Infinite Campus Training Videos Still Available

You may still access videos from Infinite Campus National Training Week. These videos provide a great way for our district to participate in just-in-time and on-demand learning so that you will be able to both take the class on your own time, and also replay the learning as needed.

Barrington 220 staff may access videos on Campus Passport. Follow the directions there to set up your account. If you have any problems establishing your Campus Passport login, please contact Phil Hintz. 

Our district will have access to these videos until June 30, 2022.

Three Classic Myths about EdTech

I spend a lot of time in classrooms and talking to teachers about implementing technology with their students. Teachers in a 1:1 technology environment often want to provide more opportunities for their students to use technology, but don’t know where to go next. As I work with teachers, I have noticed some patterns in the myths among apprehensive teachers. 

Myth #1: I need to know everything about an app or feature before trying it with students.

Last year, I was working with a third-grade teacher who wanted her students to record themselves reading a story they would write. The assignment was for students to tell a story about a specific event that happened to them over winter break. In addition, the students were to include pictures that enhanced their narrative. 

The teacher planned to use Book Creator, as they had used it in the past and were familiar with it. I suggested they try animating objects in Keynote to allow students to animate their stories. Keynote also enables students to add a voiceover, sound effects, and background music. The entire project could then be exported as a short video for the student to share. 

The teacher was apprehensive about using Keynote because, although they had used it once or twice, they didn’t believe they knew it well enough to let their students try it. The fear was that if a student asked a question about the app, they wouldn’t know how to answer.

The teacher didn’t realize that students, especially excited third graders, are more than happy figure it out on their own. Many young people are fearless when it comes to technology—they are more inclined to “smash the button” and see what happens than read a tutorial or worry about what would happen if they tap the wrong thing. 

Students don’t expect you to be an expert in everything. Sometimes, the opportunity to struggle and figure things out together helps model the messiness of learning. Some of the most potent lessons I’ve ever implemented started with me saying some version of: “I’ve never done this before so I’ll be learning along with you. Let’s see what happens.” In any lesson like this, there will undoubtedly be many mistakes. But isn’t that the heart of learning? If you try to present yourself as an infallible source of knowledge, you will inevitably fail. You may also be missing some great opportunities to show your students how educated people struggle and allow vulnerability as a natural part of the learning process. 

Myth #2: If I want students to use an app, I need to first teach them how to use it.

It happens all the time. You get a new idea from Twitter, at a conference, or from somewhere else in your professional network. You get excited thinking about how to implement this idea into your class. You begin planning, and your momentum comes crashing down when you realize that you, and more importantly, your students have never used the new tech that the lesson would require. You briefly think about how you might take a day to cut something else to teach the platform, or you search for tutorials you can have your students watch to learn it after school. Then, you get a sinking feeling when you realize you probably can’t try this new idea because you don’t have the time to teach students how to use the technology. 

It doesn’t have to be that way. Often, the idea you want to try doesn’t involve every feature of an app. iMovie is a great example. iMovie is a video editing app that is robust enough to create professional-looking videos. It could take years to learn all of the features and use them effectively. But uploading some photos and attaching some background music or a voiceover takes about five minutes to understand. 

If you’ve ever attended an Apple training, you’ve experienced this first hand. When Apple Education trainers teach people to use their products, there is very little direct instruction. You may notice that the presenter only takes a few minutes to show the primary navigation of a platform like iMovie. The rest of the time, participants play, explore, mess up, and help each other while they work to complete a specific task. It becomes an exciting, collaborative environment where participants discover new ways to express their ideas. This allows everyone to focus on the content and skills—and tech learning becomes a byproduct. 

Many so-called “tech experts” became that way, not through years of formal training on devices and apps, but by having an interesting problem to solve and finding a new way to solve it. In this method, you figure out what you need to know to complete a specific task, then you apply it. You don’t spend hours learning a tech tool, then starting your project. Instead, you learn by doing the project and figuring it out as you go. 

Myth #3: As long as I use technology in some way, the students will be engaged.

Elementary school was a long time ago for me, but there are still special memories that are as clear in my mind as if they happened yesterday. I remember those rare days when we would file into class after recess and see the most glorious sight: a giant TV and VCR cart at the front of the room that the teacher had wheeled in during our recess time. We knew we were in for a treat. I also remember getting picked to be the “teacher’s helper” who would be allowed to thread the film through the projector when we watched a reel-to-reel movie. I remember going to the far-off, magical land that was the computer lab. Twenty or thirty years ago, technology was so limited in schools that its use was a novelty, and simply sitting a child in front of a computer would engage them for a long time. 

Now, kids are learning to swipe and tap an iPad before they can talk. Technology use is a ubiquitous and constant part of our the students' lives. Our students don’t consider technology new or exciting for its own sake. Technology as part of the learning environment is now a given for our students, it is neither separate nor unique. 

This means that using technology does not create an engaging learning experience by itself. The tech must be meaningful and add an element to the learning that would not otherwise be possible. As teachers, we must create the conditions where technology is purposeful and helps students engage in meaningful tasks. Technology can allow students to collaborate in ways that aren’t possible without it. Technology might allow students to dialogue with a broader audience than the class; it could enable a teacher to provide multiple reading sources based on student interest and choice. 

The technology alone is not engaging. But, effectively used, technology can add elements to a learning experience that increases engagement.

Navigating Self Service on Your Laptop

If you're looking for an approved district app, a bookmark to a web-based district service, or are looking for an update to a macOS app, the Self Service app is the place to start. Self Service is an application provided by our mobile device management system, Jamf, to help us manage district-specific apps and bookmarks. But even if you've used Self Service before, you may still have some questions about the ins and outs of our this important app and bookmark portal.

When you open Self Service you'll be taken to its Home screen. There, you'll find our Featured apps, apps that tend to be the most popular to download and install, or an app we'd like you to have quick access to. Below Featured is Browse. Here you can click on a category and you'll be presented with a screen with all of the apps in that category. Below Browse is 220 Bookmarks. Here you'll find a collection of bookmarks that will take you to many of the Barrington 220 web services like Skyward, Infinite Campus, and Zendesk.

In the Browse section (1) on the left you will find:

• All - All district-approved apps that you can install or reinstall, as well as 220 Bookmarks, Tech Tools, and Support apps/scripts.
• 220 Bookmarks - Same as the Bookmarks in the Home section, but they will all appear in one screen without having to scroll.
• Featured - Same as the Featured apps in the Home section.
• Apps - All district-approved apps including Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Browsers - Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and the Respondus LockDown Browsers.
• Testing - Many of the apps the district uses for testing.
• Tech Tools - Apps used by the Technology Support Team.
• Support - Scripts and drivers used by the Technology Support Team. Sometimes we'll ask you to navigate to this section when troubleshooting your computer remotely.

There are some things to keep in mind when looking at an app in Self Service (2). If there's a star next to the name, that means you'll also find that app listed in Featured. Also, if it says Reinstall under the app name, the app is already installed on your computer. Sometimes a reinstall can resolve an issue you may be having with the app. Keep in mind that an app may be installed on your computer, but may still say Install under the app name in Self Service. That may mean that the app was not installed through Self Service.

Notifications is where you'll see if there is an update available for an app available in Self Service. If no you no longer want to see the notification you can click Clear.

And finally, the History section is where you'll find all of the apps you've installed using Self Service.

Behind-the-Scenes Infrastructure Upgrades In Progress

Over the past few months, Russ Vander Mey, Barrington 220’s Director of Technology Services, has been working with his team on several infrastructure projects. While these types of projects may seem mysterious to non-technical staff, these systems provide crucial, behind-the-scenes functions so our learning, teaching, and administrative systems can serve us 24/7. 

I sat down with Russ to ask him a few questions about our recent upgrades to hopefully demystify some of this work.

MATT: We have been sent some network-related email notifications here in Barrington 220 lately. The outages are all at scheduled times and only last a few minutes. What is happening behind the scenes?

RUSS: We are replacing our entire network infrastructure in Barrington 220. The existing infrastructure has served us well for the past nine years. In technology it’s almost unheard of to get nine years out of your equipment! We only keep our iPad and laptop devices for three or four years in the district, but this equipment has lasted about three times longer.

MATT: This sounds like a very large and complicated project with many potential things that could go wrong. Have we experienced any problems so far?

RUSS: Although our team has had a few minor problems, they should not have affected any of our users at all. Our team includes, Scott Moore, a few engineers from a local consulting group, and me. We have been working evenings on this project so our staff and students see little or no impact during the day.

MATT: Why did we choose to replace all this infrastructure at this time?

RUSS: The current infrastructure is nine years old. It served us well. But there are new technologies we will be deploying soon, some as a part of the referendum, that require this newer infrastructure. For example, our new security cameras, Wi-Fi, and telephone system will require the new capabilities we are installing.

MATT: What advantages can our staff and students expect to see as a result of all this work?

RUSS: If we do our job right, everything will just continue to work. New systems for referendum projects will work when they are installed and be ready to serve us for many years. In the long run, we will also see faster Internet service.

MATT: Are we planning any more big technology changes in the next year or so that staff should be aware are coming?

RUSS: We always have projects in the works that most people don’t see to keep everything working seamlessly. We will continue to inform administrators and staff in advance of any possible disruptions.

MATT: On behalf of our entire district, please pass along our thanks to your entire team.

Finding the Right Device for the Barrington 220 One to World Program

As a learning and teaching device, the iPad has been meeting or exceeding the educational needs of Barrington 220’s One to World program for many years. Each year we have conducted research about our program’s effectiveness measured by our One to World program's Mission and Vision. We have examined our program through the lenses of students and staff; we have focused on the use of creativity with our devices; and we have highlighted various projects and activities enhanced by technology in all buildings and grade levels across the district. 

Please note that the term “1:1 program” refers to the ratio of one technology device per student. In Barrington 220 we refer to our 1:1 program as the “One to World program.”

The One to World program began in the 2013–14 school year as a pilot at Barrington High School (BHS). Full high school implementation was completed in 2014–15, full middle school implementation was completed in 2015–16, and full PK–5 implementation was completed in 2016–17. At the beginning of the One to World program, students in Grades PK–8 used iPad, while high school students used a MacBook Air 11-inch laptop. BHS changed the student device to the iPad at the end of 2018–19 after a year-long study highlighting how creativity is used in the classroom.

Barrington 220’s District Technology Committee (DTC) is a district-level group of teachers, administrators, and support staff working collaboratively to represent views of stakeholders across the district and communicate back to buildings and/or departments about matters of learning technology. The DTC adopted and maintains the mission statement for the One to World program.

The Barrington 220 One to World program:

• Stimulates creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
• Creates opportunities for students to participate as global citizens.
• Provides real-world learning experiences.
• Facilitates personalized learning.
• Encourages timely and meaningful feedback.
• Guides responsible use of technology.

Throughout the course of our One to World program, we have remained informed about other devices used in other digital learning programs. Since the One to World program began, many school districts have adopted Chromebooks as their primary learning devices. More recently, Microsoft has begun creating devices running Windows aimed at education. Meanwhile, as mentioned above, the iPad has been meeting our needs in Barrington 220.

So why would we consider other devices? 

When we asked ourselves this question last year, the timing seemed right to conduct a formal device study for several reasons:

• Our original device decision was made nearly 10 years ago.
• New learning and teaching devices are available.
• Barrington 220 teachers are now very experienced teaching with devices.

We also noted that our iPad lease was ending in June 2022. Historically, each time we have renewed a One to World device lease, we have asked ourselves—and get asked by some community members—if we have considered other learning devices. With this timing as a consideration, 2021–22 seemed like an ideal time to conduct a formal device study.

Managing a 1:1 program requires far more than purchasing and distributing devices. Technology infrastructure, device management systems, technology support systems, and our dedicated and knowledgeable staff all work together to allow our devices to seamlessly integrate into learning and teaching. While some systems are platform-independent, others are selected specifically to support our current devices.

In June 2021, we presented several device study options to the Barrington 220 Board of Education. At that time, the Board asked us to begin the process of researching devices using a variety of data gathering methods. This article reports the highlights of what we learned during the next several months leading to our lease recommendation.

Barrington 220 considered four device types based upon researching current technology offerings and observing other school districts with 1:1 learning programs across the nation and world:

• Apple iPad
• Google Chrome device (laptop and touch-screen)
• Microsoft Surface device (laptop and touch-screen)
• Apple laptop (MacBook Air M1)

The following data sources were used in our device study:

• Barrington 220 teachers with previous 1:1 device experience
• Site visits to districts using other devices
• Device feature survey administered to educators with multiple device experiences
• Discussions with students about text input
• Device cost considerations

Barrington 220 Staff with Previous 1:1 Experience

During the course of this study, we found that a significant number of district staff hired within the past few years had experience teaching in other schools using a variety of 1:1 devices. Through a series of surveys, we were able to identify about 40 staff members with previous 1:1 program Chromebook experience and no staff with previous 1:1 program Windows experience. We were able to speak with many Barrington 220 staff members in focus groups and interviews with 1:1 Chromebook experience who now have one to three years of experience teaching in our 1:1 iPad program. 

After collecting and analyzing data from our sessions spanning all grade levels, Barrington 220 staff with recent experience teaching on Chromebook and iPad noted the following:

• Each device has strengths and limitations. 
• Chromebook has a built-in keyboard, but students using the device could not draw, annotate, or mark up documents by hand.
• Both iPad and Chromebook allow effective collaboration.
• iPad excels in creativity.
• Most participants felt the iPad is a higher-quality device.
• Chromebook allows easier options for controlling student access and limiting student choices.
• Chromebook is great for using Google Workspace, but limited in creativity and versatility.

In general, participants communicated that the Chromebook was a fine device for word processing, collaboration, and Internet access, but it fell short in the areas of creativity and versatility as compared to the iPad.

Site Visits

Barrington 220 researchers spoke with several school districts in the Chicago area and a few in other states. We were able to visit three area schools for in-person site visits:

• A suburban high school with a 1:1 program using Chromebooks with and without touchscreens
• A high school in Chicago’s north shore with a 1:1 program using Chromebooks without touchscreens
• A Community Unity School District (CUSD) Middle School with a 1:1 program using Chromebooks without touchscreens

Each in-person site visit included classroom visits that allowed Barrington 220 researchers to observe students and teachers in classrooms using devices for teaching and learning. Each site visit also allowed us to speak with teachers and/or administrators from the school or district where we discussed various aspects of their 1:1 device program. 

Despite our best efforts, we were unable to identify a public school or district using Windows as the primary student device in a 1:1 program in the Chicago suburbs with learning and teaching goals similar to Barrington 220’s One to World program. Overall, we found only 5 public school districts with Windows 1:1 programs among the 313 suburban Chicago school districts.

After analyzing our observations and interview notes, our site visits led us to the following conclusions:

• Chromebooks were primarily used for content delivery, learning management, and Google Workspace activities. 
• When not in Google Workspaces, students completed work on paper.
• Creative student projects were observed in just two classrooms among all three site visits. (The projects in two different site visits both involved students using an online video editing website.)
• Staff liked Chromebooks for the physical keyboard and ability to control student access.
• Teachers recognized device limitations (especially in subjects that use math), but felt the Chromebook generally met their needs.
• No apps were observed in use on Chromebooks—only Chrome extensions and websites were used.

Device Feature Survey

This device study included a survey that allowed educators to compare several categories of day-to-day teaching and learning device features. The survey was administered only to Barrington 220 staff with experience using multiple 1:1 devices, who were part of our site visits, and/or who are District Technology Committee members who were involved with this device study. Our Device Evaluation Survey included 49 specific device features in 11 categories. Barrington 220 sincerely thanks Township High School District 211 for providing a version of this survey that was used as a starting point for our research. District 211 conducted a similar research project that was published in 2019.

Among the 49 device categories studied, the iPad scored higher than the Chromebook in 47 categories, the Chromebook scored higher than the iPad in one category, and the devices tied in one category:

iPad Scored Higher

• User Experience—Touch Screen; Smart Stylus; User Management Experience; Learning Focus; Offline Device Access; Offline Materials Access
• Learning Experience—Creativity; Innovation; Student Choice
• Accessibility—General Accessibility; Vision Accessibility; Physical/Motor Accessibility; Hearing Accessibility; Accessible Teaching; OCR (Optical Character Recognition
• Camera—Capture Photos; Capture Video; Facing Cameras; Scanning
• Collaboration—Student-to-Student; Teacher-to-Teacher; Teacher-to-Student
• Content Creation—Writing; Reading; Math; Drawing; Video; Music/Audio
• Input Methods—Draw; Annotate; Write; Handwriting to Text; Type on Physical Keyboard; Voice Dictation
• Learning Management—Personal Organization; Functionality; Access; Professional Learning
• Portability & Mobility—Portability; Learning Mobility; Teaching Mobility
• Presentation—Wireless Presentation; Wireless Presentation Ease; Wireless Presentation Switching; Wired Presentation
• Workflow—Workflow Features; Ease of Workflow; Apps/Services Integration

Chromebook Scored Higher

Input Methods—Type on Physical Keyboard

iPad and Chromebook Scored the Same (Tie)

User Experience—Learning Focus

These results are corroborated by Township High School District 211’s study published in 2019. Although the District 211 study used a different set of criteria, many of the features measured in both surveys are similar. Among 41 classroom-related device features measured in District 211, the iPad scored higher in 38 areas, the Chromebook scored higher in 2 areas, and one area was a tie.

Student Typing Discussions

Since the topic of text input using a physical keyboard was frequently mentioned during the course of this study, Barrington 220 researchers wanted additional information on the importance of this topic directly from students. We turned to our own Barrington High School (BHS) students to help us better understand the many different methods of typing available by visiting two BHS AP (Advanced Placement) high school writing classes—AP Seminar and AP Research.

Our current BHS students represent a spectrum of transition between students who once exclusively used physical keyboards to enter text (BHS students in Grade 12)—to students who spent formative years in a transition between physical and on-screen keyboards (BHS students in Grades 9–11).

Our analysis revealed that our student conversations were evenly split among those who prefer a physical keyboard to those who prefer an onscreen keyboard. Students who participated in these discussions were well aware of the versatility offered by the precision touchscreen offered on an iPad. Most importantly, these conversations underscored the versatility of the iPad in general and demonstrated a desire among some students for the choice of a physical keyboard option.

Device Cost Considerations

While Barrington 220 has never made device cost the primary consideration in selecting a device for our One to World program, fiscal responsibility has always been included as a factor. Since the pilot year of the One to World program in 2012–13, the district has invested about ten years of time, training, professional learning, software purchases, and other systems costs into our current program. A device platform change would result in new start-up costs, new purchases, new training, and significant time to revise and/or re-create lessons and activities for new devices and systems. Thus, monetary, time, and other potential costs were considered.

One unintended consequence of our district selecting Apple devices has been that our devices have realized residual value at the end of our three- or four-year leases. After 3–4 years of use, Barrington 220 sells our used devices to an asset recovery company. Each device is graded on its condition, and we are typically offered 20–30% of our devices’ original values. These dollars are returned to our district’s Education Fund. We found during this study that Chromebooks have no residual value and some Windows devices have some residual value.

We are also well aware of the massive loss of time and the need for training on the part of staff, students, and families that would be required by a device platform change. Education researcher Michael Fullan refers to this loss of “performance and confidence as one encounters an innovation” as an “implementation dip.” Members of our District Technology Committee were the first to voice these significant concerns when the possibility of a device study was raised. While it may not be possible to assign a specific dollar value to an implementation dip, the quality of new devices and systems would need to be demonstrably higher than our current iPad-based program to justify a major change to the teachers, staff, and students of Barrington 220. 

For this aspect of the study, we compiled the following cost information using a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) methodology for six specific device types:

1. Apple iPad
2. Chromebook (without touchscreen)
3. Chromebook with Touchscreen
4. Windows Laptop (without touchscreen)
5. Windows Laptop with Touchscreen
6. Apple Laptop

This table presents a synopsis of device cost information for the devices we considered in this device study:

Please read the full study to learn about the details behind each cost estimate in this comparison.

Conclusion

Based upon all of our collected research from a wide variety of sources, Barrington 220 concludes that the iPad is the best device choice to continue the mission and vision of the One to World program. The iPad was shown to be the best device for creativity and was more versatile for classroom activities compared to the devices we observed. Feature comparisons that were completed for this study demonstrate that the iPad performs better in the vast majority of categories used in Barrington 220 for learning and teaching activities. Further, most other devices we studied cost more than the iPad.

You may read the full research study report or view the Board of Education presentation to learn more about the details of this study.