HCS Elementary Introduces
Supplemental Learning Support Through New Technologies
It is with great excitement that I announce to you a new initiative that HCS Elementary will be taking on this year. All students in grades K-5 will be equipped with 1 to 1 technology devices. Students in grades K through 3 will be supplied with an iPad and students in grades 4-5 will have access to Chromebooks (lap-top). Once students and parents have signed a Responsible Use Policy and have agreed to the conditions, students will be able to take the devices home.
Each student will also be provided with an application called eSpark (K-3) or Frontier (4-5). This is a highly engaging educational application and web-based platform that provides students with tutorials, lessons, videos, apps, and assessments designed around each individual student’s needs. It’s sort of like having a personalized teacher for each student. Students will work on eSpark or Frontier during supplemental instructional time (after they have finished regular classwork, on the bus, at home, etc.). Each student’s teacher will have the capability of monitoring the computer use of his/her students from anywhere. A teacher could actually check to see if her students completed their homework, view the actual homework, and then check the computer use of her students, all from her home before she goes to bed. She could even make comments on their work.
These devices and associated programs will not replace the instructional practices of the classroom teacher. They are designed to support the teacher and students as a resource. They will be used to research, collect information and communicate ideas. Students can collaborate across distances with classmates, both here at HCS and around the world. These devices will be brought into the curriculum to both support and enhance the learning. Ultimately, they will help our children to have the skills necessary to compete and be college and career ready, well into the twenty-first century.
Over the course of the year, a technology team will shape and design procedures for the use of technology in our classrooms. Plans will be made that define technology purpose and practice. The community will be a part of these meetings that will culminate in a plan with clear goals.
If you have questions about this initiative or any instructional practice, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or the elementary office.
Kevin Ellis
Hamilton Elementary Principal
