Education Week - Managing the Digital District - October 2, 2013 - S1

ABOUT THIS REPORT
The complex challenges of running today’s technology-oriented
school districts can be daunting. New
technologies are emerging at a mind-bending pace,
and school leaders must evaluate how to use those
digital tools to improve schools, what learning devices
are best for what purposes, and where the money will
come from to pay for tech upgrades.
A growing number of districts have, or are in the process
of putting in place, very ambitious 1-to-1 computing
initiatives that they are convinced will transform
how students learn and the way schools operate. The
Los Angeles Unified School District, for one, approved
a $30 million contract with Apple Inc. in June for the
first phase of a roughly half-billion-dollar effort to provide
all 660,000 students in the district with their own
iPads by the end of 2014. But questions and concerns
remain about how the three-year contract will play
out, the challenges of how teachers will integrate the
devices into learning, and what impact the iPads will
ultimately have on academic achievement.
Managing 1-to-1 computing initiatives—which many
experts see as a cornerstone of digital learning—requires
a level of expertise about the intersection of education
and technology that many districts are struggling
to develop. To make those and other technology
initiatives work, superintendents and chief technology
officers must collaborate more closely than ever before
to craft a clear vision for how technology should be used
to improve schools, and then hire talented people who
can help make that vision a reality.
Yet the idea of what works best seems to change as
quickly as the technology advances themselves, putting
school leaders in the position of having to be extremely
vigilant about keeping up with those changes. One illuminating
example is how the concept of 1-to-1 computing—pairing
each student with one appropriate digital
device—is on the brink of a shift to “1:X” computing, in
which every student is paired with a different device
(laptop, tablet, or smartphone), or multiple devices, depending
on what the students are trying to achieve.
The idea is to make the device the most appropriate
tool for the assignment.
That development raises all kinds of questions
about how the modern school district should look
and work. What devices, for instance, will be schoolissued
and which ones student-owned? How will
teachers be trained to integrate new technologies
and approaches into learning? What type of technological
infrastructure is necessary to make sure
digital learning does not face constant interruptions?
And what model of district leadership is necessary to
succeed in this environment?
This report aims to address such questions and pro-
vide guidance for school leaders looking for new ideas
and approaches for managing the digital evolution of
their districts.
—KEVIN C. BUSHWELLER
EXECUTIVE PROJECT EDITOR
>> Online exclusives
www.edweek.org/go/digitaldistrict-report
Ed-Tech Webinars:
Making 1-to-1 Computing Work
Oct. 9, 2013 @ 1 p.m. ET
Thoughtful planning and execution of 1-to-1 laptop
programs can mean the difference between success
and failure. Taking time to invest in professional
development, choosing the right device, and
sometimes limiting the scope of the initial project
can help districts create a 1-to-1 program that will
flourish.
Register at www.edweek.org/go/webinar/
Making1to1Work
Using Technology to Personalize Learning
In Elementary Schools
Oct. 15, 2013 @ 5 p.m. ET
Advances in digital technology have created
potential opportunities for schools to provide
more individualized-learning experiences for
students, including differentiated instruction
and independent-learning projects. But what
strategies can principals and instructional
leaders at the elementary level use to ensure that
classroom technology is integrated in ways that
are meaningful and augment essential knowledge
and skills? In this webinar, two leaders in connected
learning will explore that question, providing
real-world examples of how elementary schools
are redefining effective instruction around
personalized-learning initiatives.
Register for this webinar at
www.edweek.org/go/Webinar/UsingTechnology
Online Chat:
Creating a Culture of Innovation
Transforming a school district’s culture from
one that leans toward protecting the status quo
to one that fosters intelligent risk-taking and
experimentation is a challenging task. But some
school districts that have made this transition say
there are common approaches for how to make this
happen. Join our guests as they discuss how school
districts are changing the way they operate to
improve schools.
Sign up to participate in this chat at
www.edweek.org/go/chat/Innovation
Video:
Vancouver’s Digital Direction
Steven Webb, superintendent of public schools in
Vancouver, Wash., has made digital learning a high
priority in his 22,000-student district.
www.edweek.org/go/Vancouver
Click on the digital edition
Read the digital (PDF) edition of “Managing the
Digital District” and forward copies of the online
version to your colleagues.
www.edweek.org/go/digitaldistrict-download
S2 Picking the Right Device For the Right Moment
S4 Q&A: How Los Angeles Negotiated a 1-to-1 Deal
S8 Changing School Culture to Drive Ed. Innovation
S9 Balancing the ‘Yin and Yang’ of Risk-Taking and
Failure
S12 K-12 Leadership Evolves to Meet Digital Priorities
S14 Q&A: Houston Superintendent Partners With CTO
on Innovation
S16 Smaller Districts Choose to Do Without a CTO
S18 Leadership Training Aims To Advance K-12 CTOs
S20 Intelligent Data Analysis Helps Predict Needs
S22 Technology Readiness for Online Testing
S24 Digital Material Gets an Organizational Lesson
ON THE
COVER
Cellphones and iPads in use
Copyright © 2013 by Editorial Projects in Education
Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication
shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted by any means, electronic or
otherwise, without the written permission of the
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Visit www.edweek.org/go/copies
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PRESIDENT & EDITORIN-CHIEF

Virginia B. Edwards
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EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Gregory Chronister
EXECUTIVE PROJECT EDITOR
Kevin C. Bushweller
STAFF WRITERS
Katie Ash
Sean Cavanagh
Benjamin Herold
Michele Molnar
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Michelle R. Davis
Amanda M. Fairbanks
Robin L. Flanigan
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Laura Baker
DEPUTY DESIGN DIRECTOR
Gina Tomko
ASSISTANT DESIGN DIRECTOR/PROJECT LEAD
Vanessa Solis
DESIGNER
Linda Jurkowitz
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Charles Borst
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Swikar Patel
This special report was produced with
support from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of
New York. Education Week retains sole
editorial control over the content of articles
underwritten by the foundations.
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
Jo Arnone
ADVERTISINGPRODUCTION
COORDINATOR
Casey Shellenberger
during an AP Biology class at
Lewisville High School in
Lewisville, Texas.
Photo by Mark Graham
Managing the Digital District >>www.edweek.org/go/digitaldistrict-report
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EDUCATION WEEK | October 2, 2013
http://www.edweek.org/go/digitaldistrict-report http://www.edweek.org/go/webinar/ http://www.edweek.org/go/chat/Innovation http://www.edweek.org/go/Vancouver http://www.edweek.org/go/digitaldistrict-download http://www.edweek.org/go/Webinar/UsingTechnology http://www.edweek.org/go/copies http://www.edweek.org/go/digitaldistrict-report
Education Week - Managing the Digital District - October 2, 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - Managing the Digital District - October 2, 2013
