Soon, teachers across the district will be able to view each
other’s lesson plans at the click of mouse.
Gilroy Unified School District was awarded a $275,665 grant
Thursday from IBM Corporation to use software called Riverdeep
Learning Village.
Gilroy – Soon, teachers across the district will be able to view each other’s lesson plans at the click of mouse.
Gilroy Unified School District was awarded a $275,665 grant Thursday from IBM Corporation to use software called Riverdeep Learning Village.
The technology creates a forum of peer review for teachers so they can study best practices of lesson plans and offer suggestions to one another.
Riverdeep was first developed in 1994 and is used by more than 80,000 educators across the globe. Eventually, the software will enable parents access to information about how their children are performing and of ongoing classroom activities.
GUSD is the second school district in California to receive a grant to implement the system.
“It was very clear to me when the opportunity arose that it was something we couldn’t pass on,” said Superintendent Edwin Diaz. “My initial reaction was that we needed to go about this slowly … We wanted to have a reasonable roll out so we’re not impacting everyone at once.”
The grant provides laptops for teachers participating in the first year trial so they can input lesson plans at their convenience and a stipend for their time. Instructors from IBM will also provide professional development for those using the Riverdeep technology.
According to Diaz, new teachers will likely be targeted to try the program because they are likely to be the most computer savvy.
“It gives us the opportunity to be on the cutting edge,” he said.
Riverdeep allows school districts to personalize the tool and build an instructional framework based upon its needs and curriculum.
Jocelyn Zona who serves as IBM Corporations Community Relations Manager is in charge of philanthropy efforts in California and selected GUSD after speaking with a number of educators throughout California. She contacted GUSD officials in the spring about applying for the grant.
Zona informed GUSD board members that she selected Gilroy because it was a school district with “good leadership and student focus and diversity.”
