MONROE - The Monroe Middle School Math Department's ideal technology proposal is to have the school district purchase i-Pads for every student, starting with at least one entire grade level.
Charlie Baumann, a Monroe Middle School math teacher, said the portable devices, which have base price of about $400 each, would allow students with different ability levels to work at their own pace and keep them engaged in learning while providing instant feedback. Baumann and other math teachers updated the Monroe School Board on their proposal Monday night.
"It's hard to achieve that in a traditional classroom," Baumann said of teaching students at various ability levels. "We feel like at a minimum we would like to give i-Pads to all students at one single grade level. The more you put a textbook in front of a kid, it's like a thud of disappointment. If a kid sees a worksheet, it's less and less the way the world is today."
The technology proposal was just informational and is still in the early stages since the curriculum and finance committees as well as the school board would have to approve the plan.
The middle school math department has been working for two years on aligning the district's math curriculum to the state's common core standards. Several math teachers last week went to Milton Middle School, where the district purchased i-Pads for seventh-grade students to use at school and at home with applications for all course work. Other teachers pointed to the fact that the i-Pads help with student organization and communication. It cost the Milton School District $2,000 for two days of training by Apple and they dedicated their professional development time throughout the year to the i-Pad.
Monroe School Board member Les Bieneman is a proponent of the i-Pad technology plan.
"Other than cost, what has been holding us back?" Bieneman said. "I think we should have them at all levels. We have the fund balance. I understand the cautious approach. How many years of students do we have to sacrifice before we do this? I think we all know we have to do this."
Monroe School Board President Bob Erb said he supported the plan, but would like to pilot the i-Pads with one grade level to see how the process works.
"It's not like I don't see this as the wave of the future," Erb said. "It's all about the execution and implementation."
Valerie Bryson, an eighth grade math teacher at the middle school, said student achievement and doing what is best for students are the goals of the math department. She said math department members are concerned with student achievement, as 45 percent of sixth graders and 67 percent of seventh graders met MAP growth targets for the fall 2010 to the spring 2011 period.
"We are aware the test scores are not where we want them to be," Bryson said. "We feel like this technology is an approach and tool that can help."
Monroe Middle School doesn't have wireless yet, but that may change. The middle school math department surveyed middle school students and 22 percent don't have access to computers at home or can only use them sometimes. Another 30 percent indicated they use a computer at home most - but not all - of the time.
"There is a dangerous divide," Baumann said of the students who have access to a computer at home. "I'm not sure how we can close it unless we get i-Pads in their hands at school and at home in non-school hours."
Baumann said there is not a lot of data available about student achievement in districts that have implemented i-Pads.
If the district approves an i-Pad technology plan, Bryson said there will be training not only for teachers and staff, but for parents and students.
In other action, the board approved the election of new officers. The new officers are Bob Erb as president; Scott Schmidt, vice president; Larry Eakins, treasurer; Amy Bazley, clerk; and Michael Boehme, deputy clerk.
- Approved an application for an Animal Science equivalency course.
- Accepted a network virtual server proposal for $19,838.34 and $10,999 for network data storage from CDW-G.
- Approved the support staff retirement of middle school custodian Kay Bergum.
- Monroe Athletic Director Dave Hirsbrunner gave a report on the winter sports season. The wrestling team tied Oregon for fourth place in the Badger South Conference. The boys basketball team tied for sixth place in the conference with Monona Grove. The girls basketball team finished sixth. Monroe's average finish in the winter sports season in the Badger South was seventh out of seven teams.
- Approved a request for Monroe's 3,200-meter relay team to travel to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays.
- Appointed Boehme a Cooperative Education Services Agency representative.
Charlie Baumann, a Monroe Middle School math teacher, said the portable devices, which have base price of about $400 each, would allow students with different ability levels to work at their own pace and keep them engaged in learning while providing instant feedback. Baumann and other math teachers updated the Monroe School Board on their proposal Monday night.
"It's hard to achieve that in a traditional classroom," Baumann said of teaching students at various ability levels. "We feel like at a minimum we would like to give i-Pads to all students at one single grade level. The more you put a textbook in front of a kid, it's like a thud of disappointment. If a kid sees a worksheet, it's less and less the way the world is today."
The technology proposal was just informational and is still in the early stages since the curriculum and finance committees as well as the school board would have to approve the plan.
The middle school math department has been working for two years on aligning the district's math curriculum to the state's common core standards. Several math teachers last week went to Milton Middle School, where the district purchased i-Pads for seventh-grade students to use at school and at home with applications for all course work. Other teachers pointed to the fact that the i-Pads help with student organization and communication. It cost the Milton School District $2,000 for two days of training by Apple and they dedicated their professional development time throughout the year to the i-Pad.
Monroe School Board member Les Bieneman is a proponent of the i-Pad technology plan.
"Other than cost, what has been holding us back?" Bieneman said. "I think we should have them at all levels. We have the fund balance. I understand the cautious approach. How many years of students do we have to sacrifice before we do this? I think we all know we have to do this."
Monroe School Board President Bob Erb said he supported the plan, but would like to pilot the i-Pads with one grade level to see how the process works.
"It's not like I don't see this as the wave of the future," Erb said. "It's all about the execution and implementation."
Valerie Bryson, an eighth grade math teacher at the middle school, said student achievement and doing what is best for students are the goals of the math department. She said math department members are concerned with student achievement, as 45 percent of sixth graders and 67 percent of seventh graders met MAP growth targets for the fall 2010 to the spring 2011 period.
"We are aware the test scores are not where we want them to be," Bryson said. "We feel like this technology is an approach and tool that can help."
Monroe Middle School doesn't have wireless yet, but that may change. The middle school math department surveyed middle school students and 22 percent don't have access to computers at home or can only use them sometimes. Another 30 percent indicated they use a computer at home most - but not all - of the time.
"There is a dangerous divide," Baumann said of the students who have access to a computer at home. "I'm not sure how we can close it unless we get i-Pads in their hands at school and at home in non-school hours."
Baumann said there is not a lot of data available about student achievement in districts that have implemented i-Pads.
If the district approves an i-Pad technology plan, Bryson said there will be training not only for teachers and staff, but for parents and students.
In other action, the board approved the election of new officers. The new officers are Bob Erb as president; Scott Schmidt, vice president; Larry Eakins, treasurer; Amy Bazley, clerk; and Michael Boehme, deputy clerk.
- Approved an application for an Animal Science equivalency course.
- Accepted a network virtual server proposal for $19,838.34 and $10,999 for network data storage from CDW-G.
- Approved the support staff retirement of middle school custodian Kay Bergum.
- Monroe Athletic Director Dave Hirsbrunner gave a report on the winter sports season. The wrestling team tied Oregon for fourth place in the Badger South Conference. The boys basketball team tied for sixth place in the conference with Monona Grove. The girls basketball team finished sixth. Monroe's average finish in the winter sports season in the Badger South was seventh out of seven teams.
- Approved a request for Monroe's 3,200-meter relay team to travel to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays.
- Appointed Boehme a Cooperative Education Services Agency representative.