TECH’ED
OUT BY MEGHAN THOMPSON
WE KNOW the modern classro om no longer
thrives o n information-packe d lectures
to students ( sometimes struggl ing to pay
at te ntion). Inst ead, schools use technology
to sup plement curriculums an d make
learning a more interactive experience. But
just how muc h technology do e s your child
encounter in t he school day? We took a look
inside the c lassrooms of Bal timore County
Publ ic Schools and Arlington County Public
Sc ho ols to get an idea.

L APTOPS & DEVICES
All BCPS students are equipped with
laptops for everyday use. This is part
of BCPS’s blended-learning approach,
which uses technology to enhance the cur-
riculum, says Ryan Imbriale, executive
director of BCPS’s innovative learning
department. Students can use their lap-
tops to log onto BCPS’s digital learning
ecosystem, BCPS One, which provides
them with teacher-vetted resources.

IN C O RPO RAT I N G L A PTOPS int o t he
c la ssr o o m i s th e p r i m a ry f i x t ure o f B CPS ’s
blen de d - l ea r n i n g a p p r o a ch, w hi ch uses
t e c h n o l o g y to en h a n c e t he curriculum. ”
RYAN IMBRIALE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BCPS’S
INNOVATIVE LEARNING DEPARTMENT
42 Washington FAMILY OCTOBER 2019
At APS, students are also equipped with lap-
tops and tablets for everyday use. According
to their website, APS started this with a 2011-
2017 strategic plan that aimed at providing
students in grades 2 to 12 with a personal
digital learning device to support instruc-
tion. They chose iPad Airs for elementary
and middle schools and Macbook Airs for
high school. Now that the plan is fully imple-
mented, the school says they are pushing
further. Their goal by 2020 is to become
“the country’s top media-rich personalized
platform that features seamless integration
with all instructional systems. This includes
“creating a user-friendly interface that gives
teachers an efficient tool for sharing instruc-
tional resources, assignments, activities and
assessments” according to APS’s “Executive
Summary on APS Digital Learning.”



CODING CURRICULUMS
Students as young as kindergarten-
ers are learning to code and to develop
an understanding of how programming
allows them to create from their key-
boards. LEGO robotics club is just one
example of where students can explore
computational thinking and watch
their digital commands create action
in the physical world — and, of course,
make robots.

M O B I L E I N N OVAT I O N L A B
In 2016, BCPS launched its Mobile Innova-
tion Lab, a makerspace for students housed
in an old school bus that travels among ele-
mentary schools. The lab features a 3D
printer, a computerized cutting machine,
mini-drones, LEGOs and robots for student
experimentation. D O K I D S S T I L L H AV E
T E X T B O O KS ?
Yes, but no more chunky textbooks and
unreasonably heavy backpacks. While
BCPS and APS students still have access
to paper books and magazines in their
libraries, more options are available in
e-book format. A big advantage of digi-
tal materials is accessibility. While print
textbooks are still used in the class-
room, online libraries like APS’s 24/7
“MackinVia” portal, provide expan-
sive access to endless resources on a
public-school budget. ■
COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
L E G O ROB OTICS CL UB is just o ne exa mpl e
o f w here st udent s can ex plo re co mput a t io n al
th i n ki ng a nd wa t ch t hei r digit al co mmand s
c r e at e act i o n i n t he physica l wo rld — a nd, o f
c o u rs e, ma ke ro bo t s.

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