Superintendent Office

OPENING COMMENTS - I want to thank everyone for taking time out of their busy schedule to attend this work session as we hope to answer some additional questions for you about why we believe the time is right for us to consider moving to a one to one IPad initiative at the high school beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. However, before we begin providing you with more information tonight, I feel it is essential to point out that with most new initiatives, there will likely be some challenges that may surface, that, try as we may, we were unable to anticipate or predict, but I think this leadership team has done a nice job of considering as many variables as possible and I have challenged this team in front of you tonight to try and mitigate any surprises to the best of our ability. Simply put, we have an administrative team who are strong instructional leaders, connected well with the needs of their students and with the abilities of our staff.

In addition we are so very fortunate to have staff members who are incredibly dedicated to our students and who realize the value to our students in holding 21st century technology skills and who are amazing problem-solvers; teachers who welcome the opportunity to adapt to the needs of their students and never back down from any challenge that is in the best interest of the kids that we serve. These dedicated folks are willing to do what it takes to make this initiative successful for students in all of our buildings. If we were not confident in the abilities of our teaching staff to fully implement and utilize such technology to its’ fullest extent possible to benefit the students, we would not be making this recommendation to you.

Finally, before we begin the presentation we want to assure you that we understand that while we have been exploring this initiative for a couple of years as an administrative team, there may be many questions you still have about the initiative even after tonight’s meeting and we want to be sure we answer as many of those questions as possible so that you can also be our co-ambassadors within the community about why this initiative is good for the students and families of Archbold. So PLEASE—if you have additional questions as we go through the night, jot them down and follow up with me so we can do our best to avail you to as much information as possible.

STUDENT BENEFITS - This is a very exciting time and a great opportunity for our students, our school district and our community. I want to stress something that is very important to remember regarding this initiative---we have been very careful to try and match the technology to the needs of the students and their teachers. Typically, schools have operated their technology initiatives predominantly around a ‘computer lab’ model where 25 students at a time could access technology if their teacher brought them to the lab during class time or during study halls if they had one. This model presents a number of problems. First, it means that students have very limited time where they had access to technology during the school day or in some cases in the evenings. The next problem created was the fact that replacing the labs was not being done often enough to allow the most current software to operate effectively on the equipment. We have been chasing after the technology goals as a result of these and financial challenges with a desire to keep the most effective equipment accessible to our students. However, while these few problems are certainly factors that we considered, the most compelling need is that we are teaching a generation of students who are so drawn to technology and to web based learning and instant informational access, that it has become necessary for us to step out of our traditional modes of education, to examine what learning will look like for this digital age. Unlike many of us, who grew up in much more traditional learning environments, our students are in constant electronic communication and have a much more intense need to multi-task.

As we hungered for good books and engaging learning, our students today require instruction that is steeped in media with access to similar learning, but with much more hunger for web and/or electronic modalities. We have been trying to explore the various types of technology within our budget and we have explored and utilized several types of effective technology including LCD projectors, document cameras, SMART Boards and netbooks, all of which have brought some value to our students. We have also explored allowing students to bring their own learning devices if they wished. We will likely continue to utilize various types of technological devices at varying grade levels as we feel, if properly used, this is how students can be the most engaged learners.

WHY ARCHBOLD AND WHY NOW - We are very fortunate in that Mr. Gnagey, our technology director is so very passionate about what he does and he has done an outstanding job of planning our technology needs within each of our buildings. Back in November 2008, Brent invited Mrs. Ziegler and I to attend a presentation at a school in Toledo that had implemented a one-to-one laptop initiative. Although a bit reluctant as to the major issues I had always heard about when implementing such a program, there were two very distinct things I left that program remembering that were very telling to me. The first was the number of teachers that were uneasy about the implementation and some who even resisted implementation, who later recognized how much more focused their student’s were when technology was put in their hands in every classroom every single day of the week. But clearly, the most compelling point for me was both the passion and the responsibility that the students demonstrated when talking about how they learn and how their learning environment was more enriching because of the access to so many web based resources other than a teacher lecturing in front of them for most of the day.

The opportunities that we feel this initiative will give our students will enhance college readiness, will provide tools students are familiar with to steer their learning and will maintain strong student engagement and focus. In addition, students will have online resources for learning available 24 hours per day. The reason this initiative will be so powerful is that it will put the devices in the hands of the students 24 hours per day instead of only periodically when we get a chance to visit a computer lab. We realize this is a philosophy shift in how we’ve done business before, but our job as your educational leaders in the community is position our students for the greatest learning opportunities so that students from Archbold Ohio can continue to impact their community and our world with creative, innovative and technology driven thinking.

Not only are our students ready for this type of learning, but as you have had demonstrated in the past few months at board meetings, we have both students and teachers who are already running ahead by creating some web-based learning opportunities for students and the students exceed our expectations.

BUDGET EXPLANATIONS - When discussing the budget for a one-to-one device model, cost has had to be one of the areas to take the most work and time to research. Let me put the board and the community at ease by stating that this administrative team has continued working to carefully manage the resources that we are entrusted with and we will continue to do so. As community members will recall, we requested an emergency levy in 2006 that we originally believed would only carry us through 2009. We renewed that levy one year ago for the same amount, and we are hopeful that the emergency operating levy sought in 2006 will sustain us through 2013 or 2014. The other major consideration that we have discussed extensively is our desire to not allow any initiative of this nature to push forward the need for additional revenue to our community. Therefore Mr. Gnagey has worked diligently to accommodate this initiative by finding a way for us to shift how our technology funds are being directed so that the same budget that was previously being expended, can be re-directed towards a one-to-one model. Instead of replacing labs at the high school, we can now be in a position to place a device in the hands of each 9-12 student, which will free up other devices to be passed to our middle grades students , who in turn can share more technology devices with our elementary school. This is not just a 9-12 initiative although that is where it will begin. This shift in our philosophy involving technology will benefit students in all grade levels, but the biggest adjustment will initially occur in our HS building.

Let me state this again, it is not believed that this initiative will INCREASE expenditures within our technology program, but will instead result in us re-directing how those resources are being allocated in a way that will allow us to put an instrument in every high school students hands 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, instead of only when a computer lab might be available.

Again, I know there will remain many questions and we will do our best to address those questions with you as you pose them.



	iPad Presentation-Work Session March 12, 2012 OPENING COMMENTS - I want to thank everyone for taking time out of their busy schedule to attend this work session as we hope to answer some additional questions for you about why we believe the time is right for us to consider moving to a one to one IPad initiative at the high school beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. However, before we begin providing you with more information tonight, I feel it is essential to point out that with most new initiatives, there will likely be some challenges that may surface, that, try as we may, we were unable to anticipate or predict, but I think this leadership team has done a nice job of considering as many variables as possible and I have challenged this team in front of you tonight to try and mitigate any surprises to the best of our ability. Simply put, we have an administrative team who are strong instructional leaders, connected well with the needs of their students and with the abilities of our staff. In addition we are so very fortunate to have staff members who are incredibly dedicated to our students and who realize the value to our students in holding 21st century technology skills and who are amazing problem-solvers; teachers who welcome the opportunity to adapt to the needs of their students and never back down from any challenge that is in the best interest of the kids that we serve. These dedicated folks are willing to do what it takes to make this initiative successful for students in all of our buildings. If we were not confident in the abilities of our teaching staff to fully implement and utilize such technology to its’ fullest extent possible to benefit the students, we would not be making this recommendation to you. Finally, before we begin the presentation we want to assure you that we understand that while we have been exploring this initiative for a couple of years as an administrative team, there may be many questions you still have about the initiative even after tonight’s meeting and we want to be sure we answer as many of those questions as possible so that you can also be our co-ambassadors within the community about why this initiative is good for the students and families of Archbold. So PLEASE—if you have additional questions as we go through the night, jot them down and follow up with me so we can do our best to avail you to as much information as possible. STUDENT BENEFITS - This is a very exciting time and a great opportunity for our students, our school district and our community. I want to stress something that is very important to remember regarding this initiative---we have been very careful to try and match the technology to the needs of the students and their teachers. Typically, schools have operated their technology initiatives predominantly around a ‘computer lab’ model where 25 students at a time could access technology if their teacher brought them to the lab during class time or during study halls if they had one. This model presents a number of problems. First, it means that students have very limited time where they had access to technology during the school day or in some cases in the evenings. The next problem created was the fact that replacing the labs was not being done often enough to allow the most current software to operate effectively on the equipment. We have been chasing after the technology goals as a result of these and financial challenges with a desire to keep the most effective equipment accessible to our students. However, while these few problems are certainly factors that we considered, the most compelling need is that we are teaching a generation of students who are so drawn to technology and to web based learning and instant informational access, that it has become necessary for us to step out of our traditional modes of education, to examine what learning will look like for this digital age. Unlike many of us, who grew up in much more traditional learning environments, our students are in constant electronic communication and have a much more intense need to multi-task. As we hungered for good books and engaging learning, our students today require instruction that is steeped in media with access to similar learning, but with much more hunger for web and/or electronic modalities. We have been trying to explore the various types of technology within our budget and we have explored and utilized several types of effective technology including LCD projectors, document cameras, SMART Boards and netbooks, all of which have brought some value to our students. We have also explored allowing students to bring their own learning devices if they wished. We will likely continue to utilize various types of technological devices at varying grade levels as we feel, if properly used, this is how students can be the most engaged learners. WHY ARCHBOLD AND WHY NOW - We are very fortunate in that Mr. Gnagey, our technology director is so very passionate about what he does and he has done an outstanding job of planning our technology needs within each of our buildings. Back in November 2008, Brent invited Mrs. Ziegler and I to attend a presentation at a school in Toledo that had implemented a one-to-one laptop initiative. Although a bit reluctant as to the major issues I had always heard about when implementing such a program, there were two very distinct things I left that program remembering that were very telling to me. The first was the number of teachers that were uneasy about the implementation and some who even resisted implementation, who later recognized how much more focused their student’s were when technology was put in their hands in every classroom every single day of the week. But clearly, the most compelling point for me was both the passion and the responsibility that the students demonstrated when talking about how they learn and how their learning environment was more enriching because of the access to so many web based resources other than a teacher lecturing in front of them for most of the day. The opportunities that we feel this initiative will give our students will enhance college readiness, will provide tools students are familiar with to steer their learning and will maintain strong student engagement and focus. In addition, students will have online resources for learning available 24 hours per day. The reason this initiative will be so powerful is that it will put the devices in the hands of the students 24 hours per day instead of only periodically when we get a chance to visit a computer lab. We realize this is a philosophy shift in how we’ve done business before, but our job as your educational leaders in the community is position our students for the greatest learning opportunities so that students from Archbold Ohio can continue to impact their community and our world with creative, innovative and technology driven thinking. Not only are our students ready for this type of learning, but as you have had demonstrated in the past few months at board meetings, we have both students and teachers who are already running ahead by creating some web-based learning opportunities for students and the students exceed our expectations. BUDGET EXPLANATIONS - When discussing the budget for a one-to-one device model, cost has had to be one of the areas to take the most work and time to research. Let me put the board and the community at ease by stating that this administrative team has continued working to carefully manage the resources that we are entrusted with and we will continue to do so. As community members will recall, we requested an emergency levy in 2006 that we originally believed would only carry us through 2009. We renewed that levy one year ago for the same amount, and we are hopeful that the emergency operating levy sought in 2006 will sustain us through 2013 or 2014. The other major consideration that we have discussed extensively is our desire to not allow any initiative of this nature to push forward the need for additional revenue to our community. Therefore Mr. Gnagey has worked diligently to accommodate this initiative by finding a way for us to shift how our technology funds are being directed so that the same budget that was previously being expended, can be re-directed towards a one-to-one model. Instead of replacing labs at the high school, we can now be in a position to place a device in the hands of each 9-12 student, which will free up other devices to be passed to our middle grades students , who in turn can share more technology devices with our elementary school. This is not just a 9-12 initiative although that is where it will begin. This shift in our philosophy involving technology will benefit students in all grade levels, but the biggest adjustment will initially occur in our HS building. Let me state this again, it is not believed that this initiative will INCREASE expenditures within our technology program, but will instead result in us re-directing how those resources are being allocated in a way that will allow us to put an instrument in every high school students hands 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, instead of only when a computer lab might be available. Again, I know there will remain many questions and we will do our best to address those questions with you as you pose them.