History

Laying Groundwork

Digital Wish secured endorsements from every major educational association in 2008-09 including the associations for principals, superintendents, school boards, IT coordinators, 6 regional training centers and the NEA teachers’ union.  Representatives from each association were brought together to develop a developed a starter plan for implementing 1:1 computing in classrooms.

Pilot Program

Digital Wish raised over $100K in funding and matching services in 2009-10, to deploy 1:1 computing initiatives into four schools, targeting grades 4-6 and serving approximately 120 students.

Deployments in 24 Towns

$1.125 million in stimulus funding was secured for a 24-town expansion of the pilot program through e-Vermont, The Community Broadband Project.  Trainers visited each school weekly to teach the IT Curriculum for technology integration.

Replication in Nashua, NH

The Dell Powering the Possible program awarded Digital Wish grants in 2010 and 2011 to replicate the program in schools in Nashua, New Hampshire.  Through this program, Digital Wish added a volunteer component to the program, along with a 7th unit on collaborative learning.

Model Development and Sustainability

All along the way, Digital Wish’s team would evaluate the process of technology adoption, isolate tasks, and seek opportunities to develop standardized models for each step in the process.  The models were then tested in classrooms and data was collected so that effective strategies could be replicated statewide and nationwide.