Page 20 - School Planning & Management, April 2018

TECHNOLOGY \{ ENHANCING + ENGAGING + CONNECTING \}
EdTech’s Influence
Both In and Out of the Classroom
By SPM Staff
TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME an integral part of K-12 classrooms. According to the 2015 Teachers Know Best survey sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, teachers spend 38 percent of class time using technology as a primary source of instruction and 34 percent of class time using it as a supplemental source of instruction.
Here are some examples of how districts across the country use technology—both software and hardware—to create authentic learning experiences for students.
Improving Instruction by Going 1:1:
The Vacaville Unified School District in California imple- mented a 1:1 model four years ago as part of a larger district-wide
project to renovate classrooms and add technology. The initial goal of going 1:1 was to facilitate online testing for the state’s standardized assessments. Vacaville purchased 13,000 Chrome- books from CDI Computer Dealers to launch the initiative and has found that the benefits have gone way beyond online testing. “It has completely changed the way curriculum is being delivered,” said district technology coordinator Jim Wasielewski. “When I walk around campus, 90 percent of the time the Chromebooks are open and kids are working on them,” he said. The 1:1 program has allowed teachers to take advantage of new types of curricula geared toward 1:1 classrooms. By providing a dedicated device for students to use every day, it has helped students feel comfortable creating and submitting projects online and using technology
20 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / APRIL 2018
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