Day 73 - Dennis Villano, BPS Director of Instructional Technology

MSMS is now 1:1 iPads:

Marshall Simonds Middle School is now 1:1 with iPads! The BPS EdTech Team and MSMS staff have completed the 1:1 iPad distribution. All MSMS students now have their own iPads to use at school each day. MSMS has almost 850 students in grades 6-8.

Students received their iPads last week during special brunches. The best part of the deployment was how excited students were to receive their iPads. Several students mentioned that they couldn’t wait to get to school for the distribution days.

MSMS classrooms quickly featured lessons and activities using Evernote, Explain Everything, Notability, Haiku Deck, and DoodleCast Pro. Students clearly needed little explanation about how to use the device. I was very impressed at how engaged students were and how much they looked forward to using the devices for academic work.

Thank you to the BPS EdTech Team and BHS Student HelpDesk for their assistance. Thank you as well to the MSMS staff. MSMS teachers have been getting ready for the 1:1 environment for over a year and their students are already benefiting from their preparation. A special thanks goes to MSMS Library Media Specialist Andy Dexter for his support for the 1:1 initiative. Andy has developed a Student HelpDesk Activity Block and is working closely with all Homeroom Tech Leaders.

I am confident that MSMS will continue to develop an outstanding 1:1 environment for students and teachers. I am looking forward to helping the MSMS community during this new experience.
Please continue to follow this blog for details about the 1:1 program at MSMS. We will feature some the experiences, projects, lessons, and activities of students and the 1:1 environment at MSMS.
Dennis Villano, Director of Technology Integration
For more information about the 1:1 program at MSMS check out:
Preparing for 1:1 at MSMS
MSMS 1:1 Program Details
MSMS Blog
MSMS Learning Commons Blog
BPS EdTech Apps – Middle School Apps

Day 51 - Dennis Villano, BPS Director of Technology Integration

Gmail – Creating Student Contact Groups

Burlington Public Schools is a Google Apps for Education district. All students and staff have Google accounts. One of the most powerful aspects of this consistent integration is the ability to communicate and collaborate in an organized system.

The BPS EdTech Team recommends setting up class groups or blocks for better distribution of digital content and communication to students. This process is appropriate even for beginners but does take some time initially. The time saved throughout a semester or school year after completing the set up can be a great benefit to teachers. The best part is that these groups can be used to send emails and share documents from Google Drive.

The process can be completed in a few steps that is duplicated for each student in your class or block. Check out this walkthrough video guide from BHS Student HelpDesk member Sidd Chhayani to complete the process:


Once you create a group you can use it as a recipient for emails and shared documents.
In Gmail – simply click the Compose button and start typing the name of a group in the To box. Click on the group that you want to use:



In Google Drive – click on the Share button in a document and start typing the name of a group in the Add People box (make sure to change the sharing and editing options appropriate for the document you are sending):



Gmail Contact Groups are a powerful tool for distributing digital content to students, staff, and community members. Organized distribution methods like this are a critical part of a 1:1 classroom.
Please check out the BHS Student HelpDesk for more technology guides and support.