Tooele School District EdTech staff presented usage data and classroom observations at a Board of Education work session, saying touchscreen Chromebooks in kindergarten through second grade are a developmentally appropriate instructional tool when paired with targeted coaching.

"The technology is not just a supplement. . . it's becoming an integrated essential tool for differentiation and progress monitoring," said Esther, an EdTech team member, describing how software such as Lexia supports phonics instruction and individualized practice.

District presenters said the K rollout follows a district device-rotation schedule tied to the typical Chromebook life cycle. Kindergarten students receive a touchscreen Chromebook that remains assigned through the end of fourth grade; a non-touch device issue in fifth grade then follows a four- to five-year lifecycle. Presenters said seniors are offered older devices for purchase (about $40) and that devices not reused are sold to a recycler (about $30 per unit) to offset replacement costs.

EdTech staff said touchscreen features make some assessments and programs easier for young learners to use. "We had educators say the touch abilities just make it a lot easier for the younger grades to participate," the presentation quoted a classroom teacher as saying. Presenters cited programs by name that the district tracks for primary grades, including Lexia, Nearpod, Canvas, Waggle and others.

On time spent with devices, the team said students typically engage with "high-quality software for up to 50 minutes, four days a week" and that the district's average for K instruction was about 3050 minutes daily based on a mix of analytics and teacher feedback. An audience member who subs for elementary classrooms described substantial variation in implementation, saying substitute-led classes sometimes experience more classroom management challenges that reduce students' productive use of software.

To address uneven implementation, EdTech staff described a coaching model started last year that assigns team members to "residency" visits in schools, offers targeted professional learning opportunities and gathers qualitative and quantitative data from coaching cycles. Hillary, an EdTech presenter, said the group is "gathering data as we work with teachers through coaching cycles" and can share those reports with board members.

Board members raised capacity questions. Presenters said the EdTech team has regularly parked at schools for weeks at a time, works with building administrators to prioritize visits, and compares the district's model to larger districts that staff an instructional coach at every school. Presenters acknowledged the team is small relative to district size and said they are exploring models to expand reach.

Several board members and attendees urged caution about overuse. "When it gets to the point where it's not effective, [we help teachers] recognize that," an EdTech presenter said, describing conversations the team has with teachers when device use displaces higher-value instruction.

The presentation included classroom video and teacher testimonials showing teachers using Chromebooks for diagnostics and to collect engagement data. Presenters emphasized that devices often remain in classroom carts and that whether devices go home is left to teacher discretion in younger grades.

District staff offered to provide the board with the usage reports and coaching data referenced in the presentation.

Provenance:
Topic intro evidence (start of K presentation): "We're just gonna go right into our first, item on the agenda which, we're talking about k 2, devices and the best practices." (transcript start ~00:30)

Topic finish evidence (end of K presentation): "Alright. Thank you." (end of presentation segment ~51:28)