The Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the NETS standards provide the foundation for our technology philosophy at ASD. We believe, as first quoted by Chris Lehmann, that technology should be like oxygen, ubiquitous and necessary, embedded in our lives. Technology provides the tools students use to create, innovate, and problem solve, all skills that are required of them in the "real world".
The Year of the Pilots - 2009-2010
During the 2009-2010 school year we piloted several "advanced technologies" at ASD. We had 1:2 laptops (one laptop for every 2 students) in grade 7. We had a pilot of tablets running in a handful of science and math classes in the high school. Across the school we piloted SMARTboards. We even had a small iPod Touch lab available. We have a 5 year plan to implement 1:1 (each student with a laptop or internet-connected device) from grades 3-12.
Year One of the Advanced Technology Initiatives - 2010-2011
This is the first year of the 1:1 program. Students in grade 7-8 have been issued school-provided netbooks. Students in upper level science and math courses have been issued tablets. We have added interactive projectors in many of the elementary school classrooms.
Year Two of the Advanced Technology Initiatives - 2011-2012
Students in grade 6-9 will be issued school-provided netbooks. Students in grades 11-12 will be issued tablets. We will add interactive projectors in the remaining elementary school classrooms.
