Our local
school system, Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS), is undertaking a 270
million dollar technology initiative (once entitled the Instructional Digital
Conversion, but rebranded as the catchier STAT, (Students and Teachers
Accessing Tomorrow,) with the goal of setting up a one-to-one computer tablet
and online learning program for its 110,000 students. The program reaches from
first grade to twelfth, though the complete rollout has occurred only in the
elementary grades thus far; the middle school and high school program has been
slowed due to implementation issues. Its stated
goal is to offer “personalized learning” for every student and to “equip every
student with the critical 21st century skills to be globally
competitive.” As attractive as this sounds, however, there is limited evidence
about the effectiveness of a system-wide one-to-one tablet program; no input
has been garnered from parents, and the expectation is that teachers will fully
embrace the program without question (not only were
technology teachers left out of the conversation, their positions were
eliminated from the BCPS system altogether). This is taking place in a school
district that is in desperate need of improvements to infrastructure,
transportation, class size reduction, and social programs, issues that have
been financially pushed to the side in favor of STAT.
A series
of Baltimore County Public Schools blog posts, press releases, and promotional
videos preceded the rollout of the STAT program, which officially began in
August 2014 in a small number of test schools; anecdotal evidence of the
benefits to students of a one-to-one computer program was emphasized
throughout, and numerous “partnerships” were quickly established with
educational technology companies. The school superintendent and other key
administrative personnel participated in several speaking opportunities and
conference appearances, often sponsored by those same technology companies;
almost immediately the STAT program received praise, starting with awards from
online media organizations, also backed by corporate interests. The program had
been in place for less than a full school year and was still in a limited
testing phase, yet was getting national and even international
attention, with the superintendent traveling to a technology symposium in South
Korea to discuss the implementation...
http://patch.com/maryland/dundalk/teacher-speaks-out-dr-dances-program-0
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