Mobile innovation inspires flexible and accessible learning: North Rockland Central School District, Garnerville, N.Y.

Mobile innovation inspires flexible and accessible learning: North Rockland Central School District, Garnerville, N.Y. THE NORTH ROCKLAND Central School District in Garnerville, N.Y.,started its MLD MLDmedian lethal dose; minimum lethal dose. MLDor mldabbr.minimal lethal doseMLD,n See dose, lethal, minimum.MLDminimum lethal dose. program in January. Eighty fifth-graders, along withthree teachers, at Haverstraw Middle School have been using smartphonesin a one-to-one pilot project. Haverstraw was built in the 1930s and hasnot had an electrical upgrade. However, by connecting to the cellularnetwork run by Verizon Wireless Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the second largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on total wireless customers. , the district has added 80Internet-connected "computers"--HTC Touch Pro2 smartphones--toa building in which one couldn't even plug in two projectors on thesame floor without knocking out all power to the building. With thesmartphones, students can charge them at home, taking the burden off ofthe school's antiquated electrical infrastructure. Indeed, thestudents take them home and bring them back every day, fully charged,without fail. Experiences with MLDs The MLDs at Haverstraw are helping to link the home with the schoolin ways not possible before. For example, the MLDs enable teachers andstudents to extend the school day. Teachers and students alike do notfeel "stuck" to complete tasks during the school day. Knowingthere will be computer access outside of the school building gives theteachers and students the freedom to continue the class work at home,after or before school and on weekends. Haverstraw includes a number of families that cannot afford toprovide a desktop or laptop computer for students to use in the home.But thanks to the MLDs our district has provided to each student in thepilot classroom, it is possible for even these families to have a"computer" at home. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The students volunteer interesting stories about how they and theirparents interact around the MLDs. For example, one student commentedthat his father, seeing him operating his MLD, reminded him to finishhis homework, to which the student replied, "I am doing my homeworknow. And I just finished it!" Another student commented howsurprised and pleased her mother was that she wasn't using textingslang ("OMG (1) See Object Management Group.(2) "Oh my God!" See digispeak. OMG - Object Management Group ," "LOL "Laughing out loud" or "lots of luck." See digispeak. (chat) LOL - "laughing out loud", or "lots of love" or "luck". ," etc.) in her school essay thatshe "texted" on her MLD. Results Using traditional laptop computers for a one-to-one rollout wouldrequire us to put in wireless networks. However, doing so is tooexpensive, since it would first require that we rewire re��wire?v. re��wired, re��wir��ing, re��wiresv.tr.To provide with new wiring: rewired the old house.v.intr.To install new wiring. thedistrict's 12 buildings, a daunting and expensive task. Thus, thedistrict would like to place MLDs with cellular access in the hands ofall students and teachers. Not only are MLDs the only way for ourdistrict to have universal access at a reasonable cost, but they clearlycan make a significant impact on teaching and learning. Sue Tomko is the director of information systems at North RocklandCentral School District in Garnerville, N.Y.