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Being a sixth-grader in Wichita Falls this year is golden — with a touch of chrome. Not only are they the first to take classes in new sixth-grade wings at McNiel and Barwise middle schools and renovated facilities at Kirby, but they are the first to sit in new chairs and desks designed for today''s more collaborative, digital learning atmosphere. They''re also the first to be assigned their own Google Chromebooks in what the Wichita Falls ISD is calling a 1:1 initiative. This year all sixth-graders at the middle schools will receive Dell Chromebooks to take home with them. The devices will stay with them as they move into seventh grade, and incoming sixth-graders will get issued their own, Communications Officer Ashley Thomas said. The students will turn in the Chromebooks over the summer, then will be assigned the device again for their seventh- and eighth-grade years. Stacks of Chromebooks arrived at McNiel Middle School Thursday, when they were distributed to sixth-graders during their math classes. My school didn''t want anything to do with technology. … We got so lucky (to get Chromebooks)! said Jordan Tolleson, a sixth-grader in teacher Julia White''s sixth-grade advanced math class, her eyes shining as she hugged her new device as if it were a treasure. Kylee Foster asked, Is there Skype on here? There''s a camera! She wanted one important questions answered: Can I chew gum by it? Another student asked, Why is YouTube blocked? There is no point if YouTube is blocked. The Chromebooks were rolled out this week to the approximately 1,000 sixth-graders in the district, the culmination of several years of researching and planning, Wichita Falls ISD Assistant Director of Technology Frank Murray said. The Chromebooks cost $257 each with local funding and funding from Instruction Materials Allotment, the money used to purchase textbooks. At this time, we are only working with textbook vendors that provide online curriculum that can be loaded onto the Chromebooks, Thomas said. The district invested about $715,000 to buy 2,450 Chromebooks, approximately 1,000 of them for sixth-graders with the rest of the devices peppered throughout the district; $49,000 for charging stations; and $65,000 for the purchase of GoGuardian software, which helps teachers keep students on task and away from inappropriate content. The cost for the Chromebooks for the sixth-graders was about $310,000. White said sixth-grade teachers prepared for the big Chromebook unveiling day over the summer with three days of training. We''ll do game show (type) quizzes, White said of one way she plans to integrate the Chromebook into classroom lessons. ... And our daily (math) warm-ups. They''ll answer their daily warm-up questions on it. She mentioned using QR codes, those matrix-looking bar codes that contain information about the items to which they are attached. We can do QR codes and the assignments can come up, she said. Sixth-graders aren''t the only ones barreling toward digital technology this year. High-schoolers are able to bring their own devices to school. Thomas added, This year, all fifth-graders also have Chromebooks. However, they do not get to take them home. We also have class sets of about 10 Chromebooks in half of our fourth-grade classrooms and class sets of 10 iPads in about half our kindergarten to third-grade classrooms. The plan is to have class sets of 10 devices in every kindergarten to fourth-grade classroom within the next two years and have 1-to-1 Chromebooks in grades 5-8. Of course, the rollout of all this technology is no accident. The Digital Classroom Pilot Program preceded the Chromebooks'' arrival with 42 pilot teachers assigned Chromebooks, iPad Minis and laptops. Test classrooms also received various devices. That pilot program was followed by Digital Classroom 2.0. Thomas said adding digital devices to the curriculum will enhance students'' thinking, creating and exploring beyond the traditional walls of the classroom. Our ultimate goal is to prepare our students for the world in which they live, she said. The Chromebooks and other devices are part of a concerted effort by the district to move into a digital curriculum. Teachers already are using apps such as Yakit, Seesaw and WordFoto. Superintendent Michael Kuhrt told the Times Record News in March that the district is lagging behind its peers when it comes to digital technology. Oh, we''re behind, he said. Lots of districts across the state have already taken such initiatives. We''ve got to catch up and get our act together. Once every sixth-grader in White''s class was logged into their new Chromebooks Thursday, Murray told the students the rules. The Chromebooks are filtered twice he said, including with the GoGuardian software, to keep students from inappropriate websites. Teachers can go to GoGuardian and go to a website and push it to you, he said, relaying that teachers control student access. The Chromebooks must be charged by the students each night — they hold about a 10-hour charge — and must be ready to go for class the next day. If they''re not, students must go to the library to check out a Chromebook for the day and turn it in by the end of the day. That also comes with a demerit point for not having your supplies, White said. If a Chromebook is lost or stolen, students have to let their teacher know as soon as possible. The district''s technology department can track the devices down via Global Positioning System. If it is stolen, you must file a report with the police department, Murray said. Each Chromebook also has an asset tag on the bottom and if removed, students and their families will be charge to place another asset tag on the device. The cases on the Chromebooks have been dropped at 10 feet, so are pretty sturdy, Murray said, and students can decorate the cases, though not the Chromebooks themselves. Do not write I love so-and-so, said Wichita Falls ISD Chief Technology Officer Shad McGaha with a laugh. You might not love so-and-so next year. You can write I love mom, White suggested. Or I love school, a classroom visitor said. No way, one of the sixth-graders declared handily. Murray added, I''m excited to see the great things you''ll create this year. |
