March is the month that many SUSD students begin participating in statewide standardized testing, with some tests occurring in April, as well.

Across SUSD, access to digital resources is increasingly important for learning, communication, and collaboration in school. SUSD provides a device for each student. We also support Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) on our school networks, but when it comes to participating in state-mandated tests, students MUST use an SUSD device. Using that device regularly for learning activities will ensure it is updated and in working order on test day. 

The night before a test, it is important that students AND their devices are well rested. Tuck in your child and plug in the device overnight so that both are FULLY CHARGED and perform their best on testing day!  

To learn more about the assessments students participate in, by grade level, check out the SUSD Assessment and Accountability webpage or this informational document for parents from the Arizona Department of Education (English) (Spanish).

Read more at The SUSD Source

Digital Learning Day

For the last 10 years, one day in February has been reserved for recognizing the potential impact of digital technology for learning. When it first began, Digital Learning Day was celebrated in an environment in which using technology to support learning might be an “event,” such as visiting the computer lab or checking out a laptop cart for occasional classroom use.

Over the past 10 years, technology in schools has changed rapidly. Now, Scottsdale Unified School District students each have access to their own SUSD device for learning on demand. For most students, this device also travels home to support learning outside of the classroom. The increased access to information and tools for communication and learning does not replace traditional learning methods; rather, it creates flexibility in the place, path and duration of student learning to achieve objectives.

While the ubiquity of devices and network access has changed over time, some things have remained the same. Learning how to make the best use of digital tools for learning continues to provide opportunities for teacher growth and innovation. Learning and practicing good digital citizenship is still critical for SUSD students. And there are still learning activities in which students engage without using technology tools.

The future of digital learning is being influenced by educator demands, as well as technology still in development. Digital Learning Day can be an opportunity for students and teachers to learn more about how digital learning is evolving through experiences like these from Google for Education.

Read more at The SUSD Source

As the new year and new semester launch this month, we are reflecting on all of the work completed by the SUSD IT Department to support the instruction and operations that are necessary to create world-class, future-focused learning for your students.

Here are some of the ways the IT team supported SUSD staff and students during the first half of this school year:

• 10,007 work orders created (including 2,692 for repairs to student devices)
• 10,350 phone calls to the SUSD IT Help Desk
• 2,000+ new devices checked out to students
• 700+ hotspots in use to support learning while at home
• 217 classrooms upgraded to Interactive Flat Panel displays
• 100+ new devices checked out to staff
• 60 events live-streamed with IT support

We look forward to continuing to support SUSD student learning this semester!

Read more at The SUSD Source

Every December, a week is designated as Computer Science Education Week. During this week, a spotlight shines on computer science heroes. Some of these heroes work at SUSD, on our Data and Programming team. Some of their successes include:

• Managing and maintaining the tools that allow us to access the SUSD network
• Connecting new digital resources to safely share data
• Integrating systems such as Single Sign On or Clever
• Building custom applications to streamline/automate processes such as:
  
  
  • Requesting open enrollment at an SUSD school
  • Submitting a Field Trip request
  • Mileage reimbursements
  • Converting paper forms with signatures to digital signature documents
  • Dashboards that capture and display metrics

Our students are also engaged in Computer Science learning at SUSD schools. In our STEM schools or STEM learning experiences, and in courses like Software Design and AP Computer Science, students are learning the same concepts that will enable them to become the next generation of computer science heroes.

Read more at The SUSD Source

The process of ensuring that laptop devices, desktops, servers, switches, access points, audio-visual equipment, and software throughout SUSD stay up-to-date is a large and ongoing project! Just as with the technology used in our homes and businesses, the technology used in our schools ages over time. To keep up with the advancing pace of technology and the wear and tear that can happen to student devices that go back and forth from home to school each day, it is important to have a technology “refresh” plan.

After the 2020 school year, when SUSD began providing a device for every student, this refresh plan grew to include replacing the devices of all of our 21,000 students on a regular schedule. Reliable and daily access to digital learning, communication, and collaboration resources is increasingly critical within SUSD classrooms. The current SUSD student device-refresh plan calls for replacing a student’s primary learning device after four years of use. If a device is still usable after four years, there are some other places where we might still make use of it (such as a library kiosk station) and where a hardware failure would be less impactful to a student’s learning experience. Devices that are beyond repair or are no longer needed are sold to an electronics-recycling agency or at state surplus.

As we replace student devices, the SUSD IT Department continually evaluates the best device to support digital learning, while also considering sustainability, durability, and the responsible use of public funds. This year, that evaluation led us to standardize all K-8 students on Chromebook devices and to purchase a different Windows device for high school students than we have purchased in the past. Documentation for the new Windows device (Dell Latitude 3120) has been added to the Student Help Center, and these devices will be rolling out soon in this year’s targeted learning communities!

Read more at The SUSD Source