School Board Hears Proposal for Touch Pads

Every student in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) could have a county-issued laptop or touchpad in five years under a plan presented to the School Board on Tuesday. Although it strained credulity for some School Board members who heard the proposal, the shift from textbooks to digital learning could actually save money, according to LCPS staff. 

Director of Instructional Services Preston Coppels showed a photo of a theoretical 11th grader at a Loudoun County high school. Inside his backpack were 12 textbooks worth a total of $880. They weigh 47.6 pounds and need to be "refreshed" -- updated or replaced -- every few years.

Instead, LCPS staff recommends a "one to one" program which would provide a laptop or touchpad weighing 3.5 pounds for every student from the fourth grade up. Content could be constantly "refreshed" online and electronic devices would engage students so thoroughly that there would be less absenteeism, fewer disciplinary problems, and lower costs for instructional materials, according to the staff.

If a suggestion from School Board member Bob Ohneiser's is implemented, teachers would receive a bonus if they developed software that suits their students and Loudoun's curriculum. 

Measured against those gains would be the costs of hiring some 150 people to maintain the devices, but staff said those personnel costs were factored into a cost projection.

Teachers would also receive a "device". Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Sharon Ackerman said she isn't sure yet exactly what kind of device it would be: a laptop, touchpad, or something not yet on the market. Presently, touchpads sell for $500 each, but experience shows that over time, "cost comes down and reliability goes up," she said. 

According to Akerman and other technology and instructional staff who presented the plan to the School Board, if implemented over a four-year period beginning in 2013, the plan would actually save money for the county. 

Coppels showed a comparison between costs of the new plan as compared to the current technology plan. In the first year, 2013, when 47 secondary schools would receive devices for students and teachers on a "one to one" basis,  the new plan would save $7,374,200 million.

For the next two years, it would cost more than the current plan, increasing by $12,548,000 in 2014 and by $4,518870 in 2015. In the fourth year, 2016, when touch tablets would extend from fourth through 12 grades, the plan would save $2,348,330. The total additional cost of the new tech plan over four years would be $7,344,940, Coppels said.

But over the same four-year period, the cost of textbooks would increase about $1 million a year under the current plan, and with continued growth in the number of students by 2,500 to 3,000 per year, the new technology plan would then save more than it costs. Total savings of $13,857,146 would offset the higher cost, and at the end of the day, the new plan would save $6.5 million, or $1.625 million per year, Coppels said.

Seven School Board members listened closely, but some seemed unconvinced. Ackerman acknowledged that "you must be asking, 'how could this be?'." She said budget cutbacks in recent years have delayed textbook adaptations, and, "We have bought used books, particularly in science," she said. The costs of updating textbooks, combined with the growing student population anticipated in the next four years, results in an actual savings by switching from books to digital devices. "These are real figures," Ackerman said. "We haven't pumped them up."

But School Board Chairman John Stevens (Potomac) said he was "still stumbling over a few things." 

"This seems like a fundamental change in philosophy," he said, "not a gradual change" as had been described as the staff implemented technological changes in recent years. "Why is there a two year roll-out instead of four years? That seems like an awful lot of new devices and personnel all at once."

Ackerman said the cost includes technology resources that would train teachers and staff to use the new devices, as they have been taught to use the "white boards" that are now in every classroom. 

Stevens asked if teachers will be able to keep up with new equipment that requires more training.

"Is there room for this discussion on the instructional level more than just saying 'We're providing some training on the white boards?'" he asked.

"It's not about the devices as much as the way we want to shift what we value in learning," Ackerman said. "If we say to people that is what we value, they will embrace the technology's ability."

Ackerman said the tablets would reside with the schools during the summer. Security features would restrict their use to instructional content for classroom use only. 

However, students would be more likely to take that content home to study, a concept known as "flipping the classroom" that would enhance the students ability to produce their own learning instead of responding to teacher-generated content on tests, Ackerman said. 

"If you want to get into the 21st century, let the teachers develop the content, and let's reward them for it," said School Board member Bob Ohneiser. "Making it more interesting is what you want a teacher to do."

To learn more about the proposed technology plan, visit www.lcps.org and click on "Technology Plan." Then click the link "to view information on use of technology in K-12 education." There is also a link that permits public comments.