On Thursday, Feb. 22, the Greenwich Public Schools (GPS) will participate in Digital Learning Day (DLD), a national celebration designed to showcase innovative teachers, leaders and instructional technology, and to highlight effective digital teaching practices.
As a preview to Digital Learning Day, a group of prestigious educators visited the Greenwich Public Schools (GPS) to observe the success of the GPS Digital Learning Environment (DLE), currently in its fifth year of implementation. On Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, information technology administrators from the New York City Department of Education, a representative from NYSTEC, and Chappaqua Central School District (CCSD) Superintendent, Director of Innovation and Technology, and the Chappaqua School Foundation President visited classes at Riverside School, Central Middle School and Greenwich High School.
New York City Department of Education Chief Information Officer, Peter Quinn, stated that “It was wonderful to see what you’ve been able to accomplish in Greenwich schools, and the visits were proof of what is possible when district and school educational leaders collaborate.”
In April 2013, the Greenwich Public Schools launched a three-year, three-phase Digital Learning Environment (DLE) initiative to advance the transformation of teaching and learning and to accelerate the academic achievement and personal well-being of all students. The DLE is designed to provide teachers with the resources necessary to both innovate and differentiate instruction according to the needs of each student, and for students to personalize their own learning, making choices about how they learn and present their new knowledge.
The phasing in of the devices allowed the District to carefully plan for the technological, professional learning, and operational management needs associated with the initiative. The phased implementation plan serves as a successful model that has attracted attention from neighboring school districts.
The CCSD Director of Technology and Innovation, Josh Culwell-Block, said, “I think it was great for a district that is travelling down a similar path as Greenwich to see how they integrate digital learning in a robust and meaningful way. This visit will help us shape our digital learning in Chappaqua. I found the GPS Digital Learning environment to seamlessly integrate into the instruction of the school district – it felt natural, and an everyday part of the education of their students.”
As the GPS DLE goals illustrate, this initiative provided the foundation for the District’s current Strategic Plan, making learning personal for each of our students using a blended – traditional and digital – approach to teaching and learning.
DLE Goals:
Prepare students to be critical thinkers of online content
Optimize quality teacher feedback
Prepare students as self-reflective regulators of their learning
Create a personalized learning environment for each student
GPS Chief Information Officer Phil Dunn said, “The visit from New York City and Chappaqua educators was a truly inspiring occasion to witness and reflect upon the educational opportunities that our students are engaged in. When we began the Digital Learning Environment (DLE), we were guided by the simple proposition of empowering students with the tools necessary to amplify their voice in our world. Watching our students take virtual field trips, debate net neutrality, and create engineering prototypes has been a humbling realization of that vision. We are forever in the debt of our students for teaching us what learning in this modern era needs to be. We are grateful to all of the adults – parents, community and business partners, such as Improve, LLC, District and school leaders, and a very dedicated IT and instructional staff for supporting our students on this journey.”
