Orlando+District

==== I am very gracious for the time given by //Miss Mariel Milano, Engineering Science Consultant,// from the Orlando District. I am also very appreciative of the support given by the Leading Education Committee in supporting my visit and participation in - ==== ==== __Day 1:__ Participated in Leadership Expo for LEC and leaders (Principals/Deputy Principals) of all schools in the district. The Expo was to go for 3 days. The focus was on teaching literacy in the 21Century. ==== ==== __Day 2:__ Worked with Biology teachers on developing resources for project styled learning. Further development also being done with Biology teachers to develop STEM resources – Bioprobes. All who attended were given an ipad2 and a recording headset, as well as inspiration software to load on to their own computers. ==== media type="youtube" key="ZUFmbFqtK3M" width="425" height="342" align="center"

**__ A few points of interest about the Orlando District who appear to be at the forfront of technology in Florida. __** All leaders/administrators are given an itouch, an ipad and use the App-teachscape. There are 125 Elementary Schools, 37 Middle Schools and 19 High Schools in the district. This doesn’t include Charter Schools- charter schools are public schools that act like private schools, specialising to meet the needs of students who do not suit comprehensive schools. Eg: Biotechnology High School that is sponsored by Monsanto. Magnet schools run special programs for gifted and talented students eg: Science. There are over 12000 students in the Orlando District. The biggest in Florida. Funding for schools and resources is provided independently of staffing costs. No State curriculum, National standards for Mathematics and English. Developing National Standards for Science. Currently statewide standards adhered to via Curriculum Essential Labs on their website. State Driven Testing in English Science Mathematics. Schools are letter graded. Districts are graded, Orlando being graded an A District. If a school is graded D or F, students in that district have support by the govt. to go to any other school of their choice, at cost to the government. //All part of the No child to be left behind// national policy introduced by Bush’ govt. Security cameras through corridors in all classrooms and on the outside of buildings. Contracted to a company in Orlando.

**Milton Mariani and Mariel Milano: we watched a Year 6 Middle School Class**

Teacher gives the same structured lesson throughout the day to different classes. Milton is a specialist Biologist teacher, and teaches that course

throughout the year. Year 6 do Biology, Year 7 do Earth Science and Year 8 do Chemistry. The students in the class were using Brain Pop resources (handout) to research Animal Kingdoms and classification levels. They were able to work independently on computers, researching their animals, and completing work on the sheet. media type="youtube" key="8tGCzDvLoxk" height="315" width="382" align="center"

//Notice the use of the the microphone by Mr Mariana. Microphones and surround speaker systems are standard in all classrooms to ensure everyone hears equally, and teachers voices are not strained.// **__ Technology for the District __** All students are given free WiFI access and internet privileges can be revoked if students do not adhere to technology policy. Discovered some **great APPS: sync pad tablet(works on PCs), Translate for languages, Mobile mouse for use around the room** 15 new Macbook computers per class, and 10 ipads- middle school, and probe ware (Pasco Sparks Probeware for science teacher which provides virtual manipulations), along with 15 touch HP laptops. Each room is issued with a document camera, IWB and dataprojector, microphone and integrated sound systems (speakers) at different points around the classroom, prevents voice strain, and allows all students to hear equally. ** Common Board Configuration outlines lesson for the day due to high student mobility in the district. ** All students have an ID card that carries all necessary records and allows access ie : health records, access for areas allowed, cafeteria account etc. Teachers complete 120 hours online training over 5 years. Initially, there is a three year accreditation process that involved approx. 50 hours per year of training, follow up supervision of implementation, and again a follow up review of the training implementation several weeks later. No you tube access for teachers. LEC provides guidelines and links to resources for all units.