High school teachers to use convertible laptops this fall; professional development Aug. 29
After an extensive pilot process, district high school teachers will be using laptops that convert into writing surfaces this fall. This next generation of classroom technology replaces the desktop computers that are currently being used.
“Teachers are telling us they want the flexibility to untether from their desks, move about their rooms, and engage their students in unique and exciting ways,” said Bruce DeWitt, technology facilitator.
The device, specifically called the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Elitebook, was chosen by 32 high school teachers participating in a pilot. The group used their own experiences and feedback from dozens of high school teachers in-person and online to make their decision. The HP Elitebook was the highest rated amongst both the teachers piloting devices and those that submitted feedback, mainly for its ability to facilitate interactivity and annotation.
High school teachers will receive their convertible laptop Aug. 27. Professional development will take place Aug. 29 for a half day, with follow-up training throughout the 2018-19 school year. High school teachers can contact their school’s technology teacher for any questions on this.
New projectors and whiteboards will also be installed in high school classrooms as part of the project. This will enable teachers to wirelessly connect and display a larger, brighter image in their classrooms.
“The new image is incredible,” said DeWitt. “It’s a 40 percent larger image size with near high definition resolution. It’s probably 50 percent brighter than your average 7-year-old projector.”
The whiteboards are being installed slightly higher on classroom walls to improve sight lines in the back of the classroom.
“Technology that is currently in classrooms is becoming obsolete,” said Dr. Joel VerDuin, chief technology officer. “We’re now are able to solve the unique challenge of an aging fleet of Smartboards and desktop computers by replacing them with one device – a convertible laptop.”
The technology levy is funding the high school classroom technology updates. This is the seventh year of the 10-year plan.