Resources: Dr Shaun Kellogg

In order to better understand the current state of the Arlington Public Schools' 1:1 program transition, the district partnered with the Friday Institute Research and Evaluation (FIRE) team at North Carolina State University to conduct a small-scale study. The purpose of the study was to identify implementation successes and challenges and to signal opportunities for program growth moving forward.

Arlington Public Schools (APS) partnered with the Friday Institute Research and Evaluation (FIRE) team at North Carolina State University to evaluate the progress of their 1:1 project, which aims to ensure that every student from grade 2 through 12 has a personal digital learning device (1:1) to support instruction.

Building on at least two decades of existing scholarship, this report summarizes three years of exploratory research conducted by the Connected Educators project and identifies how best to capitalize on online communities of practice, which the 2010 National Educational Technology Plan argued should be an integral component of the future of professional learning for educators (U.S. Department of Education, 2010).

On March 14, 2020, all North Carolina K-12 schools closed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Educators across the state were tasked with developing inclusive remote learning plans while receiving minimal guidance around best practices. As school closures went from temporary to permanent for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year, students, families, teachers and administrators adapted to long-term remote learning. This unprecedented situation provided the opportunity to gather critical information regarding the implementation and administration of remote learning that will help inform how school districts will return to school this fall.

In this Friday Institute Education Brief, the authors break down current recommendations and distinct action steps to continue work on the six key areas of the North Carolina Digital Learning Plan.

Leveraging the potential of online communities to enhance and extend traditional professional development opportunities for educators requires an in-depth understanding of the value that members find through their participation.