School officials: Digital learning initiative gives students individualization

Horry County Schools took a leap forward with a new technology program last year and district officials are hoping the move pays off over time.

District officials expect the Personal Digital Learning, or PDL, initiative – which aims to give each student access to a digital device and content over three years – to enhance student learning and raise test scores over the next few years.

On Monday, Horry County Board of Education members will again discuss expanding the program to elementary schools, and other issues related to the digital devices during their regular meeting.

Cindy Ambrose, chief officer of academics for the school district, calls PDL the future for Horry County schools.

School districts nationwide are sharpening their own PDL programs, and Ambrose said Horry County was among the first in the state to jump into digital learning. She said student reading skills scores have improved.

“Talk to the students, talk to the teachers,” Ambrose said. “The students are engaged, we see a huge difference now.”

Horry County schools rely on the Lexile Framework – a national measure to match reading skills to appropriate texts – to help determine student growth and performance. After using PDL programs for a semester, student’s Lexile scores in grades 6-12 improved nearly twice as much as the district anticipated, Ambrose said.

Sixth-grade scores were expected to improve 30 percent, but increased about 110 percent, Ambrose said. Lexile scores for 10th-grade students improved nearly 40 percent, and 12th-graders improved about 10 percent more than expected.

Despite those improvements, school board members tabled a vote at their last meeting to move forward with the program for elementary-aged students.

Officials have a year of data for middle schools and a semester of information for high schools, which school board Chairman Joe DeFeo said makes school board members hesitant to distribute tablets to third- to fifth-graders. DeFeo said he wants to see solid success before giving younger students expensive devices.

The board may decide to give each class about 10 tablets this year and complete a one-on-one initiative next semester, Defeo said.

“I do not believe it’s a matter of if we’ll move forward, it’s a matter of if we move forward in its entirety this year,” DeFeo said.

He said, “There are other options out there. But I will not vote to allow elementary students to take the devices home; I don’t think that’s necessary.”

The PDL initiative is funded through penny sales tax revenue, according to Charles Hucks, executive director of technology for the district. Board of Education members met with technology experts before approving $7.8 million budget for PDL in June 2013.

The initiative was launched in January 2014, giving iPads to all middle school students. High school focus groups opted for Dell Venue – a tablet with storage capability and a keyboard – which were distributed in the fall of 2014.

The district concluded, after using “data teams” comprised of business and industry professionals, that digital content was the best way to spread curriculum individualization to all schools and every class.

“Differentiation is key and we realized that,” Ambrose said. “We knew we could serve students better, in a way we’ve not been able to do before, with digital content,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose said the devices and teaching programs allow teachers to adjust assignments based on a student’s ability and reading level, to either help those who need remediation or allow those who understand to move ahead.

“It’s not one size fits all,” said Forestbrook Middle Principal April Scott. “We’re seeing kids who have the opportunity to move forward on their own.”

Forestbrook students have seen reading comprehension levels rise and math scores increase over the last year, according to Scott, who attributes some of the recent student success to access to new digital content.

Programs such as Achieve 3000 – which focuses on reading comprehension and writing – and ALEKS – an artificially intelligent math course – evaluate each student’s abilities and rework the curriculums so students receive the same information presented at their learning level. Teachers oversee how each student performs in the content and can rearrange lessons or practices if necessary.

Scott said she has heard from opponents of the PDL initiative who say digital content allows teachers to lounge during class time while the devices instruct students.

The devices don’t replace teachers, who are held accountable for test scores and student growth, she said, but they serve as tools to enhance learning.

Danny McPherson, an English teacher at Loris High School and former superintendent of Whiteville City Schools in N.C., said PDL gives him the chance to teach more effectively.

McPherson said some parents and teachers report problems of the devices breaking or getting lost, while some students said they have trouble with software issues or faulty keyboards. All of these issues are fixable as time goes on, McPherson said.

“As with any technology, there’s going to be problems. Even your personal computer has those problems sometimes,” McPherson said.

Ambrose said when the district first announced the PDL initiative, parents’ concerns included their children gaining access to the Internet in class and at home, and added expense if the devices break.

The district allows parents to pay an optional $50 insurance fee to cover one repair per year. Students who pay the fee can also take home their devices. Those without insurance are required to pay repair costs, even if the breakage occurs in school, said Edward Boyd, chief accountability and information officer for the school district. If the device cannot be repaired, parents must pay for the total cost of replacement.

Saddler Ward, junior at Loris High School, who said his mother wasn’t thrilled about paying the insurance fee so he could take home his Dell Venue, said the digital content is useful for people “who like to work by themselves.” It also gives each student an equal opportunity for the same education, he said.

While there is success with the initiative, Ambrose said some principals, board members and district officials have reported hearing complaints that the devices cause distractions in class because of access to social media and online games. She said schools are working hard to make students understand that anything posted online never completely goes away, she said.

It’s the same issue teachers have always faced, McPherson said: monitoring student distractions while in class. Visiting websites or posting to social media is similar to the doodling on notes or folding paper footballs of the past.

“Distraction is a natural thing, we just have a new venue for distractions now,” McPherson said.

Parents also have reported that students are using their devices for gaming while at home, according to DeFeo.

“That’s a conversation parents have to have with their family,” Scott said. “Everyone has to understand that we make sure the kids are doing what they’re supposed to do in class, and parents have the choice to make their own rules at home.”

Ambrose said knowing how to use technology, both in and outside the workforce, is essential for future job opportunities. Most careers use some sort of computer software or online program, so Horry County students must use technology in order to compete for jobs.

“In the past we competed for jobs just in our neighborhood, but now we all have to compete globally,” Ambrose said. “If our students want to be successful, we have to give them the skills and preparation they need.”

“The PDL initiative is giving them that success.”

This story was originally published February 7, 2015 at 8:00 PM with the headline "School officials: Digital learning initiative gives students individualization."