journey up the trail for my girls (ages 7, 5, and 3) was challenging, but with unwavering belief, training with hikes around town, regular breaks, and anticipation of a cool lake and yummy s’mores, we made it.  

In many ways, a school year is similar to a backpacking trip.  We have to plan carefully, train, make sure we have the right equipment, learn from our mistakes, work together to share the load, and celebrate our successes.  I’m already looking forward to our next trip! 

During the month of August, we have been making plans centered on our greatest priority at LPMS, which is safety.  While this includes various drills such as how to exit the building in an emergency, at LPMS we are passionately pursuing a broader definition where each of our students and staff are valued in a caring climate.  Last year we launched a weekly advisory program called Pride Period with student safety as the key focus.  This year our Pride Period will meet on Fridays to connect, learn, and grow.  Also as part of our Pride Period, school-wide we will be reading an award-winning book called Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman.  The book emphasizes how our uniqueness enhances the important role each of us plays in building a positive and caring community.   

Our school is proud to host programs that support the development of our students.  We have added fall cross-country as a school sponsored sport.  Our music and art programs continue to provide enriching opportunities.  In June, we learned that our Spanish Dual Immersion program has been formally recognized by Spain’s Ministry of Culture and Education as an International Spanish Academy (ISA).  Great job DI team!  Both new beginnings and rich traditions would not be possible without our talented and hardworking staff coupled with the tremendous support of our Corvallis community.

At LPMS, we continue to focus on engaging our students in a rigorous and relevant curriculum.  With support from the district and the generosity of LPMS families through the Make Your Mark campaign, we have made great strides in recent years to add teaching and learning tools to increase student achievement.  This year, the school district will be providing an ipad for each student at LPMS.  We are excited to improve access to technology for all our students, leverage 21^st century digital resources, and increase individualization and differentiation.

We will be having a Linus Pauling campus beautification work day on Saturday, August 17^th from 9:00 to 11:30 am.  We will meet in front of the school at the main entrance.  I hope you can join us with your work gloves!  Also, mark your calendar for Friday, August 23^rd when I will be hosting a coffee chat from 9:15 to 10:30 am in the LPMS library.  This will be a great opportunity to meet our new assistant principal, Ms. Leslie Sheldon.  I look forward to hearing about your adventures of summer break when you return in August to pick up your schedule! 

Go Pride and Go Beavs!

-Eric

edutopia.org http://www.eduto pia.org/blog/dispelling-o ne-to -one-myths

by Andrew-Marcinek

Dispelling the Myths About 1:1 Environments

In my last post, I shared what we learned last year during our 1:1 iPad and Google Apps for Education

launches. In this post, I’d like to dispel myths about 1:1 environments. My assertions are not based on

opinion, but on evidence directly observed in secondary classrooms at Burlington High School and from the students that traverse these halls daily. Our school launched 1,000-plus iPads last year, and we're starting our second year with the device in the hands of all students and teachers.

Myth 1: The Digital Generation Needs Technology

False. Many talking heads, whether on Twitter or at conferences, feel the need to validate technology

integration by deeming it necessary for the next phase of students' lives. While I do believe that technology integration should be part of the educational context, this assertion should not be the reason to incorporate devices and applications into your curriculum. For many students, they will travel off to college, sit in a giant auditorium and listen to lectures. Most of their assessments will be done on Scantron forms and offer no project-based alternative. The most technology that students will encounter in college will be email, word processing (either MS Office or Google Docs), and social media outlets for socializing.  I did not pull this evidence out of thin air. Many students who return from top colleges and universities will list the three technology uses above. They will also detail the limited engagement they encounter in many of their classes. I'm not trying to debate the need for technology integration, but simply stating that it's irresponsible to claim the digital generation "needs" technology.  I like to quote Chris Lehman anytime technology integration comes up. Chris said, "Technology should be like oxygen: ubiquitous, necessary and invisible." Technology should not stand out; it should simply blend with dynamic teachers and the engaging curriculum they design. To validate technology integration simply because this generation gets it and needs it is a thin assertion. In fact, many students deemed "digital natives" prefer analog formats for learning and organizing.  Integrate technology because you know it is purposeful and helps create engaging learning environments for students.

Myth 2: The iPad is Simply a Tool

False. I recently read a post about an iPad being compared to one of the simplest tools, a hammer.

Comparing an iPad to a hammer is a naive way of thinking. The iPad, along with laptops, Chromebooks and other tablet options, all boast advanced operating systems with intuitive design. Despite their intuitive design, tasks as simple as taking notes and saving to the cloud can be a struggle f or many in the "digital generation." Don't assume the student body will simply adapt to the device and the applications because they fall under the age of 20. Creating a 1:1 environment takes dedicated professional development for staff, parents and the community, as well as the students who will be using it daily.  When I presented this analogy to one of my help desk students, Hannah Lienhard, she responded by saying:  I agree that both the iPad and the hammer occupy a finite space physically. Yet this analogy fail to see the potential of this particular tool. Yes, the iPad is just a tool. But it is a tool unlike any before it. It does a job, sure, but it goes a step beyond the task at hand by incorporating nextlevel thought. That's what has been given to us. A tool that is made for more than one simple

task.

Myth 3: It's Not a Distraction

False. And I believed this statement for a while and felt that unimaginative teaching was at fault, but this is not the case.  Plus, teachers deserve more credit for consistently trying to create engaging classrooms with the resources they have available in a variety of contexts. When I asked a few students if they were distracted by the iPad, they paused to consider the question, and then answered.

While they said it wasn't any different than looking out of a window or doodling in the margins of a

notebook, the device presented a need for added self-control. One student mentioned his grades started

slipping, and he realized that it was the result of added stimulus in the app store. This student realized his fault and soon deleted many of the gaming apps. He also mentioned that the initial appeal of the device and games wore off . While the transition didn't take place overnight, this student soon realized the potential for learning and organizing with the iPad. This statement shouldn't serve as leverage for not integrating iPads or any device into your school, but simply to help you realize that, for some students, technology integration will present a challenge to focus.  While distractions in the classroom are nothing new, they are enhanced f or some students as a result of technology devices. To say that a device such as the iPad is not distracting is silly. However, it takes time and understanding by the students to realize what they've been given. BHS Senior Tyler Desharnais noted, "Once the novelty of playing games wears off , you realize that you have a pretty dynamic catalyst for learning in your hands."

Myth 4: Creating or Purchasing Textbooks for the iPad is a Grand Innovation

In my last post, I mentioned that we set out to create our own in-house textbook alternative. I also

mentioned this became a monumental hill for our staf f to climb. Also, the iTunes U options were not

something we wanted to add to our budget. Launching a 1:1 initiative to simply add a 19th century tool on a 21st century device is not changing or innovating teaching and learning. It's stale practice.

The solution: Net Texts. Now, I know I mentioned them in my last post and just name-dropped again, but I am not selling anything. I'm simply sharing a useful alternative to the standard textbook. Net Texts gives teachers a web-based application f or uploading a variety of content that will sync with an iPad app students can use to download their course materials. Teachers can update their course app as needed, and it will sync automatically with the students' iPad. This application offers our teachers and students a clean, easy-to use alternative to a textbook and allows f or more autonomy in creating rich, engaging classroom content that can change with the times.

Myth 5: Going 1:1 with iPads Teaches One Product

False. Many times our EdTech team has been accused of being Apple fanboys and fangirls. While we love Apple design and enjoy the ease of its system, we are not teaching a brand. Our students are learning how to use a device with an advanced operating system that assists with organizing, accessing data in the cloud, connecting and sharing. These skills are more than just device-agnostic. They teach students how to organize their educational work flow in a 21st century context. Many of the applications we suggest that students use are not limited to the iPad. If we decided to eliminate

iPads tomorrow and switch to Chromebooks, our students could easily adjust to this transition. Students

use Google Drive, Dropbox, and Notability as their primary workflow and organizational apps.  

Some may strongly disagree with the myth-busting mentioned above, but the evidence posted is not my

opinion. As stated before, this evidence comes from my daily interaction with students and teachers working and learning in a 1:1 iPad Environment. I am not trying to promote or sell anything, simply to eliminate some of the static and white noise that is amplified on Twitter and various conferences throughout the year. I appreciate comments and hope we can continue the conversation about technology integration and how it affects learning.  This blog is part of a series sponsored by Autodesk.

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