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

2. 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

3. 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 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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 and document storage
Did not restrict student access to the Internet other than the common filters (pornography, hate, drugs, etc.)

8. 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
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

9. 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

10. Questions
Scott Bess Chief Operating Officer Goodwill Education Initiatives The Indianapolis Metropolitan High School