Transitioning to a 1:1 program can open a window of learning opportunities for students. When students are given access to their own technology such as a laptop or tablet, they are empowered to learn through their own discoveries. Implementing 1:1 technology in the classroom allows for personalized learning and also creates opportunities for students to learn from one another.
The benefits of implementing a 1:1 program, however, aren’t automatically received. The processes by which devices are deployed, tracked and managed play a vital role in a 1:1 program’s overall success.
Three years ago, Barrington Community Unit 220 School District (BCUSD) was looking to transition to a 1:1 program. BCUSD was met with the challenge of not only deploying laptops and tablets to every student in the district, but also managing and tracking each one of those devices.
Before going 1:1, BCUSD’s technology department tracked each school’s digital assets in a database, but the database would not efficiently manage devices in its 1:1 program.
“We had the IP addresses of the technologies so we could track them and know where they were, but we couldn’t see the history. We couldn’t see when it was checked in and out of the library or when it was in for service,” says LeeAnn Taylor, district media services director for BCUSD.
After learning from a colleague about Follett’s Destiny Resource Manager, a system meant to help keep school districts organized by tracking inventory and providing necessary data to secure school resources, Taylor was able to convince the rest of BCUSD to adopt the Destiny Resource Manager into its existing asset management program.
“A lot of people just manage a laptop like it’s another book, but you don’t get nearly the same functionality as when you use the Destiny Resource Manager because it’s built from the top down from a district level,” says Taylor.
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