In a pioneering effort in the State of New York, over 250 students from the Sewanhaka Central High School District were able to use an innovative app called the GeoGebra Graphing Calculator on their Apple iPads for completion of the Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II Regents exams.
This usage was the culmination of a yearlong project in partnership among the district, GeoGebra and Jamf Software, whose mobile device management system is used to control the district’s more than 9,500 Apple iPad devices. District Coordinator of Mathematics Robert Pontecorvo and District Coordinator of Classroom Instructional Technology and Student Achievement Brian Messinger have been leading the project and could not be prouder of this landmark accomplishment.
“Sewanhaka is always looking for ways to break down any barriers for our students and provide them with the best resources available for success,” Messinger said. “Having students use the free GeoGebra Graphing Calculator app on their iPads in class, at home and on high-stakes exams achieves these goals, while promoting innovation. This project adds tremendous value to our iPads, which we already provide to all students as part of our 1:1 initiative.”
The driving force behind this endeavor was equity for all of the district’s students. By providing an Apple iPad and the free GeoGebra app, district students now have access 24 hours a day, seven days a week to a powerful graphing calculator tool which can be used for both classroom instruction and the completion of paper-based New York State Regents exams. GeoGebra programmers worked with the district so that the app adheres to all New York State Education Department standards for a graphing calculator, and the district received approval for its use.
In order to be used for the exam, student iPads were locked into an exam mode which restricts all iPad capacities beyond functioning solely as a graphing calculator. This was made possible through Jamf’s mobile device management features, such as Single App Mode and additional restrictions to protect the integrity of the paper-based exam.
Of this project, Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie said, “It’s a credit to Mr. Pontecorvo, Mr. Messinger, the district’s mathematics chairpersons and all the math teachers in each of the five high schools that this initiative was such a huge success for our students. This initiative ensured the district’s mission of equitable access to the appropriate educational tools needed to ensure student success.”
In addition to helping ensure universal, free access to a graphing calculator on the Regents exam, the GeoGebra Graphing Calculator is also a tool that fosters active, student-centered, discovery-based learning in the classroom. For the past year, district math teachers have been working with Mr. Tim Brzezinski of Brzezinski Math to increase student engagement in math classes through the use of GeoGebra apps.
On Jan. 24 and 25, GeoGebra founder and team leader Markus Hohenwarter, GeoGebra lead iOS programmer Balazs Bencze, Jamf Evangelist Sam Weiss and Mr. Brzezinski were all on site to support the district during this initial use of the GeoGebra Graphing Calculator on New York State Regents exams.
