Last week,  the Duxbury School Committee approved a five-year technology plan that seeks to put a computer into the hands of every student within the next three years, which the plan calls a “1:1 learning environment.”

The technology plan was created by the Technology Visioning and Planning Committee,  and made up of school administrators, teachers, residents and Mary Lou Buell, school committee vice-chairman.

The plan includes six “benchmark goals.” These range from providing enough funding to support the goals of the technology plan to promoting enough professional development for teachers to implement technology effectively.  They also include the 1:1 ratio of one  “high capacity,  internet connected” computer per student with a time-line of 2012-2015, and they recognize the importance of maintaining and upgrading the district’s computer systems so that internet and data access is both safe and secure.  Using communication and information technology will “maximize educational opportunities in the Duxbury community,” stated the plan.

The technology committee’s vision for the Duxbury community is stated in the plan as the following: “We believe the goal of education is to prepare our students for life-long learning and success in a rapidly changing, technologically focused, global society. We need to teach students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers and innovators, effective communicators and collaborators, and self-directed learners. The abundance of knowledge available to students is changing the way we learn and work, and technology is the enabling force for this knowledge to work.”

The technology committee believes that the most effective way to “maximize” learning is to put technology in the hands of every pupil starting in preschool. The 1:1 learning environment envisioned by the technology plan would supply IPads to children in Pre-K through third grade,  MacBook laptops to those in grades 4-5 and MacBook Air laptops to middle and high school students.

The plan recognizes that since technology changes so rapidly the current platforms and hardware listed may be obsolete by they time they can be implemented,  so the school system is charged with revising the plan as necessary.  “This is a living document we  have to look at each year to see what adjustments we have to make,” said technology director Gail Callahan.

Currently, elementary school students are experiencing new technology in the classroom this year with Ipads on mobile carts at the Chandler Elementary School and with laptops on carts at the Alden Elementary School.

The current school budget for technology totals $190,251, but school officials would like that budget to increase over 35 percent next year. The initial technology budget request for fiscal year 2014 stands at $258,236. This amount includes $81,804 for replacing computers and $40,644 to buy more laptops and Ipads for the mobile carts. The budget also includes $25,000 for network upgrades; $25,000 for wireless internet,  $30,441 for hardware such a new printers, projectors, slates, mimios and smartcams;  and $55,347 for software upgrades.

Callahan reviewed the FY14 technology budget with the school committee last month, but the committee has not yet approved it.

Last Wednesday, the school committee discussed the technology plan briefly before unanimously voting to adopt it.

School committee member Anne Ward asked if there was a component of parent training in the plan. Callahan said that there was and that parent training will be mandatory if and when the equipment is allowed to travel home with a student.

Ward also asked about internet safety for students. Callahan replied that plan’s benchmark goal six deals with this topic and that the school has both an Acceptable Use Guide regarding the internet and network use and educates teachers and students about appropriate online behavior. These topics include cyber-bullying and the potential risks of social networking sites and chat rooms. Also, Callahan said the schools have the necessary firewalls and filters in place to protect the security and confidentiality of the personal information of its students and staff.

School Superintendent Dr. Ben Tantillo said if students are using school computers to access the Internet away from school, they can be directed back to the school’s network, but he acknowledged: “Somebody is always trying to beat the system and we have some pretty smart kids out there.”

The Technology Visioning and Planning Committee consists of DMS Media/Librarian Chris Allen, School Committee member Mary Lou Buell, Director of Technology Pre K-12 Gail Callahan, Chandler School Vice Principal Krissy Chase, DMS Principal Blake Dalton, DHS Assistant Principal Jim Donovan,  resident Kerry Dowling,  DHS math teacher Tony Fisher, Science Content Supervisor 6-12 Cheryl Lewis,  grade two  teacher Courtney McKinney, DMS student Cal Petit deMange, DHS principal Andrew Stephens, Alden School teacher Courtney Sullivan, Alden School Vice Principal Karen Whitaker, and DHS math teacher Erin Young.