Funding, Grants & Awards
Top Digital Schools Recognized
1-to-1 laptop initiatives, STEM curricula and flipped
classrooms were the winning combinations in the past year, according to
the 10th
annual Digital
School Districts Survey.
The survey, conducted by the National
School Boards
Association and the Center
for Digital Education, recognizes those school
boards and districts who are making extraordinary use of technology to
improve
the learning environment and district operations.
Three first-place winners were recognized in
different
categories, based on student enrollment.
In the category for districts with 12,000 or more
students,
the Roanoke County Public Schools in Virginia was recognized because of
the
1-to-1 laptop program it has had in place for the last 13 years. With
the help
of the initiative, high schools students, for example, are using
advanced
technology to learn about drones equipped with HD cameras, robotics,
blueprint
design tools and 3D printers.
For school districts with between 3,000 and 12,000
students,
the Decatur City Schools in Alabama has made wide use of flipped
classroom
instruction and several grants it has received have allowed it to give
most
students their own laptops.
And of the districts with fewer than 3,000 students,
Regional
School Unit 21 in Maine was recognized for its extensive professional
development program for teachers that has led to students taking courses
in
engineering and robotics, along with other science, technology and math
programs.
"Students are using all kinds of cutting-edge tools
that
assist learning and help prepare them for the future," said Center for
Digital
Education Senior Vice President Alan Cox. "It's my privilege to
congratulate
these school districts who are leading the way toward modernizing
education."
The full
list of the schools honored is available.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.