Written by Tippecanoe Valley Technology Team members Gwen Cooper, Matt Cavender, Brendan Marsillett and Keith Lang

At Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation (TVSC) we are dedicated to our mission:  TVSC will do whatever it takes to equip all students to be successful today, tomorrow and beyond. The TVSC Tech Team is having an exciting and busy year rolling out and supporting new devices and programs at all levels in support of that mission. Here are just a few of those highlights.

At Akron Elementary and Mentone Elementary, the new Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Launch curriculum introduces students from kindergarten through fifth grade to computer science, engineering, and biomedical science among other areas through the use of hands-on activities and challenges. Each school has an iPad cart dedicated to PLTW Launch with specific apps that are used as part of this course.

At the beginning of the school year, Tippecanoe Valley Middle School (TVMS) rolled out its new in-house One-to-One program and each student was issued a new Dell laptop running Windows 10 to use during the school day. The devices stay at school overnight where they get charged to be ready to use for the next day. One key benefit from this program is the improvement it has brought to ISTEP testing. Before, students would have to cycle in and out of three computer labs, taking weeks to complete testing in order to get everyone through all the sessions. Now, since all the students are testing on their own school-issued devices, TVMS completed the first round of testing in two half-day sessions only, resulting in less stress for the students and less instructional time being lost.

At Tippecanoe Valley High School (TVHS), students were recently given their own TVSC email addresses to facilitate communication between the administration, the students, and the teachers. Thanks to the recent conversion to Office 365, our students now have access to all of the Office programs they use in their various classes through the Cloud, free of charge while they are students at TVSC. This means that, as long as students have access to the internet, they can login to Office 365 from any device, anywhere, and have access to any Office application, including online storage for any work created in Office 365. Students who do not have internet access at home will also have the ability to install Office 365 directly onto their device.

Looking to the future, our department is also gearing up for next school year with a major refresh of the 1:1 devices at TVHS. TVSC is in the process of acquiring new laptops that are both powerful and modern. These machines will also be equipped with Windows 10, which has a strong integration with Office 365, and will not only be easier to use than the previous ones, but also more reliable and less prone to damage.

Another addition will be the interactive multi-touch touchscreens replacing aging projectors at Akron Elementary and several classrooms at TVHS to provide a more dynamic and interactive learning environment for our students.  This technology will enhance the ability of our teachers to meet the diverse learning styles of the students in today’s classroom.

Finally, one of our goals for next school year is to promote, coordinate, and increase the participation of our students at all levels in the Hour of Code event. The Hour of Code takes place every year in December, during Computer Science Education Week, and offers children of all ages an introduction to coding through age-appropriate, fun-filled activities.

Picture from left to right: Matt Cavender, Keith Lang, Gwen Cooper and Brendan Marsillett

Valley Insight is a recurring monthly article written by administrators on a variety of topics related to education and the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation. Articles will be posted to the district’s website and also shared with the local media.