Education

Kent Kingston, technology director for the Westside district (and formerly vice principal at Westside High), says that the system works especially well with the Apple notebooks. “With our modular scheduling we’ve created an environment predicated on trust,” he notes. “The notebooks have really taken that concept to a whole other dimension. Now, learning can occur whether students are in class or not, and even whether they’re in the building or not. The notebooks allow them to connect to their teachers 24/7, and to access online resources whenever, wherever they want.“

Adds Crook, “When you dovetail our modular scheduling and our delivery of instruction with the notebooks, it all works really well together because it’s all based on student responsibility. All of the pieces complement each other, in terms of knowledge and achievement.“

Partnership with Apple Shapes 1 to 1 Learning Program

The notebook rollout actually began when Westside teachers visited Apple's campus in the spring of 2004. Hoping to reduce students’ dependency on outdated computer labs, and to support students who learn differently, the teachers explored 1 to 1 learning. All quickly saw the potential for individualized learning made possible by the Apple notebooks, and readily agreed to adopt it as the model at Westside High. Accordingly, the district’s initiative began with the distribution of notebook computers for all teachers and school administrators.

Apple has the people, content, and the resources. But they’re also smart enough to say, 'Let's look at the culture of your school, and figure out how we can work in partnership to get your teachers moving forward.'

— Kent Kingston, Technology Director, Westside Community School District

Further solidifying the staff’s support of the notebook program was the formation of teacher-led committees that helped identify professional development, governance, hardware, software, and support needs. Crook also worked with teachers and administrators to create a staff development cadre that defined Westside’s training requirements. Then Apple Professional Development helped develop and deliver the content needed to ensure the smooth integration of the notebooks throughout Westside’s curriculum.

“Apple was great about asking us what our needs were, and what kind of people would be necessary to support this initiative,” recalls Kingston. “Then they came back and suggested an approach that fit with what our cadre wanted, which encouraged widespread adoption of the plan. Apple has the people, content, and the resources. But they’re also smart enough to say, 'Let’s look at the culture of your school, and figure out how we can work in partnership to get your teachers moving forward.'