Introduction

OurproposalisbuiltonthedesiretoenableacrosscurricularexperienceforstudentsatABCHigh
School.Thisexperiencewillinvolvecollaborationbothwiththeirclassmatesaswellastheir
instructors.ThecollaboratingdepartmentsareHistoryandBiology,whichincludes2faultyleaders.
Students,underdirectionfromtheirteachers,wouldengageinlearningandexploringthelinks
betweenhistory,biologyandtheirconfluencetocreatethescienceofbiologyweknowtoday.
Theschoolisexploringthemostappropriatepathforwardtoembraceamobilelearningclassroom.
Manysolutionsareavailablefromavarietyofdevelopers,eachofferinguniquequalitiesandvarying
deficiencies.Theteamappliedamodernlearningtechnologyevaluationtooltotwoofthemost
populardevicesandlearningmanagementsystemsthroughthelensofourinstitutionsneedsand
futureplans.
Membersoftheproposalteamputforwardtwobroadcategoriesformobiledevicestobeused:
tabletsandlaptops.Withinthesecategories,membersexaminedsubsetsofthesedesignations,
namelyiPad/iOStablets,Androidbasedtablets,traditionallaptopsandChromebookdevices.The
membersfoundcompellingdifferencesbetweenthesubcategories,theanalysisofwhichisexplained
below.Themembersalsoconsideredatoolinordertofacilitatecollaboration,recordkeeping,
assessmentandaccountability,amongotherabilities.ThegroupdecidedtoimplementaLearning
ManagementSystem(LMS)inordertoachieveasmanyofthesegoalsaspossible.Aftercareful
reviewanddiscussionwiththeaffectedfaculty,SchoologyandCanvaswereselectedaspotential
solutionsfortheproject.
ProjectGoals/MustHaves

Enablestudentstocollaborateacrossclassrooms,curriculaandlocations
Trackstudentprogress,challengesandholdthemaccountableforwork
Enable,oratleastnothinderassessment,whichshouldbecollaboratedonandshared
betweenfaculty
Mostcosteffectivewithfewextendedcosts
Workswithcurrenthardwareintheschoolwithoutneedforextradongles&attachments
asmuchaspossible
Minimaltraining/learningneededfasttogetstarted
Scalableifitspopularwithstudents/staff
Durableandabletoworkafullschoolday
Extensibleforstudentsapplicableinotherlearningenvironments

AnalysisofLMS:Schoology/Canvas
BothSchoology&Canvasofferasimple,clean,andeasytouseinterface.Bothsupportuniversal
design,supportingmultiplelearningstyles.Thereislittlesetuportrainingtimerequiredforeither
platform,andbothhavelargesupportnetworksforusers.Bothhavetheabilitytointegratewiththe
schoolsexistingtechnologies.Thedecidingfactorcamedowntofuturecosts.Shouldtheschoolopt
toscaletheprogramuptotheentireinstitution,thesetupandmaintenancecostofSchoologywas
significantlylowerthanthatofCanvass.

Schoology

Canvas

InitialCost

$500

$8000

Ongoingsubscription

$10/Student

$28/Student

AnalysisofiOS&AndroidtabletsvsChromebooks&Laptops
iOS&Android
Positive

Portable
Longbatterylife(onavg)
iOShasastunningarrayofapps
Hardwaresizeandcapabilityoptions
Studentfamiliarity

Concerns

Nokeyboard/mouse
Apps&storesareplatformlockin
Limitedcreationabilities(althoughchanging)
Studentsseedevicesasplaydevices
iOSpriceisveryhigh
Additionalsupportneeded(domainpolicy,etc)
Additionalpurchasesneeded(screenprotectors&cases)

Chromebooks&Laptops
Positive

Familiardesignforfaculty&students
Chromebookstout814hoursbatterylife
Studentsviewasaworkmachinefirst
PreparesforHEandworkplaceexpectations
CreationtoolsreadilyavailableonWindows/OSX

Concerns

Laptopsgetveryexpensiveveryfastformorepowerfulhardware
Additionalsoftwarecanbeexpensive(MSOfficesuite,antivirus,etc)
Lowbatterylifeforlaptopsrequirechargerinfrastructureinschool
LaptopsrequireadvancedITsupportandinfrastructuretoimplement
Laptophardwareislinkedtoitslongevityunlikelytolast4years.

Decisionrationale

Chromebooksofferstudentsandfacultyafamiliarenvironmenttobegintheirdigitalcollaboration
withlittleadditionalcostorinfrastructureneeded.Theyencompassmanyoftheadvantagesof
laptopswithimportantfeaturesoftablets(liketouchscreens,cameras,etc).LaptopsandiOSdevices
areextremelycostly,whileAndroiddevicesareexpensiveandpremiumorcheapandflimsy.Our
proposalsettlesonthemiddlegroundbetweenalloftheseforces,whichalsohappenstobea
strongpedagogicalplatform.

Grantspecifics
GivenourchoiceinLMStechnology,therewillbenoupfront,orongoingcostforthesoftware
package.Ourgrantrequestisthereforelimitedtothepurchaseofthedevicesalone.
Ourschoolthereforerequestsfundingintheamountof$23,100forthecostsof60chromebook
devicesatavalueof$350each,and6additionaldevicestoaccommodatehardwarefailures,orthe
inevitablecaseofastudentlosing/forgettingtheirdevice.