Demonstrate the ability to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of learning and leadership.
Introducing technology into a
classroom can be a tricky task.
There must be a number of steps and procedures in place before the
program can begin. The following
assignment was taken from EDU618: Assessment of Learning Outcomes with Technology. For this assignment the requirement was
to develop a plan for implementing a program within a school. Knowing how big of an impact iPads can
have on a classroom and the learning that can happen with them, this program
was developed using the Constructivism/Interpretivism approach. It was based on
the fact that the learning would be focused on real world situations and give
the students the opportunity to work with technology they will need for the
future (Dabbagh, 2006). This proposal understands what the end result will look like
but focuses on the process that needs to happen before an iPad is even brought
to school (Dabbagh, 2006).
In redesigning this assignment I
did not have to change anything.
All of my focus during this program has been on using technology within
the classroom. Therefore it was
quite simple to choose this assignment to represent Program Learning Outcome
eight. This assignment not only
explains how a Bring Your Own iPad program will work but what the specific
steps are that a team should take to implement the program within a
school. Using technology is great
and on the minds of many schools but having the steps in place is just as
important as the program itself.
Going one-to-one with iPads in an
Elementary Classroom
Imagine
a grade four classroom of twenty-five eager students who are all working on a
research project. The teacher has
gone to the library with the class to find all the books they could possibly
find about Peru. The students have
divided into interest groups to research a certain aspect about Peru. After searching through the entire
library, the class was able to find about ten resources that they could use,
some of those books are falling apart because they are so old while others have
no pictures and the students are not able to understand the information because
of their reading level. While
there is one computer in the classroom, the teacher still is not able to keep
everyone actively engaged in the research process because of the lack of
resources at the students’ reading level.
Now
imagine that same classroom with the same eager students, just now they have
all brought in their iPads to use during the research process. Students are helping each other to find
information and to write the facts in their own words. The students are completely actively
engaged in the research process to the point where the teacher can wander
around the classroom and help students with the writing process. The students are helping each other to
find the information they need leaving the teacher as a resource to students
who are weaker writers.
Organizational Mission Statement
and Purpose
Technology use within the classroom is on the rise. With the continuous introduction of the
Common Core State Standards, technology expectations are higher for inclusion
within the classroom setting and go beyond computer class expectations (National Governors Association Center for Best
Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). The need for more computers in classrooms is a serious
concern for many schools. Is it
better to have the students bring in their own computer or tablet? Should the school provide laptops to
their students for a set price or just provide criteria and have students
independently purchase their own laptop?
These are questions that are currently being discussed and researched at
the American School of Kuwait.
Currently there are thirty computers for grades three to five. Each grade level consists of six
classrooms of twenty to twenty-five students making getting into the computer
lab challenging outside of computer class time. Introducing a one-to-one tablet system would alleviate this
problem and would give students more opportunities within the classroom to use
it. According to Overbay, Mollette, and Vasu (2011),
today’s learners are wanting more technology and more and more schools are
adding more technology to the classroom and putting the technology into the
hands of the students. The
American School of Kuwait is a for profit international school that is strongly
considering having their students bring their own devices. The purpose for implementing a Bring
Your Own iPad program would be to push the boundaries of the classroom beyond
the walls and to extend the learning into the hands of the students. Our students will need to know how to
use technology to their advantage no matter what field they go into in the
future. Whether they want to be a
doctor or a lawyer, a designer or mechanic, understanding technology will be a
key element in their lives. By
helping them now to create a strong understanding of how to use the tools they
have and to become a responsible digital citizen, we are only benefiting them
and helping their future no matter what job they choose.
Program Evaluation Proposal: Overview
The use of iPads in the classroom is growing each
day. Every day there is a new
educational app that gets added to the app store for students to use while
learning different concepts.
Whether that is when studying multiplication or learning phonics sounds,
the amount of apps that “trick” students into studying is growing. Why should the students be asked not to
use the tools of the future during their learning today? Students are eager to use technology in
any way possible and already know the basics about how to use the tools. By using iPads in the classroom, the
learning can extend to outside of the classroom and even outside of their own
hometown, state, and country.
Students can be reading the most up to date information and accessing
information that might not be found in the books that are in the school
library.
Program Evaluation Proposal: Logic Model
To bring a Bring Your Own Device program into our school, we
have chosen the top four steps that must happen before we can even begin using
iPads in the classroom. One of the
first hurdles that we will be tackling is researching the best way to get
wireless Internet in the classroom, either as a hot spot or by using a router
for each room. We will be looking
at what will be the best option cost wise and also what will work best with
what we currently have. The second
element that we will be working through is creating a parent and student
contract that will outline how the program will work and who is responsible for
what. It will be important to
stipulate that the main responsibility will land on the students and parents to
make sure that their device is charged and in good use. To help keep the devices safe at
school, we will be purchasing cabinets where the teacher will lock up the iPads
when they are not in use.
Researching about which cabinets will work the best within our
classrooms will be the third activity that we will work on. Finally, we will be working together to
create digital citizenship lessons that will be used during the first month of
school. Preparing students to be
responsible not only with just their device but also with the Internet is
important. During this first month
we will also be working with the parents to help them understand what their
role is in their child’s digital education. The
following chart has been created by W.
K. Kellogg Foundation (2004) to show the steps that we will be taking to
research and implement a Bring Your Own Device program in our upper elementary
classrooms.
|
Resources
In order to accomplish our set of activities we will
need the following:
|
Wireless
internet within the classrooms
|
Student
and parent contract
|
Cabinets
to lock up the iPads when not in use
|
Teach
students to be proper digital citizens.
|
|
Activities
In order to address our problem or asset we will
accomplish the following activities:
|
· Researching about hotspots
· Researching about wireless routers
· Implementing one of the two
|
· Research other school’s contracts
· Create contract of our own
|
· Research how other school’s keep iPad safe
· Research or design cabinets
· Purchase cabinets
|
· Research lesson to teach students
· Find videos to help them understand
· Plan to include parents in the lessons
|
|
Outputs
We expect that once accomplished these activities will
produce the following evidence or services delivery:
|
Wireless
internet will be available within all classrooms
|
A
parent and student contract will be created and to be handed out at the first
Bring Your Own iPad meeting.
|
Each
classroom will be equipped with a cabinet
|
Students
will receive weekly lessons about digital citizenship within their IT classes
|
|
Short-
& Long-term outcomes
We expect that if accomplished these activities will
lead to the following changes in 1-3 then 4-6 year:
|
1-3
years: continue updating the network to accommodate classroom
sizes; reevaluate if the wireless network is still the best and make changes
as need be
4-6
years: continue updating the network to accommodate classroom
sizes; reevaluate if the wireless network is still the best and make changes
as need be
|
1-3
years: teachers will gain a better understanding of how to
use the technology in the classroom; more classrooms will be added. By year three all classrooms will be
BYOiPad classrooms.
4-6
years: Students will become more confident with their technology
use while teachers will be able to use the technology to help with meeting
standards
|
1-3
years: additional cabinets will be purchased to accommodate
class sizes.
4-6
years: additional cabinets will be purchased to accommodate class
sizes. Begin to replace older
cabinets with new ones
|
1-3
years: students will turn to their
teachers for help when something does not go right
4-6
years: students will know how to solve their own problems
when coming across a site that is not working or inappropriate.
|
|
Impact
We expect that if accomplished these activities will
lead to the following changes in 7-10 years:
|
Faster
internet being incorporated within the classroom to further lessons.
|
School
wide students will be using technology from kindergarten all the way through
grade twelve
|
Students
will understand that the devices are not toys and will use them properly
within the classroom and in life.
|
Students
will have created a positive profile online that shows their strengths as
students
|
Program Evaluation Proposal: Use of Evaluation Results
While
researching these different parts of how to properly set up a Bring Your Own
iPad program, we will be evaluating what the best options are for our
school. We will have to decide
between buying routers or setting up hotspots. We will have to decide on which cabinets will provide the
best protection for the students’ iPads and which cabinets will last the
longest, but also be at an affordable price for us. Deciding on what responsibilities are expected of the
students and the parents is also important because they need to be clearly
stated from the beginning. From
the beginning, teachers need to know that they are supported during the process
of becoming successful with a change in teaching style. Some things might work well for one
teacher but not at all for another.
Because of this we will have to continuously review what we are teaching
our teachers and ask them for their opinion on what else they need to know to
be more successful and to feel more comfortable with using iPads in the
classroom. All of these
evaluations will let us build our program to be stronger and better for our
community.
Program Evaluation Proposal: Timeline for Evaluation Results
Understanding what your outputs are is the first step to
creating a logic model to bring change to a school. Knowing what the end result will look like is a great
beginning but also knowing what that end result will look like in three years
and in six years is just as important as knowing what it will look like this
year. During this process we will
be researching different ways to bring wireless Internet into the
classroom. Currently we will be
looking into creating hotspots and comparing it to supplying each classroom
with a router. Right now those are
the two best options but maybe in three years time, something new will have
been created that might be better.
We need to be ready to continue researching about wireless options to
see how we can have our Bring Your Own iPad program work effectively in the
future. Technology is changing and
developing quickly these days and we need to reflect on our decision in three
and six year time. Therefore one
of our long-term goals is to reflect on our wireless Internet options to see if
there is something better than what we have currently chosen.
As
we are currently beginning the process of moving toward having iPads in the
classrooms, many teachers are expressing their concerns about their minimal
understanding of how to use the tool within their teaching. Over the next three years we will be
providing teachers with the support that they need to use iPads effectively in
their classrooms and by providing professional development monthly for the
whole school and weekly for small groups who would like extra help. We are not beginning the program in
every classroom because this way we can have the teachers who want to begin go
first and then have the more apprehensive teachers go into their classrooms to
observe how it could look. This
will help with the teachers who do not feel comfortable with technology to gain
the understanding that they need.
By the end of three years, all teachers should feel comfortable with
implementing iPads in their classrooms.
By the end of six years all teachers will be using iPads in their
classrooms comfortably and all students will feel comfortable with using the
technology piece during lessons.
Providing
each classroom with a cabinet to store the iPads is important but it is also
understandable that over time they will need to be replaced. During the first three years we will
make sure that each classroom has a cabinet that is in working condition. After every classroom has been provided
with one we will continue to check on the cabinets and replace the ones that
are broken or damaged. By
continuously checking that the cabinets are in working order we will continue
to provide the students and parents with the reassurance that their iPads are
safe in school.
During
the first three years, both students and teachers will be learning how to use
the tools at the same time.
Students and teachers will be able to help each other in the transition
process with knowing how to use the many different applications. Today’s students adapt to new
technology quickly and are able to figure out how to use it on their own. During these first three years,
teachers will help their students to develop good technology use habits. Developing these good habits is
important because today’s students will be using technology in the future no
matter what their job will be. By
the six-year mark, teachers will be more confident in their use of technology
within the classroom and students will have developed good technology
habits. Teachers will continue to
help students maintain their good habits while also building on their knowledge
of how to use iPads to further their understanding of different topics.
Once
the Bring Your Own Device program has been set up, as a team we will be
reviewing the program yearly to see what else needs to be added to it and to
make sure that it is still running at the best of its abilities. Teachers will continue to receive
support during the year to make the transition and to find the right resources
that they need for their lessons.
Starting a new program, like Bring Your Own iPad, is not
an easy task. There will always be
people who are strongly against it and then other people who want to jump right
into it without the proper research.
Implementing technology within a classroom takes time; it is not
something that can be done over night.
Teachers need to be provided training time so that they can build up
their confidence. Even teachers
cannot just be handed a technology piece and told to use it correctly right
away. Teachers need a chance to
play with it and to be informed about what are the best ways to use it within
the classroom. The more eager
teachers will have already done some research and will continue to do so, while
other teachers will fear breaking it and will begin to show resistance to using
it within their classrooms. Given
time to process and learn how to use the tool will give the teachers the confidence
to start to use it more and more each day. Parents need to be trained too so that they know what their
role is in the program. Learning
does not just end at three o’clock when the bell rings and the students run
home. Learning happens on the way
home from school, at home while spending time with their families and even
while out on errands. It is
important for parents to know that what they do at home directly affects their
child. To some parents this is
obvious while for others it is not.
Finally, the students need to be trained to be ready to accept this type
of higher-level learninig.
Everyone can be responsible for their things if they are given the
chance and given the expectations and guidelines for being successful. By having iPads in the classroom the
learning can become endless and can take the students anywhere.
References
Dabbagh, N. (2006). Instructional design knowledge
base. Retrieved from http://classweb.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/IDKB/models_theories.htm
National Governors Association Center for Best
Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington, DC: Authors.
Overbay, A., Mollette, M., & Vasu, E.
S. (2011). A Technology Plan That Works. Educational
Leadership, 68(5), 56-59.
W. K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Using logic
models to bring together planning, evaluation, and action: Logic model
development guide. Retrieved from
http://www.wkkf.org/~/media/36693510092544928C454B5778180D75/LogicModel.pdf
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