Laptop programs are
increasing in Kentucky K12 schools at an accelerated rate. IBM is an
experienced partner
with some of these schools
since the company has hundreds of laptop programs worldwide. Daviess just
rolled out 900 IBM laptops to freshmen August 2005.
Daviess
County Public Schools
Board of Education: Mary Tim
Griffin, Chairperson • Frank G. Riney, III,
Vice-Chairman • John Ed Dunn, Ed. D. • Dwight T. Lovan
• Joe H. Overby
The Daviess County Public Schools
district in
By providing high school freshman
students with wireless laptops 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the eLearning project addresses the “technology divide” that
exists between kids who have computers and those who do not. It levels
the playing field for all kids by
making the same resources
available to everyone.
Laptop computers were distributed to
900 freshman students at
The DCPS eLearning
project acknowledges that kids are learning differently in today’s digital age;
this is a way to meet their needs
and increase student achievement.
“Technology is already a vital part of our kids’ lives; they are comfortable
with the various tools that technology provides,” said Superintendent Tom
Shelton. “Today’s kids think differently than kids of the past. They naturally
incorporate technology into their daily activities and they are more likely to
be more interested and motivated when the teaching and learning tools
are relevant to their world. We
believe this will increase student achievement.”
Throughout the pilot period, and
since the official launch of the eLearning program,
teachers have reported increased engagement
among their students. Kids are taking
their own educations to the next level because they have research and
information available at their fingertips, in a format with which they are
familiar and comfortable, and which is relevant to them.
The eLearning
project was developed with a simple goal in mind: To increase student
engagement and learning.
Daviess believes that its students
are already very comfortable with technology. They are surrounded by DVDs, cell
phones,
digital cameras, PDAs
… and have been all their lives. Most adults talk about technology in terms
such as “21st century” and
“the wave of the future.” But we’re
already living in the 21stcentury, and the future is now. It is not so much a
school’s job to
introduce students to technology as
it is to accept the responsibility of incorporating the technology that is
already part of
our students’ lives into the
classroom.
In the Daviess County Public Schools
district, the eLearning project has literally put a
world of resources at the fingertips of our
high school freshmen by distributing
laptop computers earlier this year. These laptops are not only used during
class time;
they also can be taken home and used
for research, writing, experiments, computations and artistic expression.
All teachers have received training
in using technology as a resource in teaching and learning. These teachers
report that students
“light up” and are fully engaged when
their lessons “come to life” and technology is part of their learning
experience.
Because we sincerely believe eLearning will unlock the door to enhanced learning
opportunities for students, the Daviess County Public Schools made financing
this project a priority.
The cost is estimated at $450,000 a
year, based on projections for 900 high school freshmen each year. Our district
was awarded
a $230,000 federal grant. Enhancing
Technology Through Education is a one-time award. We
added $500,000 from our General
Fund (a 4% tax increase will provide
recurring funds); and $970,000 in Capital Outlay. The Kentucky Department of
Education
allowed districts in fiscal years
2005 and 2006 to use Capital Outlay funds to offset General Fund maintenance
and insurance expenses.
This then allowed us to use regular
General Fund budgeted funds for the eLearning
project. If KDE continues this flexibility, we will
be able to implement two more high
school classes next year (rising freshmen and juniors; the sophomores will keep
the laptops
assigned to them as freshmen this
year). We will ask our Board of Education to continue its support by approving
another 4% tax
increase to fund the remaining class
in fiscal year 2008. At that time, all four high school grade levels will have
laptop computer resources.
The Daviess County Public Schools
district Board of Education has taken the lead in the eLearning
program, supporting this
initiative in action and example. Not
only has the Board made appropriate funding decisions, they have participated
in workshops
and traveled to other school
districts across the country that have introduced similar programs. Board members
have invested
significant time in researching the
benefits of technology in the classroom and have concluded that moving in this
direction is
in the best interest of our students
… and those students’ futures. Equally as important, the Board made the
decision to model
eLearning by moving to a “paperless” Board meeting
format, using laptop computers and the same technology that teachers and
students are utilizing in the
classrooms.
The success of the program so far has
been a direct reflection of the preparation and research that were devoted to
this project
from the very beginning. DCPS
invested significant research before launching the program, including an
intensive pilot program
beginning in 2003 that examined
hardware issues such as reliability, durability, battery life and adaptability
for classroom/home
use. The extensive preparation also
included exploring funding sources, training for teachers and technical
support.
But more than anything else, we know
that when students are excited … when they are interested and involved … the
subject
matter becomes real to them, and they
are truly learning.
Jane T. Morrison
Inside Client Representative
IBM Corporation
(770) 863-1727 (phone)
T/L 753-1727
(800) 242-6329 (fax)
janemo@us.ibm.com