Deer Park School District technology questionnaire

These are the replies from some districts to the Newsday questionnaire regarding the use of new technologies in their classrooms.

Some of the answers are elaborate, and have not been edited or reduced. Some districts did not answer the questions directly.

1. Please list any major technological innovations introduced in the classroom in the past three years. Please give the name and list the use for each item.

One to One Macbooks – On November 1st, all 5th grade students were given Apple Macbooks to use in school and at home. By providing all students with 24/7 access to the same device and software, we have leveled the playing field for our students. In just the first two months, students are showing their curiosity by developing their own projects beyond the scope of the classroom assignments and reinforcing the 21st century skills that they will need to prepare for high school, college and the jobs of the future.

SMART Tables – are currently being used with our special education and autistic students to differentiate instruction, build fine motor skills and to help develop communication and collaboration skills.

iPod Touches – are currently being used in special education and general education classroom to support classroom instruction. Teachers are using the iPods to:

· reinforce key literacy, math, science and social studies skills using review activities and games

· take students on virtual trips to art museums

· develop fluency by having students record sample reading passages

iPads – we currently have 25 iPads that are being used for individual and small group instruction by teachers in various subject and service areas. Teachers and service providers applied to participate via an online application process that was reviewed by the administration.

Overdrive - Overdrive is a virtual library that students can use in school or at home to download ebooks and audiobooks to their school issued device or personal iPod, mp3, laptop or ebook reader.

SMART Boards – are currently installed in all of our elementary classrooms and most of our intermediate, middle and high school classrooms. We are continuing to install additional SMART Boards each year. Teachers receive professional development on the use of the interactive board as a tool to increase engagement and to create more interactive and student-centered lessons.

2. Please tell us of any major innovations you are planning to introduce within the next year.

We plan to continue the one to one initiative with our 5th and 6th graders for the 2011/2012 school year. In addition, we will continue to support our current initiatives with professional development, including department meetings, workshops and our successful Model Classroom program. Teachers in the Model Classroom program are chosen through an extensive application process. Teachers selected to participate in the program receive a SMART Board, Macbook. slate, document camera, iPod Touch and SMART responder set. In return they must attend two all day training seminars in the summer and one meeting every other month. In addition, they provide four training workshops on the use of the various technologies to their peers.

3. Are teachers or students using cellphones in the district for instructional purposes?

No