National Spotlight: Districts adapt policies for new devices in classroom
By Kimberly Beltran
Monday, July 29, 2013
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It used to be that in most schools across the nation, students were banned from using cell phones and other personal gadgets while on campus.
Now, as districts move to a new era of technology in the classroom, not only are policies prohibiting these devices being repealed as state officials and K-12 administrators contemplate rules that not only allow – but even encourage – use of student-owned electronics as tools for learning.
“It becomes less about what the device is and more about what you want kids to do with it,” Patrick Larkin, assistant superintendent for learning at Burlington Public Schools in Massachusetts, said during a webinar on the issue last week. “It’s really important to start with the ‘why’ question – why do you want to get devices? It shouldn’t be what apps or what computers should I buy. The question we want to ask is ‘How can this improve our learning outcomes?’ ”
Like Massachusetts, California and some 43 other states are in varying stages of restructuring their learning environments to meet the challenge of teaching and testing new common core state standards.
But Burlington schools are among those ahead of the pack when it comes to embracing and expanding the use of technology as a key educational tool in the 21st century classroom. That commitment has required an open dialogue