Collier County Public School District
Supervising and Interacting with Students in a One-to-One Computing Environment
The Collier County Public School District (CCPSD) built six new elementary schools in 2007 to address the needs of a growing population. With new construction came new opportunity; administrators could decide exactly where and how to expend funds. Twenty-first century teaching and learning philosophies were at the forefront of their minds so administrators put technology at the top of the priority list. Tim Ferguson, principal at Veterans Memorial Elementary, one of the six new schools, advocated for a one-to-one (1:1) computing program.
“Student learning for the 21st century has to include the meaningful use of technology,” said Ferguson. “As students finish school and become productive adults in the community they will use technology. So the earlier we prepare them, the more successful they will be.”
However, Ferguson, like other administrators and faculty members, was concerned about distractions. Teachers’ needed a way to supervise and manage student computers. The district’s technology analyst John Antonacci was in charge of finding a solution to their challenge.
CHALLENGE AND SOLUTION
“We needed a product that could be managed from the district’s technology center, worked in a wireless environment and would scale across our six new schools,” said Antonacci. “After a lot of research, DyKnow Monitor was the only product that actually worked in our environment.”
While administrators and teachers were initially interested in DyKnow Monitor®, they quickly realized teacher needed a way to use the computers beyond just supervising student behavior. It was also during that time Antonacci learned about DyKnow Vision, an interactive teaching tool.
“DyKnow Vision was the extra piece we were looking for because it would allow teachers to collaborate and interact on the computers,” said Antonacci.
The six principals agreed that both DyKnow Monitor and DyKnow Vision would be beneficial to their program and soon thereafter Antonacci was implementing both products across six schools. All 3,500 DyKnow Monitor and DyKnow Vision licenses are hosted on one server at the district’s technology center.
“We found implementation to be very easy,” said Antonacci. “Basically all we did was let the DyKnow database know what Active Directory we use and immediately all our students were bulk-enrolled onto our server. Software like DyKnow Monitor and DyKnow Vision is a lot of fun to implement because it’s easy and because the students and teachers get excited about it as well.”
RESULTS
Almost immediately after implementation Ferguson witnessed positive improvements in teaching and learning.
“Now teachers feel more confident using the computers because they have DyKnow Monitor supporting them with their classroom management needs,” said Ferguson. “But DyKnow Vision is really what helps us achieve our goal of cooperative and collaborative learning.”
Casey Clem, K-5 technology teacher at VME, agrees: “DyKnow’s products give me a whole new approach to teaching. I have more opportunities to introduce a variety of materials into my lessons.”
For example, Clem embeds Web pages in a DyKnow notebook so students can browse without even leaving the DyKnow Vision application. She also uses DyKnow Vision’s Screen Broadcaster and Share Control features.
“The ability to broadcast a student’s screen or give them control of the learning space is very helpful for the younger kids,” said Clem. “When they see my examples or they see other students working through problems on the screen directly in front of them it keeps them engaged. I have found that capability to be very powerful, effective and fun for the students.”
Likewise, fourth and fifth grade teacher at VME Maribeth Richards also notices a heightened level of student engagement.
“In a 50-minute class my students are engaged the entire time,” said Richards. “The reality is, technology is all around now, and students pick up on things really quickly. I introduced DyKnow Vision and they just ran with it. They always want to know what else they could do with it.”
Richards’ favorite features are Work Groups and Status Request because students can work together on a shared panel or she can quickly gauge whether students understand the current topic.
“I just ask them to mark red, yellow or green on the Status Request bar and then I get a quick snapshot of how many students feel comfortable with the materials we are covering,” said Richards.
While Richards uses DyKnow Vision almost every day, she attributes DyKnow Monitor with putting her at ease in a one-to-one computing classroom.
“I am only one teacher in a classroom with 25 students who each have a laptop,” said Richards. “It was impossible for me to be behind each student making sure they were on-task and not visiting inappropriate websites. I think DyKnow Monitor became the “cyber teacher” helping me keep students on-task when I couldn’t be right behind them.”
From an administrator’s perspective, Ferguson believes the technology helps educators foster an environment where students enjoy learning.
“One thing you notice in our classrooms is the level of engagement,” said Ferguson. “We don’t have students sitting there not doing anything. Every student is actively participating. It is hard to ignore the impact when you walk in a classroom and see 25 students actively engaged in learning; you know they are learning at a higher level than in traditional classrooms.”
“When we put these resources to work we see teaching and learning from a different perspective,” said Ferguson. “No longer do we have to rely on a text book – that is usually outdated by the time it is published –to get current information. Now students have a tool that opens up the entire world to them instantly.”
Background
- 50 schools in the district
- 42,000 students
- 22,000 networked computers
- 3,000 DyKnow Monitor and DyKnow Vision licenses
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Collier County Public School District: Supervising and Interacting with Students in a One-to-One Computing Program