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Imagining - and Creating - Solutions

A first-grader receives immediate feedback from a program that helps students learn vocabulary words.

Photo courtesy of Bandera ISD

There’s no denying the spark in students’ eyes when they identify all of their vocabulary words using a quiz-based online program or make their first educational video. That same spark can be seen in the eyes of teachers and administrators at all four of Bandera ISD’s schools thanks to a new initiative and the right partner. A year ago, BISD’s internet service wasn’t fast enough to handle the volume of simultaneous users and the demands of multiple large-scale software programs across its schools. Add unreliable connectivity, no tech support and poor customer service, and the experience left students, teacher s and administrators wanting more. So, in July 2018, they connected with BEC’s fiber internet team, which provided a significantly faster, customized internet service to accommodate their current and future needs. Since then, their access to the internet now empowers teachers to transform instruction through blended learning, and the results have been amazing. “Blended learning combines the power of digital tools and a teacher’s best instructional practices so they can meet the individual needs of diverse learners in their classrooms and maximize interactions with each student,” explained BISD Superintendent Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth. To put blended learning into action, BISD launched a digital classroom initiative in mid-January. An initial group of 18 teachers received nearly 500 Chromebook laptops to help create digital classrooms in which teachers use online tools to enhance learning.

A second-grader uses a laptop to practice subtraction problems.

Photo courtesy of Bandera ISD

"We’ve stepped up our game at all campuses to provide access to the internet to match the need,” Hollingsworth said. “We are building capacity by supporting this first group of teacher-leaders, and we plan to add more digital classrooms in 2020.”

Suzy Groff, BISD technology integration coordinator and Bandera Middle School librarian, posts a weekly Tuesday Tech Tips blog for all BISD faculty to spotlight technology use across the campuses. In it, she shows how students and teachers are engaging, applying, sharing and extending their learning beyond the walls of their classrooms. As part of blended learning, students have video-conferenced with NASA employees, students in other states, an author in Ireland and a teacher in Japan to broaden their perspectives. Curriculum leaders on all campuses share lesson plans and tips in a virtual Google Classroom, and anyone in the schools can stream student-created educational videos. Elementary students learn new vocabulary with Quizlet Live,a virtual competition in which team members communicate with each other to answer questions before other teams. They also use a program called BrushNinja to create short animations to demonstrate their understanding of math concepts. Middle school students study ocean tides with an interactive digital lesson plan and complete an assessment on Flipgrid, a video-based discussion tool. In their videos, they use paper cutouts to explain the relationship between moon phases and ocean tides. The high school English department promotes reading through a Google Classroom and a collaborative online document where students and teachers discuss readings and make book recommendations for all students to browse. “They use technology to solve problems and imagine solutions,” Groff said. “This diversity of learning, collaboration and assessment wouldn’t have been possible without this kind of internet access.” Beyond providing real-time education, reliable internet access also helps absent students and students who need to experience lessons again through recorded videos accessible in a Google Classroom. Even parents participate in blended learning by viewing and commenting on their students’ digital coursework through a program called Seesaw. “Partnering with Bandera ISD represents our commitment to the cooperative principle of educating the next generation,” said BEC CEO Bill Hetherington. “By connecting them to the best technology, our children can now learn in ways that weren’t available otherwise.” In addition to the creativity and collaboration that come with blended learning, BISD’s internet service provides a noticeable cost-saving value. “Thanks to BEC Fiber, we are recognizing considerable cost savings that will go back into the general fund to provide creative services for our students,” said BISD Technology Director David Brown. “Our focus is on transforming instruction to be more kid-centered, collaborative and real-world,” Hollingsworth said. “We know we can do this because we’re seeing it in action every day thanks to a strong foundation and infrastructure with BEC.”

A second-grader demonstrates her work on a handheld whiteboard and records herself teaching a lesson that will be viewed by other students.

Photo courtesy of Bandera ISD

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