The First Days of the School Year

It is a good feeling for everyone in the school community once the fall routine takes hold.  Teachers and students begin to know what to expect each day at school.  The year is off to a good start.  Our region has lost too many young people, however.  But other than that things are going well.  Our Science department has shown  some initial gains in test results.  We will work to raise the bar in all other academic areas as well.  The iPad initiative is going well.  Our 6th and 8th graders are utilizing technology to increase student engagement and student learning.  Like many districts nation-wide, we are putting useful technology tools in the hands of our children.  As we move forward we will define our next steps and methods for incorporating these electronic devices.

Above is a traditional iPad and an iPad Mini.  The difference between a laptop and iPad will soon go away.  The Mini may become an even more affordable device for our students.  The future is very rapidly changing.  The good new is that new technology is likely to be more useful, less costly and even smaller.

The flip or reverse classroom is one of many ways that our classrooms are changing.  The curriculum is becoming blended with technology.  This means that the focus of our time and expense in learning has shifted.  Teachers require the gift of time and professional development opportunities that include time to discuss practices in teaching with other teachers.  Instead of spending large amounts of time and money on text book adoption, we can now focus more fully on what and how we teach.  The reverse classroom is a situation where the direct teaching done any time and anywhere a student can use their iPad.  Guided practice and checking for understanding become the largest focus in the classroom.   This shift means that students have significantly more access to teachers each day.  Teacher have more time to direct learning and reteach.  This immediate remediation will result in greater student success.  Classes can become more inquiry-based.  The environment could resemble an modified on-line learning environment.  The students and teacher can readily utilize an online platform for communication, instruction, course outline, additional resources and testing data.

What do you think of the increase in technology in school and in society?