Mt. Pleasant Area stresses digital in daily schoolwork

The classrooms of yesteryear are being eliminated in the Mt. Pleasant Area School District under a plan approved by directors that will require the integration of technology into daily learning.

It's the district's responsibility to prepare students for life beyond school, and that includes an evolving digital landscape, said Ken Williams, director of students services and technology integration.

“They're going to need to use technology when they graduate,” Williams said.

A committee of 22 teachers, students, parents and district officials prepared a strategic plan addressing technology and education over the next three years. The plan outlines goals and objectives, some of which require teachers and students to depend less on paper.

This year, students in kindergarten through fourth grade and seventh- and eighth-graders are using iPads for their classwork as part of a pilot program. Seventh- and eighth-grade teachers got MacBooks for classroom use. Technology director Scott Shaner said officials may upgrade devices that other students use in coming years, depending on the outcome of this year's changes.

“We never had a direction in technology,” Shaner said. “The way it is in today's world, everything is technology, so we're trying to prepare our students to understand those technologies.”

Objectives outlined in the plan require teachers to use Google Apps for Education as their primary tool for lessons and communication with students. Also, technology should be used as an instructional tool at least once weekly in classrooms starting this fall and then daily in the 2017-18 school year.

“We weren't consistent with how we were implementing the technology,” Shaner said. “We want to be consistent and make sure every student is getting the same curriculum.”

Beginning this fall, students must begin creating and submitting assignments and projects digitally. At the same time, students are learning how to safely and appropriately use devices and the Internet, Williams said.

Members of the committee hope to create a culture that embraces daily use of digital methods in learning.

“As time goes on, we're going to introduce more and more technology,” Williams said.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374.