This post is sponsored by the Consortium for School Networking
Almost five years ago, a small rural school corporation located just west of Indianapolis, Indiana, started on a journey that would change the way they delivered education. The district, rated one of the top ten in Indiana in testing, knew they had to do something to change the way they educated students.
Following the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) Framework of Essential Skills, the director of technology challenged all stakeholders with a Given the Opportunity initiative. It was simple. To teachers: Given the opportunity, how would you change the way you teach? To students: Given the opportunity, how would you change the way you learn? To Leaders: Given the opportunity, how would you change the way you lead?
Because of the economic landscape of the community, the school district could not afford to pay for the devices needed to do a one-to-one initiative. Everyone knew, however, that the students needed to be prepared for the world they would face on the same level playing field as the bigger schools with more funding to provide these devices. The option quickly became evident to everyone. A Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) program was the only way to accomplish a one-to-one initiative goal. While surveying, meeting and talking with all stakeholders (teachers, parents, students, administrators), the journey began.
Before bringing the devices in, however, the district needed to build e-learning environment. Training began with helping teachers learn how to build that environment of learning using an LMS. The teachers were the experts in the room when it came to curriculum. What they needed help with was how to build their curriculum into an online e-learning environment.
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