POLK COUNTY, Fla. — We stay in a digital age and Polk County Public Schools is making certain all students have handy entry to expertise.
Electronic gadgets will be issued to all 116,000 students enrolled in the varsity district as a part of the One-to-One Digital Learning Initiative.
“We’re calling it an always on learning experience because no longer are students really restricted to those classroom hours. What the device will allow them to do, is even when they leave campus, they’ll continue to have access to their content and the information that they need,” mentioned Superintendent Fredrick Heid.
Elementary faculty students will be going home with iPads, and students in center and highschool will have laptops. They can simply obtain assignments and add homework for grading. Heid mentioned this will assist forestall studying loss, as students will be capable of maintain the gadgets throughout holidays and summer season break. He calls digital studying an equalizer for students.
“They can flip back and forth between different languages so even if you’re an ELL student, think about that. They now have access to something within their native language so they can go back and forth and reinforce their English skills as well,” Heid mentioned.
The new program will enable lecturers to individualize studying.
“Say I have 4-5 students who don’t demonstrate proficiency or don’t pass my test, I can now go back in and reassign certain lessons to just those students. I don’t have to assign it to everyone,” mentioned Heid.
The One-to-One Digital Learning Initiative has been made potential by means of a $28-million grant. The funding will additionally enable the district to offer Wi-Fi to students who don’t have entry to it, closing the digital divide.
“In some instances, a hotspot might suffice if there is a high-density wireless overlay within their community. If that is not present in their community, we can use some of this to pay for hardwired services as well,” mentioned Heid.
Polk County Public Schools has carried out a content material filter on pupil gadgets to mechanically block inappropriate web sites. Students have already begun receiving their gadgets. All gadgets will be issued by mid-October.