Hannah Emmanuele
Located in a suburb of Boston, Burlington High Schoool decided a few years ago “to give its students access to resources that would allow them to do great things.” In short, that meant eliminating textbooks and implementing a 1:1 iPad program for all teachers and students. To replace the outdated textbooks, the Teachers and staff created collections of compelling multi-media digital resources for their classes, integrated new digital literacy standards into the curriculum and became part of the broader Open Educational Resources (OER) movement. The school is working toward creating a project-based learning environment.
Burlington was able to fund a 1:1 iPad program through budget savings from textbook purchases. The program has expanded to Burlington Middle School and plans are underway to bring the the elementary school onboard for seamless K to 12 integration.
Click here for reflections from the BHS team on the 1:1 implementation process.
Click here to learn how technology can help special needs students.
Note the placement of the principal’s desk in the video–leadership understands culture change starts at the top.
BHS has gained regional and national recognition for its exemplary learning environments and received the Distinguished Apple award as a center of innovation, leadership, and educational excellence. According to Burlington’s Superintendent, his school district earned this award by demonstrating the following qualities:
- Best practices of a 21st century learning environment
- Visionary leadership
- An infrastructure (IT) that supports a blended learning environment
- Engaging teaching and learning methods that capitalize on the qualities of today’s students who are mobile, collaborative and creative
- One-to-one access to portable computers and/or mobile access devices for all teachers and students
- Evidence of ongoing professional development
- A systematic approach and ongoing process for evaluation and assessment of results for education improvement and sustainability
