Learning & Leading Through Technology

Rowan-Salisbury School System | Sylvia Charp Award

Talk about meeting students where they are. Students in the Rowan-Salisbury School System in Salisbury, North Carolina, USA, have wireless internet on the activity buses that deliver them to and from their sporting events. That means students who spend up to 90 minutes each way to get to their games can now access classroom resources over the internet on their school-issued iPods while they travel. They can conduct research, listen to a podcast, read an e-book, and more.

Wiring the buses was just one of the many approaches that garnered the district ISTE’s 2013 Sylvia Charp Award for District Innovation and Technology. Rowan-Salisbury was lauded for its 21st Century Model Classrooms, its 1: 1 iPod touch programs, and its commitment to upgrading antiquated technology and infrastructure to ensure that all students in the district’s 31 schools have access to powerful learning tools.

The effort began in 2006 after newly appointed superintendent Judy Grissom visited all schools in the district only to discover the sorry state of technology use. She set out to change that. Led by Phil Hardin, the executive director of technology, the district implemented a comprehensive plan that involved equipping classrooms with leading-edge technology, upgrading servers, boosting bandwidth, training teachers, and providing ongoing professional development.

The results of the massive effort speak for themselves. Take, for example, the fifth graders at Overton Elementary School, where the district implemented a 1: 1 mobile device blended learning project in 2009. In 2008, just 18% of the students were considered proficient in science, according to state assessments. In 2011, 66% of fifth graders scored at or above proficiency level. It’s a similar story with reading scores: 60% of the students were proficient in 2011, compared to 34% in 2008, and 73% of fifth graders were proficient in math in 2011, compared to 29% in 2008.

“We are excited about all of our technology-infused projects and the difference these projects are making each and every day in teaching and learning in our district,” Grissom wrote. “These projects would have never seen success had it not been for teachers, administrators, central office staff, and the community working together to provide the engaging learning environment that students deserve and need today.”

Read the district website: www.rss.k12.nc.us

Follow the district on Twitter @rowansalisburyschsys

Karen Lirenman | Kay L. Bitter Award

The Kay L. Bitter Award recognizes a PK– 2 educator whose
work has had a significant positive impact on the use of tech-
nology in education. Karen Lirenman, a first grade teacher at
Bonaccord Elementary School in Surrey, British Columbia,
Canada, received the award for what one judge described as
“tremendous leadership in bringing change to her teaching,
her students’ learning, and to colleagues who are aspiring to
become digital age educators.”
Ask Lirenman to briefly describe how she uses technology
in the classroom, and you’ll get a breathless response: “My
students use iPads, desktops, and laptop computers. They
use open-ended whiteboard and book-creating apps to share
their learning in all subject areas. They make movies, pod-
casts, and digital posters. They record themselves reading and
add voice to their nondigital work. They use online websites
to read, write, and do math. They connect through blogging,
commenting, tweeting, Skyping, and collaborative projects.”
Keep in mind, her students are 6-year-olds. But Lirenman
has proven that they are more than capable of choosing the
tools that work best with their learning styles. They also are
well versed in learning from—and teaching—others around
the globe. They use videoconferencing to connect not only
with children from other countries but also with educators,
authors, and experts.

Elisa Carlson, the director of instruction at Bonaccord Elementary, said Lirenman is a rare educator. “The impact of Ms.

Lirenman’s work stretches well beyond our district borders
and province, and she now has an international profile for
the work she is doing,” Carlson wrote. “Ms. Lirenman shares
her job of teaching grade one, her love for students, and her
unrelenting quest for improvement through social media,
including Twitter, blogging, and multimedia broadcasts. Her
journey of learning and of empowering our youngest learners
to use technology has been inspirational
to many, many others.”