RedesigningYour High Schoolwith Technology
Misty Slayter, Assistant PrincipalCathy Martinez, Teacher
Bolton High SchoolAlexandria, LA
Welcometo Our Digital Academy!
What isthe Bolton Digital Academy? is not a technology program. is the establishment of a 21st century learning
environment where students: learn to access, evaluate, communicate and make
decisions with information using 21st century skills and tools.
learn to think and problem solve is not necessarily designed to improve test scores, but
rather to develop a deeper understanding of content. This is a critical idea to communicate!
is a way to provide faculty, staff, and students with 1-1, 24x7 access to technology tools and curriculum resources.
most curriculum content provided via digital resources is a focused effort to create a world-class educational
environment.
Why Go Digital? Relevant 21st century content and environment
Textbooks and technology support only incremental change - things may improve, but stay basically the same (recent articles on pulling the plug on laptop programs)
Technology and a total digital environment facilitate a transformation of the teaching process and students’ thinking processes.
Efficient and effective Students have access to totally up-to-date and
relevant content Teachers can choose the best resources available
for a given topic
RPSB’s Vision for theBolton Digital Academy Communication
Connect school to students, staff, community, and the world
Collaboration Students work with each other, their teachers, their
community, and their world Content
Provide information, resources, and experiences students need to be successful
Creativity The school as a center for critical thinking, exploration,
and innovation Assessment
Authentic 21st century to measure how well students think
So What Does a Successful Digital Classroom Look Like? Students work individually or in small teams to solve
engaging problems or answer compelling questions. They are synthesizing their own experience, ideas from the [teacher], and sources that they can find on the Web.
The teacher has come down from the lectern and is moving throughout the room, watching what students are doing, asking questions, posing challenges …
Periodically the action is stopped. The teacher instructs the class to close their laptops,… They talk. They share their insights, their solutions, and their obstacles. The Socratic exchange is fueled by the insights developed through electronic inquiry. The powerful face-to-face questioning isn't competing with the laptops; instead, it depends on it.
Source: John Overmyer, Laptops in the classroom: Mend it, don’t end it., www.csmonitor.com/2007/0515/p09s01-coop.html
Basic Structure ofBolton Digital Academy Juniors, seniors, and GT classes received laptops in fall
Freshmen and Sophomores in January Core courses are all digital New teaching strategies All-digital content Community hotspots Internet cafe Campus-wide wireless On-site repair center 600+ laptops equipped with asset recovery device
(Lojack) Assignments posted and graded in digital environment Full parental involvement with content and assignments
How Bolton Became Digital The Beginnings
Meeting in New Orleans - Summer 2006 Bolton uniquely qualified for two grants -
Virtue Foundation grant of 160 Mac iBook notebook computers
Award of a $ 220,000 LADOE HiTech grant Meeting with staff and faculty (January 2007) Visit to Empire High School, AZ (March 2007)
Visited with superintendent, faculty, and students Observed classes
How Bolton Became Digital Early Stages (Spring/Summer 2007)
Faculty meetings to share vision, process, and timeline
Teachers received laptops Early spring - placed wireless carts at
school with two instructional technology facilitators
Teachers taught with labs Staff development
Met with parents Spring/summer curriculum development
How Bolton Became Digital Summer 2007
Wireless/server infrastructure Built on-site repair center Ordered all materials/equipment Developed Board-approved laptop agreement Met with community representatives regarding
community hotspots Purchased Lojack Imaged 300 computers the week before school started Distributed laptops with student/parent training Continuing teacher Professional Development with on-
site instructional facilitator to support instruction
How Bolton Became Digital 2007-2008 School Year
All remaining teachers receive notebooks and basic Mac Professional Development
Facilitators work with 9th and 10th grade teachers with two new wireless carts during fall semester
9th and 10th grade students receive laptops and training
Facilitators continue to work with all teachers and students through the spring semester
Technical Infrastructure Managed 3Com wireless network
55 access points - campus -wide Redundant management switches
Intel-based MacBook computers Apple xServe with Remote Desktop
RAID 1 Students’ computers locked down except for
document and desktop space Student data is backed up to server on login
and logout Mobile content filter Full-time on-site repair center with spares
Digital Resources Not simply textbooks on disk! Subscription-based curriculum content
ABC-CLIO for social studies Gizmos for math and science Visual Thesaurus
Non-subscription Internet resources Content software
Geometer’s Sketchpad and Fathom for math and statistics Debate master Microsoft Office Inspiration
Management Blackboard Turnitin Gaggle filtered student email Mobile content filtering
Projectors in all rooms with whiteboards growing in number
What Can MacBooks Dofor Your Classes? Collect, Display, Analyze, & Share Data Ready Access to Tutorials, Historical
Documents, Accurate Maps, and Enrichment Electronic Submission & Grading of Certain
Assignments Internet Access to Authentic Science Activities
and Complex Datasets
Blackboard Lets You Manage Delivery and Assignments
TurnitinLets You Go Paperless!
Screenshot courtesy of Turnitin
ABC CLIO is a Powerful Social Studies Database!
Screenshot courtesy of ABC CLIO
FathomHelps with Graphing Data! See attached handout for directions to
graph data with Fathom 2 software.
Geometer’s Sketchpad Makes Math Come Alive!
6
4
2
-2
-4
-6
-10 -5 5 10
dR = 28.9 m @ 45.99o
mCAB = 45.99°
m AB = 2.89 cm
Let 1 cm = 10 m
A
B
C
The Internet Is aTreasure Trove of Activities Simulations Tutorials Authentic Science
Activities Complex Data Sets Graphics and
Animations Videos
PhET Simulations--Downloadable and Free!
Gizmos Provide Structured Math/ScienceSimulations and Assessments
Screenshot courtesy of ExploreLearning
Other Great Sites
Grab Their Attention with Graphics and Animation!
is great!
Here’s one from the Multimedia Physics Studios:
Links Bolton High School Digital Academy
http://www.rapides.k12.la.us/bda/ Turn It In
http://www.turnitin.com ABC CLIO
http://www.socialstudies.abc-clio.com PhET Simulations
http://phet.colorado.edu/new/simulations/ Gizmos
http://www.explorelearning.com/ Toll-Free 1-866-882-4141 For sales info., email [email protected]
Links, cont. Amusement Park Physics
http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/ UC Berkeley Physics Demonstrations
http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/physics/ MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01Physics-IFall1999/CourseHome/index.htm
The Physics Classroom
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/ Multimedia Physics Studios
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/mmedia/index.html#top
Contact Us
Bolton High School2101 Vance Ave.
Alexandria, LA 71301(318) 448-3628
http://www.rapides.k12.la.us/bolton/ Email Misty at [email protected]
Email Cathy at [email protected]