From Ms. Minnehan's Facebook:
On Tuesday, at our regularly scheduled board meeting, myself and Harrie Ellen Minnehan turned in our district issued iPads and have opted to use personally owned devices in our capacity as elected officials. If we are going to ask the district to cut, we must cut too.
The IPads are partly my legacy. The move to this technology reduced district paper consumption and courier costs by $20,000/year. (Goodness, I hope I remember that number correctly...)While the couriers were lovely and did their job well, I didn't need them delivering confidential documents to my home, where they waited on front stoop until I found them. Not very secure in my opinion. Technology allowed us to move information faster through the system with more security than ever before.
When I left board service, I purchased my IPad from the district. (I paid current market value in 2011 for a used 2nd generation device.) Sadly, I didn't know enough about my own technology to ensure the dedicated email address was transferred into my name for my personal access. In the weeks that followed my very saavy children purchased $1000.00 worth of games and ITunes on my credit card. I did not receive the receipts b/c they were sent to a dormant district email. I found the purchases by opening my monthly statement. I felt my stomach fall into my knees.
Yep. Talk about a learning experience. Eventually, after a lot of tears, Apple granted us a one-time forgiveness after figuring out that the device had not been reconfigured from its previous owner for use by me, it current owner. Live and learn baby and be incredibly thankful when common sense abounds.
What amazes me is just how far technology has come in the last few years. IPads were new, the holy grail of technology when the CSD BOE bought into the information management system. It also set the tone for creating more opportunity for technology use in the district. Early on, we had to configure wireless internet connections in several schools to allow these devices to function. But, it was progress.
Back to the show of solidarity -
CSD has had to make many painful budget cuts. Some find the actions of these board members futile and short-sighted. I see it as something else. It's a sign of the times. Many folks, especially the technologically-saavy or financially-gifted, are already personally invested in technology. These devices, a cell phone or tablet, are an extension of their human brains. For them, technology is seamlessly integrated into their every function. This is the direction of our future.
As for the others, I urge you to Buy Into the BYO Device Movement. CSD wouldn't be the first in Delaware to try it. I actually know of one school that has implemented the program seamlessly into its daily delivery of curriculum with solid results - it frees up school-owned technology so that it finds its way into the hands of students of lesser means whose families just can't afford to invest in technology at home. (Yes, a school where technology is valued and utilized on a daily basis across multiple domains.)
Yes, today is a good day for the CSD BOE to set the tone for what happens next in school-based technology use. BYO Device CSD, Bring your own device!
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