Page 241 - BOXFORD

their futures, for a global world and society, and for jobs that have not yet been created.
In the classroom, technology is now integrated as part of regular learning and teaching in
the classrooms. Technology integration is based in solid teaching, learning and
pedagogical practices. Teachers are expected to integrate technology consistently to
leverage students’ critical thinking and learning; students regularly learn and develop
their digital literacy, communication, and collaboration skills with the assistance of
technology. Technology is integrated into our teaching and learning mindfully and with
purpose: it enhances effective teaching and instructional practices, increases student
learning and promotes innovative thinking and creativity.
Our approach to integrating technology is one of consistent and gradual growth: we work
closely with the support of digital learning specialists to build teacher capacity and
regular integration into instruction and learning opportunities. This process takes time,
and through focus and effort, we have moved our schools to a crucial point where the
demand now consistently outpaces the supply of devices. We have encouraged,
challenged, and asked our teachers to use technology, and they have risen to the occasion.
In order to continue to support this shift towards new and innovative teaching and
learning practices, we must invest in devices, infrastructure, digital learning specialists
and information technology support. Financially, this means both increasing the number
of devices to which students and teachers have access, but also to replacing technology
that is aging out so we can sustain and grow how we integrate technology effectively and
regularly into the classroom.

At Harry Lee Cole School, we continue to see laptops age out of their life cycle, and will
seek to replace them with laptops for staff. iPads and tablets continue to be the majority
student device used in the primary grades, as their applications are effectively used to
assist students and teachers with learning, and skill development and tracking data to
drive instruction. We are looking to second grade as the likely grade where students will
start utilizing keyboarding skills and Google Applications for Education (GAFE), and are
hoping to provide Chromebooks in that grade to assist with further developing these
skills in the classroom with the assistance of the digital learning specialist. We are
beginning to see SMART Boards start to age out of use, and need to begin investing in
newer technology to provide interactivity boards in the primary grades, which are used
regularly in classroom instruction.

At Spofford Pond School, we are in a similar replacement need as HLC in terms of our
technology end-user device status. Spofford Pond possesses a higher number of laptops,
and therefore has a higher volume of devices that are aging out and need to be replaced.
Again, we will look to replace these laptops for students and staff alike with new devices.
We are considering Chromebooks as a replacement, as they work well in the GAFE
environment and are less costly than the MacBooks they will replace. iPads and tablets
are still in use and circulation, but are used for creating content, and often are used in
group work and project development. Spofford Pond’s interactive boards are a higher-
need area of investment, as more boards are failing or non-functional than at HLC.

Technology Investment: As our technology investment grows, so too does our
Information Technology (IT) infrastructure needs. This means that we must invest in our
IT staff and infrastructure accordingly, to ensure that existing devices work effectively,

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