Reading Logs are due on Friday
From the Office of Dr. Bittman,
Technology continues to transform educational practices in our schools, districts, and communities, allowing us to personalize and enhance learning opportunities for our children, while providing access to real-world experiences through learning. As adults, we do not need to look far to see our children and grandchildren utilize technology to access the Internet, create presentations, and to work collaboratively with other children throughout the state, country and world. In fact, I recently witnessed elementary children using Skype, a free software application that enables voice and video phone calls over the Internet. Children were completing a project collaboratively with students in various countries, learning about other cultures, and identifying ways to partner in the future.
While Sauk Rapids-Rice has structures in place to plan, train, design, research, and provide direction for technology, funding has limited access and opportunities for our children. More specifically, Sauk Rapids-Rice has typically allocated a minimal amount of funding for technology ($150,000) each year, which has often been used for infrastructure related expenses such as bandwidth, fiber, network, and switches instead of for updated software, hardware, and/or opportunities for children to access technology. The Sauk Rapids-Rice School District has applied for and received numerous grants and has worked with Parent/Teacher Organizations throughout each of our schools to fund technology initiatives for our children. These partnerships have led to increased access, engagement, and achievement throughout the District. As a father of three children, I see my own children mesmerized by technology. I still wonder why it is they cannot clean their rooms or do their chores without complaining, but that they will use technology for a reading or math game for long periods of time.
Regardless of the reason, I am thankful for the continued support of our Parent/Teacher Organizations, which have made technology possible for our children. Their recent financial contributions and desire to provide iPads for elementary-age children will result in more than 200 iPads being distributed throughout Mississippi Heights, Pleasantview, and Rice Elementary by the start of the 2013-14 school year. In return, the School District will work collaboratively with staff to provide training and support to ensure our children's academic and technological needs are met. We will also reallocate the dollars, which were designated for these purposes to our Early Childhood, Middle and High School to ensure that our programs are aligned and that all children benefit from increased access and opportunity.
If you know parents involved in our PTAs and/or PTACs, please take some time to thank them for their involvement and continued support. Because of their generosity, our children will have more access and opportunity for personalized learning.
Go Storm!
