Thursday, January 2, 2014 N/Warren Town and County News Page Nine
1:1 COMMITTEE
Concluded from p. 8
high school staff). The
committee then derided to
conduct a survey in Janu-
ary 2013, asking staff if
they were in favor of
implementing the 1:1 Ini-
tiative at the high school.
The results of this survey
indicated that a vast major-
ity of the high school staff
supported implementing
the 1:1 Initiative and itwas
decided that the Commit-
tee would seek approval to
do so from the school
board.
From the research and
the school visits, it was
also clear that professional
development around the
1:1 initiative needed to be
carefully planned and tai-
lored to meet the needs of
teachers and students. It
was evident that s'uggles
were common in school
districts where a device
was handed to teachers
with little professional de-
velopment to support the
teacher's instruction and
navigation of the device
itself. It was also clear that
any device, in and of itself,
would not automatically
improve student learning.
Norwalk made the deci-
sion to keep a focus on the
purpose behind the device.
while providing support
with how to navigate the
actual device. After more
research about the pur-
pose, it was decided that
the purpose of our 1:1 ini-
tiative would be to con-
tinue to focus on improv-
ing instruction to meet the
needs of all learners. The
opportunities for how a 1:1
initiative can aid teachers
as they differentiate for
students are endless. As a
result, professional devel-
opment for the 1:1 initia-
tive, during the 2013-2014
school year, has centered
around how to adjust in-
struction to meet the needs
of different learners and
explore ways a Chrome-
book could help accom-
plish this.
There were many de-
vices considered during
this process. The 1:1 com-
mittee narrowed the de-
vice choice down to eight
different devices to ex-
plore. Committee mem-
bers, teachers and some
high school students were
given the opportunity to
dive into different devices
and give feedback about
what they considered the
best device to meet the
needs of our students and
our vision in Norwalk. In
the end, the Chromebook
rose to the top of the list
and during the summer of
2013, Samsung Chrome-
books were purchased for
use during the 2013-2014
school year So teachers and
students could become
more familiar with the de-
vice before the full imple-
mentation for high school
students which is planned
for the 2014-2015 school
year.
The Iowa Core calls for
teachers to reflect on their
current instructional prac-
tices by highlighting five
characteristics of effective
instruction. One of those
characteristics is "Teach-
ing for Learner Differ=
ences." This is the purpose
behind the 1:1 initiative. In
the fall, teachers were in-
troduced to eleven instruc-
tional strategies tha t sup-
port learner differences.
Departments chose several
of those strategies as their
focus for the current
school year. Teacher lead-
ers have helped create
websites and lead profes-
sional development ses-
sions that provide support
and understanding of cho-
sen instructional practices
that support different
learners" needs and then
provided web tools and
apps that could enhance
those instructional prac-
tices as they implement
them.
The increased profes-
sional development time
during the current school
year has provided more
opportunity for teacher
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collaboration. Research
strongly shows that "col-
laborative schools do bet-
ter than individualistic
ones" (Fullen, 2012). As
teachers focus on provid-
ing effective instruction
and engaging students in
rigorous work with the
support of technology, col-
laboration time can be
used looking at assess-
ment data in order to bring
to light what strategies are
truly having an impact on
student learning. Contin-
ued reflective collabora-
tion time will allow teach-
ers to become more effi-
dent and effective in meet-
ing student needs.
To continue the imple-
mentation of 1:1, several
subcommittees have been
formed. Some of the sub-
committees include: Infra-
structure, policy and pro-
cedures, professional de-
velopment, communica-
tion and classroom man-
agement. Each committee
will continue to research
best practices for effective
implementation.
Current research is sug-
gesting there is evidence to
support that a 1:1 initiative
improves student engage-
ment. Leading experts in
the field say, "Increases in
student learning occur
only as a consequence of
improvements in the level
of content, teacher's
knowledge and skill, and
student engagement"
(City, Elmore, Fiarman,
Teitel, 2010). Improved in-
structional practices sup-
ported with a 1:1 initiative
keeps Norwalk headed on
a path of excellence in
which it has always
worked so hard to achieve.
If you have questions
regarding the work of the
1:1 committee, contact
Tom Scallon, Norwalk
High School Dean and 1:1
Committee Chair.
LIVE HEALTHY
Concluded from p. 8
end of the challenge, five
teams will be awarded
with cash prizes for their
school's PE/Health depart-
ment; 1-$1,000 and 4-$500.
Interested in getting
your school involved?
Check out www.live
healthyiowakids.org or
contact Lisa at 888-777-
8881 x116 or lisa.weber@
livehealthyiowa.org.
00tters
Iowa Students Encouraged to Apply for
State Board of Education Position
by January 31
The State Board of Education is seeking applications
for its student member position. The application dead-
line is January 31.
Each year, the Govemor appoints a student to serve
as a non-voting member of the State Board of Educa-
tion.
The next one-year term runs from May 1, 2014,
through April 30, 2015. The State Board of Education
meets at least seven times during that term, with most
meetings taking place in Des Moines.
Applicants mu be full-ti 10thor 11th grade stu-
dents enrolled in a public high School. Eligible students
also must have:
• A grade-point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
or 3.75 on a 5.0 scale.
• Attended their present high school for at least the
past two consecutive semesters (or equivalent thereof).
• Demonstrated participation in extra-curricular and
community activities, as well as an interest in serving
on the State Board of Education.
Student applications must be approved by their
school districts. The number of applicants from any one
school district is limited as follows:
• If district enrollment for grades 10 through 12 is
fewer than 400 students, there may be no more than one
applicant from the district.
• If district enrollment for grades 10 through 12 is
from 400 to 1,199 students, there may be nomore than
two applicants from the district.
,,If district enrollment for grades 10 through 12 is
1,200 students or more, there may be no more than three
applicants from the district.
Application materials are available on the Iowa De-
partment of Education's website: https://www.educat
eiowa.gov/about-iowa-state-boards-education#Student.
CARLISLE MAN WINS $10,000
A Carlisle man has won a $10,000 lottery prize. Robby
Stewart claimed the 12th of 17 prizes of $10,000 avail-
able in the Iowa Lottery's "500 Grand" instant-scratch
game. Stewart claimed his prize Friday, Dec. 20, at the
lottery's headquarters in Des Moines. He purchased his
winning ticket at The Mill, 16250 N ..Ave. in Holland.,,
"500 Grand" is a $20 scratch game. IF players mat.h
any "winning numbers" ]o any of "your numbers" in
the play area on the front of each ticket, they win the
prize shown for that number. If they find the "star" sym-
• bol they win that prize instantly and if they find the
"5X" symbol they win five times the prize shown for
that symbol. The overall odds of winning a prize in the
game are I in 3.07.
Three top prizes of $500,000 are still up for grabs in
the 500 Grand game, as well as five prizes of $10,000
and 58 prizes of $1,000.
Since the lottery% start in 1985, its players have won
more than $3.1 billionin prizes while the lottery has
raised more than $1.5 billion for the state programs that
benefit all Iowans.
Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main pur-
poses: They provide support for veterans, help for a
variety of significant projects through the state General
Fund and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which
was implemented to create tourism destinations and
community attractions in the state and build and repair
schools.
Monsanto Employee
Mark Kriegshauser, an
Asgrow/DEKALB area
business manager, saw an
opportunity to become
more involved in the local
community, so he orga-
nized an effort to donate
Start the day off right!
515-223-1150
RO. Box 160
Norwalk, Iowa
www.k-wlo/,.com
vegetable seeds to St.
Francis of Assisi (SFA)
Church in West Des
Moines. SFA Church spon-
sors a community garden
each year, donating the
harvest to the Des Moines
Area Religious Council
Food Pantry, which then
distributes the donations
to local food pantries in
the Des Moines area. Stu-
dents and community
members plant the seeds
in springtime and manage
the garden throughout the
summer months. This fall
a variety of vegetables
grown from the donated
Monsanto Seminis® seed
were harvested, including:
carrots, green beans, beets,
beans, zucchini, squash,
tomatoes and peppers.
