Blueprint for Educational Excellence National Institute
April 12 and 13, 2012
Gary Hayes Social Media Count
Reading Public School Staff

 John Doherty, Superintendent
 Janet Dee, Instructional Technology Specialist
 Marcia Grant, Instructional Technology Specialist
 Meg Powers, Instructional Technology Specialist
 Jennalee Anderson, Grade 7/8 ELA Teacher
 Giulio Binaghi, High School Spanish Teacher
 Steve Olivo, Grade 8 ELA Teacher
 Mary Anne Lynn, High School Biology Teacher
Topics to Discuss

 Why Change to a BYOD Format?
 Implementation of BYOD pilot
 Evaluation of Progress
 Examples in the Classroom
District
Reading Public Schools
 Schools Moving Forward Together Toward a Common Vision
while Keeping Their Own Identity
 Developing a professional learning community
 District Improvement Plan based on Research Based Standards
 A vision developed by the stakeholders
 Technology
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Adequate Technology Staff
90% of Classrooms Have SMART Boards
Job Embedded Professional Development in Technology
Mobile Computer Carts
90% of the District is Wireless
WAN
Student to Computer Ratio in District 3:1
 Instruction
 Hands on, Project Based Learning
 Sharing of lessons on WAN
 Collaboration of lessons and skills

Why do we need to
change?
A Vision of K-12 Students Today
Rip Van Winkle

National Technology Education Plan
“We must dramatically improve teaching and
learning, personalize instruction, and ensure that the
educational environments we offer to all students
keep pace with the 21st Century. We can get there
with technology. Together, we must work to make
sure every child has a world-class education-one that
prepares them to live, learn, and work in our
increasingly interconnected world.”
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Fundamental Shifts
Wagner, 2008

 The rapid evolution of the new global “knowledge
economy,” with profound effects on the world of
work.
 The sudden and dramatic shift from information that
is limited in terms of amount and availability of
information characterized by flux and glut.
 The increasing impact of media and technology on
how people learn and relate to the world and to each
other.
The Big Four
Four Major Challenges for the United States

 How to adapt to globalization
 How to adjust to the information technology revolution
 How to cope with the rising national debt
 How to manage a world of both rising energy consumption
and rising climate threats.
That Used to be Us (Friedman & Mandelbaum, 2011)
Seven Survival Skills Needed for Our Students
Wagner, 2008

 Critical thinking and problem solving
 Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
 Agility and adaptability
 Initiative and entrepreneurialism
 Effective oral and written communication
 Accessing and analyzing information
 Curiosity and imagination
All Students Will Need These Skills for the Future
Three Types of Future Jobs
Friedman, Mandelbaum, 2011

 Non-routine high skilled jobs
 Cannot be reduced automated, digitized or outsourced
 Involve critical thinking and reasoning, abstract analytical skills,
imagination, judgment, creativity, and math
 Routine middle-skilled jobs
 Involves a lot of standardized repetitive tasks that can be automated
 Has been significantly affected by the merger of globalization and the
IT revolution
 Will continue to shrink in this global economy
 Non-routine low-skilled jobs
 Have to be done in person or manually
 Will always exist, but number will depend on the overall state of the
economy and local supply and demand
Learning How to Learn
is Key

“You actually want to become really adaptable. You
want constantly to acquire new skills, knowledge, and
expertise that enable you constantly to be able to
create value….Being adaptable in a flat world,
knowing how to “learn how to learn,” will be one of
the most important assets any worker can have,
because job churn will come faster, because
innovation will happen faster.”
Thomas Friedman
The World is Flat
Average is Over

“In a hyper-connected world where innovation takes
place ever more rapidly, what a person knows today
will be outdated tomorrow. In such a world one of the
most important life skills will be the ability and desire
to be a life-long learner. If average is over, then school
is never over.”
That Used to be Us (Friedman & Mandelbaum, 2011)
The Job

We need to become more right
brained to compete and survive

“The future belongs to a very different kind of mind ─
creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and
meaning makers. These people ─ artists, inventors,
designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big
picture thinkers ─ will now reap society’s richest
rewards and share its greatest joys.”
Daniel Pink
A Whole New Mind-Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future
1 to 1 Mobile Learning
Benefits

 Improvements in attendance and discipline
 Broader array of learning resources and experiences
 Increased frequency and quality of supportive
individual and group interactions
 Improvements in student and parent attitudes
toward the school
 Increases in student achievement
 Prepares students more effectively for college and
career skills
Benefits of BYOD
Bring Your Own Device

 Digital natives learn and live with technology. Most have and
bring devices to school.
 Most schools have an awkward mix of print and technologybased learning resources—often not quite enough of either.
Making the shift to digital instructional materials can save money,
extend access, and improve engagement.
 A BYOD environment promotes healthy and appropriate
technology use.
 Take advantage of online assessment. Most states will shift most
of their testing online by the 2014-15 school year.
 Expanded access yields expanded digital options. When every
student as full digital access, it provides the platform for
improved access to effective materials, online courses, and
effective teachers.
Source: Tom VanderArk

Implementation of BYOD Pilot
Logistics

 2nd Semester Pilot (January-June)
 Three Schools (2 Middle Schools, High School)
 15 Teachers
 2 Middle School Teams
 450 students
 Signup Process
 AUP
 Registering Devices
What is the “D”

 For the purposes of this pilot, “Device” means a privately
owned wireless and/or portable electronic piece of
equipment
 laptops, netbooks, tablets/slates (i.e. iPad, Kindle Fire,
Nook Color), iPod touches, cell and smart phones (i.e.
iPhone, Droid)
 No gaming devices will be allowed in this pilot.
 Devices need to have the following




Wireless Capability
Anti-Virus Software
Internet Browser (i.e. Explorer, Firefox, Safari)
Tracking Software (Optional)
Network Infrastructure

 All 3 schools are wireless
 Capacity for multiple devices to be connected at a time
 Up to 700 mobile devices will be connected during pilot
 Devices will be connected to “BYOD” Network which will
be filtered
 Students will not have access to their network folders with
the devices
FAQ

 Students will not be penalized if they do not have a device
in the classroom
 Storage
 Locked locker or in their possession
 District is not responsible if device is damaged, lost or
stolen
 Student must use district wireless network, not 3G or 4G
network
 Parents and students need to have an updated Acceptable
Use Policy and Student User Agreement to participate
 October-January
Timeline

 Identified teachers
 Met with teachers, IT staff to develop pilot
 Weeks of January 9 and 16
 Parent Informational Sessions
 Plan sent to all parents
 Teachers discuss information with students
 Weeks of January 16 and 23
 All paperwork is completed and returned to teacher
 Devices begin to get connected to network
Timeline

 Weeks of January 23 and 30
 BYOD Implementation begins
 Spring, 2011
 Survey going out to parents, students, teachers
 Evaluation conducted of pilot
Evaluation of Pilot

 MassCUE Project
 Action Research Project
 Types of Data Collected
 Student surveys
(Pre/Post)
 Interviews (Pre/Post)
 Monitoring off task
behaviors in activities
using and not using
technology
 Attendance of struggling
students
 Quality of Student Work
What has worked….

 Students are working more collaboratively
 Teachers are planning for more student-student interactions
 Students have a greater sense of ownership and appreciate the
trust level
 Very few instances of misuse or damage
 No theft issues
 Network Infrastructure
 Smooth transition because of what was in place
 More relevant and authentic learning
 Students are willing to share devices
 Paperless assessments
Challenges

 Setting up midyear routines
 Students remembering to bring in their devices
 Students who do not have devices
 Finding multi-platform apps (free)
 Limited to lowest performing device (ipod touch)
 Using Learning Management System (Edline) on the
mobile devices
Student’s Concerns

 Being issued locks
 Invasion of privacy
(websites)
 Damaging or losing their
device
 Bulkiness of device
(laptop vs. tablet or
phone)
 Students who do not have
a device
 Sharing of devices
What it looks like in the
Classroom

What it looks like…

High School Spanish Class
Students have used their devices to….

 Use alternate hardware (cell
phones, ipads, iPods) to complete
projects
 Use more sophisticated software
(Moviemaker, iMovie, Garageband,
Voice Thread)
 Maximize email use during school
hours for posting assignments
 Collaborate more effectively (i.e.
google docs)
 Create a more organized system of
notes (i.e. Evernote)
 Quickly access information on the
web
 Collect data during laboratory
investigations (camera)
Examples of BYOD Projects

 Grade 7 Utopia Project
 Grade 8 blogs, magazine
project
 Grade 9 Digital Lab Reports
 Online research
 E-Books
 Independent Reading
 Reference (Dictionary)
 Digital Field Notebooks
 Socrative Assessment Tool
 Skitch Projects
http://www.edline.net/pages/ReadingPublicSchools/District/Technology/RPS_BYOD_Pilot
Moving Forward

 Analysis of Data Collection
 Addressing students who do not have a device
 Increase pilot
 Improve parent communication
 Guidance on Technology Purchases
 Showcase students in pilot
 Summer professional development
 Summer orientation for students in pilot
Contact Information

John F. Doherty, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Reading Public Schools
82 Oakland Road
Reading, MA 01867
Phone: 781-944-5800
Email: john.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us
Twitter: jdoherty
Blog: http://readingsuperintendent.wordpress.com/
BYOD Page
http://www.edline.net/pages/ReadingPublicSchools/District/Technology/RPS_BYOD_Pilot