Technology News 

As was announced last year, ICS will be starting to implement a 1:1 laptop program in the secondary grades. This program will provide every student in grades 6-12 with a laptop computer to use in school and at home. Teachers will be designing learning activities to take advantage of this tool, and students will use their laptops for learning, collaborating, researching and creating work. This year we will begin the phase-in with grades 6 and 10. We will start the program later in the year, in October, to enable the school year to begin smoothly and to give teachers more time to prepare for this challenging and exciting program.

More information about the 1:1 laptop program can be found on the ICS website: click on “Academics” and choose “Technology.” Follow the link to the 1:1 Laptop program. (Alternatively, follow this link:  http://www.icsaddis.edu.et/technology/11-laptop-program).

We will have special parent and student information sessions for Grades 6 and 10 later in September, but more information will be available at next week's High School and Middle School Back to School Night.

This school year is going to be an exciting and thrilling year in technology at ICS. We have lots of things going on that will improve communication, research and learning for all members of the community. The projects will keep us busy, but we are ready for the challenge!

Here are some of the main projects that we are working on this year:
New wireless network (Eaglenet) has been established. We are expanding the breadth of coverage across the campus and strengthening the signal. We've also improved security and monitoring capabilities.

New communication system (Zimbra) has been implemented. This will allow teachers and ICS staff to communicate more effectively, share documents and calendars, and keep better informed generally. We will also be able to create student accounts so that students (and parents) can have access to calendars, shared documents, email, etc.

The ICS 1:1 Laptop Program will begin to be implemented, with students in grades 6 and 10 being assigned a portable netbook computer to use in school and at home. With this program, students will be able to communicate, collaborate, research, create work, etc., using modern technology. Teachers are planning to ensure that these tools are used creatively and effectively. We'll be expanding the program over the next three years to eventually include all students in grades 6-12.

New equipment has been purchased for classrooms and will be deployed as the containers arrive in school. We will be using more interactive whiteboards, data projectors, document cameras, digital video cameras and digital still cameras, and other equipment.

We are negotiating with ETC for both a high-speed fiber cable and a backup connection to allow us to connect to the internet with much greater speed and reliability. We hope to have this implemented early in this school year.

Responsible Use Agreement for Students
All ICS students have received Responsible Use Agreements to enable them to use the ICS network and access the internet through our network. We ask all parents to read the agreement form, discuss responsible use of the internet and electronic communication with your children, and sign the form for your children. We stress the ICS Way in the use of technology, and expect students to take care of themselves, others, and this place (including ICS, our network and the wider realm of the internet). I will share ideas and resources with parents for helping you manage and guide your children at home in their use of the internet and other electronic forms of communication, both here in the newsletter and on the school website.

Parent Use of the ICS Internet Connection
We have kept an open policy for parents and students using the school wireless network and internet connection, and we hope to continue this. To help us keep this continuing, we ask all parents and students to cooperate in registering their laptops and other devices with the IT department, follow the ICS Way in their use of technology, and respect the primary purpose of our school: the education of students. We ask parents to defer to students in using school computers (i.e., the computers in the library), and also to refrain from downloading large files (videos, applications, music, and other large files) over the internet during the school day. Large downloads will slow down our network and limit the ability of students and teachers from doing school work. Betty Taye is available to set up your laptop connection, in her office behind the reception desk, from 7:30– 9:00 AM and from 2:30–4:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

Here are some “assignments” for all ICS students and families to work on during the summer holidays:

- Try out some free open source software. We will be using OpenOffice in school next year, as well as other free and open source software. Students and families can get a head start and get copies of the software from the IT department (or download it yourself) to play/work with during the holidays.

- Protect your privacy by adjusting your settings on any social networking site (e.g., Facebook) that you participate in. Don't let just anybody see what your posts, photos, tags, etc. are.

- Change your passwords. Pick a couple of reasonably strong ones you can use and reset your passwords on any main sites you use. Have a strong one for any webmail services, and a very strong one for any banking or shopping sites (do you have them save your credit card number?) you use.

- Explore some new tools. There are plenty of interesting creative projects students and families could do. Have you tried Animoto? What about Wordle? BigHugeLabs is a fun place ...try some out.

But, perhaps more importantly, here's another suggestion: have a no-screen day (or week). Turn off the computer & TV, put the iPod away, put your cell phone on mute, and spend time interacting with people personally, not digitally. It's important for us all to have balance in our lives and, while technology tools are fun and useful and engaging, it's worthwhile to spend time away from it all. Walk around without your own MP3 soundtrack, but listen to people, animals, traffic, whatever. Talk to the people around you, not your distant friends. Watch a sunset or a live football match, not a video or TV show. Take a break from tech. (Parents, tell your children that it's an assignment from the school's IT Coordinator!)

Q: What's this I hear about laptops for students?
A: We will be implementing a 1:1 laptop program (also called ubiquitous computing) at ICS starting next school year. We are building a program in which every student in secondary (grades 6-12) will use a laptop computer for their school work.

Q: This sounds like a cutting-edge program. Is it experimental?
A: Not at all. There are thousands of schools and school districts around the world which have such programs, and they have been doing this for years. The first such program was in 1990 in Australia, and one of the most well-known was started in the US state of Maine in 1992. Research has been done that shows that students who participate in such a program have improved learning.

Q: What's the point of such a program?
A: The idea is to put a powerful tool for research, collaboration and creation in the hands of each student. Just as adults use a computer every day as part of their work, which allows them to create more and more impressive work products, research information for their work, and collaborate with colleagues, students can have similar benefits. Further, by having each student use such a powerful tool, their learning can be more individualized. As with all school projects, the main objective is to help improve student learning and that objective will be constantly used to decide on how the program will be run.

Q: How will it work?
A: ICS will provide laptops for students to use. Students will be able to use laptops during the school day and take them home to use in the evening. Students will be responsible for taking care of the equipment. Breakages and damage will be repaired, and students may be responsible for paying for repairs.

Q: Who will get them?
A: In the first year (2010-2011 school year), students in grades 6 and 10 will be issued laptops. In the second year, students in grades 6 and 10 will again be issued laptops, as will students in grades 7 and 9 and 11. In the third year, all students in grades 6-12 will be issued laptops.

Q: Why those grades?
A: We cannot work with all grades immediately – it would be too difficult for the IT department to support a huge  deployment and would stretch our resources too thin. Further, it would be very difficult for teachers to effectively incorporate laptops in all grade levels. We looked at various combinations of grade levels for a phased-in approach and found that starting with grades 6 and 10 would be the fastest way for most students to work with laptops and would minimize any difficulties with the IB Diploma program.

Q: What kinds of laptops will be used?
A: After testing out various types of computers, we have decided to trial two smaller “netbook” models during the 2010-2011 school year: a 10” Acer netbook for grade 10, and a 10” Classmate convertible tablet netbook for students in grade 6. We have seen in our trials that students find smaller netbooks lighter and easier to work with and these machines are able to do most of the work that students need to do.

Q: How will this program be paid for?
A: The school administration and Board of Governors has supported this program, and has approved a budget to accommodate this initiative. They feel that it is important for ICS to be a leader in this type of initiative on the African continent, and they have agreed that the school should fund the program.

Q: How much will it cost me?
A: We are paying for this program out of the school budget, but we may ask parents to make a financial commitment to ensure students use the equipment responsibly and carefully by paying a refundable deposit. Details are being worked out in the school by administration, the Board, and parents. As we make decisions we will communicate with parents.

Q: What about my child in another grade? If they miss the initial targeted years, will they miss out?
A: We do have class sets of laptops for secondary teachers to check out, as well as the computer lab. The use of technology by other grades will continue as it has been – and the school resources will be more available to them since some grades will not need to reserve them.

Q: If I want to get my child a laptop since they will not be in the initial grades, would that be OK?
A: We are happy for students in other grades to bring their own laptop or netbook to work with at ICS. The IT department will work with students who bring their own computers to use during school times to do their work. We will publish specifics of the models we are purchasing for the school, if parents want to buy the same or similar models for their own children.

Q: How will the curriculum change to accommodate this new program?
A: In some ways, the curriculum will not change at all – for example, the IB Diploma program stays the same. Similarly, curriculum standards will remain in place and students will be expected to achieve the usual high levels of mathematical, language, scientific, historical and other curricular levels of achievement. The methods of instruction, however, will adapt to incorporate the technological tools. Specifics of how this will happen will be made more clear as we incorporate the tools into ICS instruction. Some changes have already begun – many teachers are planning and developing web-based course management using the school's Moodle site. Teachers have also begun researching and trying out technological tools such as blogs, wikis, and online discussion forums so that they can take advantage of those tools as soon as possible. As we develop new tools, we will communicate with parents about what's happening.

Q: I am worried about my child using technology too much. Doesn't anybody at ICS think about that?
A: Of course. We acknowledge that technology is a tool, and not the only thing students should be using. It is important, in school as well as at home, that students have a balance in their lives between technology and other tools. It is also important to be physically active, read paper books, socialize face-to-face with friends, interact with family, etc. Similarly at school: teachers will use laptops as a tool, not as a panacea. Laptops will be used when appropriate and when they will enhance learning, not just because they are there.

Q: What about the dangers of the Internet?
A: We are aware and concerned about student safety online. We believe that there are several ways that we can help protect students at school and at home. One is through technology-driven techniques: filters in place at school block inappropriate websites and functions, and similar safeguards can be put in place at home. We also stress and will expand the educational piece: teaching students about dangers that exist online and how students can keep themselves safe. Furthermore, we believe that it is important that student use of technology not happen without adult intervention and supervision, and we encourage parents and teachers to be role models and guides as students navigate the online world. We will continue to help parents, both individually and in groups, with this through communication in the Yezare Samint, on the school's website, in various parent forums and other venues.

We welcome comments, questions and concerns from parents. Please do not hesitate to contact me at john.iglar(at)icsaddis.edu.et or through the school's switchboard if you wish to discuss this program further.