January 9, 2015

Technology and Snow/Cold Days

One of the benefits of a one-to-one program is that it allows students and teachers to extend learning opportunities beyond the school day. With our iPad program, we have frequently gathered anecdotal information that confirms this. I have seen “classroom discussions” in the form of tweets and Schoology posts from students at all times of the day, including on weekends. Students have also shared with me how Schoology has provided greater access to teachers in and out of the classroom, as the website/app is more effective at developing the student-teacher connection than alternatives like email.

During our recent snow/cold days, we sent out a brief survey to students to find out how the iPads and related technology impacted their time away from school. We wanted to know how the iPads were being put to use during the snow/cold days and if students felt as if they were able to be more productive on these days off because of the devices. 529 students responded to this survey, and this is what they told us:

• 90% of students checked Schoology
• 78% of students accessed information posted by their teachers during the days off
• 30% of students communicated with a teacher
• 24% of students collaborated with classmates
• 44% of students read educational materials on their iPads
• 21% of students watched video lessons
• 52% of students submitted an assignment electronically
• 12% received feedback from a teacher on an assignment

Then, we asked students, “Did having a school iPad make your snow day more productive than previous snow days (without an iPad)?” 76% of the students admitted that they were more productive. In fact, one student said, “Literally though iPad technology ruined this snow day!”

Here are some other comments that students provided about their snow day experiences:

• Last night right after school was canceled I received 5 schoology notifications from 5 different teachers assigning homework for me to do this morning.
• IPad allows us to check Schoology for work that needs to be completed. Otherwise I would have just assumed my teachers would push back due dates another day but now IPads put the responsibility on the students.
• My math teacher hosted a Google hangout during when class would have met today so we could still review for tomorrow's test, which was a unique use of technology I hadn't tried before
• Capable of doing and sending in homework due on the actual snow day, rather than the day after the snow day
• it was SO helpful to have teachers communicate how the snow day affected our classroom schedule and to have them tell us what we could do in order to optimize our school snow day productivity
• I was able to work on a project with classmates and download review material for an upcoming test.

This is the upside of iPads. I have recently heard from several parents about some of the challenges that iPads have created for students and families. I will address the pros/cons of iPads in my next blog post. Stay tuned!

Highlights and Successes

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• Congratulations to the following BPA student award winners and State qualifiers from the BPA Regional Competition: Yulia Odinokova, 1st place Entrepreneurship & 2nd place Interview Skills; Michael Zhou, 1st place Java Programming; Kristine Yim, 2nd place Entrepreneurship; Ryan Chang, Andrew Hwang, Prak Muppidi and Nancy Chen, 2nd place Small Business Management Team; Prak Muppidi, 3rd place Economic Research Individual; Amulia Nambiar, Priyal Gosar and Emily Helbing, 2nd place Presentation Management Individual; Ishan Taparia and Varan Pinto, Qualifier in Visual Basics/C# Programming.
• Congratulations to Coach David Yates and the Girls Basketball Team on beating several top teams from California and Colorado to go 3-1 and finish 3rd in the Mike Desper Division of the 2014 NIKE Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, AZ.  Haley Gorecki was named to the All Tournament Team.
• Congratulations to Band Director Matt Moore and the Fremd Band program on their participation over winter break at the Alamo Bowl (halftime performance) in San Antonio, the Alamo Bowl Parade Review competition (earning second place in their division), Pep Rally performance, and a symphonic band clinic with two college band directors from the University of Texas El Paso.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

January 9	Boys Basketball vs. Schaumburg - 7:30 a.m.
January 10	Girls Varsity Basketball  vs. Chicagoland Invitational Showcase - 1:00 p.m.
January 11	Girls Varsity Basketball  vs. Chicagoland Invitational Showcase - 12:00 p.m.
January 13	Incoming Freshman Parent/Student Night - 7:00 p.m.
January 13-15	Finals
January 16	Teacher Institute - No School Boys Varsity Swimming and Diving vs. Schaumburg - 4:30 p.m. Girls Varsity Basketball vs. HEHS - 7:30 p.m.
January 17	Girls Varsity vs. Fremd Invite - 1:00 p.m. Girls Varsity Basketball vs.HEHS - 6:00 p.m.
January 19	Martin Luther King Day - No School
January 20	Floral Design Showcase - 7:00 p.m. Auditorium
January 22	College Planning Seminar - 7:00 p.m. Auditorium
January 23	Varsity Wrestling Senior Night vs. Barrington - 6:00 p.m.
January 27	Late Start Day - 8:50 a.m.
January 30	Boys Swimming & Diving Senior Night vs. CHS - 4:30 p.m. Girls Basketball Senior Night vs. SHS - 7:30 p.m.

For a more complete list, please visit our Athletics Page.

Ask the Principal

Are you curious about something at Fremd but have never asked? Email me at ktenopir@d211.org. If your question is pertinent to a wider audience, I will include it in the next blog post.