Powered With Technology: iPad Launch...It's A Go!

MISD Project Launch Pilot

This week our school board voted to deploy an iPad pilot appropriately titled, Project Launch. While it's certainly small, one classroom per school across the district, its impact is sure to be felt. A discussion among the board included mentioned a nearby district distributing iPads to everyone at the secondary level...no training, no protocol. Is this an effective and efficient way to deploy these expensive tools? I would say not. Our superintendent compared that deployment to ours by replying that these tools in the hands of tech-savvy teachers would render a much different outcome. I agree. With budgets tight, I feel we owe it to the taxpayers to be good stewards of our resources and maximize our bang for the buck. Exploring and establishing best practices will make the transition to future technology tools much more effective and will more quickly leverage a dynamic learning environment.

As we launch this pilot program, there will be much to do. Establishing protocols, guidelines, best practices, and workflow will keep these nine teachers very busy. We are currently in the phase of curating resources. Our friend and colleague, Sandy Kendall, recently posted her district's initial launch into a similar pilot on her blog, EdTechSandyK. One advantage we have today is being able to collaborate with other districts connected through social media to increase our knowledge base and resources. I personally have decided to curate resources by creating a Pinterest Board dedicated to iPad resources for deployment and establishing best practices.

Please feel free to share your thoughts, tips, techniques. It our the desire to leave no resource undiscovered. As we proceed through our journey, we are committed to share our story and hopefully pay it forward for those contemplating this move and for all teachers who find these devices in their classrooms one day. It's time for blast off!