The ABCs of school technology programs

Alberto Carvalho -- superintendent of the Miami-Dade Public Schools, a 2011 eSN Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards winner, and 2014 American Association of School Administrators Superintendent of the Year -- outlined what he calls the ABCs of digital convergence:

• A: Application and digital content. Focus on defining standards, rigor, and relevance.
• B: Broadband and bandwidth. District leaders demanded no fewer than 3 gigabytes of capacity, expandable to 10 gigabytes within 3 years. And at 3 gigabytes, every single student and teacher could have two to three devices on the network at the same time and only consume 5 percent of the network capacity.
• C: Connectivity. Referencing President Obama’s ConnectED initiative, Carvalho said the district will, on Feb 28, have successfully deployed wireless to every part of the district -- 400 schools and 47 million square feet of space.
• D: Device. It is only after the application and content, broadband, and connectivity that we even dare to talk about a device.”
• E: Evaluation. District leaders monitored, examined, and studied the impact of flipped learning and digital content in hybrid environments in iPrep Academy to inform the massive district convergence that took place in Miami-Dade.