New and Expanded Apps and Subscriptions

The Department of Technology and Innovation is always listening to our students and teachers with the goal of providing the best possible level of service when it comes to apps, subscriptions, and digital curriculum. For the 2020–21 school year, we have expanded some of our existing apps and purchased new subscriptions to better meet the ever-changing needs of our students and staff.

Here are some highlights of what you can expect in the 2020–21 school year:

The middle school and high school teacher librarians are proud to introduce RB Digital for middle school and high school. RB Digital is a magazine and newspaper service that offers popular titles from around the world in a Netflix-style interface. Titles are available in multiple languages and provide our staff and students the opportunity to quickly and easily get a variety of global perspectives on the topics of the day. In addition, the move to RB Digital will replace a variety of subscription services and consolidate them into one, easy-to-use platform.

IXL allows students to practice essential skills in math and language arts in a self-paced and personalized format. Students choose to work on skills based on their current level of mastery and understanding and receive real-time feedback on their progress. IXL has been a popular option for Barrington 220 students in recent years with heavy traffic on the platform. For 2020–21, we have expanded our IXL subscription to include Kindergarten bringing our use of this service K–8. This expansion will serve as an additional choice for our Kindergarten students and will not replace any of our current options for digital skills practice.

The free version of Padlet has grown in popularity in our district over the past several years. Padlet allows students and teachers to create an online “wall” to post work, ideas, videos, links, and other information in a format that allows users to collaborate and communicate in a dynamic open forum. For 2020–21, we have purchased the Padlet Backpack version which allows teachers to create an unlimited number of Padlet walls and increases privacy and security for students. With Padlet Backpack, teachers will have better options for managing the flow of information and be able to upload large files in a more controlled and safer environment.

Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design, screencasting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets students demonstrate their thinking, communicate, share ideas, and brainstorm in a dynamic and collaborative environment. Students can write, record, import, and create in a variety of ways on this platform. Our district has had Explain Everything for our K–-8 iPad users for several years. Starting in the 2020–21 school year, we have shifted our Explain Everything subscription from K–8 to 3–12. This move is a response to the shift to iPad at the high school and responds to the low usage we noticed among our K–3 students.

As always, if you have an idea for an app or subscription that you would like to see used with our students, please complete the Subscription and App Request Form by clicking bit.ly/220SARF.