Teacher Laptops
Prior to the holiday break the technology department finished deploying the bond issue laptops to our teaching staff. To reiterate what was covered in an earlier DSAT newsletter, these laptops did not replace the desktop computers in classrooms that are connected to projectors, SMART boards, document cameras, etc. Due to the wide range and age of the aforementioned equipment, there wasn’t a way to integrate laptops with ease to our teachers without causing problematic glitches, errors, blue screens, crashes, etc.
The long-range plan still remains to eventually remove the old classroom desktop computers at a time that we can begin to replacing the aging projectors, SMART boards, document cameras, etc. with equipment that supports wireless connectivity in a standardized manor that allows our teachers to move between rooms and buildings without the need for special software, configurations, etc.
In the mean-time, since the laptops have been deployed, our teaching staff have begun utilizing the flexibility of their laptops as supplemental technology in the classroom (attendance, gradebook, resources), for staff meetings, professional development, PLC meetings, etc.
Technology Visioning
In your previous newsletter we informed DSAT that both our Administrative leadership team and Instructional Technology team had begun some technology visioning work back in October with Dr. Tara Nattrass, Education Strategist from Dell Technologies. The initial meetings with Dr. Nattrass allowed our teams to look at some ways in which schools are shifting learning experiences and the role that technology plays in those shifts.
The team defined five key vision elements:
1. Individualized instruction – personalized to address student interest and needs
2. Flexible seating
3. Collaborative learning environments
4. Access to district technology in all classes
5. Preparation for college and career – ensuring students are able to think critically and creatively, communicate, and collaborate at high levels while providing depth of content knowledge.
Since our last DSAT meeting, both the Administrative leadership team and Instructional Technology team had an opportunity to explore resources as they relate to each of those five key vision elements above along with “what it looks like” in practice. The Administrative team created long and short-term goals to see how we can make some of these vision elements a reality within their buildings and the district as a whole. Our Instructional Technology team will be going through a similar exercise during it’s next meeting on February 4, 2020. The teams will then look for commonalities between the short and long-term goals.
