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"iSchool: a closer look at Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program email Does Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program represent the future of education? Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Just before 8 a.m. one recent Tuesday, Andy Caine wheeled a waist-high cart into his second-floor history classroom at Mira Costa High School, as the Beach Boys' "I Get Around" played faintly in the background. On the syllabus for the day: the First Amendment. As the first period bell rang, Caine unlocked the cart. "Come and get 'em," Caine said to his class of seniors, and stood behind his podium, on which he's pasted a sticker reading, "Think for yourself. Question Authority." The students put aside their pens and notebooks and lined up at the cart to pick up an unconventional tool that school districts across the nation have been implementing into classrooms. Each student grabbed an iPad and returned to his or her seat. Caine is one of 43 Manhattan Beach Unified School District teachers chosen to try the $500,000 iPad pilot program, which started last fall. At Mira Costa, two English, math, science and social studies teachers use iPads, along with eight science teachers at Manhattan Beach Middle School and 27 teachers of different grade levels at each elementary school. The district purchased 560 student iPads (32 gigabytes and costing around $700 each), in addition to iPads for pilot teachers and administrators. A quarter of the pilot costs are grant funded, while the district supports the rest. Later this year, the School Board will decide whether, and in what capacity, to continue the pilot. Caine and pilot teachers implement iPads into their curricula two to three times a week, a total of 30 to 90 minutes. "I would use them every day if I had the po

"Last week blogger of the week, NJ Principal Eric Sheninger, spoke out against fellow NJ Principal Anthony Orsini and his efforts to his students from using social media tools. This week, Sheninger takes time out of his administrative duties for an interview including tips and advice for administrators and teachers on incorporating social media and web 2.0 in the classroom. "

"Top iPad Apps for School Administrators Any technology device is only as good as the software installed on it. Combined with desktop access and Android phone access, I am able to use these applications just about anywhere. These are my iPad application recommendations to administrators."

The Top Ten Things Library Administrators Should Know About Technology By Roy Tennant - Posted on September 12th, 2009 Tagged: Administration It's not insulting to say that those who run libraries tend not to know all that much about technology. A very different set of skills are needed to run an organization, and those skills do not often come packaged along with technical knowledge and experience. But administrators need to know some specific things about technology in order to do their jobs well, so here is my list:

twitter for Administrators, Teachers and Students

"5 Essential Traits of 21st Century School Administrators and Leaders"

"In the face of the "new normal" of decreased budgets and increased expectations, many administrators are turning to technology to enhance teaching and learning while mitigating the consequences of consecutive years of budget cuts. Mobile learning, in particular, has attracted a great deal of attention for its potential to engage students by leveraging the technology environment they have grown accustomed to in their non-school lives; its potential to scale personalized learning and reduce the digital divide; its potential to extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom and the limited hours of the school day; and its potential to enable new pedagogies based on the affordances of these devices that students already carry at their fingertips.Still, the field of mobile learning is still emerging and there are many questions to be addressed when contemplating a mobile learning implementation. How do we create a program with a sustainable impact on teaching and learning, rather than a superficial adoption of the currently "hot" technology? What are the steps involved in implementing a mobile learning program? How do we optimize the investment of our technology dollars? How do we choose devices, networks, and software for our implementation? What are the security considerations in implementing a mobile learning program? What are the policy considerations for a mobile learning program? What are the professional development considerations? What are the teaching models associated with mobile learning? What are the options for funding a mobile learning program?"

"Multiple measures of student performance, more school innovation among their suggestions From staff and wire reports Mar 3rd, 2010 Print this article Teachers also said administrative support, not more money, motivate them to succeed. Teachers say administrative support, not more money, will motivate them to succeed. In one of the largest national surveys of public school teachers, thousands of educators agreed that today's students aren't college-ready when they graduate from high school. Teachers' suggestions for solving this problem include clear, common standards; multiple measures of student performance; and greater innovation, including differentiated instruction and more use of digital resources."

Collection of iPad apps for administrators compiled on this site by Mid-Hudson Regional Information Center. 

In April of 2011, the USD No. 448 Board of Education, based upon a recommendation supported by the administration and staff, voted to approve iPads for all staff and all students in grades 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12 beginning in August 2011. We have been "pioneers" in the iPad one to one arena. The journey has been challenging, interesting, frustrating, enlightening, but most of all rewarding. Our staff has done an incredible job of embracing change and integrating iPads into our curriculum. They are providing an extremely important service to other educators--being a model school. What I have observed is that because this is such a new concept, other educators are much more inclined to get excited about the concept if they are able to see it in action. Thank you USD No. 448 staff members for providing a working model for other educators.

In April of 2011, the USD No. 448 Board of Education, based upon a recommendation supported by the administration and staff, voted to approve iPads for all staff and all students in grades 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12 beginning in August 2011. We have been "pioneers" in the iPad one to one arena. The journey has been challenging, interesting, frustrating, enlightening, but most of all rewarding. Our staff has done an incredible job of embracing change and integrating iPads into our curriculum. They are providing an extremely important service to other educators--being a model school. What I have observed is that because this is such a new concept, other educators are much more inclined to get excited about the concept if they are able to see it in action. Thank you USD No. 448 staff members for providing a working model for other educators.

We mock the school system because we love the idea of quality, free, public education. We want to help point out the problems and hypocrisies in an effort to help promote a solution. We also want to provide comic relief for the millions of teachers, students, administrators, parents, and tax payers who have found themselves locked in a system which has never fully reached it's potential

"Ian Jukes, Ted McCain, and Lee Crockett write in their book Understanding the Digital Generation, "Schools have not recognized the changes that have occurred in the world around them and have continued to teach as if it were 1980." In the spirit of David Letterman, here's my "Top 10 Signs Your Schools Caught in a Time Warp." A list for school administrators. "

"This is a group started by Education Ningsters from across the country to encourage teachers and administrators to create Nings. "

"What is the Value of a Coach? Coaching done well may be the most effective intervention designed for human performance. Atul Gawande A district administrator recently wrote to tell me that her district was facing "tough financial decisions" that are naturally causing lower morale. Everyone in her district feels under attack. And "the coaches are naturally questioning their value."" All of us experience dark times when we wonder if we are making a difference, and coaches are no different. So I thought I would do my best to answer the coaches' question. What is the value of a coach? Coaches Support & Encourage Teachers. A coach is

"100 Milestone Documents print-friendly version The following is a list of 100 milestone documents, compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration, and drawn primarily from its nationwide holdings. The documents chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965."

"You're a 21st-century administrator. Now what? Chris Lehmann is the Founding Principal of the Science Leadership Academy (SLA), an inquiry-driven, project-based, one-to-one laptop science and technology high school in Philadelphia, a school that has garnered international recognition. "

"The debates about schools and social media are a subject of great public and policy interests. In reality, the debate has been shaped by one key fact: the almost universal decision by school administrators to block social media. Because social media is such a big part of many students social lives, cultural identities, and informal learning networks schools actually find themselves grappling with social media everyday but often from a defensive posture-reacting to student disputes that play out over social media or policing rather than engaging student's social media behaviors."