Located just 15 miles west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the School District of Waukesha has 1,300 staff members who educate more than 13,000 students in 26 schools. As the seventh largest school district in the state, they have a diverse population and utilize a robust 1:1 iPad program to ensure all students receive a personalized education.
Device management made easy
Kimberly Trojanowski, Systems Administrator II, School District of Waukesha, received her first request for an iPad program from special education teachers in 2011. “There was a lot of buzz about iPads and new technology,” she said. The teachers, especially speech-language pathologists, recognized how the iPad’s key features, along with its cost effectiveness and ease of programming for special needs students, would remove huge barriers in their classrooms.
Understanding that iPad technology, accessibility features and apps are excellent tools to support the individual needs of students, Trojanowski began researching a handful of leading mobile device management (MDM) solutions. She ultimately chose Jamf. “By focusing only on the Apple platform, Jamf has a superior feature-rich solution for managing Apple devices,” she said. With Jamf, Trojanowski singly manages the district’s 1,300+ computers and 15,300+ mobile devices, which include more than 700 Apple TVs. “The comprehensive features of Jamf’s product, such as managed app distribution and prestage enrollments for both iPads and Macs, enabled us to distribute thousands of devices to staff and students with little intervention,” she explained. And they’re making a difference.
Customized learning in special education
The program is changing lives for the district’s special education students. “iPad technology offers the best accessibility features and the greatest range of apps for students with special needs,” said Patricia Hovel, Director of Special Education, School District of Waukesha.
The department uses more than 100 apps on 850+ devices across the district – an effective way to personalize learning experiences for each student. “Like most children of the 21st century, students with special needs are adept at using technology,” Hovel explained. “And with the iPad’s accessibility features, students with limited vision, mobility and attention needs can be more successful in the classroom.”
By utilizing Apple’s Volume Purchase Program (VPP), the district is able to get a larger assortment of apps that better benefit their students, including several for augmentative communication. Hovel said this is especially important for students with cerebral palsy who rely on apps that fit their specific needs. “Providing one student with the Proloquo2Go app allowed her to use her hand, with motor skills, to speak with peers successfully and participate in class,” Hovel explained. The iPad opened the doors to a world of learning possibilities for her and her classmates – a way to meet every student where they’re at.
Spanish options for ESL students
As an additional way to create customized learning experiences, the School District of Waukesha provides iPads with Spanish configurations to English as a second language (ESL) students - a functionality that allows them to more easily adjust to iPad learning. “It has made using the device a more comfortable experience for the students and families of those students,” said Laura Busch, Technology Integrator, School District of Waukesha.
Used in the district’s four dual-language programs, students shadow teachers as they lead the class through device enrollment. “Students were able to follow along easily as we guided them through the setup process,” Busch explained, adding students have an easier time navigating the iPads to locate the tools and apps they need if it’s in their native language.
Omar Masis, Dual-language Kindergarten Teacher, School District of Waukesha, said providing apps in Spanish continues to make a huge difference in his classroom. “It allows students to be motivated, independent and know that their language is important, because it’s not only coming from their teachers.” This functionality, he added, also helps the native Englishspeaking students by allowing them to hear correct pronunciation when working alone.
Sharing learnings districtwide
“We believe that personalizing the experience for students can transform the current educational design and build capacity for dramatic improvement in educational performance,” Trojanowski said. This isn’t just a belief. Each year the district continues to work toward this goal by offering The One Conference, an event where more than 1,000 district educators come together every January for a day of sharing best practices around incorporating the use of digital tools and resources into the classroom.
“I would put our offerings against anyone’s,” said Brian Yearling, Instructional Technology Coordinator, School District of Waukesha, referencing the conference’s 100+ educational sessions. The conference originally came out of a need to save the district money. Yearling explained that instead of sending a small group of teachers away to a conference, without a method to easily disseminate their learnings to others, they bring the information to everyone at once – a smarter spend.
This annual gathering of the minds shows teachers how to make impactful things happen in their classrooms with the resources they have. “People walk out of there not only with ideas, but also with contacts within the district,” Yearling said. The ideas, the connections – they’re all working. The conference continues to be a huge success, and through open dialogue and idea sharing, is changing the education landscape for students.
With a 1:1 program, we can ensure continued excellence in education for our students and provide students opportunities to approach and demonstrate learning in a format consistent with the fast-paced world they consistently encounter.