Pickerington School District: Unifying Edtech
Content warning: This article contains references to suicide and self-harm.
When it comes to educational technology, Pickerington Local School District is often a step ahead. The district began purchasing Chromebooks for students in 2012, and had purchased Chromebooks for every student by 2014 — well before 1:1 technology became commonplace. Their next priority was to ensure students' online safety. Brian Seymour, executive director of instructional technology and innovation, sees the digital learning environment like any other physical space the school has an obligation to make safer.
"We promised our community we would have systems in place," he says, "regardless of where students were accessing WiFi."
After an unsatisfactory experience with another provider, Pickerington selected GoGuardian Admin to filter students' internet access and provide educators with insights into online activity to help ensure students' safety. The district then added GoGuardian Teacher and Beacon solutions as they became available. Seymour says, "We liked that we had a lot of options to fit the needs of our district and expectations of our community."
Privacy and transparency were important, too. Pickerington has a strict data privacy policy every vendor must meet, and GoGuardian met those criteria, which includes prohibitions on collecting student data for advertising or for (non-educational) student profiling.
Pickerington was also an early adopter of two of GoGuardian's curriculum and instruction solutions: Pear Deck, a student engagement platform, and Pear Assessment, an all-in-one assessment system. Together with Admin, Teacher, and Beacon, these tools allowed educators to pivot quickly to remote learning at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Technology wise, we were in really good shape," Seymour says. "We were able to hit the ground running when the pandemic forced us to shift to remote instruction."
Having one vendor to streamline digital services has been key. "If you're trying to modernize teaching and learning, then you have to find partners that can provide the tools to do that in an effective, efficient manner," Seymour says. "We have found that in our partnership with GoGuardian."
Powerful alone. Better together.
Safer learning environments
GoGuardian Admin lets educators set digital guardrails around students' online access, and GoGuardian Beacon alerts administrators and counselors of activity suggesting self-harm or harm to others. This 24/7 support system has helped Pickerington staff interrupt multiple active suicide attempts and connect many more students with support before a crisis could occur.
More engaging instruction
With Pear Deck and GoGuardian Teacher, Pickerington teachers are moving away from front-of-the-class instruction to active, 1:1 engagement with content. "We want to get to the idea of personalized learning…changing the instructional model to involve more interactivity," Seymour says.
Smarter assessments
With Pear Assessment, Pickerington has moved its quarterly assessments to one system, along with state-aligned benchmark tests and teacher-designed short-cycle assessments. Teachers now spend less time grading and more time in meaningful conversations about student learning.
Privacy + transparency
All of GoGuardian's tools meet Pickerington's strict policy on student data privacy, as well as its commitment to maintaining transparency with families. The district communicates about its evolving digital initiatives through its newsletters and website. Families are invited to call in or email questions and tips to help keep students safe.
Flexible, one-stop support
GoGuardian customer service is fast and flexible. "The support has been perfect. We're getting answers back quickly," Seymour says, "and we have the controls we need to be able to personalize for Pickerington schools."
Together, GoGuardian's system of learning tools helps Pickerington create effective, engaging and safer learning environments for students, wherever they learn.