The first two weeks of school have come and gone (although, there are still some locker issues)! Our journey to using one to one devices is taking some major preparation and planning! Kind of like a wedding! Marco Torres, Digital Promise’s story teller calls this point in the process “the wedding planning stage”. It’s the best metaphor to explain our process. Like a wedding, our technology initiative involves a lot of behind the scenes planning! All summer, the Instructional Coaches, District Administration, Digital Promise, and the Verizon Foundation had been collaborating to plan a successful Roll Out! The Roll Out is when the tablets are placed into the hands of the students. It will be a great celebration! Like weddings, the success is in the details, the policies, the Digital Citizenship training and the teacher professional development. All of the guests have been invited! Now we just need to make sure we are ready for the big day!
I think we are just about ready to step up to the alter! Our students are learning how to be responsible digital citizens and our teachers are embracing this process and rising to the challenge! The commitment and desire that our faculty has demonstrated, makes me feel honored to be apart of the FDR and Bristol Township School District learning community! They are making the transition just like the happy couple! They are moving towards collaboration and possibilities. Like a wedding planner, I am trying to keep up with the happy couple’s needs and wishes! It has been exciting! I know that the Wedding Day (Roll Out) is what all of the guests and the couple looks forward to, but it won’t be a success unless we tend to the plans!
Teachers are shopping for gifts for the couple, in this case, trying out educational apps and trying on their new outfits (roles as facilitators to learning). Along with the excitement of tablets, apps, and the opportunities that are presented to our students, is the worry and trepidation with the responsibility of technology. Just like a marriage, we don’t know what could happen. We know that there will be good times and hiccups in the process. It’s not the if, but the when something will happen that will rock our expectations. So we promise to be committed to upholding the highest educational standards!
Parents are signing up to be a part of the process. During our Open House, parents were invited to visit me if they were interested in being apart of the planning and the Parent Committee. We have a great group of parents that have agreed to meet in the evening to assist with our initiative. I have to admit, I am not sure what their roles are going to be, or how this committee is going to look, it is all new! I do know that anything that we do that concerns our students is exponentially more successful when we have parent input. Their ability to connect with our community to hopefully communicate this opportunity in a positive manner, relieve concerns, and answer frequently asked questions are potential actions they will take.
Soon, we will be asking students to be members of our Roll Out Committee. This intiative is centered around them. Their input, ideas, enthusiasm, and personal connection always elevates and extends their learning. Their input will also help our learning community decide which directions to take in this new adventure.
The guest list continues to grow and plans continue to be adjusted. This is the planning stage and we are preparing for an opporotunity to be joined together in unison with effective, effiicient and equitable access to technology! I think I hear the wedding bells ringing!
