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September 11, 2009

Students in Senior English classes at Columbiana High School are receiving their 10" netbooks today. These netbooks will be
utilized to access the Internet, online tools, write papers, create presentations, author podcasts, and much more. This pilot program was initiated at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. Over the summer, netbooks and cases were ordered, and policy was written. At the Board of Education meeting on September 15th, this policy was adopted. Board adoption enabled us to move forward with the project. Parent/Student forms have been signed and returned and netbooks have been distributed.

We are extremely excited to offer this opportunity for our students. We are anticipating great things from our senior English students!

Advanced Technology Concepts students prepare netbooks with final windows and antivirus updates prior to distribution

October 12, 2010

During the 2010-2011 school year, all Juniors and Seniors received a netbook. Although these were primarily used within English classes, many teachers made great use of the new technology within their content areas as well. During 2010-2011 school year, Jason Martin (Coordinator of Technology/Student and Staff Services) and Joe Warchol (CCESC Technical Suport) developed in-house class drops and class shares. These network drives made it possible for teachers to distribute assignments, worksheets, presentations, audio, and video files to students. It had also made it possible for students to securely submit assignments to teachers electronically. These advances have assisted in making our 1:1 netbook initative a success and moved us one step closer to a paper classroom environment.

October 11, 2011

This year, all freshmen through seniors have received a netbook. Students are issued these devices at the beginning of the school year and are permitted to take them home and use them in class as needed. Coordinator of Technology, Jason Martin and High School Principal, Dan Szolek worked together on an early-release technology in-service that would help meet the needs of teachers implementing these devices within their classrooms. SMART Board/Class webpage implementation, blogs, wikis, and paperless classroom sessions were offered for all high school teachers.

During the October 11, 2011 Board of Education meeting, the last netbook was distributed to Emily Witmer (our last Freshman alphabetically).
This ceremony completed the objective of offering every Columbiana High School student a netbook.

October 25, 2011

I am very pleased to announce that we have been ranked #7 in the nation in the 2011 U.S. News & World Reports Most Connected Classrooms.  The ranking is based on a connectivity index which measures student-to-computer ratio, Internet access/speed, and technical support.

The ranking can be found at:  http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-high-schools/rankings/most-connected

Also, since we were ranked in the top 10, we were included in the Top 10 Most Connected Classrooms in Photos section as well.  Our page can be found at:  http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/education/high-schools/slideshows/top-10-most-connected-classrooms/5

Although the caption mentions that we issue netbooks to all 9-12th graders, the numbers within the survey; which ultimately are used in the connectivity index, only included our netbook numbers from last year. As a result, we are very likely to be awarded this next year as well since we are now a 9-12 netbook school!

A special thanks to Mr. Mook for his support with this initative, Mr. Szolek for his assistance in filling out the connectivity survey, our Board of Education for realizing the importance of Technology Integration within our classrooms, and our staff for working dilligently to find exciting ways to incorporate technology within your classrooms.

Sincerely,
Jason