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Vail's Long History of Innovative Instructional Technology
January 31, 2012
By Bill Adams
 The Vail School District opened Empire High School in 2005 equipping students with laptops, and becoming the state's first "one-to-one" public school. Before it became the "hot" idea, Vail implemented a "Bring Your Own Technology" initiative at Cienega High School, inviting students to bring their laptops and connect up to the school's wireless network. This has since expanded to students' iPads, Kindles, and smart phones. Hundreds of students participate every day and families tell them this was one of the main reasons they finally decided to purchase a computer for their child.
Vail built on their success in 2010 by starting their second "one-to-one"- Vail Academy and High School.
Two new programs will soon be joining the mix of options and opportunities that families can choose from. Andrada Polytechnic High School will give students three options - use a school-provide laptop, "bring your own", or "purchase your own" at a reduced rate.
The Vail Blended Learning Program is set to explore another avenue in online learning this year. This program would provide a physical location to supplement online experience. Students will be able to utilize the facility for tutoring and other activities as much, or as little as they wish.
Vail is extremely optimistic that this increased level of connection and service will improve retention and completion rates.
I want to thank Superintendent, Mr. Calvin Baker, and his staff for their input and "thinking outside the box". This positive attitude is promoting learning and success in our children.
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Innovation Academy Embraces Blended Learning Program
January 31, 2012
By Michelle Udall
 Last fall, 105 honors students in Chandler began attending the new Innovation Academy - a blended learning school within Willis Junior High. Rather than returning to standard paper-and-pencil style classes, they embarked on a new adventure in learning - one that incorporates technology, collaboration, and more traditional teacher-led learning.
Students of iAcademy are focusing not only on learning the state standards, but doing so while gaining skill sets that will better prepare them for today's business world. Teachers and administrators hope to help students gain experience and expertise in the areas of leadership, collaboration, creativity, difference making, and empathy. Curriculum is delivered through a vast array of sources, utilizing everything from textbooks to video lectures to online assignments. Edmondo, Google Docs and Collaborize Classroom are just a few of the online tools being used to enable collaboration and to help create a school-without-walls feeling among students and teachers. The school district has purchased 60 laptops and dedicated a computer lab with an additional 30 desktops to the program, making the student to computer ration 3:4. They hope to expand the program next year without too much additional expense by implementing a BYOD or Bring Your Own Device program for those who are able.
So far, the program is receiving rave reviews from students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Teachers and parents say that student engagement has increased greatly. They say that a higher percentage of students are completing assignments and there is much more interaction, collaboration, and peer editing than they have previously seen in their classes. As the school year continues, it will be exciting to see if this increased engagement translates to measurable increases in student learning. Please click here to learn more about Innovation Academy, visit them on the web at.
Flexbooks and Digital Textbooks Promise Revolution in Student Learning
January 31, 2012
By Venessa Whitener
 The introduction of Flexbooks and digital textbooks to K-12 education holds great promise for increasing student engagement and decreasing cost. By definition, a Flexbook is an open resource textbook which can be used as is or modified by teachers for their individual classroom use. As an open resource tool, Flexbooks are free to the user and can be published by anyone in either a digital or print format. By contrast, digital textbooks are commercially produced resources which are now available through the major textbook publishers and very recently by Apple through their iBook store. During the month of February teachers from the Wickenburg, Dysart, Glendale H.S. and Peoria school districts will develop Arizona's first K-12 open education Flexbooks (Algebra and Biology). This project, coordinated by the Center for the Future of Arizona, will include a research study to analyze the success of Flexbook use in Arizona schools. A similar project and study conducted last year in the state of Utah concluded there was no significant difference in student performance between those who used Flexbooks and those who used a commercially produced hardcopy textbook. Although from a financial perspective the Flexbook runs around $5 while the commercially produced hardcopy textbook can run as much as $100. Click here to read more.
One of the best resources for Flexbooks is at CK-12. CK-12 is funded through the Sun Microsystems Foundation and provides STEM textbooks for K-12 school use. These books can be published in print form for as little as $5 or they can be used in a digital format. As indicated earlier, Apple has recently stepped into the digital textbook realm through developing partnerships with a number of textbook publishers, such as Pearson and Houghton-Mifflin. Most of these textbooks cost around $15 and are extremely interactive and engaging for students. One can learn more by viewing this recent video from Apple.
Yavapai County's Emphasis on Technology Empowers Students through Community Connections
January 31, 2012
By Kate J. Ali'varius
 In Yavapai County, students are realizing the power of online learning. The Yavapai County Educational Technology Consortium (YCETC), due in part from a $53.8 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant for an Arizona public-private partnership with GovNet, have allowed school districts, colleges, charter schools, and libraries to share education resources. For the second fastest growing county in Arizona, Yavapai is making great strides in providing a countywide instructional delivery system that will allow site-to-site interaction. More than 21 school districts, 15 charter schools, 2 colleges, 2 technical education centers, Juvenile Detention, and an independent high school-- as well as the Yavapai County Library District-- participate as Members in YCETC. Their coordinated efforts enable an integrated approach to knowledge and resource sharing with maximal local control over the end use for the product.
The YCETC expects all schools to be connected by the end of first quarter, 2012, with independent TV's (ITV) expected in colleges, high schools, Joint Technical Education Districts (JTED), and piloted elementary schools by the start of the school year, 2012-2013, for "live" debut. Microwaves and fiber optic cabling will provide the infrastructure for Yavapai County schools to share education resources using the education channel available on their secure, multi-purpose network.
The future for ITV applications is broad and promising, to include: staff development, advanced placement offerings, dual enrollment, guest speaker engagements, virtual field trips, cultural exchange opportunities, team and/or collaborative projects as well as sister school options. The YCETC is "making educational connections worldwide" happen. Click here to see their Point to Multi-Point success.
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Innovative Products
in Blended Learning
Rosetta Stone
Recently I sat down for a small group dinner with Tom Adams, the young, energetic CEO of Rosetta Stone to discuss the role of technology in K-12 education. Tom talked about what Rosetta Stone is doing across the world to bring language development to the masses, even when a qualified teacher is not available. Click on the link above to see for yourself the amazing things Rosetta Stone is doing with blended learning.
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