District Implements New Technology Initiative
June 30, 2009
The Sioux City Community School District is rolling out an aggressive technology initiative at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year, which will incorporate the latest technology into district classrooms.
The district will use the almost $2 million received from the national Microsoft Settlement, as well as stimulus funds and grants. According to Neil Schroeder, technology director for the district, the technology department established a comprehensive plan. “While the initial catalyst for the development of the initiative was the Microsoft Settlement, our goal is to leverage technology resources in our curriculum to raise student achievement and engagement. Our vision is to equip all educators and students with appropriate knowledge and 21st century teaching, learning and assessment tools.”
A group of teachers from across the district has been selected
to help pilot the program. Fourteen classrooms (six elementary,
four middle school and four high school) will be equipped with
interactive whiteboards, projectors, document cameras, full alpha
numeric response units, audio enhancement, as well as classroom
PC’s and group lab spaces. In 2010-2011 all kindergarten through
fifth grade classrooms will be brought up board, followed by all
middle school classrooms in 2011-2012 and all high school
classrooms in 2012-2013.
“By 2013 our district will have curriculum at all levels fully
adapted to leverage 21st century resources; our teachers will have
all of the necessary training; our students will be able to access
and engage in our diverse curriculum anytime/anywhere; and we will
be able to assess student performance in near real time and perform
data analysis on the results,” said Schroeder.
