Fifth and ninth grade students in the Pleasantville Union Free School District are all using Dell 2-in-1 Chromebooks as part of a new “Tech for All” initiative. “The primary goal of the Tech for All initiative is to bring together a cohesive vision for technology and instruction,” said Cameron Fadjo, the district’s assistant superintendent for instructional services.
The initiative is a part of the district’s five-year strategic plan, which is coming to a close as they begin the planning process for their next strategic plan in the next few months.
The Tech for All initiative will be phased in over the course of the next four years, with each incoming fifth and ninth grade class receiving laptops, Fadjo explained. At the end of the fourth year, all middle- and high-school students will have devices.
Angela Vella, District Board of Education President, describes the move as a “budget neutral expense.” Instead of allocating more money for laptops and desktops, the board decided to spend the money on devices for students in incoming classes.
Student working with an instructor on a tablet. The Tech for All initiative starts providing devices to students in the fifth grade. (Lexie Flickinger/CC BY 2.0)
Parents have called for a 1:1 device-to-student ratio for several years, according to Vella. But parents were not the only ones who pushed for this initiative.
Every December, the School Board meets with the Executive Council of Pleasantville High School for a joint board meeting, and the Tech for All program was one of the things they requested, according to Vella.
“We want to use [the technology] in a way that provides for meaningful enhancement of curriculum for the students,” Vella said.
Fadjo said it takes more than just new technology to have an impact in the classroom. “We are also working with the faculty on multiple levels to prepare them for using the technology in their classrooms,” he said.
Their efforts include professional development sessions in which educators learned from MIcrosoft developers as well as sessions led by district faculty.
By increasing access to technology, students will have more opportunities to explore new ideas and have more “buy-in to their own learning,” Fadjo said.
According to a report by the Pew Research Center, more than 50% of teachers say the internet has a “major impact” on enabling their interaction with students.
“The technology alone doesn’t actually transform student learning. It’s technology in connection with effective teaching practices that really impact student learning,” Fadjo said.