Background
Monroe County School District is comprised of five schools in rural south-central Kentucky on the Tennessee border. With a 14:1 teacher ratio, approximately 126 teachers serve 1800 students in grades K-12.
Before Vivi, classrooms throughout the district contained desktop computers and document cameras wired to boards at the front of the classroom for teacher instruction. All students have a Chromebook through the district’s 1:1 program.
Katelin King, the District Digital Learning Coach responsible for professional development and instructional technology, plays a central role in Monroe County’s embrace of innovative educational strategies. Beyond her responsibilities as a literacy coordinator, she is a proactive member of the Vivi Educator Council (ViviEC), where she collaborates with peers on effective student engagement through technology. Highlighting her influence in the broader educational tech community, King presented with Vivi’s Juliana Finegan at Edtech Week in NYC last year, focusing on personalizing professional development (PD) when implementing new technology. This showcases her dedication to not only embracing new tools but ensuring they meaningfully contribute to teaching and learning.
Challenge
Monroe County School District invested heavily in projectors and boards for every classroom. However, the desktop-to-board configuration confined teachers to the front of the room. With additional budget allocated from pandemic funding, the technology team at Monroe County researched its options to improve its set-up with one goal in mind: to free teachers from being stuck at the front of the classroom. The Monroe County team wanted to enable teachers to be with the students, allowing them to work with the full class, as well as with smaller groups or one-on-one. This goal extended to the special education (SPED) teachers as well, who roam from room to room throughout the day. Ultimately, the team wanted to integrate SPED teachers into a co-teaching environment.
Monroe County sought a new, improved solution that would help shift the teachers’ mindset from simply having technology to present, to using the technology to engage in more flexible ways anywhere in the classroom. They saw teacher mobility as the key to building teacher capacity and transforming teacher practice.
Solution
Katelin King led the search for the best solution and after some less-than-ideal customer service with another product, came across Vivi. Vivi not only met their features requirements to achieve their teacher mobility goals but also provided exceptional customer service along the way. Vivi also offered bonus features like digital signage, which the district planned to take advantage of as well.
Simultaneously, the district’s CTO researched the best mobile cart for their needs. They chose a durable, rolling desk solution that can be raised or lowered; it holds the teacher’s digital device, a document camera, mouse, keyboard, and stylus, plus the ability to charge the devices. With Vivi connected to the projectors, and teachers equipped with mobile carts containing all of their tech for teaching, wireless screen mirroring is a snap no matter where the teacher rolls their cart! “We want our teachers to be mobile; we want our teachers to be where the students are, not just in front of the board. So, as we looked at things like that, we came across Vivi, and we fell in love. It gave us everything we needed. It gave us that teacher flexibility; it gave us exactly what we were looking for.”
King focused on getting the teachers comfortable with the Vivi features and how to use them before rolling out the student-centric features. She made it a priority to train current teachers and substitutes and new teacher technology training has one hour built-in for mobile classroom practice. “Teacher engagement is so important. Vivi is more than just a screen sharing device! Teachers are excited about the features and eager to try the new ones. They have creative license to be innovative with all the tools at their fingertips.”
District staff also embraced the digital signage features in displays throughout the school hallways. Beyond traditional announcements, they use digital signage in creative ways to boost school culture and get everyone in on the fun.
Outcome
Thanks to Vivi and sturdy mobile carts, Monroe County adopted a user-friendly mobile workstation setup that empowers teachers to break free from conventional constraints, facilitate dynamic teaching practices, and enhance student engagement. Here’s what each mobile cart is equipped with, making this transformation possible:
- Dell Latitudes with Stylus: For interactive teaching and ease of use.
- Image Mate Document Cameras: To share documents or student work live with the class.
- Mouse and Keyboard: Providing a familiar interface for navigation.
- Charging Ports: Keeping all devices powered throughout the day.
- Vivi: For wireless screen mirroring, allowing freedom of movement.
- Projector Connection: Essential for sharing digital content with the class.
- Adjustable Stand: Making the cart adaptable to different teaching styles and classroom setups.
Although they did not remove the desktop devices, to accommodate teachers who may have been more reluctant to change or felt more comfortable stationed at the front of the room, King is pleased with the rapid adoption of the mobile carts and the usage of Vivi technology. “Teachers have an option not to use Vivi. So they can very easily sit at that desktop, but they have chosen not to. And that’s what makes us proud.”
By incorporating these tools, Monroe County schools have not only improved the flexibility and dynamism of classroom instruction but also underscored their commitment to fostering an engaging, interactive learning environment.
King can measure the return on their investments by tracking usage closely in Vivi Central for all teachers across the district. “We have invested in technology in the past, and the worst outcome is that it sits unused. Success for us is when you walk into the classroom, and you see Vivi being used. We use the Vivi console, and we track the numbers, and we know it’s being used.”
King relates that often upon entering a classroom, she must scan the room to find the teacher, who may be:
- Engaging one-on-one with a student while the rest of the class is attentive to the material being cast to the board or working in small groups;
- Visiting small groups one group at a time;
- Sitting with the younger kids for circle time on the carpet. Kindergarten teachers lower the carts and screen mirror from their device while participating in the circle.
- Or simply proximity teaching as a strategy for classroom management. By moving near different students at any time with the mobile cart, teachers can quickly manage disruptive behaviors and keep the group’s learning on track.
Flexibility and proximity management
By embracing proximity teaching and leveraging Vivi’s technology, educators can seamlessly interact with individual students or small groups, fostering a more personalized learning experience tailored to the range of learning needs and pacing that teachers encounter daily. For example, when one group of students is ready to move on while another group may need more examples to master a skill or concept, the teacher can mirror his or her screen to show the next lesson whether a PowerPoint, a video, a problem set, or any document like an answer set projected with the document camera. With the ability to display up to four screens on one board at a time, one group can move ahead while others continue to practice.
Teacher engagement AND student engagement
King knew that as the teachers used Vivi’s features, they would continue to embrace new ones and get more creative with their teaching. In addition to professional development and training, she sends weekly tech tips to teachers that highlight not just features, but examples of how to use them. “Before, I knew the restraints that they had. Now, those restraints have been lifted. And so, I can say, “Hey, do this, do that. Have you tried this but in a different way?”
As the teachers get more comfortable with mobility and tech features, they are integrating more student engagement tools: students using the devices, casting their work from their Chromebooks, using the whiteboard to solve a math problem, or play a video they created in science class.
Examples of improved engagement in Monroe County Schools:
- Science and math teachers ask students to solve problems and share their work from their desk, or up at the board, depending on their comfort level.
- If a student asks for help with something specific, the teacher used to say “bring your things to my desk.” Now the teacher can sit down and get to work with the student at the student’s desk or in any corner of the room by simply rolling and lowering the cart, and working one-on-one. If the teacher decides the whole room could benefit from the mini-lesson, they can simply mirror it to the screen for everyone to see. Vivi enables teachers to take any lesson from one student, to a small group or to the entire classroom in seconds, offering instant instruction without having to turn something else on or return to their desk.
- Math teachers used to have seven different copies of the answer key for each class section they taught; with Vivi, they simply use the document camera to project one answer key, “write on it” with Vivi, and, then, clear it for the next period.
- The special education teachers feel more at home in a general education classroom. As they travel from room to room with their mobile cart stocked with everything the classroom teacher has plus their students’ individualized education plans (IEPs), they can co-teach more easily, cast their screens, and be just as engaged as the classroom teacher.
- The district uses Edulastic to access standards-based assessments and content. Using Vivi, teachers cast the standards data to the board to scan for any items they may have missed in the lesson. Using their stylus and tablet from anywhere in the classroom, they can switch to the whiteboard feature to work out the additional content directly. No more scrambling for content or making copies!
“When I walk into a classroom, I see exactly what I want to see: teachers engaged with a bunch of students. I want them to be working with their kids, and when they are using Vivi, they are everywhere.”
Vivi beyond the classroom
Outside the classroom, the hallways are energized thanks to creative uses for digital signage. The high school rotates senior pictures on the display, building a sense of bonding among the graduating seniors and support from the rest of the school and staff. During March Madness, they display brackets and show support for the University of Kentucky, fostering a sense of pride and camaraderie while generating excitement that brings students, teachers, and staff together in a shared experience of enjoyment.
Because Vivi is universally deployed across the district, teacher meetings and professional development are much more productive. Elementary school teachers attending a meeting at the high school can still screen share without a hiccup or IT intervention.
King knows the tools work, but she also knows she has the support of the Vivi Customer Success team when she needs it. “We found a partner we can trust with Vivi. I am really engaged with my customer success manager with questions and idea sharing and I can quickly resolve issues. The whole Vivi team is open to my feedback.” Plus, as a member of the ViviEC, King also enjoys the support of peers around the globe who are using Vivi in their schools.
