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Let's Talk Tablets

So I'm sure you have heard the tablets are coming back.  We all knew this was in the works and an agreement has been made.

 So what's gonna be different this time around.

 The Device Itself:  Check out the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0VhDJ4QdSo&feature=c4-overview&list=UUENu7hY4RTjh_fIayi3zJnw

Connectivity: Our mobiles have been rewired and a WAP has been installed in each mobile.  Plus, the problems downtown with our "Internet Traffic" have been resolved.

Teacher Involvement:  This and the next four are part of a redesign to include stakeholders that will help "shepherd the process" of tablet role out.  PACE Task Teams have been formed and include staff and teacher representatives from a number of schools.  These teams have begun meeting to define and prioritize the issues and take action steps to resolve them.  I serve on the PACE Teacher Project Team and at our first meeting we brainstormed and recorded all the issues associated with the PACE Tablet Initiative and I have to say.... I was impressed.  Not only with the teacher representatives; their honesty, candidness, passion, and desire to improve, but also with the executive director, Jake Henry.  It's not very often you find a leader who is truly humble, passionate, and visionary; he is one of those leaders that you would "follow into the fire". 
And he is taking action to turn this ship around.

 Teams of county-level staff and teacher representatives are meeting to discuss, troubleshoot, and plan in the following categories.  
Professional Development:  What should the initial professional development look like this summer? What types of professional development should occur throughout the school year?

Communications/Parent Involvement: What information or training should be provided to parents  How should the district be communicating about personalized learning and the PACE initiative?

Staff Roles:  Planning for inventory management, student training, student help desk guidelines, tech. trouble shooting at the school level.


Policy: What to do if a tablet is lost, broken, or damaged? How should the initial deployment occur, etc.?


There is a plan; and a good plan!
  We are the pioneers and our mistakes will allow us and others to succeed.  

After leaving the first PACE Teacher Project Team meeting, I couldn't help but think..............

How would you roll out something this big unless you made mistakes, learned from them, and regrouped to make it even better?
















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