Welcome Bassett’s Parent Orientation Welcome to our EPISD PowerUP Student Laptop Orientation meeting

Your Zip Code should not determine the education you get Your Zip Code should not determine the education you get. All students should have equal access to all learning opportunities. Juan Cabrera Superintendent, EPISD This is a quote about change. We change almost everything is our lives. Doctors upgrade the way they operate, we buy new cars, we even get new phones on a fairly regular basis. We believe that teaching and learning needs to change to meet the needs of our changing students and their changing learning styles. 

Our Children don't learn like we did--THEN Lectures Reports Solo work Little Interaction with peers 8:30 to 3:30 Little or no digital tools This is the way many of us learned then: In a chair, facing the teacher, with the teacher giving us their knowledge. We then would repeat back what we learned. We now know that for many, if not most of our students, this is not the way to be actively engaged in class. (Feel free to discuss with parents how you feel about the changing role of teaching and learning... and where you want your campus to be.) 

Our Children don't learn like we did- Now Interactive learning Digital tools Collaborative Lots of Interaction with peers Learning can happen anywhere anytime Digital tools everywhere This is how our children learn now: They are using connected digital devices to share information, create content, and to communicate. Instead of fighting against our students and the digital world, we wish to embrace it and use the tools that they use as learning tools. We want our students to become creators of information, not just consumers. We want our students to be creative, collaborative, and to communicate to a world wide audience all of the great things that they are doing here at school. And we are here tonight to start that journey by providing just some of the tools your child will use in this digital world. 

In order to do that, EPISD has started something called "PowerUP" What is PowerUP EPISD?

PowerUP is a term that is used for all of the digital transformation projects that EPISD is initiating throughout the district. All PowerUP projects are designed to make teaching and learning more meaningful and powerful PowerUP is an umbrella term that encompasses a lot of different digital learning tools. The laptops you are here for tonight are probably the most visible. but there are others as well:

Some PowerUP Projects and programs: CK12 Digital Textbooks for all high school students BYOD Student Laptops Office 365 Teacher Websites and Student Email These are just a few of the PowerUP projects that are happening in EPISD: Digital Textbooks in high school, Bring Your Own Devices to class, The laptops Office 365 Suite of programs for all of our students and teachers, and new websites for teachers. 

The latest Edition to EPISD PowerUP Digital Promise Verizon Foundation Verizon Innovative Schools Program The latest edition to EPISD’sPowerUp program is the Digital Promise Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program, which we are a part of. There are five middle school campuses in the VILS program: Armendariz, Bassett, Charles, Henderson and Morehead

All Students in the VILS Program Receive An Apple iPad with 24/7 Connectivity so they are always connected to online learning opportunities Special Programs, such as ST Math, which teaches math concepts without using words. The latest edition to EPISD’sPowerUp program is the Digital Promise Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program, which we are a part of. There are five middle school campuses in the VILS program: Armendariz, Bassett, Charles, Henderson and Morehead

How does this change my child's classroom? Having a device like a laptop, or a tablet or even a smartphone in class changes the way students learn. From taking notes to making up assignments, to turning in homework. It all changes if we allow our students to use digital devices in class. Let's look at some of the changes that will happen:

Some ways PowerUP changes my child's classroom? Before PowerUP After PowerUP Lots of solo work Students had to turn devices off Work done on paper Work could get lost Classroom was four walls Lot's of collaborative work Students asked to turn devices on Work done online Work is online and cannot be lost Classroom is the world Remember, PowerUP is not just a laptop, but a lot of different digital tools. Look at the list on the left: That is what happens in classes without the digital transformation taking place.  That is not to say that it was bad. It was just different. Now look at the list on the right: That is how the classroom will change with digital technology being used. Students will still learn the same concepts and teachers will still teach the same standards. What will change is HOW the standards and concepts are taught and delivered Some ways PowerUP changes my child's classroom?

Some ways PowerUP changes my child's work? Before PowerUP After PowerUP Lots of solo work Paper Could get lost or eaten by a dog 10 pound textbooks Sharing and collaborating was considered "cheating" in many cases Assignments are on the board and could be forgotten Lot's of collaborative work Digital Online work never lost Digital textbooks weigh nothing Sharing and collaborating is encouraged Assignments are online for everyone to see Again, look at the list on the left: That is probably the way we envision a traditional class, the one we are familiar with. Now look at the list on the right: That is where we want our students and teachers to be heading. We aren't there yet. The digital transformation in EPISD is a multiyear process and we are just beginning.   Some ways PowerUP changes my child's work?

Student Ipad Air 2

All Students at this campus Apple Ipad Air 2 All Students at this campus Students and Parents are responsible for taking care of iPad Treat like a textbook or a musical instrument. Don't loan it to anyone! All students in this campus  will be receiving an iPad. The iPad is an iPad Air 2 with Wifi and Celluar conectivity. This ipad, we believe, will be sufficient for most of our students to complete assignments, surf the web, and collaborate using the MS 365 tools we will talk about in a minute.  These devices are the responsibility of the student to take care of, jus like any other EPISD item they might be issued, like textbooks, or musical instruments.  We hope that you and your child will work together to keep the device in top running order. 

https://youtu.be/anZty6vuJOI Intro to the iPad Video: https://youtu.be/anZty6vuJOI Let's watch a short video, one that your children will see in class, about the ipads This was done for another school district so there is a small section about taking ipads home for k-5 kids…please ignore that part. . 

Responsible Use of iPads Like a textbook, the iPad belongs to EPISD and can only be used for academic purposes Use appropriate language or behavior at any time Nothing hidden from parents administrators or teachers All emails and Office 365 materials are accessible by administration Remember, this is an academic device. We know that students will put some personal pictures and maybe music on them, but they have limited storage, and there is not a lot of room for non-academic purposes. So, academics ALWAYS supersedes any other use of the device. ALWAYS. We expect our students to behave online and follow all the rules of EPISD and the school. We also expect them to do that at home as well. That is where we need your help: We cannot monitor your child when they are away from us. So we hope that you will help us keep the devices and your child safe whenever they are at home or away from school.  For these devices, we encourage a "no secrets" policy at home. You should be able to see whatever they are doing at any time you ask.  Students must understand that all material is accessible to the district. 

I am going to be in your face wanting to know what you are doing online. Get used to it. My job is not to be your best friend. My job is to be your parent. --Kevin Honeycutt This is a quote from Kevin Honeycutt, when his son got mad at him for pestering him asking what he was doing online. This is what he told him.  We want you to also be vigilant of what your children are doing online and with these laptops.  Parents should have a no secrets policy at home: Nothing on the iPads should be off limits to show a parent. No secrets policy!

Responsible Use of iPads Students are not allowed to: Bypass the EPISD Content Filters Use another student's password Share passwords Downloading unapproved software Tamper with hardware Remove EPISD installed software These are some of the rules we have in place already with the district's Acceptable Use Policy.  Are there any questions?

How parents can help: Pick up the iPads every night and recharge for the next day Randomly ask to see what your child is doing online Do not allow students to take iPads to bed with them at night Ask your child to demonstrate some of the online tools to you such as Office 365 OneNote Check for damage or misuse of iPad on a weekly basis If stolen, report it immediately We certainly do not wish to tell you how to be a parent to your children. But we do hope that you can help us keep these devices running for the years that your child will be in our schools. Here are a few things you can do to help us: 

Let's talk about another tool that we have for you and your children: Office 365 Office 365 for Students

Office 365 A set of tools designed to help your child work collaboratively online. Includes Word, Powerpoint, Excel, OneNote and OneDrive Student email in Outlook and Calendar

Office 365 A set of tools designed to help students work collaboratively online. Includes Word, Powerpoint, Excel, OneNote and OneDrive Student email in Outlook and Calendar Office 365 is a powerful set of tools that your child now has free access to. This includes the entire online versions of Word, Powerpoint, Excel, OneNote, Email, Calendar and something called OneNote. OneNote is a great tool that we hope your children will use with their laptops. 

Video: Digital Life and Teens http://bit.ly/1IAbja3 Play the video: Digital Life High School Parent/ Teacher Intro Video If the link in the slide does not work go here; https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/digital-life-high-school-parent-teacher-intro-video We really like the website "Common Sense Media" because they have e a lot of videos for parents about their children and how to deal with issues that are brought up with digital devices. This video is one example.  Video: Digital Life and Teens

ParenT Letter and Responsible Use Agreement We are now going to hand out the parental letter and the Responsible Use Agreement. You child cannot receive an Ipad without your permission.  Let's go over the letter and make sure everyone understands it's contents.  Read the letter aloud to the parents. Ask if there are any questions. 

Parent Night Orientation EPISD PowerUP Parent Night Orientation Q&A Thank you for coming here tonight.