Following are the responses to the GaleK-6 Elementary School case study received from Technology Institute participants at the Washington, DC Improving America's Schools Conference.
1. Identify the critical issues that most impact this school. (Where are the schools challenges and strengths?)
Strengths:
Challenges:
2. What appear to be the staffs greatest needs towards effective technology use?
§ Lack of professional development and support
§ Use technology to help non-native English speaking students master English
§ More up to date technology in the classroom and a technologist added back into the organization chart.
§ Need a technology plan to coordinate all that is going on
§ Professional Development is needed on how to integrate technology into the curriculum
§ The needs assessment survey results should be broken down by level of use
§ The school needs to reinstate the technology committee
§ Over 64% of teachers are between minimal and novice level on technology skills.
§ Five year turn around, no set person who can run a program that will help the children to learn and to use. Again Eslo is an issue. Objective for the school, would be to acquire a person who speaks the language most used and to help the children learn to perform better to their needs
§ Need a rubric of skills on the PD survey
3. Develop realistic objectives for this school. (Be sure these objectives are measurable.)
§ Start by using Profiler to find out their current capabilities as well as to plan how to use technology to enhance learning.
§ To develop a technology plan
§ Teach these children to speak English, locate programs that can help you to help the families. Parents have pull with their children when it comes to issues of the language. Some Spanish speaking homes do not want the English language spoken, approach the parent to help build up the parents.
§ During the next year, increase the number of teacher mentors (technology and otherwise). Teacher experts could be further trained to provide support and be given a stipend.
§ During the next year, each teacher will be provided with 3 sessions of professional development specific to needs. Teachers will develop lessons integrating technologyteachers will bring artifacts to demonstrate the application of professional development topics to each successive meeting (i.e., if integrating internet searches is the topic, artifacts might be student bibliographies, projects showing resource searches .)
§ By the end of the year, a majority of teachers will self-evaluate their competence at level three or four (in relation to specific professional development track they have selected to meet needs).
§ ESL teachers, parents, classroom teachers, and administrators will work together to review and identify software to support ESL students in the classroom.
4. List some strategies you would employ to meet the objectives. (Consider both whats already working well and what needs to be improved.)
§ Start by using Profiler to find out their current capabilities as well as to plan how to use technology to enhance learning.
§ Provided by-weekly technology workshops
§ Offer evening classes for parents in technology skills
§ A professional Development Plan according to the need assessment needs to be developed
§ Minority parents need to get involved with technology and parents groups
§ Teachers self identify through the survey as experts who can provide training to other teachers; provide paid summer course on being a teacher trainer; provide a stipend during year to make being a trainer attractive.
§ After school computer club for kids for developing and maintaining a school web page
§ Develop multilingual resources on-line; establish a committee to research and evaluate language learning software
§ Hire interpreters and transportation to get parents involved in the committee
§ Apply for 21st century grant to fund afterschool activities for students and parents
§ Have a school improvement team meeting to review data and funding sources for possible redistribution
§ Apply for private donations from foundations and corporations in the growing high tech industry-the school could sell themselves as future employs
§ Organize meetings with other schools to exchange ideas and create partnerships to enhance the use of technology
5. Identify criteria for measuring the success of your plan. (What evidence will you look for?)
§ Classroom walk thru to see that technology is being used.
§ The amount of parent involvement, especially minority parents
§ Objective measures of computer usage
§ Compare pre and post survey
§ The amount of technology infusion in the lesson plan
§ Teachers should bring student artifacts to team meetings to demonstrate the use of technology in instructional programs
§ Teacher pre and post survey of technology skills
§ Measure increase in students language proficiency that have received extra training using language technology acquired.
§ End of year reports for 21st century and other grants
§ Survey parents pre and post acquisition of technology skills.
What kinds of data will tell you if youve met the criteria and how might you collect that data?
§ Pre and post standardized scores
§ Parent survey send home to see how they see their kids using technology
§ Climate survey 360 degrees evaluation
§ Feed back from all persons concerned with childrens welfare
§ Pre and post survey results of teachers needs analysis
§ Number of teacher mentors
§ Number of student organizations using technology
§ Number of student engaged learning projects
§ Turn over rates by teacher, staff, and administrators
§ Pre and post-survey students technology use
§ Review of maintenance of website
§ Measure stabilization of teacher mobility
§ Measure of changes in student attendance and tardy rates
§ Likely that migrant and ELL population has very limited access to computers in homes and community