Features
Leader of the Year Winners
12/16/2010 By:
While the concept of leadership can be fuzzy sometimes, the winners
of 2010’s Leader of the Year awards are clearly groundbreakers.
From the nitty gritty of classroom instruction to back office
decision-making, each has shown that innovative thinking and
decisive action, can make a huge difference in the success of
students. We found the stories of these three education leaders to
be inspiring. We think you will too.
—The Editors
Making the Right Connections
BRIAN MANNIX
Seventh-grade social studies teacher
Great Neck South (NY) Middle School
Never doubt your students or their
ability to help.
That’s Brian Mannix’s motto. As he
says, “The more faith you have, and
the more you turn that over, the easier
your job becomes.”
This social studies teacher practices
what he preaches. As he develops
challenging interdisciplinary projects
infused with technology, he relies on
the students to lend a hand. “The
kids with more tech experience have
been fantastic at helping their peers.
I’m amazed at how many of them log
on to Edmodo [a private passwordprotected
social-learning network for
schools] to give advice. There are
twins who go on every night and beg
people to ask them questions about
homework.”
Mannix collaborated last year with
his team teachers (English
and science) on a Connected
Classroom project. Now the
three are testing it before it
is rolled out school-wide. In
an uncanny case of perfect
timing, when Mannix brought
the proposal to the technology
committee, there was
leftover money and the project
was born.
Over the summer, the
committee invested $20,000
in Dell Netbooks and Apple
iPod touches for one-to-one
and one-to-two connectivity,
respectively. So far, Mannix’s
classes have done a colonization
project with schools
in New Jersey and South
Carolina, communicating via
Skype and wikis. They are
learning about digital citizenship
through Digi Teen
Project, a program that links
11 schools all over the world.
“We have turned our classroom
into a paper-free environment,”
Mannix brags.
Mannix shares the highs and lows
with his colleagues through staff development
and informational sessions. He
and his team discuss their lessons and
offer resources. Later he will develop
a course covering the most intriguing
and replicable elements of The
Connected Classroom.
Another schoolwide project that
incorporates technology creatively is
the student-made documentary and
awards show called “The A-Kid-emy
Awards.” Mannix developed this project
in collaboration with his fellow
team members, the librarian, and the
technology assistant.
“Last year we asked, ‘What is the
greatest challenge facing the U.S.
today?’” he notes. Topics included
the economy, terrorism, drugs, and
smoking. Students were broken into
groups; each group chose a challenge
and spent about two months making a
documentary with iMovie. Some days
they worked on it during social studies,
other days in their English classes.
They conducted interviews and performed
research after school. The culmination
was an Academy Awards–like
celebration with a “mocktail” hour.
Students handled the invitations, the
music, and the brochures, and many
wrote acceptance speeches in English
class. “It was the best project I’ve ever
done as a teacher,” Mannix says.
Mannix says the most important lesson
he’s learned is this: “You have to
teach with technology and not save it
for a separate class. It must be part of
the everyday experience.”
Tools He Uses
¦ Apple iMovie
¦ Dell Latitude 2110
Netbooks
¦ Digi Teen: Digital
Citizenship for
Teenagers (digiteen.ning.com)
¦ Edmodo (edmodo.com)
¦ Flip video cameras
¦ Geocaching (www.geocaching.com)
¦ Google Docs (docs.google.com)
¦ Google Sites (sites.google.com)
¦ iPod touches
¦ PBworks: Online
Collaboration (pbworks.com)
¦ YouTube (www.youtube.com)
Access Granted
JULIE CARTER
Executive director of technology
Minnetonka (MN) School District
If you can’t get access to the technology,
what good is it?
That’s the question underlying
Julie Carter’s ambitious plan to allow
her teachers to personalize education
to meet each child’s unique needs.
In 2002 and 2007, district voters
approved a referendum levy
for technology and instructional
equipment. The funding accelerated
Minnetonka’s vision for technology
integration from 11 classrooms in
2002 to more than 400 classrooms
in 2009.
To incorporate technology into
every aspect of her district, Carter
has done four key things. First, she
figured out how to put the most computers
into students’ hands. “Instead
of a one-to-one laptop program, we
focused on one-to-one access,” she
says. “Depending on the nature of the
project, a student might need a thin
client, a laptop, or a video-production
desktop. We make sure the right tool is
available for when it’s needed.”
Carter turned to thin clients as a
low-cost, low-maintenance solution for
computers. Currently there are 745
thin-client devices in classrooms and
media centers at the elementary and
middle schools. “The huge cost savings
and the reduced maintenance effort
have changed our workload dramatically.
If something does go down, we
unplug the box and plug in a replacement.
There’s no reimaging or sending
staff in to find out what’s wrong. It
continues to make sense.”
Carter’s second way to provide
access was the laptop-loaner program.
“Although a high percentage of our
families have Internet access at home,
we had to figure out how to provide
it for those who did not,” she says.
“Students collaborate online at night
and work on projects.”
At this time, 50 families (identified
by school principals) have been given
laptops to use for the school year. The
district asked Verizon for discounted
Internet service and pays the monthly
$27 charge for unlimited broadband
access. “We are so happy to be able
to provide these laptops,” Carter
says. “They are getting lots of great
use.”
The third tier of her plan was to
create MyMinnetonka, a portal for
students, parents, and staff. Users
log on to look up grades and attendance
or access the Blackboard
eLearning tool and other Webbased
applications. Most homework
assignments, as well as video clips,
resources, and handouts, are posted
online as well. In addition, students
can get online versions of their textbooks,
listen to podcasts, post on
discussion boards, and study.
Last but not least, Carter opened
a guest wireless network at the high
school so that students can bring
in and work on their own laptops,
smartphones, iPods, and other
devices. “Our goal is to leverage the
technology they have in their pockets
and backpacks,” she says. “We’re
using this system to get more students
online without any additional cost.”
Carter believes that technology
accelerates learning, and that’s what
drives her to make sure kids have
anywhere, anytime access and a standard
set of tools. “It makes learning
relevant and interactive for everyone,”
she says. “There’s no other way to do
it. It’s such an exciting time to be part
of education.”
Tools She Uses
¦ Blackboard
¦ Blackboard Connect-Ed
¦ BrainPOP
¦ Dell desktops
¦ Dell and HP netbooks
¦ Destination Reading
¦ Discovery streaming
¦ Finale NotePad
¦ Google SketchUp
¦ Pinnacle Analytics
¦ Projectors
¦ Scanners
¦ Scratch
¦ Skyward
¦ SMART Boards
¦ SMART student-response
systems
¦ SMART document cameras
¦ Wyse thin clients
Steady Planning
Yields Results
KEVIN M. ANDERSON
Assistant superintendent for
teaching and learning
Oak Park (IL) Elementary School District 97
How do you move a school district
forward? Patience, people,
persistence, partnerships, and
teamwork.
According to Kevin M.
Anderson, this is the philosophy
that, in five years, took his district
from outdated computers, various
operating systems, and an
understaffed tech department to
a high-functioning district where
teachers use Web 2.0 tools on a
fiber network. What’s more, he
did it on a shoestring budget.
From the technology committee
that he filled with members
of the community, parents, technology
experts, staff, and teachers
to the fiber network he put
in place, Anderson executed his
plan one step at a time. “When
I started, in 2005, the district
had gone through several years of
budget cuts, especially in instructional
technology,” he says. “The budget had
been reduced to $1 million to cover
5,000 students and 450 staff members.
In 2006, the district realized that
it had to update its technology, so
Anderson began to figure out how to
do it wisely and affordably. Because
software and hardware had been purchased
haphazardly, he leased eMacs
for classrooms and labs. It was the first
time the district had a common operating
system. He standardized software
and invested in Discovery streaming.
The next year, Anderson formed a
TechVision 97 committee to establish
a set of goals that would form the
basis of all future technology plans.
The team decided to invest in a fiberbased
infrastructure. At the same time,
a group of 15 teachers became the
district’s first digital leaders.
Throughout all this planning,
Anderson continually sought input
from all stakeholders, including the
teachers’ union.
When a new technology administrator
came on board, Anderson put
together a five-year 21st-century tech
plan. The $6 million price tag for oneto-
one was too steep, so he decided to
focus on teachers. “With laptops and
projectors, they can use Google Docs
and other Web resources,” he says.
He leased Dell laptops and bought
netbook carts for the middle schools.
Thanks to stimulus money, he was also
able to purchase several projectors.
Professional development is executed
as carefully as everything else.
When teachers received their new laptops,
last summer, they were paid to
attend a six-hour course, three hours
of which were dedicated to teaching
in a one-computer classroom.
Finally, Anderson worked to restructure
the technology department. In
2005, there were two teacher leaders.
Today three full-time teacher leaders
handle planning and workshops, two
technology integrationists do software
training and some repairs, and six
technology specialists fix everything.
A team of 45 teachers serve as digital
leaders; they handle the training for inservice
days and serve as a think tank
for the entire department.
Tools He Uses
¦ Atomic Learning
¦ Classroom Suite from
IntelliTools
¦ Dell laptops
¦ Dell Netbooks and carts
¦ Destiny Library System
¦ ELMO document
cameras
¦ Epson LCD projectors
¦ Google Apps
¦ Inspiration
¦ iPads
¦ iPod touches
¦ Kidspiration
¦ Lexia Reading
¦ Microsoft Office
¦ Photoshop Elements
¦ PowerSchool and
PowerTeacher
¦ Read 180
¦ Read Naturally
¦ SMART Boards
¦ SMART Tools
¦ Skype
¦ VoiceThread