7
resources that enable students to research answers to
questions, collaborate on projects, get step-by-step
help with math problems, submit reports and essays
for evaluation of their writing prior to submission for
grading, listen to an avatar explain a concept, get
immediate feedback upon submission of assignments
or tests, and monitor their academic progress.
Students have their laptops 24/7 so learning can take
place anytime, anywhere.
“We still use paper and pencil, just a lot less of it.
For example, in math it’s still important to show your
work,” Robertson said.
Teachers in Mendon still teach. In fact, they have
more time to spend directly interacting with students
because the technology will grade rough drafts of
papers, grade assignments and tests, and immediately
generate an item analysis of student performance by
individual, class or grade level, even showing the
average time spent on an item. Teachers are now
able to hone in on topics and even individual students
with more of a laser-like precision and have the ability
to adjust the reading level of text material and push
out individualized assignments based on the item
analysis.
“The analysis is priceless,” Robertson said.
“Having that data at their fingertips enables teachers
to literally change their instruction on a dime and focus
on students or concepts that need more attention.
“You can almost see the fences start to come
down,” Robertson added, noting that it is not unusual
for the students to drive instruction in the classroom or
for the tech-savvy kids to help teachers learn various
technology programs. Teachers have had to learn to
give up some control. Students have had to learn to
step up and become active learners. Both are
learning together.
Robertson’s ideas for the program took on a more
defined shape after she attended a 2010 national
leadership summit in Orlando, Florida, as part of an
Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA)
delegation. One theme of the summit was utilizing
technology to prepare students for the technology-
based world in which they will live and work. There
she heard a presentation by Dr. Mark Edwards,
superintendent of Moorseville Graded School District
in North Carolina, who had launched a successful,
cutting-edge digital conversion and laptop initiative.
At the summit, she also met Scott Drossos, Senior
Vice President of Pearson, with whom she discussed
her vision. She followed up with a trip to North
(Continued from page 6)
(Continued on page 8)
1:1 Program ———————————
Confessions of a
‘Type A’ teacher
Christina Meyer used to be a self-described
“Type A” teacher who believed in a strict,
regimented learning environment.
“I used to believe that quiet in the classroom
meant production and discipline,” said Meyer, a
10-year veteran English teacher who was
selected to be one of the pilot teachers in the
Mendon Community Unit 4 School District’s 1:1
program two years ago.
Meyer’s classroom now features round tables as
opposed to rows of desks, an arrangement
designed to spur discussion and student-to-
student interaction as they work on assignments
and projects with their laptops.
“It’s what I now call productive noise,” Meyer
said. “The students have more freedom and
ownership in how they learn. The classroom is
more of a communal environment. It was difficult
in some ways to give up that control and to trust
them to be more vested in their education, but
the rewards have been tremendous.
“I have watched students that had not
traditionally been successful in the English
classroom grow so much, and I have seen their
confidence increase. Some days I feel like I learn
as much as they do.”
Meyer does have advice for teachers who will go
through the digital teaching transformation in the
future.
“My advice is lots of chocolate, patience and
open-mindedness,” Meyer said. “It’s like being a
first-year teacher all over again, but the good
news is that the kids will pick you up.”
