For Parents and Students
The District has begun implementing its new technology toolkit, which will provide transformative learning opportunities for every child in every content area across the School District of Clayton. The launch of the toolkit is changing the landscape of technology in the District, transitioning from permanent computer labs to mobile learning spaces. Beginning in the spring of 2017, every school will see the addition of mobile devices such as tablets, Chromebooks and laptops taking the place of desktop computers. The additional devices at Clayton High School will be used to eventually launch a one-to-one (device-to-student) program during the 2018-2019 school year.
In order to ensure the technology toolkit is implemented in the most effective way for students and staff, the District has developed a three-phase plan for the toolkit rollout. This plan will allow the District to maximize its existing resources while providing appropriate professional development opportunities for staff. The three-phase rollout also gives the District the flexibility to make adjustments to the toolkit based on evolving technology and the needs of each school.
Phase 1: Spring 2017
- Infrastructure upgrades
- Internet bandwidth expansion
- Addition of devices
Phase 2: 2017-2018 School Year
- Security updates to student Google accounts
- Addition of devices
Phase 3: Fall 2018
- Addition of devices
- One-to-one (device-to-student) program launch at Clayton High School
In an effort to increase security on all student accounts, the District will be changing the naming conventions for these accounts for the 2017-2018 school year. All student accounts will include:
- First initial of the student’s first name
- First 17 letters of the student’s last name
- Two random digits
- Example: John Doe’s new account could be jdoe99@claytonschools.net.
Additional information about the account changes will be communicated once the process for transitioning to the new student account names and a corresponding timeline have been finalized.
Every school in the District will see the addition of mobile devices during the three phases of the technology toolkit rollout. These devices will replace many of the existing devices currently utilized in each school. The quantities and types of devices will vary based on each school’s curricular needs.
Family Center
To best support the early childhood curriculum at the Family Center, the toolkit will provide students and teachers with greater access to both tablets and handheld devices such as the iPad and iPod Touch. These devices will allow our early childhood teachers and students to document their learning and interact with different apps to enhance the learning process.
Elementary Schools
The elementary schools will see an addition of tablets such as iPads for the earlier grades and devices with an integrated keyboard, such as Chromebooks and laptops, for the later grades. These devices will be located on carts throughout each school and will replace the traditional computer labs to allow for more flexible learning opportunities during the school day.
Wydown Middle School
At the middle school level, the addition of devices will come in the form of Chromebooks for daily class work and laptops for more complex projects. While most devices will be located on mobile carts throughout the building, some more advanced devices will be maintained in specified locations within the school for use during computer and engineering courses.
Clayton High School
Due to the nature of the high school curriculum and its reliance on utilizing the internet and word processing for work during and outside of the school day, Clayton High School will see the addition of Chromebooks throughout every phase of the toolkit rollout. By Phase 3, which begins in the fall of the 2018-2019 school year, CHS will have enough devices to launch a one-to-one (device-to-student) program in which all students will have the opportunity to check out a CHS Chromebook for use both at school and at home during the school year. The details of the one-to-one program will be finalized and communicated to parents and students closer to the program launch date.
In addition to the utilization of Chromebooks, some courses at CHS will require the use of other devices as well, including tablets, laptops and desktop computers. While these devices will not be added on the same one-to-one scale as the Chromebooks, they will be available for student use throughout the school day.
Description of New Devices
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch is an MP3 player that runs on the Apple operating system and functions similarly to an iPhone. In addition to playing music, an iPod Touch is a touchscreen device that can be used to access the internet, take photos and videos and access apps.
iPad
The iPad is a touchscreen tablet that has many of the same features and functionality as a laptop, but combined with the smaller, simpler features of an iPod Touch. It can be used for accessing the internet, utilizing apps, creating presentations and word documents, taking photos and videos, playing music and much more.
Chromebook
A Chromebook is similar to a standard laptop, allowing users to create documents and access the internet, but it is more lightweight and portable than many laptops. This device runs on Google Chrome’s operating system, utilizing Google applications on the Cloud such as Google Docs and Google Sheets instead of software stored on its hard drive. The benefit of using Cloud-based applications is that it frees up space on the device’s hard drive that improves speed and performance and provides greater storage capabilities for the user. However, because many of the Chromebook’s applications are Cloud-based, the device is primarily intended for use while connected to the internet.
