Principals Union: iPAD ROLLOUT SURVEY GENERALLY YIELDS POSITIVE RESULTS

from The Associated Administrators of L.A. Weekly Update/Week of November 4, 2013 | http://bit.ly/1bJgX5V

31 October 2014  ::  At the request of Board Member Monica Ratliff, Chair of the Board’s Ad Hoc Common Core Technology Committee, AALA conducted a survey of administrators in phase 1 of the project. Forty-seven schools received the first set of iPads to be issued to students; five were charter and four subsequently dropped out so they were not contacted.

A survey constructed by AALA was sent to the 37 remaining principals and their 8 assistant principals and 24 responses were received, reflecting elementary, middle and high school administrators. Overall, the project received a rating of 3 on a 4-point scale. Some of the key findings were as follows:

• 60% were slightly or moderately prepared; 40% felt very prepared to integrate iPads into the curriculum.
• 92% participated in the summer training and almost 60% participated in additional training, resulting in an average of 14 hours per respondent.
• 76% felt the rollout was very or moderately smooth.
• 100% have contacted a District employee for support; 80% have experienced problems with wireless connectivity and sign-on/passwords.
• The noticeable increase in student engagement was mentioned several times as the best aspect of the iPad program.
• Issues identified as the worst aspect dealt with the security, inability to take them home and that incomplete lessons were provided.

As the District is in discussion on how to proceed with the next phase, this survey shows that there are some critical questions that must be answered:

• How will teachers and administrators get more in-depth training on the use of the iPads in the classroom?
• How much instructional time is being lost for the daily distribution and collection of the devices?
• How will the District ensure that secure storage available at all school sites?
• How will the wireless connectivity issues raised by administrators be addressed?
• When will complete courses be available?
• When will specific, grade-appropriate goals for the use of the iPad be determined and communicated to parents and staff?