Session Description:
Should you buy laptops, iPads,
Chromebooks, Windows tablets or some other device for your teachers and
students? Invest in multiple platforms? Go BYO and let them choose? In this
session, you will hear several district administrators sharing their own
stories about what purchasing choices they made – and more importantly, how and
why they made them.
Steve Young
(moderator, Judson ISD), Mary Ann Beseda (Spring ISD), Carl Hooker (Eanes ISD),
Kevin Schwartz (Clear Creek ISD), Candace Threadgill (Klein ISD)
Question 1: What student device
have you deployed in your district?
Klein ISD
·
Did a lot of
planning prior to choosing a device
·
Curriculum
drives the decision making
·
It has to do
with functionality as well
·
Device has
to be able to support all four core subject areas
·
Klein uses a
PC tablet - this decision was made 6 years ago
·
They
continue to use a PC tablet and support this decision
·
They have
been successful and it works for them and their students
Eanes ISD
·
Have 1:1 iPads
·
Started in
Library at High School
·
Began with
70 of them
·
They
reviewed a variety of tablets, everything from HP tablets, Dell tablets
·
They interviewed
and surveyed teachers
·
Went K-12
last year with 1:1 iPad implementation
Spring ISD
·
Software
drove hardware decision making process
·
Started with
laptops
·
Didn't have
bond to replace them
·
School went
to BYOD and had laptops available for check out
·
They are a
Google Apps for Ed district
·
They now
have several thousand Chromebooks
·
A committee
was formed and teachers came and make their pitch for the type of device they
wanted
·
They got feedback from students as well
Question 2: What are important
factors when choosing a device?
Klein ISD
·
Have a list
of necessary items and important factors
·
Device has
to be mobile; has to have long battery life; has to have touch and pen
technology; cost is a factor; has to be durable and lightweight
·
Consider the
students opinions
·
Need good
warranty
·
Need good
AUP to support device roll out
·
Have to be
able to last 5 years
Clear Creek
ISD
·
It was what
the community wanted - that was a major factor
·
Started
around increasing wireless capacity in district
·
Did a lot of
planning and listened to/surveyed a lot of people
·
Had many
vendors come in
·
It was a very
transparent process
·
Narrowed decision
down to Apple and Dell Latitude and chose the Dell Latitude because that device
best met the needs of what they were planning on using the devices for
Eanes ISD
·
Personalization
was a factor
·
Long battery
life
·
Wanted what
community had in homes and what the community was already familiar with
Spring ISD
·
Sustainability
and supportability are important
·
There aren’t
a large number of technicians in the district
·
The device
has to work well with applications already in use in the district
·
Since they
are Google Apps for Ed district, the Chromebook was the most logical choice for
them
Question 3: What about access?
Wireless connection?
Klein ISD
·
The
community helps ; they provide hot spots for the students
Clear Creek
ISD
·
They conducted
survey and 95% had broadband
·
Digital Wish
and other donations help (http://www.digitalwish.com)
·
Campuses
built scholarship; they raise money and the funds go to help other students who
don’t have access
Question 4: What do you think a
common problem is with 1:1 deployment? What hiccups have you run into?
Spring ISD
·
Teachers were
not ready for the devices
·
They didn’t
know how to teach with them
·
At the beginning,
teachers would tell students to turn off Chromebook while instruction was occurring
Klein ISD
·
Have a plan
and work your plan
·
There will always
be hiccups with technology
·
Try to foresee
these problems in your plan and then deal with them when they arise
·
If need be,
change the plan and continue to work it
Spring ISD
·
Tried Lenovo
Chromebook in Elementary Schools
·
Tried Dell
Latitude in Middle Schools
·
Use HD Nook
for High School – mainly for periodicals
·
It depends
on how you are going to use the device
·
Use a
variety of devices - the ones that works the best and needs the least amount of
maintenance
Eanes ISD
·
It’s how you
respond to the failure that is key
·
Mistakes
will happen
Question 5: Is security a
problem? Are the devices filtered? Locked-down?
Klein ISD
·
When at
home, they are filtered through Klein
·
They Erate a
lot of things
Eanes ISD
·
Some parents
have them take off the Eanes filter at home
·
The parent
piece is huge
·
Every
district needs to have plan in place - Do you want to send the devices home? Do
you want to provide a filter?
Question 6: What about teacher
training?
Klein ISD
·
Teachers get
tablets ahead of time
·
A lot of
training occurs
·
Teachers help
other teachers
·
You have to
have everyone on board with the idea from the Superintendent to the Custodian because
everyone plays a role in it
Eanes ISD
·
Have
Instructional Tech Specialist at every campus
·
This helps
and is key with teacher training
·
The campus
administrator is key as well; they push this and set the expectations for the
teachers
Spring ISD
·
Have 2
Instructional Techs for the entire district
·
They go
above and beyond the call of duty
·
They do a
lot by example and model for other teachers
Question 7: What are you doing to
assess the impact of the program on teaching and learning?
Spring ISD
·
Teachers
come back and do presentations
Clear Creek ISD
·
Depth of
learning, breadth of learning, time of learning
·
Learning is three dimensional so this is hard
to answer
Klein ISD
·
It’s all
about access and being able to provide more access
Thank you to
all for sharing your knowledge and experience. I think Carl summed it up best
when he said, “When you limit it to one device, then you limit yourself and your
students.”
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