iPads for Students at Linus Pauling (1:World)

By Eric Beasley

It is exciting to announce that our district will be providing each student at Linus Pauling Middle School with an iPad beginning next school year.  This program is called 1:World… Connecting Every Child Every Day to the Future.  This past year, our school was part of a phase 1 pilot in Corvallis utilizing tablet technology to enhance learning.  In our four science classrooms, we implemented innovative resources via iPads along with proven instructional methods such as inquiry-based labs.  One of our math teachers also piloted a 1:1 (one device for one student) model to help support students make growth in meeting and exceeding standards.  It was exciting to observe this teacher instruct with technology and know in real time whether or not a concept was grasped during the lesson by the class of students.   Students with learning disabilities have also been working on targeted goals with technology tools that have helped us better individualize and engage our students.  While these classrooms have been more innovative and student-centered with technology in many respects, the role of the teacher has only been heightened.  Even with common standards, we need to able to differentiate and personalize learning in previously unimaginable ways.  Technology is helping our educators do just that! 

With excitement and new opportunities that technology brings, change also brings a varying degree of angst.  As a classroom teacher several years back, I remember experiencing a variety of changes in education.  Specifically with technology, I remember the day my overhead projector became obsolete.  For years I had relied upon transparency sheets and my collection of clear manipulatives to use with my overhead for subjects such as math.  I was certainly intrigued when this new document camera and digital projectors were purchased for our classrooms.  I was excited about new possibilities with digital technology, but it was hard to imagine my classroom without rolls of transparency film and leaving school daily without blue Vis-à-vis ink on my hand. 

After some time experimenting and training with the new digital tools, I was excited how the new technology tremendously enhanced learning in my classroom.  It was powerful to be able to take a students’ writing (with permission) and put it immediately under the document camera for the class to see as a positive model.  I was also able to show my students visual clips and images to help build their background knowledge and engage their attention.  I enjoyed the capability of modeling an art technique or visually displaying a unique science instrument as if I was a chef under a mirror on a live cooking show.  The research is clear about using multi-sensory learning approaches with children and technology and it was rewarding to teach in a way that connected my students to the larger world around them. 

At LPMS, the technologies I described are no longer cutting edge, but considered standard tools in classrooms.  Teachers have been effectively using document cameras, digital projectors, Smart Boards, and laptops to amplify learning for years.  We should celebrate these strides, but a new transformation is now needed in which the technology moves increasingly beyond the hands of teachers to our students.   Too often I hear frustration from staff that the computer labs and mobile labs are unavailable due to high demand or the reality of required annual assessments.  We don’t believe that technology alone is a silver bullet, but coupled with our creative and committed teachers, we will see positive results in our classrooms.  As an educator and Corvallis parent, I am thankful to be part of a district that is working to give our staff and students 21^st century skills and resources.  While technology plays an important role in today’s society, it is also important to know that we have proven approaches and resources in our classrooms, library, gyms, greenhouse, and other spaces that are not digital and will continue to be utilized at school.

Our first year pilot was successful in many respects, but we also learned many new things through the process.  One fact is that tablet devices are not ideal as a shared tool staying in classrooms and rotated between students.  There are tremendous advantages to leveraging the device with learning outside the classroom, organization, and increased individualization.

While it has been very positive to increase technology in the hands of our teachers, we need take the next step with our bottom line… our students.    Our students are going to be able to able to use technology to help with planning and organization.   There is great amount of work related to this important educational shift.  Our district has spent time visiting other schools and are actively planning  the many details inherent to moving to a 1:1 school.  We will be working with our staff and students upon returning from summer break.  We will provide opportunities for our families to learn more about the 1:World at our September curriculum night and our tentative plan is to distribute tablets in October.