High Tech and High Touch Digital Learning at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School January 28, 2010

Indianapolis Met by the Numbers Public Charter High School 6th year of existence Demographics 350 Students, Grades 9-12 82% Free/Reduced Lunch 80% Minority 28% Special Education Recent Graduation Rates 63.5% four-year 74.6% five-year College Acceptance and Attendance 96% to two-year or four-year school 70% have completed or are still in school 80% are first-generation college students

Indianapolis Met in Operation Divided into four grade-level schools Each with a Principal Team of content teachers Each teacher is an advisor to a group of 15-16 students Groups stay together all four years (same advisor) Principal also stays with the grade level Students have internships one or two days per week Focus is on real-world application of knowledge Relationships are the heart of the school

Why Digital Learning? Project-based learning is wonderful, but… Leaves gaps in content acquisition Still puts burden on content teachers to help students acquire base-level skills Not everything on the test can be naturally found in projects

Our Journey Yearly evaluations showed uneven academic results Attempt #1 Used computer-based curriculum to augment projects Caused a disconnect with projects Students gravitated to plug and chug credit recovery Attempt #2 Rotations sending students to content teachers for instruction Weakened advisory structure Discipline referrals went up and retention went down Set Goals Keep advisory structure Provide rigorous content Allow teachers to focus on helping students apply knowledge Keep students engaged and motivated

The Decision Hybrid approach of digital content and real-world projects Small pilot in the spring Used free content and existing devices Strong positive response from students Large pilot in summer 60 students for 4 weeks Mix of free and commercial content Each student received a netbook Pre- and Post-tests showed strong gains Students feedback was positive Teachers were even more positive Decided to go “all in” and commit to Digital Learning for the entire school

Details Staff spent large portion of the summer pulling together content Mix of commercial (mostly Pearson Education) and teacher-created Divided content into broad categories with assignments and projects Purchased 360 Acer netbook computers Used a combination of stimulus money and Title I funds Used Google Portal to host the content and provide student e-mail and document storage Did not restrict student access to the Internet other than the common filters (pornography, hate, drugs, etc.)

Mid-Term Results Expected Surprises Students overwhelmingly support the digital approach Project work has improved More base content knowledge End of Course Assessment preparation is better Surprises Discipline referrals, suspensions and expulsions are down significantly Students still become disengaged, but when they do they are listening to music or on social media In previous years, disengaged students disrupted the learning of others More content questions are being asked through Google Chat and e-mail Students are using technology to alert teachers and administrators of potential student problems Teachers are spending more time with students one-on-one Bandwidth requirements were more than expected

Next Steps Create Digital Learning 2.0 Refine and reduce the amount of content related to courses Teachers found so much good content in first version that they put it all in Feedback from students and from staff indicated too much repetition Assign work based on what students already know Using project work and standardized assessments, only ask students to use digital content to fill in the gaps Provide additional training this summer for staff on using the tools Evaluate continuing to use Google or some other portal platform Provide bank of keyboards, mice and external monitors for more involved computer work and testing

Questions Scott Bess Chief Operating Officer Goodwill Education Initiatives The Indianapolis Metropolitan High School 317-524-4501 Scott.bess@indianapolismet.org