Q. Why is Culver Community committed to this technology initiative?
A. The reasons for this decision are many. Briefly, we must prepare students for their futures beyond C.C.S.C., in both the world of work, and as life-long learners in a global environment. We must connect student in-school learning with their outside the classroom walls realities.
Q. What does the term "1-to-1 Initiative" mean?
A. Every student in the selected grades is issued his/her own iPad that he/she has access to at all times 24/7.
Q. What grade level students will get iPads?
A. Every student in grades 7-12 will receive one for the 2011-12 school year.
Q. What will be the cost to students / parents?
A. We are not charging parents or students any additional "1-to-1" fees for the 2011-12 school year. First, C.C.S.C. leadership has monitored our budget and spending closely and has been planning ahead for this possibility for the past several years. Second, we review our budget, line-by-line, considering every impact of using technology to replace current "hard-costs" (paper, text books, etc.). In addition, we are working with Apple Education's lease program, which spreads the cost over three years.
Q. Won't it cost students / parents something more ... sometime in the future?
A. Perhaps. But we are committed to keep these costs as low as possible. At the end of the day, everything we provide for students ultimately comes from our budget or textbook rental. We are continually looking at alternative sources of revenue to sustain our programs, both in the near and distant future.
Q. If students don't pay something, will they take care of their iPad?
A. Yes, because students won't want to be without them! OK, this is just part of the answer but, honestly, this will be enough for most students to take proper care of their iPad. In addition, we will have students, and parents, sign a contract outlining their responsibility for taking care of their issued iPad. There will be an expectation that carelessness, and/or intentional damage, to the iPad will become the responsibility of the student, thus the parent. We suggest parents provide insurance on the device. But we believe students will value their "tool" for what it will mean to both their educational and personal lives, both during and beyond the school day.
Q. So - What will parents invest during the 2011-12 school year?
A. Parent investment during the 2011-12 school year will be to closely monitor student learning, at home, as we do so at school. We believe this initiative will significantly impact and enhance every child's education. We want to work closely with parents this next year to evaluate that impact. We will be asking parents and students to participate in surveys and discussions as a part of this process. Your investment will be significant! And thanks in advance!
Q. Can students purchase their iPad, especially next year's seniors?
A. We have not made that determination yet. We would like to make this possible and will do so if we can make it work financially for both C.C.S.C. and students. We'll keep you informed.
Q. Why do students need 1-to-1 devices? Aren't the computer labs at school sufficient?
A. Our learning environment requires that each high school student (9th - 12th) has access to his/her own technology throughout the school day, and beyond. While we will maintain computer labs in our school for whole group specific tasks or instruction, valuable learning time is lost taking whole groups to and from the computer lab. Many computer tasks often require only intermittent tasks that are best integrated with other instructional activities in the teacher's own classroom environment.
Q. Does my student have a choice of participating in the program?
A. No. All students in grades 7th - 12th will participate. All teachers will include the essential elements of technology into their curriculum. In some classes, this will involve heavier computer use than others.
Q. My student already has a laptop. Can they use that instead of using one from school?
A. No. In order for our technical support staff to assure student safeguards and the inclusion of all C.C.S.C. required software and technological capabilities, we must maintain an environment with a common technology tool. We have determined the best tool for Culver Community to be the Apple iPad. As technology advances, this option may become a reality in the future, but not during the 2011-12 school year.
Q. If I have more than one student, will they share the iPad?
A. No. All 7th - 12th students will be issued their own iPad.
Q. What will teachers and students do differently? How will this look?
A. Teachers and students will be doing many things differently. This will include how our curriculum is delivered, how it is discussed among students and teachers, and how assignments are submitted to teachers. We will continue offering parents insights to these changes as we approach August, and as we move through next school year.
Q. Can students access objectionable material online?
A. Filtering software is installed on all equipment provided to students to safeguard against students inadvertently accessing objectionable content from outside the school corporation. The school network also has security in place to screen content. No system, however, is 100% effective in screening out all objectionable content. In addition, there is no universal standard on what would be considered objectionable. Therefore, parents must discuss their expectations with their child about safeguards the child should take when accessing the internet. We will support parents by also having these discussions with students and providing suggestions to parents to enhance these discussions.
Q. Will students be spending "too much time" on their computer and online?
A. While "too much" is relative and some students may already spend "too much" time on computers, this is certainly not our expectation. 1-to-1 computer access and use will supplement and enhance, but certainly not replace, traditional classroom discussion between students and teachers. Students will spend more time in collaboration with teachers and fellow students and bring more content to those discussions through use of their immediate access to technology. Much of the computer time that many of today's students spend on the computer will be outside the classroom. However, that use will be an extension of, and directly connected to, what occurs in the classroom. This is the primary purpose of implementing a 1-to-1 initiative.
Q. How do teachers make sure students are working and not just surfing the web during class?
A. While there will be students who occasionally try to "surf", just as students have historically "day-dreamed" etc., we will install software that can monitor, and control if necessary, all student iPads.
Q. Will my child get help in learning how to use the iPad?
A. Yes. Specific initial training will be provided during implementation of this 1-to-1 initiative as well as on-going training incorporated into the courses the students are taking. Many of our students already possess excellent computer skills, and those who are less technically proficient, will have sufficient exposure to quickly come up to speed.
Q. What technical support will the school offer when the hardware or software doesn't work?
A. We use a "ticketing system", whereby students can immediately report problems to our technology support staff. In addition, temporary loaners are available to avoid any significant down-time for any of our students' iPads, when the problem is beyond the student's control.
Q. Why did Culver Community choose the iPad?
A. We investigated the available technology tools that would best address our question: "What technology tool will best support our desired student traits and learning environment?" We considered tools by Apple: MacBook & iPad and PC tools: NetBook and PC Laptop. After a great deal of study, we determined the iPad to be the superior tool for Culver Community to support our desired learning environment.
Q. Please address: "The business world uses PC rather than Apple platform."
A. There are several ways to answer this question. First, our learning environment calls for the gaining of technology skills, not the software tools specific to a format, PC or Apple. We are also using technology to enhance communication, collaboration, and access to content, rather than uses unique to a given format. Also, many people transition back and forth between PC and Apple platforms and can use both effectively. We are confident our students will be able to do so, as well. Finally, another reason for selecting Apple rather than PC is that Apple Education supports teacher professional development, including development of teaching content and instructional strategies, in significant ways, that are not readily available through PC providers.
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