Leadership Matters - June 2013

1:1 Program ———————————

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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

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.”

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