Roper 1

Innovation Plan: Preparing Parents and Students for a One-to-One Implementation

Stephen Roper

Department of Leadership, Technology & Human Development, Georgia Southern University

ITEC 8133: Current Trends & Issues in Instructional Technology

Dr. Nihan Agacli-Dogan

November 21, 2021

 Roper 2

At Hephzibah Middle School, student access to computers is limited by a number of

factors. There are only two computer labs for almost six hundred students. There are five HP

laptop carts that must be reserved by teachers in advance. As a Title One school, access to

computers at home is limited for many students. When the pandemic hit last year, the school

and system scrambled to get laptops in the hands of as many students as possible so that they

would have access to computers at home in order to do online assignments. Understandably,

the entire process was rushed, so emergency online learning did not go as smoothly as it would

have if there had been more time to plan for the implementation of the process. It did teach us,

however, the necessity for students to have access to computers both at school and at home, if

for no other reason than the fact that access to the internet to complete assignments has been

made a necessity by the changes brought about by the closure of schools last year. The reliance

on computers and the internet necessitated by school closures has continued has become the

new norm even with face-to-face learning back in place. It is clear now that the school needs to

implement one-to-one student access to laptops that can be used both at home and at school

for the entire school year.

In May of 2021, towards the end of the school year, the school commissioned a TUPS

survey (Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey) to analyze teacher beliefs and attitudes

concerning access to technology at the school. Thirty-six teachers completed the in-depth

survey, which “includes 200 items in seven categories and provides valuable data to guide

school- and district-level decision-making. The survey sections include: Technology Access and

Support, Preparation for Technology Use, Perceptions of Technology Use, Confidence and

Comfort Using Technology, Technology Integration, and Teacher and Student Use of
 Roper 3

Technology” ("TUPS", 2021). Among the results from the survey was the clear indication that

teachers believed three things about student access to technology: that equitable student

access to technology improves student outcomes, that teachers need to provide students with

technology-rich lessons, and that current student access to computers and the internet is

insufficient. See below for artifacts from the results of the survey.
 Roper 4

It’s clear from the rush to get laptops to students last school year during school closures

that a one-to-one initiative will need to be carefully planned and implemented. Parents and

students will have to learn what their responsibilities are regarding the devices they are issued,

as well as consequences for damages or loss. The pandemic also taught us that although

students are well-versed in texting with their friends and scrolling through Snapchat, they are

largely unfamiliar with good digital citizenship that must be displayed when learning in an

online environment. So, along with device responsibility, they will also have to be taught digital

citizenship before they are able to fully participate in using one-to-one technology properly and

effectively. I offer three proposed solutions for the need to educate parents and students on
 Roper 5

their device responsibilities and students on what is expected of them in terms of digital

citizenship.

First, all of the training could take place in one day with both parents and students in a

face-to face training session at the school. Parents and students could meet with faculty and

trainers in appropriate environments that could accommodate all of them, such as the

lunchroom and theater. Training could be done in rotations, with the student body and parents

divided into three groups that would rotate through three sessions. The first session each

student and their parents would attend would go over the details of their responsibilities

regarding their being assigned a device and the repercussions of damage or loss of the device.

The multimedia presentation would also present expectations for use of the device as well as

forbidden uses. The second session each student and their parents would attend would be

multimedia presentation on digital citizenship that gives an overview of how students should

conduct themselves in an online environment. As Principal Michelle Ostot from Copper Ridge

School in Arizona says, after leading a successful one-to-one implementation, all students

should be required “to take a digital citizenship course before they are issued a device or are

allowed to bring their own devices to school. Strong policies and parental involvement work

hand-in-hand with this course to ensure students know their rights and responsibilities when

using these devices in school” (Sykora, 2014). The session would include issues of privacy and

safety, as well as proper decorum in online communications and determining validity of online

sources. The last session would be the actual issuing of the device to the students after

verifying that the required paperwork has been dated and signed.
 Roper 6

My second proposal of another way to educate parents and students on the one-to-one

initiative would be to have parents and students complete training sessions one and two

described above in an online, asynchronous, environment prior to coming to the school to be

issued their devices. As Nick Sutton points out, “Findings from Bebell and O’Dwyer (2010)

pointed towards more positive outcomes when schools focus on more training and immersion

rather than just implementation with one-to-one initiatives” (Sutton, 2015). Parents and

students could be assigned courses in the Canvas learning platform that they would go through

at their own pace over a period of about a month that they would have to complete in its

entirety before coming to the school on the date of the actual issuing of the devices. Faculty

and administration would be available to answer questions and provide assistance via email or

messaging within the Canvas platform, or by telephone, and would be responsible for verifying

completion of the two courses before a device would be issued to that student.

Lastly, another possibility would involve a combination of the first and second

proposals, with part of the training taking place asynchronously and part of it in a synchronous

setting at the school. Parents and students would be provided training on their responsibilities

regarding their devices in three ways: packets mailed to them with information and paperwork

to be signed, an optional canvas class available online, and by video tutorials provided on the

school’s web page. Due to the obstacles inherent in getting all parents to come to the school at

the same, parents would not have to come to the school unless they needed to obtain

additional copies of the necessary paperwork. After completing the training, they would send

the signed paperwork to the school with their student. The students would then rotate through

a centralized location like the media center, where faculty would verify signatures on their
 Roper 7

paperwork and take it up, then issue devices to all students with signed paperwork. Students

would then be trained by a faculty member using a multimedia presentation on their

responsibilities related to their device. The third part to the training, training students on digital

citizenship, would then take place during their homeroom classrooms each day of school.

Teachers would utilize the same pedagogical methods as they use for teaching their content

matter, including students utilizing their newly assigned devices for online assignments in

Canvas as well as participating in hands-on face-to-face synchronous assignments in class, to

teach students digital citizenship expectations. As Scott Winstead suggests in “How to

Implement 1:1 (One-To-One) Technology in The Classroom,” teachers should “work with

students to create a classroom set of ground rules related to using their devices in the

classroom. Items you may want to include in your rules include staying focused on the

assignment/learning, only visiting approved websites, refraining from checking personal emails,

and showing kindness and respect to other learners in the classroom” (Winstead, 2020). It is

this third option that I have outlined in my implementation plan below.

 Roper 8

Implementation Plan

Objectives:

1. Teach parents and students the details and responsibilities of the one-to-one program,

including their repercussions for lost or damaged devices.

2. Issue a one-to-one device to each student who has the proper signed paperwork from their

parents.

3. Teach students how to adhere to good digital citizenship principles when participating in an

online environment.

Timeline:

May 15th – June 15th, 2022

School administrators, Instructional Coach, and selected faculty members will prepare and mail

to parents paper packets with details on the one-to-one initiative and on parent and student

responsibility for devices issued. They will include in each packet a contract to be signed by

parents and students regarding their responsibilities for the device that will be issued.

The Instructional Coach, Media Specialist, and selected faculty will design and construct an

online Canvas class providing the same information on parent and student responsibility for

their devices that will be issued.

 Roper 9

The Instructional Coach, Media Specialist, and selected faculty will create video tutorials on

parent and student responsibility for devices that will be issued and will post the videos on the

school website.

July 1st – July 31st, 2022

Parents and students will have the option of completing the Canvas course on device

responsibility or watching the video tutorials provided on the school web page.

Parents and students will complete paper packets and sign and date contracts provided.

August 6th (or first day of school if on another date), 2022

Administration and homeroom teachers will facilitate rotating students by homeroom through

the media center for device distribution.

Potential risk or breakdown in implementation: Some students will not be present on the first

day of school. Others will transfer into the school after the first day. Accommodations must be

made for students and parents to complete all facets of training and paperwork after this date.

Instructional Coach, Media Specialist, and selected faculty will verify signatures on

parent/student device contracts, take them up, and issue one-to-one devices to all students

with properly signed paperwork.

 Roper 10

Instructional Coach and Media Specialist will use a multimedia presentation to review student

responsibilities related to their devices.

August 6th – October 4th, 2022

During homeroom, at the start of each school day, homeroom teachers will utilize the same

pedagogical methods as they use for teaching their content matter, including students utilizing

their newly assigned devices for online assignments in Canvas as well as participating in hands-

on face-to-face synchronous assignments in class, to teach students digital citizenship

expectations.

Potential risk or breakdown in implementation: Some parents may not turn in signed

paperwork for their students to be issued devices. These students will be “day users,” and will

be loaned devices daily that must be turned in at the end of the school day. Administration will

follow up with parents who have not turned in signed contracts for school devices to be issued

to their students.

Administration will conduct formative and summative evaluations, including surveys of

teachers, parents, and students, of the one-to-one training and rollout of devices to students

and report to stakeholders on results.

Roper 11
 Roper 12

References

Sutton, N. (2015). What the research says about 1:1. Edutopia. From

https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/what-research-says-about-11.

Sykora, C. (2014). Plan a successful 1:1 technology initiative | ISTE. Iste.org. From

https://www.iste.org/explore/ISTE-blog/Plan-a-successful-1%3A1-technology-initiative.

TUPS. TIM. (2021). From https://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/evaluation-tools/tups/.

Winstead, S. (2020). How to implement 1:1 (one-to-one) technology in the classroom.

eLearning Industry. From https://elearningindustry.com/implement-one-to-one-

technology-classroom.