One to World Program Research Practices

The Barrington 220 One to World program was piloted for one year in 2012–13 and then fully implemented over the next three years starting in the 2013–14 school year. The Department of Technology and Innovation, in partnership with the District Technology Committee, has been documenting evidence of the success of the One to World program since the program’s pilot year. 

Following advice from educational technology researcher Dr. Damian Bebell and others, the measures that best address the impact of any 1:1 program are those that relate to the program’s and/or district’s mission and vision. The Barrington 220 One to World vision and mission are:

Vision for Teaching & Learning in the Digital Age

Barrington 220 provides students with learning opportunities to be successful global citizens. The One to World program transforms teaching and learning to ensure all students:

• Participate equally in the teaching and learning process.
• Engage in a personalized learning experience. 
• Demonstrate learning in a variety of ways.
• Connect and collaborate with global audiences.
• Select and use dynamic, credible resources.
• Develop and explore complex questions.

One to World Mission

The Barrington 220 One to World program provides technology and resources for teaching and learning in the Digital Age. This learning 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.

We recently compiled a single webpage containing the research we have conducted and published in recent years regarding the impact of our One to World program in Barrington 220. The research reports and other sources are presented in reverse-chronological order of release on this page:

One to World Program Research

What Happens to Old District Technology Devices?

The district has nearly completed the refresh of our previous iPad and MacBook Air devices, and you may be asking yourself, what happens to all of those old devices? Better yet, what happens to all of the retired technology equipment in Barrington 220?

We learned several years ago that our previously used learning devices still have value compared to other devices (such as used Chromebooks). There are several companies willing to give the district money for our old iPad and MacBook Air devices. After we've collected previously used devices, a company comes to us, picks up the devices, evaluates each device, and purchases the entire lot. The better shape each device is in, the more money we get.

As for other technology equipment with no resale value—including projectors, PCs, Kindle devices, and others—other companies collect equipment and responsibly recycle it so harmful elements—such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, etc.—don't end up in landfills.

If you ever discover any technology equipment that is no longer being used, please send it to the high school marked "Recycle" and the Tech Department will make sure it's disposed of properly.

Key's Quick Tips—Auditory Text to Increase Reading Comprehension

Key's quick tips are provided by Kelly Key, Assistive Technology Coordinator for Barrington 220. Each month, Kelly features a tool that is available universally for all of our students in the district.

This month's tool is a quick assessment you can have your students complete to determine if auditory text increases their reading comprehension and allows them access to higher-level text. 

The uPAR (universal protocol for accommodations in reading) is a one-time protocol that gives data on appropriate reading accommodations.

How to use uPAR:

  

Results come out in a colored chart.  Here is an example:

If the student benefits from digital text read out loud there are many universal options available including:

Spoken Content—Enable text-to-speech (text read out loud). This is a terrific tool for reading text on the iPad out loud. You can select the text to be read out loud and press speak once this feature is turned on in settings (i.e., reading a book, website, editing your writing draft).

Settings > Accessibility > Spoken content > Speak selection > On

Choose your voice (Alex is the most sophisticated).

Highlight Content—Highlights the words and sentences as it reads out loud. You can also choose your type of highlight (underline or colored, and choose your color)

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken content > Highlight Content > On and choose words, sentences, or both.

Speak Screen—Swipe down with 2 fingers from the top of the screen to hear the content of the screen. When in iBooks it also will automatically turn the page

Live Text (new!)—Newer iPads (Generation 8 and above, including our Generation 9 iPads) have the ability to take a picture of text (typed or handwritten) and have it read out loud. (It will also translate it to another language!) 

Open camera app—Take a picture of the text or open a photo, press the Live Text icon. Tap the screen and select the text you would like spoken and press Speak (press the translate button to translate it).

Reader View in Safari—When it Safari, you get the option to clean up a website for easier viewing. Features include: adjusting the font type, font size, and background color; remove ads and extras on the page. 

Safari—Go to a website with content to read. Press the AA in the search bar. Choose your options: you can set it to default on this site or all sites in website settings

Snap & Read App—Download Snap and Read from self-service and sign in with your district Google account. This app reads accessible and inaccessible text. You can take a picture of a book or worksheet and it will read it out loud or send a doc from another app (i.e., Schoology, Drive) and have it read out loud. Additional features include: translation (in over 100 languages), text leveler (changes words for easier comprehension), and annotation. Full Presentation Here

Learning Ally App—Download digital books read out loud by a human reader. Student can follow along with the words on the screen while it is read out loud. Students can adjust the background, text, and highlight color. Students must have an IEP or a 504 plan and have digital books and/or text reader written as an accommodation on their plan. Full Student Lesson

uPAR Slides with more information

Please email Kelly Key with questions kkey@barrington220.org

Infinite Campus Teaching Center Improves Engagement and Efficiency

If you are already using the Teaching Center Learning Hub in Infinite Campus, do you know about, or are you taking advantage of all of the features and tools within it?  Did you know that using the Hub can help you complete common, everyday tasks more efficiently while also improving student engagement?

The Teaching Center (formally called Control Center) provides teachers a hub for a variety of common tasks. Current-day attendance and assignments to be scored are displayed and sorted by period. The tool has also been optimized for use on mobile devices, such as phones and iPads. From the Teaching Center, teachers can quickly view current tasks for their assigned course sections.

The calendar name displays at the top of the Teaching Center, followed by a dash and the Term. Navigate between terms using the arrow buttons at the top right. Sections are grouped by period into tiles for each classroom. If one section meets during the period, the Course Number - Section Number and the Course Name display. If multiple sections meet during a period, the number of sections is listed, as shown in the image below.

Buttons display for each period that open side panels to take attendance and score assignments. Additional buttons may display for teachers with Campus Learning. 

Additional options may display based on tool rights and district setup. 

Discussions

If you have tool rights to Discussions, a button displays with a speech bubble icon. Click this button to view the Discussions tool in a side panel. From there, view student responses and replies. Use the Discussions tool to create discussions or create scored discussions in the assignment editor.

Sections that meet on other days of a day rotation are listed at the bottom, if applicable. The Teaching Center does not obey the context of the School and Calendar selected so that teachers can view the information everywhere they teach. Assignments with a due date in the current term are displayed.

Student Information in a flash!

Click on a student's name to open the student information panel.

Basic information about the student is listed at the top, with sections for additional information.

If the student has a health condition, an icon displays with a link to additional information.

Click on Contact Information, Today's Schedule, Grades, and Attendance for instant access to useful information about each student.

Contact Information

Contact Information is based on the student's Household. The emergency contact priority is shown below the individual's name if entered. 

Today's Schedule

The student's schedule is listed with Room numbers. The section where the student is currently scheduled is indicated with a border.

Grades

Grades are only shown for the current section from which the student's information was accessed.

Attendance

Attendance is shown for the current month, for this section only. Absences and tardies are totaled in the legend at the bottom. Scroll within the calendar to view other months.

In this video, you can learn how to use various Instruction tools from the Teaching Center.

Instructional Technology Study Coming Soon

The Department of Technology and Innovation is committed to researching and documenting the impact of our One to World program on teaching and learning. In previous years, we've presented the following:

• Survey and Focus Group Reports (2015–16)
• Teacher and Administrator Survey and Focus Group Report (2017)
• Student Survey & Focus Group Report, Grades 3–12 (2018–19)
• Learning NOW in Barrington 220 Web Series (2018–21)
• Barrington High School Creativity Study (2018–19)
• Device Study (2021)

In our continued efforts to improve the One to World program, Barrington 220 will undertake a technology integration investigation to explore the level of technology integration in daily classroom activities for instructional purposes. This study aims to determine:

• To what level and in what ways is the iPad used in the classroom?
• What patterns and trends exist in the quality and quantity of technology integration?
• What barriers prevent further and higher quality technology integration?
• What supports are needed to improve technology integration?

The goal of this study will be to get an accurate picture of how students and teachers are using technology for teaching and learning so we can better plan and develop professional development and supports. We hope to better understand what apps, features, and platforms teachers and students prefer to better support what teachers and students are using and may want to use. We hope to understand what patterns exist (i.e., grade level, building preferences) so we can improve our professional development offerings. The level to which teachers and students use technology for learning is dependent on a wide variety of factors. Understanding why teachers and students choose certain platforms and bypass others will provide insight into how to improve the program.

Alignment to Strategic Planning

The results of this study will provide additional information as we begin to plan the priorities determined by the ongoing strategic planning process. The goal of the Future Readiness strategic priority is to:

 

“engage students in innovative, real-world learning experiences that are not confined by time or location to develop global awareness and prepare them for any post-secondary path.” 

Another strategic goal emerging from the design team is to define and develop global awareness by ensuring all students (PK–12+) have access to innovative, real-world learning experiences. Assessing the current state of student access to innovative, real-world learning experiences will help us better understand our current situation.

This investigation will consist of a mix of student and teacher surveys, focus groups, and observations. Early next semester, you will receive more information about how you can participate.