1:1 Computing for 6th Grade Students

East Rockaway School District Technology Action Plan

Executive Summary East Rockaway School District is a small working

middle class community located on the south shore of Long Island.

Due to the increase in technology use both inside and outside of the classroom, it becomes more vital than ever to provide all of our students equal access to technology.

Providing 1:1 technology to our 6th graders seems most fitting, since they are in their final year of elementary school, and will be entering the Junior-Senior High School in the next school calendar year.

Technology Plan After review, it is recommended that the district

purchase HP Chromebook 14 for the 87 students, 4 grade-level teachers, and 1 21st Century Skills teacher. Features include: 14-inch display Weight – 4 pounds Two 3.0 USB ports and one 2.0 USB ports Wi Fi and Bluetooth accessible 7-second Boot-up 7 Hour battery life Web-only applications Built-in camera, speakers, headphone and multimedia

ports

Technology Plan – Continued

Budgeting for Chromebooks is primarily supported by the district’s technology reserve funds. Costs include: $299 initial cost per HP Chromebook 14 $30 additional cost for Google management and

support per Chromebook Due to its web-based platform, there is no need to

purchase additional software or virus protection The district currently has Google Drive for Education,

with each student, faculty, and staff member having a school Gmail account, which also incurs no cost to the district

Total costs incurred would total $33,000

Technology Plan – Continued

Chromebooks would be on-lease to students at the beginning of the school calendar year.

Students would fill out permission slips that would be kept on file with the 21st Century Skills teacher

Students who lose or damage their assigned Chromebook would not be assigned a new one and would assume responsibility to replace the item

Chromebooks would be collected at the end of the calendar year and stored at the High School, where incoming 7th graders would be re-assigned their Chromebooks

Professional Development

Participating teachers would be assigned Chromebooks over the summer to navigate

Initial training would be offered by a Google Certified Trainer through Nassau BOCES

Teachers would be encouraged to review Google Chromebook Classroom and watch pertinent tutorials

Teachers would be encouraged to attend Google-specific conferences throughout the school year and turnkey information to their colleagues

Grade-level meetings would be established on a monthly basis to review, troubleshoot, and create curriculum-based instruction

Professional Development –

Continued Student training would take place during the first

week of the school calendar year

Training would be provided by the 21st Century Skills teacher

Tutorials of frequently used applications, Google Drive, and Gmail will be available on all teacher websites and through a Google Document shared with all students and pertinent staff

Parents and students will be able to contact and ask questions through email and by phone

Assessments Implementation of 1:1 computing will be assessed and measured

using the following four benchmarks:

1. Student Achievement Measured by the Director of Curriculum and Technology,

Principals, Classroom teachers, 21st Century Skills Teacher

Are students engaged in online learning across all subject areas? Measured using trimester report card evaluation

Are students empowered through the use of flexible learning? Measured using yearly pre- and end-of-year student surveys

Are students gaining proficiency on state standardized tests? Measured by yearly assessment and comparison to previous

year’ s data

Assessments Implementation of 1:1 computing will be assessed

and measured using the following four benchmarks:

2. 21st Century Skills for Students Measured by Classroom teachers, 21st Century

Skills Teacher

Have students increased their knowledge and efficacy with identified Web 2.0 tools and online research methods? Measured using pre-assessment and summative

assessment SLO growth measures as well as demonstrated use of Web 2.0 tools for projects

Assessments Implementation of 1:1 computing will be assessed and

measured using the following four benchmarks:

3. 21st Century Skills for Teachers Measured by Director of Curriculum and Technology,

Principals, Classroom teachers, 21st Century Skills Teacher

Have administrators and teachers participated in technology-driven professional development? Measured by participation in ongoing professional

development and sharing of information gathered at technology-specific conferences

Have teachers integrated technology into curricular lessons? Measured through yearly teacher evaluations, weekly

lesson plan evaluations, and student project evaluation

Assessments Implementation of 1:1 computing will be assessed and

measured using the following four benchmarks:

4. Improved communication and outreach to parents Measured by Director of Curriculum and Technology,

Principals, Classroom teachers, 21st Century Skills Teacher

Have faculty increased their online presence and communication through electronic means (district website, teacher websites, email, etc.)? Measure increase of communications through Infinite Campus

beyond basic grade reporting, teacher creation and updating of class websites; assessment of communication logs between faculty and parents

Conclusion Providing equal opportunity to online and computer

access in this age of increased technology will offer our students a decided advantage.

Review of the implementation of this initiative will determine whether this initiative should be expanded to other grade levels.

It is our hope that students will demonstrate the need of this initiative for their future success, and through this action plan we will help our students succeed in their future endeavors.