Shadow a Student - BHS Senior Edition

Each year during the month of October, Barrington 220 administrators select a student and follow them throughout a typical school day as part of the Shadow a Student Challenge. We decide in advance what topics or issues we wish to observe and learn as much as we can during the school day. I had the honor of following the busy schedule of Barrington High School Senior Prasanth M. on Tuesday, October 22, 2019. The opportunity allowed me to observe four AP courses and two specialized creative courses, Chamber Orchestra and BHS-TV. Since BHS made a major learning device change this school year, I specifically set out to observe how iPad is being used just a few months after implementation.

Sketchnote of Prasanth's schedule and some of the day's activities.

As you will see in the video below, students and teachers are using iPad seamlessly in combination with many other tools and devices for learning. I saw students and teachers throughout the day move among digital devices including district-provided iPad, district-provided laptop, desktop workstation (for video editing), personal laptop, personal phone, and analog standbys paper and whiteboard. Although the primary device at BHS is iPad, some students in certain specialized courses also use the 11-inch MacBook Air.

My observations revealed a range of device use throughout the day, and even a range of devices used throughout a class period, depending upon the activity at the time. Some students primarily used a single device, while most others moved among a few devices and a paper notebook (plus a musical instrument in Chamber Orchestra). Device choices were seamless and unprompted.

I watched iPad use most carefully since this device represents the most significant change. Further, most of the courses I observed were primarily students in Grades 11–12 who had previously used the MacBook Air laptop for 2 or 3 years, respectively, prior to the device switch. My observations make generalizing iPad use a challenge since I saw so many different workflows and patterns of use. The majority of students I observed using iPad employed the onscreen keyboard and a finger and/or the Logitech Crayon to write on the screen, while very few students used the physical iPad keyboard built into our provided case. Students who wrote in a paper notebook sometimes used the iPad camera to take photos of their written work or switched to iPad when completing homework that would be submitted digitally.


I offer my sincere thanks to Prasanth and all his BHS teachers—Matt Gelon, Ernest Lane, Clark Sheldon, Cary Waxler, Jeff Doles, and Jonathan Mihevc—who allowed me to join them in their classrooms. While I make every attempt to get into as many of our PK–12 classrooms as possible throughout the year, the Shadow a Student Challenge is different because I get to experience an entire day through the lens of a student. I can definitely attest that Prasanth’s schedule is exhausting, and I can further attest first-hand that Barrington 220 has excellent teachers and programs for our students. I would encourage every school leader at any level to participate in this worthwhile #shadowastudent challenge.