Kevin Ryan, Director of Educational Technology and 21st Century Learning

The schools in Kildeer Countryside School District 96 had already been recognized for their academic excellence by the US DOE and the Illinois State Board of Education. Still, district administrators recognized that significant changes needed to be made to our classrooms, and better technology needed to be acquired, in order to help our students acquire the new skills mandated by today’s educational standards: effective communication and collaboration. So, we focused our attention to revamping classrooms to fit the learning needs of 21st century students, and we turned to our most trusted partners to get the job done. Working closely with these partners made all the difference in our successful implementation. Following are the lessons we learned along the way in terms of products and partnerships, which are inextricably connected.