DRP_FINAL_Oct16

IN PERSON LEARNING: TECHNOLOGY

HARDWARE Each student will be assigned their own device in order to prevent the sharing of any materials. At the middle school and high school levels, each student is already assigned a chromebook or iPad. At the elementary level, devices were shared at the lower grade levels. The District has procured enough chromebooks to assign each elementary student their own chromebook. These chromebooks will be stored in each classroom with the student’s name on the chromebook. In the event the District has to move to remote learning, each student will have a device ready to go. The District is procuring enough document cameras for each and every teacher in the District. These document cameras will be utilized as both document cameras as well as video conferencing devices. In the event that teachers will have to deliver content to students at home, these devices can be utilized as a camera and microphone to video conference to remote students. The District will continue to standardize Zoom use as its software of choice for video conferencing, due to its security advantages and its best in class reputation. SOFTWARE During our remote teaching environment, we sampled a broad variety of software for our students. Based on this experience and budgetary constraints, we have streamlined our software to a list of powerful tools aimed at promoting the four Cs: critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. We recognize that in some environments, such as hybrid or remote, our students may have increased screen time which is why we have carefully curated our lesson design and software usage to ensure that the quality of use supersedes the quantity of use, that is, pedagogy, not technology, drives our choices. While the Google Suite of Education is our foundational software for communication and collaboration, we use Zoom across the District for video conferencing, especially critical in a hybrid or remote teaching environment. Additional District wide tools such as Adobe Spark, Book Creator, Nearpod and Screencastify provide multiple pathways for students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. We employ a variety of tools for assessment and feedback that help facilitate a rich and authentic learning environment.

Darien Reopening Plan: In Person Learning 47