Bring on the Technology

District budgets have been a large part of my district over the past few years. Three years ago my classroom was closed because there was a drop in enrollment and not the funding to keep classes at the current level. I was devastated as I waited in limbo for 2 months. Then, thankfully, I was transferred to another building and another grade. We lost some specials teachers and dropped some programs at the middle school and high school level. That next year I had 27 students in my room instead of 18. In this climate, a whole district initiative of 1 to 1 computer ratios is not likely. The district is moving toward a BYOD policy. We were just told in email that it would be two years before they got to the elementary schools. They need to settle the high schools and middle schools first. 

Things did improve and we were able to go from 2 grade level teachers to 3. This year we each have close to 20 students in our rooms. But for all 60 of the students we have 3 student computers, and they are all in my room. The computers are old, ancient in computer terms and were so slow the other teachers got frustrated with them. I was determined that I would have the ability for students to research in my room. I got the tech department to come in and upgrade the RAM, and they work.....s.l.o.w.l.y. There is a building computer lab, but with so many classes it is hard to find it open for extra time when you need or want it for a project. My truest desire would be to have class set of something for the 5th grade. That would be a vast improvement over what we currently have. 

Here is my plan for two and a half years for now. This plan would be implemented for my 5th grade team of 3 classrooms of a general population of 60 students. The school is in the suburbs of a small city with economically disadvantaged population of 25%. These students have limited experience with technology as the school only has one computer lab. They do use devices outside of school and the majority of the students do have internet access at home. Based on experiences over the past three years, this technology use leaves them in need lessons on how to use technology successfully for educational purposes. 

Step One: before anything else, we need to have a strong wireless network. Only the office and the Autistic Support rooms have wireless and it isn't strong enough for me to piggyback my teacher computer on, so it won't work for the students. According to the most recent email traffic, we should have this in two and half year provided by the district. 

Step Two: BYOD means that the students can bring in their devices. I get how this works at the high school. Virtually all the students, even in schools that have 50% free and reduced lunches, have smart phones. What about these ten and eleven year olds? I have asked for devices to be brought in before when the district first announced the BYOD plan last year. Parents are not as quick to give a $400 device to an eleven year old for school. Some of students do have ipods and iphones and are allowed to bring them in, but what about the rest of them. My three students computers don't cover it. If we had a class set of devices, we could take turns using the whole set when we need the students to all complete a certain task a certain way, and freely just use the ones we need when students are completing projects that have more freedom. So I would like to blend BYOD with technology available in school. Blending options can give students the best of different worlds. 

The Co-Op started a Race for Education 2 years ago. They are slowly putting in Smartboards in each of the classrooms. They should have that done next year. So what next? Here is where the timing will work out for my idea, they can help purchase device carts for each grade, starting with 5th and working their way down to kindergarten. Depending on the income generated by the fundraiser, it may be possible to purchase for two grades at a time. 

Step Three: Buying a class set. Chromebook seems to be the best choice for our 5th graders. The first reason, the strongest reason, is price. The highly rated Toshiba Chromebook 2.0 is retailing for 329. This is a decrease from the iPad 2 at 479 and a Thinkpad at 476. The deal that I am going to pull for is purchasing 20 Acer C720 Chromebook These 16GB machines are coming with only a $199 price tag. For only the machines, we are looking at a cost of $3,980. That is less than the cost of one Smartboard. They do not have touch screens, but they do have a lot of function. They are the tool that I am missing in my classroom.

From Flickr by Pierre Lecourt

The reviews for the Acer C720, and I have read this about other Chromebooks as well, they are ready to go out of the box. What I am proposing is just for 3 classes to have the use of this set of 20. The training to start off would be minimal. I am a hands on learner and I would offer to take the lead on implementing using these devices. Were this to be rolled out to the whole school, a more formal training would be needed. My grade level partners and I have used Google, including Google Docs in enough classes that if we had the ability to have students using them on a daily basis we would be ready to get started. 

I reached out to a department that is sharing a set of laptops. They are happy that they were able to get the set, even if they have to share it. The work that the students can do while they are supported in school is beyond what they would be able to do unsupported at home. This teacher works in a building where the economically disadvantaged population is higher, it is above 50% there. The downfall that he sees is the network. It is not up to snuff yet and it lets students sit there waiting and disappointed. 

Step Four: Training.The team would need to be trained in Google Education. There are so many things that I have used in classes and collaboration that the student could use, but I have not been able to use because they do not have email addresses. In addition to the training that we would need as teachers, there would need to be time built in to teaching the students how to use the tools, and the parents as well. perhaps a technology day toward the beginning of the year inviting the parents in would be helpful to get everyone on the same page. Google does have communities as well that can offer you support in your new trials. They also keep you updated with their updates. They are also open to improving for everyone's benefit. Google has a document to follow for roll out. (Thanks L. Coakley, I didn't find this one on my own.)

Step Five: How did we do? Success would come in various forms. We are in the middle of an RRR initiative that is increasing the Rigor, Relevance and Relationships we have with the students. Improved technology access would improve all three of these. Sharing technology that matters to students ties in with relationships. They would have increased access to relevant materials in a timely manner rather than using out of date books or waiting for an old slow computer. With access to online tools, students will be able to complete products that are more polished. A polished product may not seem like a big deal, but it changes the way a student feels about what they are doing. When students see their end result and can say WOW, it means a lot to them. Student being able to research both teacher given assignment and self chosen interest are so important. I do not know that any of this we directly result in higher test scores. That isn't my goal. My goal is to have student who are more involved in there learning. When they are more involved in their learning they do not mind that you are asking them to do more. They will not just do it willingly, they will be the ones asking you if they are allowed to do things.   

What might go wrong? Well, I have to say that I believe in Murphy's Law, If something can go wrong, it will. I don't think that I have tried a new technology endeavor that has not has a glitch. General my technology glitches involve student going home and trying to complete a project at home with different technology than what we have in school. The Chromebooks wouldn't be going home, but if we are using Google Classroom, that has the potential for hiccups. Google itself is not perfect. There are items that their current customers would like to see improved. Chromebooks also have limitations. Since I am not looking to replace my computer and I know that I would like to use primarily Web 2..0 tools anyway, the pros outweigh the cons. 

Not having wireless is the biggest concern. I am told that the wireless network, done properly is the big cost item. Not having that network access would put a big halt to all of this. The Chromebooks wouldn't work if we aren't connected to the network. 

We need to have technology access. My students are asking good questions, but they have to wait in a line to find the answer. My limited classroom library doesn't have all the answers and the 20 year old encyclopedias in the hall are equally limited. They need the tools to deepen their education. 

Who else is buying Chromebooks? Check out Bridgeport Public Schools who not only got Chromes, for everyone, but also jumped into Google for Education. This was led by David Arendrade. 

Things to get excited about. 

Make a quiz that the computer can grade.... for math. That is a little cool thing

I think that the using open source and Linux that is supported by the students is the coolest thing. That to me would be taking it to a whole other level. Student support, that is so cool.  

As I was looking for what I would propose, what would work for my situation I did come across this TED talk that gave me pause because it was so close to home. I had no idea that TED talks were going on right in my backyard. There is another one scheduled for May, but there is not a lot of information up about right now. I will continue to keep my eyes open for this one. I loved Charlie Reisinger from Penn Manor's message. We could only bring technology to the students with the help of the students. These students gained more from helping than can be measured on a SAT or PSSA test. I could write a whole post about what moved me in his message. While student supported 1:1 won't work in 5th grade, and I am not quite sure how it would work as a district initiative, I liked how it worked for Penn Manor. 

References

1:1 Laptop Program. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.pennmanor.net/techblog/?page_id=1561

Andrade, D. (2014, July 18). Bridgeport Public Schools chooses Google for Education to bring affordable technology to their students. Retrieved November 15, 2014.

Andrade, D. (2014, November 14). Retrieved November 15, 2014.

Edmonds, R. (2014, June 30). Los Angeles schools to offer students hybrids and laptops instead of Apple iPads. Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.androidcentral.com/la-schools-offer-students-hybrids-laptops-instead-apple-ipads

Engard, N. (2014, November 7). Root access for students at Penn Manor | Opensource.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://opensource.com/education/14/11/one-Linux-laptop-per-student-Penn-Manor

GEG New Jersey - Community - Google. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from https://plus.google.com/communities/114835332053218435059

Google for Education: Google in your classroom. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from https://www.google.com/edu/training/get-trained/

How Much Does a SMART Board Cost? (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.modernchalkboard.com/article-cost.html

Levinson, M. (2013, May 30). To Get Students Invested, Involve Them in Decisions Big and Small. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/to-get-students-invested-involve-them-in-decisions-big-and-small/

McGowan, J. (2014, November 3). G(Math) for Sheets - Google Sheets add-on. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gmath-for-sheets/ghgaamjabigfohnmniiffhbfmkecanmi?hl=en-US

Nesbitt, S. (2014, September 29). Penn Manor goes 'all in' with open source | Opensource.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://opensource.com/education/14/9/interview-charlie-reisinger-penn-manor

Performance Profile. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://paschoolperformance.org/Profile/5628

Reisinger, C. (2014, May 30). Enabling students in a digital age: Charlie Reisinger at TEDxLancaster. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Co37GO2Fc

Schinker, J. (2012, September 2). 4 Reasons Why Google is Bad for Education. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://schinker.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/4-reasons-why-google-is-bad-for-education/

What is ubermix? (2011, January 1). Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://ubermix.org/

Winkler, D. (2014, March 27). The Good, the Bad, and the Truth of Using Chromebooks in Education. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://blog.mimio.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-truth-of-using-chromebooks-in-education