MPS 1 - Student Devices

 

MPS:1 Vision, Goals, & Rationale

Moore Public Schools is grateful to have the support of Moore community members who share our vision of utilizing technology as a tool that will increase student achievement and prepare students to thrive in increasingly digital college and career environments. To help realize our mission, Shaping Today’s Students into Tomorrow’s Leaders, MPS:1 (1:1 initiative) issued Dell 3190 laptop computers to all high school students, as well as Dell 3100 series Chromebooks to all junior high school students, in the 2020/2021 school year. 5th and 6th graders were issued 3100 series Chromebooks in the 2021/2022 school year.

In 2015, MPS began laying the groundwork to give every student regular access to a device that can help enhance and redefine the ways they interact with teachers, peers, and academic curriculums. This painstaking process included extensive planning and research on every aspect of the initiative, which resulted in:

• Updates to the wireless network at every school site (2016-2018)
• Adoption of Canvas, an online learning management system (2018)
• Teacher and student device pilot programs (2019-2020)
• Implementation of a tech integration teacher certification program (2020)
• Publication of online teacher and student technology training (2020)

MPS:1 Goals

• Enhance how students communicate, collaborate, and create.
• Empower students to participate in global academic forums.
• Ensure all students have access to instructional technologies.
• Prepare students for postsecondary college and career success.
• Provide each student with a device to help achieve these goals.

MPS:1 Rationale

The decision to move to a 1:1 student to device ratio is motivated by our desire to increase student achievement and prepare students to excel in the various paths they will pursue after graduation. This initiative is one strand in a comprehensive plan to ensure that our students have the knowledge and skills to adapt to quickly changing academic landscapes and compete in job markets that demand digital skills and technological know-how.

With or without access to technology, students learn when they collaborate with teachers and peers, interact with the world outside the classroom, apply knowledge to new contexts, analyze and evaluate information, create original products, and publish their work for a variety of audiences. Issuing laptops to students will not change the fundamentals of how

they learn, but it will enhance and enrich their learning environments in ways not possible otherwise.

Preparing for Success

To ensure a smooth 1:1 transition, the MPS:1 teacher training program includes technology integration strategies and classroom management best practices. The MPS Educational Technology department provides teachers with access to in-class professional development and designs student and teacher learning opportunities that adhere to the nationally recognized ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) standards. These standards are the foundation for the MPS Tech Integration Scope and Sequence guidelines that will help ensure students’ technology skills and knowledge will steadily progress throughout their academic careers.

Students’ laptops serve as tools that enable them to collaborate with teachers and peers; access, evaluate, and organize unprecedented amounts of information; interact with the world; and apply the knowledge they construct in the classroom to the creation and publication of academic projects and ideas. Students participate in training sessions that include information on how to use their devices to increase academic achievements, safely use the Internet, and adhere to the guidelines of good digital citizenship.

MPS views parent involvement and support as a crucial aspect of the 1:1 initiative. MPS respects parents’ rights to place parameters on students’ technology usage and monitor students’ online activities and screen time. In addition to giving parents resources and training to support students as they participate in various digital curriculums, parent nights are held several times throughout the year by the MPS Educational Technology department to provide information and demos on how parents can monitor students’ coursework and online activities.

As we continue on this exciting journey to equip students and teachers with the tools they need to be successful in a rapidly changing world, we invite our stakeholders to provide feedback and keep tabs on our progress by visiting the MPS Educational Technology website.