Growing Technology in an Elementary School: The Jackie Robinson Academy Approach

Growing Technology in an Elementary School: The Jackie Robinson Academy Approach

Implementing meaningful technology in a classroom and throughout a school to provide opportunities for students to communicate, create, collaborate, and/or code, is no easy or cheap task. For Principal Dr. Damita Myers-Miller at Jackie Robinson Academy, this is one of many issues that she, along with other countless administrators, in public schools face in the growing digital divide.

During the 2014 – 2015 school year, more than 1,000 students enrolled at Jackie Robinson Academy had access to a computer for one hour a week via three roaming laptop carts. However, the school did not have school-wide wireless, which made utilizing these devices for instructional purposes problematic. Over the course of four years, Dr. Miller pressed her district and staff to grow and adopt more meaningful technology integration in the classrooms. Her school now has one to one Chromebooks for every student in grades 3 through 8, and in grades K-2, classroom sets are shared in a partner pair configuration.

Early in the school year in 2014, Robinson Academy was in its first year of the ART of TEACHING fellowship. As a Cotsen principal, Dr. Miller was encouraged to join the ART of TEACHING’s Principals’ Technology Network (PTN). The PTN was established by the Cotsen Foundation, under the guidance of Dr. Sharon Sutton and a cadre of Cotsen alumni teachers who serve as facilitators. It provides principals with a coach and a network of supportive colleagues, all of whom are interested in moving their schools forward through the use of thoughtful technology integration. The PTN cohort was invited to a technology observation where Cotsen principals, district administrators, and teachers had the opportunity to observe technology integration inside live classrooms across multiple schools and districts.

Seeing the initiatives these schools were undertaking put a fire in Dr. Miller’s heart, and she called her assistant superintendent thereafter to change things at Robinson Academy.

“It really burned my heart when I went to that technology observation. I was so frustrated. This was completely unfair. We had a digital divide here. It’s not okay that these kids from these other districts and schools have the opportunity to learn how to edit and revise on their digital devices and are building 21st century skills, and my kids are limited to pencil and paper,” recalls Dr. Miller.

Determined to transform the technological profile of her school, Dr. Miller selected several teachers to attend the Unconference, another ART of TEACHING event designed and implemented by Dr. Sutton and the PTN facilitators. The Unconference focused on educational technologies and provided an opportunity for participants to share and learn in an open environment. Google Apps for Education (GAFE) was presented at this event and Dr. Miller and her teachers were encouraged to attend the GAFE Summit.

After attending the Summit, Dr. Miller petitioned for funds for school-wide WiFi, purchased seven roaming Chromebook carts, and built a team of technology demonstration teachers. Each time Dr. Miller and her team attended a summit or CUE conference they came back and held a mini presentation-day for the school site. Teachers rotated through various classrooms that mimicked sessions from the conference that their demonstration teachers had attended. The teachers began to integrate the use of Chromebooks into their classroom structure and it opened the gate for new approaches to learning.

“Because of the Chromebooks, I now have teachers who are not as nervous about trying something different. I think the access is easier and now, our staff as a whole, is looking at the S.A.M.R. (Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition) model. S.A.M.R. is a model designed to help educators infuse technology into teaching and learning. Popularized by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, the model supports and enables teachers to design, develop, and infuse digital learning experiences that utilize technology.

Additionally, Dr. Miller set three important dates on the calendar for technology integration meetings with her staff. These meetings allowed her to personalize conferencing time with her staff and open up a dialogue about their development. It also gave the staff an opportunity to reflect on their own instructional practices and plan for future outcomes and expectations.

“The 2016 — 2017 school year was a big explosion of technology integration for us,” muses Dr. Miller. “We purchased seven additional Chromebook carts and my demonstration teachers were charged with supporting their grade levels in tech integration. Several of my teachers were also asked to be master teachers, and they each received a Chromebook cart. Soon after, we had the ability to start partner pairs with the Chromebooks.”

“We started off in phases. I told my staff our kids need to learn how to log in and get connected. We just kept pushing them further, and now we’ve come a long way. My expectation now is that across grades one through eight, all classrooms have a Google Classroom account. I want students able to access videos, assignments, and submit assignments via Google Classroom,” Dr. Miller commented.

Having had such great success in implementing technology at her site, this determined principal stresses that if administrators are looking to build instructional technology integration capacity in their schools, they need to develop a specific and detailed plan. “Your plan will have to have stages and expectations for those stages so all teachers can be successful. But most importantly, you’ll need to ask what is it that you want as a result of having the technology? Any devices your teachers are using should be used as an enhancement to support learning. If not, then your Chromebook or iPad means nothing,” she concluded.

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