Experience in 1:1 Rollout

As Edwards stated in the book, digital transformation is more than just the devices.  It's all about a complete change in mindset.  This was also the case for the Salisbury Township School District.  Over the course of 8 years, they went from being a 1:1 county in middle and high school to a fully functional digital school district in 2014.  One thing that I thought was interesting, however, was that they started their work in 2006.  Completing something like this is definitely a process, and it takes time.  Randy Ziegenfuss and Lynn Fuini-Hetten, the authors of this specific article from Edutopia (https://www.edutopia.org/blog/pd-1to1-technology-to-district-randy-ziegenfuss-lynn-fuini-hetten), said they have worked on four main actions in order to maximize the PD aspect of the implementation.  To me, this is the most important part of the process because it creates a unified language, a unified culture, amongst the teachers and staff. 

The first key point they made was that it's important to align your PD goals with your 1:1 program goals when pushing the transformation forward.  They mention that "effective digital transformations have articulated goals that reflect the desired changes in teaching and learning."  I think this is crucial because everyone then has a clearly defined path to focus their efforts on in terms of improving in the area of creating an environment for student success in a digital era.  In this situation, they're defining their goals based on the SAMR framework and Webb's Depth of Knowledge.

The second key point they made was the importance of rethinking the use of human resources.  This is in fact the backbone of the process.  Determining this structure early on would be an effective strategy early on.  Knowing what and where your resources are going toward is vital.  I can see this happening in our county now (as we're currently under a major transformation) with job title roles, differing job title descriptions, and the formation of support groups. 

Personalizing PD efforts for teachers is also a big part of the process.  Teachers in a 1:1 landscape should be able to function with a variety of knowledge, skills, and backgrounds.  Giving staff members personalized options through which to learn at their own pace or liking, creating diversity, allows them to feel truly invested and dedicated to the efforts.  This specific county even created teacher learning cohorts along with a summer academy and multiple conferences and workshops.  Of course, this was not only for teachers, but for administrators as well.

The final element mentioned in the article dealt with meeting the needs of everyone by way of understanding relevancy.  This has been a huge aspect of what I've been reading about with 100% digital switchovers.  Workshops and programs are formally evaluated, constantly, through survey, reflections, and debriefing in order for the instructional strategies to stay current and meaningful to everyone.  I like the authors even mentioned that as part of one of their most recent PD initiatives, Innovate Salisbury, teams of teachers, building leaders, district leaders, and other experts helped to shape the overall vision moving forward.  I think it's very important to involve people at all levels.  You're more apt to form a more accurate (and more believable) vision if everyone is on board.