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Posted on January 10, 2012
Focusing on Learning in Oradell, New Jersey
by James Rosso and Judy Salpeter
Student-centered classrooms and a laptop for every student and teacher at the local high school have transformed the school into an engaging, 21st century learning environment.
Several years ago, administrators and teachers at River Dell Regional High School in Oradell, NJ, sat down with a group of parents, students and other stakeholders to rethink the school's educational program. It wasn't that students were failing; in fact, the public school had one of the highest graduation rates in the country. But there seemed to be a growing disconnect between what happened in the classroom and the sorts of things that were engaging students outside of school.
"What came across loud and clear," says River Dell's director of technology, Marianthe Williams, "was that we needed a modern approach that brought into school all the tools the students used in their 'real' life out in the world. We were supposed to be getting them ready to move on to college and the 21st century workplace but how could we do that if we were not letting them use the 21st century tools that are essential in those worlds?"
Out of these discussions grew the decision to transition to a one-to-one learning environment, involving laptop computers for all students and teachers at River Dell High School and the goal of:
- Offering a ubiquitous/transparent computing environment;
- Empowering the students;
- Offering e-learning opportunities;
- Communicating digitally;
- Providing access to digital content;
- Personalizing learning;
- Changing the way the school community thinks of learning environments.
Vision, Leadership, and Digital Learning
Lorraine Brooks, principal of River Dell Regional High School, has been with the River Dell Regional Schools since before the one-to-one program launched in 2005 and Marianthe Williams, director of technology, came on board soon after. They, along with other members of the school and district community, have devoted themselves to creating an atmosphere that encourages faculty and students to take risks and explore new ways of teaching and learning, supported by 21st century tools.
"We're committed to being a completely digital school," says Brooks. She no longer creates a print newsletter, for example; instead, she has switched to an online blog. So has the superintendent. "Every teacher has a web page where they post assignments, rubrics, links and other information for parents and students to access from home. Each student is given a River Dell email address that they use to communicate with the teachers. Nothing goes home in hard copy any more; it's all digital."
While teachers are expected to use the technology with their students, they are given a lot of freedom about exactly which tools to use and how. For example, some use Turnitin, others Dropbox, and still others use the DyKnow management system to hand out and collect assignments. A growing number of teachers are experimenting with "flipping" their classrooms so that students are able to view instruction in the form of digital videos at a time of their choosing and use class time to work collaboratively or receive face-to-face instruction. According to Brooks, "The flipped classroom enables students to come to class better prepared to collaborate and work on interesting projects. The results so far have been wonderful."
"It's not about the device; it's about the learning," says Williams, emphatically. "Our classrooms are now project-based and learner-centered. We have moved away from the 'regurgitative' model of teaching and learning. Some teachers don't use textbooks at all and others rely on them far less than they did before." Instead, online forums, blogs, polling applications, and collaborative writing environments are the educational tools students use on a daily basis. When it comes time to showcase what they have learned, there is an equally wide array of approaches to choose from — including video documentaries, photo stories, podcasts and vodcasts, to name a few.
Multiple modes of assessment are key to the program, as well. For example, the MAP benchmark tests are administered online in September to provide a baseline and then again mid-year to track progress. Teachers and administrators have easy access from their laptops to all test scores — both standardized and formative — and meet frequently to discuss such data.
District leaders are considering including the middle school grades in the laptop program at some point in the future. In the meantime, all of the middle school classrooms have interactive white boards and access to laptop carts and computer labs where computer engineering, literacy and music are taught.
Professional Development
"You can never have too much PD!" according to Brooks and Williams, who point out that professional development is one of five key elements to their program (the other four are: digital content; multiple modes of assessment; infrastructure; and productivity).
Principal Brooks no longer holds weekly staff meetings, which she came to view as a waste of time. Instead, teachers use that time for small-group meetings customized to their needs. On some weeks, they meet with colleagues from their own department to share best practices and strategies. On others, they meet in professional learning communities focused on a particular curriculum challenge. These learning communities, which meet once a month for an entire year, start with a hypothesis and measurable goal, then gather data, refine their questions and report on their results at the end of the year.
Support around technology integration is provided by teachers — two from each department — who are trained over the summer and mentor their colleagues during the school year. The focus, throughout, says Marianthe Williams, is on sharing what's working and what's not, in a collaborative, non-judgmental way. "Teachers have historically been private people — closing their classroom doors and doing their work where others can't see them. But that is no longer the case in our district," she says. "We're creating a culture of sharing. We're celebrating success. It's infectious. The more people share, the more they get excited about trying new things, supporting one another and celebrating what works. We've started our own YouTube channel to allow us to showcase success via videos showing great student work."
Infrastructure and Logistics
While the technology behind the district's one-to-one initiative is less of a focus than the learning objectives and approaches it is there to support, having a robust and reliable wireless network is definitely a key to making everything work — as are functioning computers. "The infrastructure should never impede students," Williams says. "It should be invisible and work when it's needed."
It is important, she adds, to have technology people at the table with other district leaders when they are planning curriculum and new educational initiatives. "In that way, we can share the vision and focus on ways the technology can support everybody's needs." Equally important, according to Williams, is a commitment to assess these needs on a regular basis in order to be sure the infrastructure continues to support curriculum in the way it is meant to.
In its first year, the one-to-one computer program began with the school's freshmen. The idea was to phase in the other grades one at a time but the River Dell administrators quickly decided this was a mistake and expanded to all four grades in a relatively short period of time. "There were too many mixed-grade classes and having everybody involved seemed to make more sense," Williams explains.
The school leases laptops, issuing them to students at the start of each school year. Each computer is collected over the summer for reimaging, then returned to the same student in September. The laptops that were used by graduating seniors are reassigned, in the fall, to incoming freshmen.
The district is committed to keeping parents informed about the program and making sure they are comfortable with everything from the school's policies to the hardware their students are using. Parent information nights and tutorial sessions are offered to help families learn how to use the technology. The vast majority of families have Internet access at home but those who don't can access it at either of two local libraries.
Results
Newsweek named River Dell Regional High as one of the best high schools in America in 2011. In one year it had moved from a ranking of 1,246 out of more than 1,600 top high schools to a ranking of 298 out of 1,100. Although it's hard to attribute advances in student attitudes and literacy skills directly to the laptop program, Lorraine Brooks has little doubt that the 21st century learning environment at her school has led to "better student engagement and the willingness to delve deeper and really challenge themselves. Students — even those who didn't speak up in class before — feel like they now have a voice. It changes how teachers teach and students learn."
Brooks and Williams both embrace the motto: "Change is a Process, Not an Event." One has to give it time, to stay the course, says Brooks. "I believe it takes four years to reach the tipping point. Once you're there, however, it will be clear that it's working and very few members of the school community will even consider giving up the technology."
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