By Jason Travis

Beginning in August, Crittenden County School District will pilot a digital conversion plan that will allow middle and high school students to bring their own technology into the classroom for instruction.

Crittenden County is joining a growing number of school districts across the country that allows students to bring their own Internetready mobile devices into the classroom for educational purposes. The digital conversion plan will allow middle and high school students to bring laptops, tablets or smartphones inside the classroom as determined by their teachers.

School officials said the success of the program will depend on a number of factors, including how well students follow policies and guidelines for use of the technology at school.

The process of initiating a digital conversion plan began in the spring of 2012 when the school district’s technology committee visited Larue County High School and later Graves County High School to observe their individual technology programs. Last January, the school board approved the completion of the wireless technology infrastructure for the middle and the high school to not exceed $65,000. This allowed for the installation of wireless access points in each classroom at both schools. Previously, both schools had only 25 access points. Officials indicate that one access point in each classroom can handle approximately 30 to 40 devices.

Vince Clark, supervisor of instruction for Crittenden County Schools, said allowing technology in the classroom gives students the ability to communicate and collaborate with others, become more creative in problem-solving and to be innovative. He stressed allowing students to bring Internet-ready mobile devices into the classroom should be seen as an instructional initiative.

“We’re not adopting it as a technology initiative. It’s to increase the number of students who are engaged in real-life learning. Kids today are digital learners. It’s who they are. They are connected all the time,” Clark said, citing that the devices will be used as a resource to supplement learning in the classroom. “It’s like having microscopes in a science class. It supports what is going on in the class. 

“We’re offering up our network to help students increase their learning opportunities in school. Increased learning opportunities, we feel, will increase ACT scores and improve college and career readiness skills, which will make them more competitive for scholarships.”

Clark said students will not be allowed to connect to or use the devices in hallways. Teachers will have full authority to tell students to place devices down and determine when and how the devices are used in the classroom.

Before students may begin using devices in the classroom, school officials stress both the Student Acceptable Use Policy and Student Technology Acceptable Use Addendum forms will have to be signed by all students who want to have access. Parents or guardians of students under age 18 are also required to read and sign the agreement. Officials stress signing the document indicates that the student and parent or guardian have read and understand the expectations of the Crittenden County Board of Education.

To ensure responsible use and instill proper Internet etiquette, each student will be required to take a digital driver’s license test at the beginning of the school year. Students will also have to register their devices at school.  

Clark said the digital driver’s license tests will be managed through the middle and high school English classes. At the beginning of the school year, each student will go through 90 minutes to two

hours of training spread out over the course of approximately two weeks. Training will address ethical, safe and proper use of the Internet. During this time, students will also register their devices in their English classes onto the school district’s network.

Ben Grainger is the district technology coordinator and chief information officer for Crittenden County schools. He said each student may register two devices—such as a smartphone and a tablet— onto the school district’s network. The hardware address of the student’s device will be tied to their active directory account. Once registered, school officials will be able to track what sites students visit online while at school and can store log files of those sites visited for at least 30 days. 

Grainger stressed each student will be responsible for the care of his or her own device. If a student experiences a problem with the device, the schools can’t troubleshoot or repair any student-owned device. However, students can share a device if one goes down during class. 

A survey last semester of incoming sixth-graders through seniors indicated that 79 percent of them have an Internet-ready device to support learning at school. For those students who don’t have a device, the school district is planning on using funds to purchase mobile devices that students can check out during the day for classroom use. 

Clark said a $10,500 carryover from a federal grant has been set aside to purchase the devices. The board of education is matching that amount from the general fund for a total of $21,000. 

“We hope to have by August a certain number of devices ready for student check-out. If those devices work out well, then we will look at buying some more,” Clark said, indicating the district would purchase a set number of devices at the start of the semester. Once those prove to be effective and solid devices for student use, the district would then purchase additional devices. 

“It will probably be a roll-out over this fall semester before we exhaust that $21,000,” he said. 

Clark said the middle and high schools will decide how students may check out the devices. One option would be to have devices checked out through the library. Other options may include a check-out managed by department courses or by grade level. 

Using mobile devices for classroom instruction isn’t new to Crittenden County schools. Many teachers have been using the technology in a limited number of class assignments.  Middle school language arts teacher Tiffany Blazina told school board members last March about her experience using technology in the classroom. She became involved with the initiative after being appointed to a schoolbased technology committee.  

Blazina uses the instructional program Edmodo, an online, interactive homework site that allows teachers to customize lesson plans, conduct student polls, quizzes and organize assignments by individual classes. She said students and teachers benefit from the program because it allows students the convenience of online homework. The program enables teachers to provide feedback online and logs information such as class averages and completion rates. 

School officials believe the digital conversion plan will not only engage and support student learning but also prepare them for future career opportunities. 

“I am excited about the increased access students will have to some kind of digital device during the school day which will lead to better student engagement and learning,” said Crittenden County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rachael Yarbrough. “Our learning environments are becoming more digitized which is a better match for our digital learners that are in our classrooms right now.”