Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Device Choice 1to1 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board reviews year-long device pilot; administration to recommend high-school device choice in February
Summary
Milton School District tech and curriculum leaders reviewed a year-long device pilot Jan. 27 and plan to present a formal recommendation on whether to continue with MacBooks or adopt Chromebooks for high-school students at a Feb. 3 committee meeting and Feb. 10 board meeting.
The Milton School District’s joint curriculum and technology committee reviewed a year-long process Jan. 27 that asked whether to continue with MacBook student devices or move to Chromebooks. District staff told the board a freshman Chromebook pilot and staff and student surveys are informing a recommendation to be presented Feb. 3 to the joint committee and brought to the full board Feb. 10.
Ed and other board and technology staff summarized a multi-step review that began with teacher convenings in spring, followed by a freshman cohort Chromebook pilot in the fall, staff and student surveys and several committee discussions. Board members said the review is deeper than a single-device choice, and they stressed instructional goals and cost implications.
Administration reported that in a recent teacher-focused survey of roughly 54 high-school instructors, 50 said they can achieve their learning objectives using either MacBooks or Chromebooks. Staff noted that some teachers and classes will require supplemental devices (for example, iPads for certain special-education needs). The review also highlighted student comments about Chromebook screen resolution and trackpad feel; in response the tech team procured a higher-end Asus demo Chromebook for hands-on comparison.
The district also deployed ClassWise this year, a classroom-management tool layered on top of the district’s web-filter product. Staff described ClassWise as a teacher dashboard that lets instructors focus student activity during class time (for example, restricting access to non-instructional sites during a lesson) and then reopening broader access outside class periods. Staff told the board ClassWise was well-received and that its adoption grew organically among teachers during the pilot.
Tech staff said many creative and multimedia tools have Chromebook equivalents and that some can be used offline with set-up and training, but district staff acknowledged that not all applications used on MacBooks (GarageBand, certain Mac-only software) are preinstalled on Chromebooks by default and would need alternate workflows or training.
Board members asked about ClassWise’s cross-platform capabilities; staff said ClassWise functions on Macs and Chromebooks with some differences in control granularity. Tech staff offered board members an opportunity to borrow and test demo Chromebooks (a Dell 3120 and an Asus HD demo unit are available) and encouraged board members to set up visits with the tech office.
Administration emphasized finance as a key next step: staff will present procurement cost comparisons and family-cost options with the device recommendation at the Feb. 3 committee meeting and to the board at its Feb. 10 meeting.
Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the Jan. 27 meeting transcript and staff presentations.
