Baltimore County Public Schools To Roll Out 150,000 Windows 8 Devices over 4 Years
Over the next four years Baltimore County Public Schools will roll out 150,000 Windows tablet PCs as part of an ambitious personalized learning initiative featuring a 1-to-1 device component.
The rollout is part of the district’s Students & Teachers Accessing Tomorrow (STAT) initiative, which also includes access to digital curriculum materials, upgraded broadband for schools, and an online platform for keeping parents and educators in better contact. The district aims to finish its implementation by the 2017-2018 school year.
Starting in the fall, students in grades K-5, as well as those in the district’s 10 Lighthouse Schools, will kick start the 1-to-1 program using HP Elitebook 810 Revolve Windows 8.1 devices in what Microsoft has called "the pilot phase of this district-wide conversion to a 1:1 digital learning environment." The device functions as a notebook with a detachable screen that can be used as a tablet.
BCPS plans to provide educators with ongoing training and its curriculum offices are currently developing a framework for use in the new digital portal for curriculum and instruction, assessments, student data, reporting and analysis. Microsoft is also helping to provide training through a number of its professional development programs and networks.
In a blog post announcing the initiative, Microsoft’s vice president of education for the United States, Margo Day, said, "In the future, BCPS will serve as a model for how to effectively implement a transformative learning model and close the technology divide that exists across the nation between students who have access to technology and opportunities and those who do not."
About the Author
Stephen Noonoo is an education technology journalist based in Los Angeles. He is on Twitter @stephenoonoo.