Dear Parent(s), We appreciate all the efforts you have made to help your child be responsible for his/her iPad. We know this is a huge responsibility for any 7th grade student and are very proud to report that District wide, our students are being very responsible and careful with this 21st century tool. In this le*er I hope to share lessons learned as well as provide answers to some of the ques6ons we have been receiving from many of you. Lessons Learned and Plans Moving Forward Student Profiles iPads are wonderful devices and we’re so proud to be among the first Districts in the na:on to commit to 1-­‐1 learning. Not many districts allow students to take devices home or keep them during breaks but we feel this is an important part of our assuring your children have 24/7 access to learning. •
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Problem: Most students are following rules but we have learned that many students have trouble avoiding the tempta2on to delete the District profile on their devices in order to download games and other content when they are home. Solu%on: We are commi*ed to allowing students to keep their iPads at school and home but want you to know we’re going to be communica0ng with you and your child daily during the 2nd semester when profiles are deleted or inappropriate apps are discovered on iPads. Our purpose is to help students understand that they are being monitored and that we expect them to follow the rules set forth in the iPad agreement. We also want them to know we are communica6ng with you when there are problems. We believe that the majority of students will obey the rules and keep the student profiles installed on their iPads once they you are receiving regular communica$on(s). You might be ge-ng more calls than you want for the first week or two but we are sure students will start to comply. Protec'ng From Loss or Damage Your child’s iPad came with a heavy duty rubber case that is built to protect your child’s iPad from accidental damage. For this reason, we want students to keep the cases on their iPads at all 6mes. Your child’s iPad came with a charger. Chargers have rela7vely fragile power cords that can be easily damaged. They are also small and can be misplaced or lost. A good prac/ce is to have your child keep his/her charger at home in one loca0on at all 0mes. This will prevent it from ge7ng lost or damaged. Your child’s iPad has a heavy duty glass screen. The fact that it is heavy duty means it can handle normal wear and tear. However, it is s0ll glass and glass is breakable. If your child’s iPad glass is broken, he/she should report it immediately. •
Problem: 7th graders don’t want to report loss or damage. They are afraid of being in trouble at school and at home. So they o.en don’t tell anyone when a problem occurs. They tell teachers they le' their iPads at home or forgot to charge it. In most cases, they have damaged or lost the iPad and are trying to avoid the “lecture” and consequences from school or home. •
Solu%on: Help your 7th grader understand that part of growing up is taking responsibility for mistakes. You can’t promise there won’t be consequences but you can promise them they will have the respect of the adults in their lives if they tell the truth – no ma&er how hard. As a parent, you can start with empathy and understanding. Then deliver the bad news about how much of your child’s allowance is going to go toward paying for a repair or loss. We need your child to report the loss to a school official immediately. O"en &mes, students will not report they lost their iPad for fear of ge(ng in trouble. They will say, “Someone stole my iPad.” If you think your child might avoid repor4ng, please do it for him/her. iPad The$ iPads get stolen from *me to *me. No*fy the school immediately. The sooner we know, the sooner we can file a police report and allow our device management company to start working with law enforcement on recovery. We will take care of the police report, you just need to get it reported. •
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Problem – parents don’t always agree with what the school reports and students some5mes share conflic,ng stories at school and at home. Solu%on –No ma&er what, talk to your child’s school. If you can’t get a sa;sfactory answer or solu%on, then see your child’s principal. There’s always a posi%ve solu%on and we’re commi9ed to finding it 100% of the /me. What will students be doing with iPads second semester? •
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Teachers will receive another full day of training from Apple to help them use iPads in the classroom. Students will receive District e-­‐mail addresses so teachers can communicate with them electronically. Parent webinars will be held monthly and recorded and shared with any parent who can’t a5end but wants to be informed. A web-­‐based learning tool called Canvas is being introduced to teachers and students. Over !me, this tool will be used by parents and students to communicate, review progress, ask ques%ons, and submit work. The tool is called a learning management system. If you are interested in learning more about Canvas, go to www.instructure.com We look forward to sharing plans, strategies, learnings, and solu5ons to problems as we move forward. We welcome your feedback, ques,ons, concerns, and ideas. Sincerely, David Damico Director of Alterna.ve Educa.on/Educa.onal Technology Sweetwater Union High School District