Dive Brief:

• Anthony Johnson operates his fifth- and sixth-grade classroom in Salisbury, NC, as a small city dubbed "Johnsonville" and immerses students in project-based learning to get them acting like adults, using iPads rather than paper, pencils or textbooks.
• Johnson’s paperless science and social studies classes use the school’s learning management system, Schoology, as a hub along with Google Drive as they manage personal and classroom finances, as well as relationships between clients and suppliers, for their businesses while aiming to turn a profit.
• Johnson writes for eSchool News that the iPads allow for self-paced and individualized learning, kids have to take responsibility for classroom deadlines by monitoring their own Google calendars, and the all-digital DefinedSTEM curriculum provides more ideas for real-world projects in class.

Dive Insight:

Teachers in a range of subjects have capitalized on the opportunities presented by technology. In Johnson’s classroom, going digital has ended up saving a lot of physical classroom space — in part because he doesn’t need a desk to store classroom files anymore. Students also end up being more engaged, learning skills they’ll be able to directly translate into the professional world, where computers provide a foundation for most activities.

District Administration reports New Rochelle High School students use their own devices to bring classic works of literature to life through short movies. The film class is tightly intertwined with the high school English curriculum, creating a crossover opportunity that, again, can engage students while giving them important learning opportunities. These are just some of the activities that digital tools have made possible in today’s classrooms.