Monday night’s Board of Education meeting brought great news to Deerfield 109 teachers and students…all Innovation Grant applications would be approved, paving the way for 40 teachers and 782 students to pilot a 1:1 learning environment beginning in January!

In our K-2nd grade pilot classrooms, students will use iPads as their 1:1 device, in our 3rd-8th grade classrooms, students will use Chromebooks as their 1:1 device.  But this pilot is about so much more than a device, it is about transforming teaching and learning.  It is about providing students and teachers with access to resources and technology at their fingertips to facilitate creativity, innovation, collaboration, global awareness, information literacy and media literacy.  Students will be able to immerse themselves into a digital-rich environment where there are no limits to their learning.  They will be able to immediately access a world of resources to support their individual learning needs.

1:1 learning environments facilitate differentiated instruction.  Students needing extra support can spend time on resources that are designed to meet their unique learning needs, while others may focus on resources designed to enhance and extend their learning.

Higher-order thinking and creativity become a regular part of classwork, as those lower-level, easy to answer questions are only a click away.  Both students and teachers will strive to push the limits of traditional learning.  1:1 learning is a paradigm shift in school as we knew it when we were students.  In a previous post, I referenced the SAMR model. This model for educational technology will drive our 1:1 learning environments.  As teachers and students seek creative and innovative ways to modify and redefine teaching and learning, we will be well on our way to our mission to Engage, Inspire and Empower each student to excel and contribute in a changing world!