Danville’s approach to adopting technology
When adopting technology district-wide, Bill always includes teachers in the decision-making. He reaches out directly to teachers to understand how a tool will affect them in the classroom.
This was the case when transitioning to a new classroom management solution. Teachers sat in on demonstrations for several platforms, ultimately choosing Hāpara.
“Every day our funding gets more challenged. So, we have to get these decisions right when we pick something,” Bill emphasizes.
Solving a classroom need with Hāpara
“We know that [students] want to be digital. They’re naturally digital citizens and so trying to include everybody, be inclusive, give them the option of using digital tools to interact and collaborate. I think anytime you can make somebody enjoy what they’re doing and maybe not even be aware they’re learning, I think is a way to kind of knock it out of the park. So, you’re really solving that need along with the ability for the teachers to keep them on task,” says Bill.
Hāpara provides teachers in Danville with consistent real-time visibility into what learners are doing online. With this visibility, teachers keep learners on track by guiding their browsing, opening websites onto devices and having one-on-one conversations with Hāpara’s Chat feature. Hāpara also provides Danville teachers with the ability to view learners’ Google Drive files to check in on progress. These features empower teachers across the district to manage their digital classroom effectively and help learners become responsible digital citizens.
Bill Rader describes today’s classrooms.