Kershaw County says iCAN

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Kershaw County says i-CAN !
Herbert M. Berg, Ed.D. Superintendent Kershaw
County School District Camden, South Carolina
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What is i-CAN?

• A laptop project that in four years will put a
  laptop computer in the hands of every high school
  student in our district

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The vision and name
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The vision and name
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What we needed to change

• Limited student computer access.
• Student shared computers with no feeling of
  ownership
• Inconsistent technology and Internet access
• Limited technology training for teachers

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What we had to change

• Spending only 4 a student per year on technology
  when recommended expenditure is 250!

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Board, school, community buy in.
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Board, school, community buy in.
Dana Morris Chairman Kershaw County School Board
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Our process

• Research, site visits, internal staff
  participation and buy in
• Continuous Board updates
• Financing secured
• Site surveys and vendor selection
• Hardware, software standards set
• Technical issues addressed
• Teacher and student training
• Deployment of laptops

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Our financial plan

• Financial forecasts sufficient growth in local
  revenue for four year phase in
• Four overlapping lease agreements
• District gets approximately10,000,000 in newer
  technology for 2,000,000 per year indefinitely

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• Payments part of general fund budget making
  technology a priority
• Changed concept of technology from Capital big
  bang to consumable supply
• 50 per student charge optional insurance plan

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Vendor selection
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Vendor selection
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Teacher training
First and continuous !
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What we are doing

• Pre-assessment of skills
• Teacher mentors
• HP and Classroom Connect offerings
  on-site and online
• Classroom Connect teacher observations and
• follow-up
• Instructional Technology Specialists
• Continuous professional
  development - intensive
• eChalk

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What we gave teachers

• HP Notebook with appropriate software
• Docking station
• Extra batteries
• Projector
• Digital camera
• InterWrite School Pad
• Backpack/cases
• Wireless Keyboard/Mouse

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Deployment to students

• Parent
• meetings
• first !

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What we gave students

• 9th grade students were given
• HP Notebook with appropriate software
• Extra battery
• Backpack/cases

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Security issues
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Security issues
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Important to success

• School based
• technicians

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How it works in the classroom
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How it works in the classroom
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Why instruction is changing
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Why instruction is changing
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Are laptops being used?

• Based on an assessment completed 75 days after
  deployment
• The percentage of students who said they used
  computer technology more than five hours at
  school jumped from 7.7 to 89.6 !
• Home use increased from 35.3 to
• 55.0 !

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What students are saying
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What students are saying
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How we are evaluating

• Annual assessments include
• Computer usage home and school
• Applications skill competencies of teachers and
  students
• Instructional impact on student achievement
• Communications between home/school
  student/parent/teacher
• Student attendance and retention /graduation rate

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Making a vision reality
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Making a vision reality
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Questions?