Take Home Exam

Take Home Exam 1

EDU 6500 – March 28, 2005 - Jay Brown

I. Reflection on learning, connection/application, and professional goals

When I reflect on what I have learned in this course, I will remember how important it is to apply standards when using technology in education. The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Students, Teachers, and Administrators serve as a foundation for the use of computer-related technology in schools. In January of this year, the Lower School head requested that I chart a new course for the use of technology in the computer lab and classrooms. My Computer Lab Rules for 2005-06 proposal included the NETS for Students, as well as a key performance profile and indicators from the NETS for Teachers. The proposal was accepted by our Lower School head, and was launched with an eight slide PowerPoint presentation at the March 2, 2005 faculty meeting.

A key NETS performance profile included in my presentation made a critical connection between the computer lab and the classroom. Performance Profile #17 calls for teachers to participate in technology-based collaboration as part of their professional growth, and to explore new and emerging technologies that support enhanced learning for students. The collaboration profile was strongly endorsed by the Lower School head, and has resulted in teachers requesting additional training and planning for the use of computer-related technology in the classroom. In the weeks following the faculty meeting, many teachers have accompanied their class to the computer lab, and have used the time to learn along with their students how to take advantage of technology resources.

Take Home Exam 2

Also included in my presentation were two performance indicators for teachers. The NETS Performance Indicator II. Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences, and NETS Performance Indicator III. Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum, have teachers at my school taking responsibility for developing new plans and technology grant proposals. Each year our school’s Director of Technology oversees an internal technology grant proposal process. This year, I have worked with three 3rd grade teachers to draft a proposal for the use of SmartBoard technology in their classrooms. The teachers were most interested in how they could use the SmartBoard with mathematics, language arts, and social studies. During a proposal planning meeting, I showed the teachers the Harcourt E-Lab activities that correspond with their textbook, and discussed the potential for the use of Excel, as well as other Web-based mathematics activities. I also discussed with the teachers the potential for using Inspiration for pre-writing activities in class, and suggested using Word to present models for students to follow. The meeting also covered many social studies Web sites currently used by 3^rd grade students in the computer lab for study of Colonial America, Egypt, and Japan. The 3^rd grade teachers are so confident that our proposal will be accepted that they have already agreed to meet with me in the second week of July to develop scope and sequence plans for integrating the SmartBoard technology into their classrooms.

Take Home Exam 3

II. Two uses of technology for presentation to peers – moving integration forward

Two basic uses for technology that I will present to teachers at The Haverford School are Web-based research activities, and writing assignments that include the use of pathfinders and learning modules. Pathfinders are teacher-selected Internet links to Web sites with appropriate curriculum content for students to explore. Pathfinders are critically important for students who are on a tight deadline for finding facts related to an assigned topic. Teachers at our school understand that there are appropriate Web-based resources for students to use in school, but most have not yet invested the time to develop pathfinders for their class. Instead, teachers have relied upon technology coordinators to set up pathfinders for their research activities. To move integration of classroom pathfinders forward, I will make grade-level presentations of pathfinders that we currently use for social studies from grades Jr. K through 5^th grade. The pathfinders for each grade level will be accessible both from the school Web page, and from a network drive on the school Intranet. Periodically throughout the school year, the technology coordinator will meet with teachers at grade-level meetings to review pathfinder links, and to develop new learning modules for use in the lab and the classroom.

Learning modules are teacher-created templates for students to use when collecting, sorting, and synthesizing information. Learning modules often include both Web-based, and traditional paper-based curriculum resources. A few examples of learning modules that I have used at The Haverford School are data collection tables such as word banks and fact banks. Student-created word banks have proven to be useful vocabulary builders. The word bank example I will present to teachers at The Haverford School will come from the WebQuest

Take Home Exam 4

that I developed for 5^th grade students called Put Yourself in their Shoes, the Children of Iraq. The WebQuest has a series of pathfinders for students to use, which include new words that are not part of their everyday vocabulary. The student-created word bank is a Word document with a two-column table. One column has new words with phonetic spelling in parenthesis, and the other column has definitions paraphrased by students. Students use both paper dictionary, and Websters Dictionary online to find definitions of new words. Students turn in their word banks for credit, and a class word bank is developed to study for a vocabulary test.

Fact banks are similar to word banks, in that they are Word documents with tables for collecting information. For the Iraq fact bank, one column is for students to type facts found from a pathfinder resource, and the second column if for students to reflect on whether facts are similar or different to their life here in America. Students also turn their fact banks in for credit, and a class fact bank is developed to study for a series of fact or opinion questions on a test. Students also used their word banks and fact banks when writing an opinion on America’s role in Iraq. For my presentation to teachers, I will show examples of student-created word and fact banks, as well as completed tests, test scores, and essays.

Another data collection table example that I plan to share with teachers is the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How (5 Ws + H) table for 4^th graders. The table has three columns, one left blank, one with the 5 Ws + H, and the third for facts found from pathfinders. Students are taught to sort information collected by the 5 Ws + H, and to use the blank column to assign paragraph numbers, or dates chronologically. The tables help students to organize information for their written reports.

Take Home Exam 5

III. The impact of professional organizations, resources, and publications

As far as professional organizations go, I consider the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) to be the most important organization for the way we use technology daily at school. As I mentioned in my answer in part one (above), The NETS for Students, Teachers, and Administrators have already had a significant impact on the direction of technology integration at our school. The NETS standards will continue to provide a framework from which technology-based collaboration will thrive at The Haverford School. Furthermore, ISTE membership has given the school significant discounts on program development guides, materials, and journals like Learning and Leading with Technology. In order to stay abreast of emerging technologies, it is critically important that teachers read professional journals, and have access to materials such as those provided by ISTE.

The resources document available from our class WebCT page includes links to many professional journals for technology in education. One of my goals prior to the end of the school year will be to post the links provided from this document on the school Web page, and share this with the faculty, so that teachers immediately have access to current articles and research on technology in education. It is likely that teachers will find the link to Kathy Schrock’s page from the miscellaneous section of the resources document to be particularly useful. Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators (2005, http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/index.html) is organized by subject, and has a Teacher Helper, and Teacher Tool section that will appeal to many of our elementary school teachers. In order to get our teachers to check back to the resources page, I will be sure to put a link to Kathy Schrock’s page at the top.

Take Home Exam 6

One of the resources that I had not at first considered to be particularly important was the ProfilerPro Web-based survey program. However, having learned that evaluation is a critical component of the dynamic instructional design model, I decided to use this program for my Web-based tutorial on service learning. When I post the tutorial on the school Intranet, I will have to share the Web link, password, and instructions for membership to ProfilerPro with the faculty. Undoubtedly, interested teachers and administrators will seek my assistance to create their own surveys. Although this resource will not change the way we will use technology on a daily basis, the results from ProfilerPro surveys will add a new graphic component to faculty meetings, and even back to school night.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention Lever-Duffy, McDonald, Mizell (2^nd Ed. 2005). Teaching and Learning with Technology. The textbook is an excellent resource that I will be sure to have on hand in the new computer lab at The Haverford School. Particularly impressive are the numerous suggestions for integrating technology in the classroom, with real life stories and correlations to the NETS for Students and Teachers. The Student Skill Builders CD included in the textbook will change the way I work with teachers who want to learn the basics. I plan to have the Student Skill Builders CD installed on a designated teacher training workstation in the new computer lab. Teachers will find the Software Skill Builders section particularly useful when learning how to use applications like Inspiration, or any of the Office productivity packages.

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