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SETDA published a series of case studies from 28 states to showcase examples of how ARRA EETT grant funds have impacted teaching and learning. SETDA collected data for the case studies through a variety of mechanisms, including a detailed survey of the participating LocalEducation Agencies (LEAs), personal interviews with grant managers and teachers, and reviews of state and local program evaluations. The case studies highlight powerful examples of innovations resulting from the federal state/local partnerships created by the EETT program. They illustrate what can happen when “seed money” in the form of federal grants is leveraged by states, local school districts, and individual schools. Teachers and students across the country continue to bene!t from these innovative programs as shown by higher formative and standardized test scores, increased technology literacy and technology integration, improved access to both digital curriculum resources and project-based learning initiatives, and increased student engagement. Access the case studies at http://www.setda.org/web/guest/casestudies2012.

Featured States:AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasConnecticutDelawareGeorgiaIowaLouisianaMaine

MarylandMichiganMissouriNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNorth CarolinaOhio

PennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsin

GadsdenCitySchools

StateEducationalTechnologyDirectorsAssociation|www.setda.org

Alabama21

GadsdenCitySchools,Alabama

November2009‐September2011ThepurposeoftheAlabama21projectwastoimmersethe9thGradeAcademystudentsofGadsdenCityHighSchoolintoatechnology‐richlearningenvironmenttostimulateinterest,promotelearning,andimproveachievement.Alabama21reformedtraditionalclassroominstructionandlearningopportunitiesbyintegrating21stcenturytechnologytools.

Demographics

Gadsden,AlabamaislocatedinEtowahCounty,inthefoothillsoftheAppalachianMountainsand65milesnortheastofBirmingham.Gadsdenhasbeenaffectedbytherecenteconomicdownturn.Inthelastdecade,amajorindustry,GulfStateSteel,wentoutofbusiness.Thereisnowonemajoremployerinthearea,theGoodyearTireplant.Withadecreaseinjobopportunities,thepopulationhasalsodeclinedsignificantly.GadsdenCitySchoolsishometoeightelementaryschools,threemiddleschools,andonehighschool.The9thGradeAcademyishousedinGadsdenCityHighSchool.Highschoolenrollmentisapproximately1,600withafreeandreducedlunchrateof71%.The2011‐2012AYPreportfortheschoolindicatesa“Clear”statusforall17indicatorsanda92%graduationrate.Theschoolfeaturesagrowingadvancedplacement(AP)program,offering10‐creditAPcoursesand9pre‐APcourses.

BackgroundTheAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009(ARRA)includeda$650millionallocationinESEATitleII,PartD,commonlyreferredtoastheEnhancingEducationThroughTechnologyprogram(EETT).ThiscasestudywaspreparedbytheStateEducationalTechnologyDirectorsAssociation(SETDA)–theprincipalassociationrepresentingthetechnologyleadershipofstateandterritorialdepartmentsofeducation–toprovideanexampleofARRAfundsworkingatthedistrictandclassroomlevelthatcreateseffective,viable,androbustreformineducation,andimprovesthewayteachersteachandstudentslearn.

Alabama’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsThegoaloftheAlabamaDepartmentofEducation’sARRAEETTCompetitiveGrantprogramwastoincreasegraduationrates.Thegrantprogramprovidedtheequipmentandprofessionaldevelopmentsupporttoestablish21stcenturyclassroomsingrades7to12.Thefocuswastomodel21stcenturyclassroominstructionandtohelpincreasestudentachievementstatewide.

ARRACaseStudies2012|GadsdenCitySchools

Page2StateEducationalTechnologyDirectorsAssociation|www.setda.org

ProjectDescription

Alabama21focusedonprovidingtechnologytoolsandprofessionaldevelopmenttoparticipatingninthgradeteacherstoincreaseaccesstotechnology,studentachievement,andtechnologyliteracy.Ninthgradeisapivotalyear.Historically,ithadthehighestretentionrateandlowestattendancerate.Also,grades9and10hadthehighestdropoutrates.TheAlabama21projectcenteredeffortsandfundsonthe9thGradeAcademytoengagestudents,increaseachievement,andimprovethegraduationrate.BeforetheAlabama21programwasimplemented,the9thGradeAcademyclassroomseachhadoneortwodesktopcomputerswithhardwireinternetaccess.Inanefforttosupportthisgrantprogram,localfundswereusedtoprovidewirelessaccessfortheAcademy.Alabama21provideddevices,atathree‐to‐onestudent‐to‐laptopratio,responsesystems,documentcameras,digitalcameras,projectionsystems,andinteractivewhiteboards.Tentechnology‐richclassroomswereestablishedinthecoresubjectareasofEnglish,socialstudies,andscience.Thelaptopswerehousedinfive30‐stationlaptopcartsandsharedamongthe478ninthgradestudents.TenninthgradeteachersreceivedprofessionaldevelopmentviaMoodleindesigningproject‐basedlearningactivitiesandcross‐curricularactivities,developingAlabamaLearningExchange(ALEX)lessons,andincorporatingonlineresources.

ProjectImplementation

Duringthe2009‐2010schoolyear,thefocuswasonacquiringandinstallingequipment,orientingstudents,andprovidinginitialprofessionaldevelopmentontheuseofthehardware.Inthespringof2010,ninthgradestudentsandtheirparentswereprovidedanorientationoftheprogram,andfullimplementationbeganinthefallof2010.

ARRAEETTGrantDetails

GrantFocus HighAccess,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironment,OngoingProfessionalDevelopment

Beginning/EndDateofGrant

November1,2009–September30,2011

Locale Rural

Funding $250,000FederalFunds$25,000LocalFunds

GradeLevel(s) 9‐12

NumberofTeachersImpacted

10

NumberofAdministratorsImpacted

1

NumberofStudentsImpacted

945(overtwoyears)

Alabama21granttechnology—ithasbroughtlifetomyclassroomformystudentsaswellasmyself.

‐AlexisWise,EnglishTeacher,GadsdenCityHighSchool



Professionaldevelopmentwasongoingforthe10Academyteachers,occurringonaformalandinformalbasis.Teachersinitiallyworkedwithvendor‐providedinstructorstolearntousethenewclassroomtools.Theschooltechnologyteam,positionsfundedthroughformulaEETTgrantfunds,providedongoingsupportthroughcoaching.Academyteachersalsohadtheopportunitytoworkwithvisitingtechnologyprofessionals,suchasWesleyFryerandChrisLehmann.Overall,teachersreceivedapproximatelyonedaypermonthofin‐personprofessionaldevelopmentsessions.ThreeoftheAcademyteachersattendedtheISTE2011conferenceandreturnedtosharebestpracticeswiththeircolleagues.Theseteachersplayedakeyroleinthedistrict‐widein‐serviceday,EduTech.DuringEduTech,allinstructionalstafffromthedistrictattendedtrainingsessionsconductedbyoutsidefacilitatorsaswellasbyAcademyteachers.Inaddition,theAcademyteachers,andotherschooltechnologyleaders,providedvaluablepeer‐to‐peertrainingincorporatingmanyofthetechnologytoolsandstrategiesfromthisgrantproject.ManyoftheteachersalsohadlessonsacceptedtoAlabama’sstateportal,ALEX,whichrequiresastringentapprovalprocessbeforelessonsaremadeavailabletoteachersstatewide.TheprojectculminatedinaTechSaturdayeventinthefallof2011,duringwhichAcademyteachershadanopportunitytopresenttheirtechnologybestpractices.

ClassroomExamples

• Inahistoryclassroom,beforethisgrant,theclasswastaughtusingmanyhandouts,textbooks,andteacherlectures.Withthetechnologyandprofessionaldevelopment,thehistoryclassbecamemoreproject‐based.Theteacheruseswebquestsasawaytointroduceupcomingerasorthemes.Awebquestisaprojectwherestudentsareguidedthroughresearch,workingindependentlyorcollaboratively.Studentsorganizetheirresearchintoafinalproductthatmaybeintheformofaletter,presentation,orgame.Webquestshelpbuildbackgroundinformationandsetafoundationformorefocusedclassroomactivities.Forexample,instudyingWorldWarII,studentscompletedawebquestonthewar.Studentslearnedaboutthewarthroughindependentresearchandusedthatbackgroundinformationtotacklethenextactivity,interviewingaWorldWarIIveteranandproducingavideo.Theywereabletocreatemoreinformedquestionsandpresentwarinformationintheirvideo.Studentsworkedinsmallgroupstoplantheirinterview,recorditusingaFlipcamera,andeditandproducethevideousingalaptop.DVDswerecreatedofallthefinalproductsandissuedtostudents,interviewees,andotherteachersinthehistorydepartmenttoshareintheirclasses.

• Beforetheintegrationoftechnology,onehighschoolEnglishteachertaughtpartsofspeechbyverballyexplainingrules,havingstudentsworkinthetextbook,andcompletemultipleworksheets.Withthetechnology,theteacherpresentedinformationtoherstudentswithaPowerPointpresentation,andengagedthestudentswithamobileinteractivewhiteboard.Studentstookturnsidentifying

Ibelieveonehastorelatestudentlearningtostudentexperiencesandbyincorporatingtechnology,studentsaremoreeagertolearnduetothefactthattheyareusingtechnologyeverydayoftheirlives.

‐JeffColegrove,HistoryTeacher,GadsdenCityHighSchool



whichwordsinasentencebelongedtodifferentpartsofspeech,thendiscussedandcheckedeachother’swork.Theyalsousedastudentresponsesystemtopracticeidentifyingthepartsofspeechofsharedwords.Theimmediatefeedbackenabledstudentstolearnfromerrorsandtakeamoreactiveroleinmasteringtheconcept.

EvaluatingEffectiveness

StateBenchmarkindicatorsforstudentandstafftechnologyskillsandutilizationincreased,inalmostallcases,beyondthegoallevelsoftheproject.Teacherswereassessedusinganonlinesurveyeachspring,theIMPACTTeacherSurvey.

BenchmarkData

• Benchmark1.2:Percentageofstudentsthatmakeuseofcurrentandemergingtechnologyinthelearningprocess.

2008—18% TargetGoal—25% Spring,2011—33.8%

• Benchmark1.6:Percentageofteachersthatmodeltheappropriateuseoftechnologytoolsandresources.


• Benchmark1.8:Percentageofeducatorsthatusetechnologytocommunicatewithstakeholdersatthelocal,district,andstatelevel.


• Benchmark2.1:Percentageofeducatorsthatfosterandnurtureanenvironmentthatsupportsinnovativeusesoftechnology.


• Benchmark2.2:Aretechnologyresourcesprovidedtosupportthelearningandtechnologyneedsoftheschoolandcommunity?


• Benchmark3.1:Teachers,administrators,andschoolstaffareprovidedhighquality,research‐based,job‐embedded,technologyprofessionaldevelopmentthatisalignedwithlocal,state,andnationalstandardsandcourseofstudycontentstandards.




Althoughtheeffectontheschoolgraduationratewillnotberealizedfor2moreyears,itisnoteworthythatofthe31studentswhodroppedoutofthehighschoolduringthe2010‐2011schoolyear,only3(9.7%)werefromthe9thGradeAcademy.Historically,themajorityofourhighschooldropoutsleaveschoolduringtheirninthandtenthgradeyears.

MovingForward

Thetechnologytoolsthatwereacquiredforthisprojectwillservethe9thGradeAcademyformanyyearstocome.Localfundsprovidedthroughcitygovernmentwillbeusedtomaintainequipmentandprovideperiodicrefreshertrainingforteachers.Expandingtheprogramtoafull1‐to‐1initiativeisagoalofthedistrict.Fundingisbeingsoughtandconsiderationbeinggiventolowercostoptions,suchasnetbooksortablets.TheAcademyteacherswillcontinuetoreceivesupportfromtheschool’stechnologyteamandthestatewideprogram,TechnologyinMotion,fundedbythestateofAlabama.Aswell,theAcademyteacherswillcontinuetoconducttheirownpeertrainingandmentoringwithinthedistrict.

Resources

GadsdenCitySchoolswww.gcs.k12.al.usGadsdenCityHighSchoolhttp://gchs.gcs.k12.al.usAlabama’sStatePortal,ALEXhttp://alex.state.al.us/index.phpAlabamaDepartmentofEducationhttp://alsde.eduSETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

SitkaSchoolDistrict


WaveVII:TurningOurSchoolInsideOut

SitkaSchoolDistrict,Alaska

July2010‐June2011Withdistrictfundsandotherfederalgrantdollarsprovidingwirelessaccessandequippingschoolswithtechnologicaltools,suchasinteractivewhiteboards,documentcameras,andstudentresponsesystems,theARRAEETTgrant,WaveVII:TurningOurSchoolInsideOut,providedfocusedprofessionaldevelopmentforsixthgradeteachersasameanstofostercollaborationandcommunication,tointegratetechnology,andtochangetheeducationalexperienceforSitkastudents.

Demographics

SitkaislocatedonBaranofIslandinwhatisconsideredthepanhandleofAlaskaandcanonlybeaccessedbyplaneorboat.ThepopulationofSitkaisapproximately9,000andisthefifthlargestcityinAlaska.TheSitkaSchoolDistrict(SSD)consistsoftwoelementaryschools,onemiddleschool,andtwohighschools,servingapproximately1,300students.Approximately50%ofSSDstudentsareCaucasian,30%areAlaskaNative,andtheremainingstudentshaveavarietyofethnicheritageswithAsianbeingthenextlargeststudentpopulationsubgroup.


Alaska’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsAlaska’sARRAEETTcompetitivegrantsfocusedonhelpingstudentsandteachersachieveproficiencyintechnologicalliteracyandskillinintegratingtechnologyintothecurriculum.Grantsthatwereselectedbuiltmodelsthatcouldbereplicatedinothercommunities.PresentationsweregivenattheAlaskaSocietyforTechnologyinEducation(ASTE)conference,Alaska’sannualtechnologyconference,toensuresharingandmodelingofthefinalproducts.

ARRACaseStudies2012|SitkaSchoolDistrict,Alaska


ProjectDescription

TheWaveVII:TurningOurSchoolInsideOutgrantfocusedonprovidingprofessionaldevelopmenttofivesixthgradeteachersinSitka’sonlymiddleschool.Historically,sixthgradestudentswerehavingdifficultiestransitioningtothemiddleschool,andtheintentofthegrantwastochangethetraditionalclassroomexperiencethroughtheintegrationoftechnologicaltools.Furthermore,bytargetingsixthgrade,theintentwastosetthestageforapositive,technologicallyenhancedmiddleschoolexperience.Thehopewastohavestudentsfeelconnectedtotheacademiccontentandtheirclassmates,thushelpingwiththetransitiontotherestoftheirschoolcareer.Seventhandeighthgradeclassroomshadbeenthefocusofpreviousgrantsyetneverreceivedtheintenseprofessionaldevelopmentneededtomaximizetechnologyintegration.Bytargetingsixthgradestudentsandteachers,theintentwasto“trickleup”theexperienceandexpertise.Throughformal,professionaldevelopmentmeetingsandinformaldiscussions,teachersandadministratorscollaboratedandsharedinternallyacrossthedistrict.TheWaveVIIteachersprovidedavisionofmeaningfultechnologyintegrationthatallowedteachers,colleagues,andthecommunityofSitkatounderstandthecriticalneedtoempowerstudentstobecollaboratorsandcontributorstotheirownlearning.


Tobestpreparefortheinfluxoftechnologytoolsandtheincreaseduseoftheonlinecontent,theschooldistrictusedARRA:StateFiscalStabilizationFundstohelpbuildawirelessbroadbandnetworkandtopurchaseanonlinecontentmanagementsystemfortheschools.Amajority(62%)oftheWaveVIIgrantmoneywasspentonprofessionaldevelopment.Remainingdollarswenttotechnologypurchases,includingalaptopcarttobeusedexclusivelybythesixthgradeteam.


GrantFocus Project‐BasedCollaborativeLearningandHigh‐AccessandTechnology‐RichLearningEnvironment


July2010‐June2011

Locale Rural

Funding $99,778

GradeLevel(s) Grade6


5


2


88

Ourconfidencewiththetechnologygrewgreatlyduetothecollegialcommunity.Ithinkthiswasthemostpowerfulpartoftheproject.‐DeborahRiva,WaveVIITeacher



TheWaveVIIgrantprovidedprofessionaldevelopmentandtechnologytoolsforfiveBlatchleyMiddleSchool(BMS)sixthgradeteachers.TheWaveVIIteachersrepresentedeachofthefourcorecurriculumareas(LanguageArts,Math,Science,andSocialStudies)andthetechnologyteacher.Teachersreceivedatotaloftenprofessionaldevelopmentdaysorganizedintothreedistinctfocusareas:AugustKick‐Off(twodays),FocusonTechnologyIntegration(twodays),andLearningAboutEngagedLearning(sixdays).DuringtheAugustkick‐off,teachersmetwithaconsultanttosetthestagefortechnologyintegrationandtargetedtrainingwasprovidedintheuseoftheinteractivewhiteboardsandstudentresponsesystems.Teachersweregiventimetocreateandshareatechnology‐enhancedlessontheywouldusethefirstweekofschool.Theremainingprofessionaldevelopmentdaysoccurredthroughouttheschoolyear,typicallyonSaturdays.Teachersweretrainedintechnologyintegrationandtheuseofspecifictechnologytools,andwereprovidedtheopportunitytodevelopandsharelessonplans.Throughouttheschoolyear,teachersusedonlinetoolstoshareresourcesandexperiencesandalsometinpersoneachTuesdaytocollaborateandfocusonstudentlearning.Theon‐goingprofessionaldevelopmentallowedteacherstheopportunitytobuildtheirskillsandlearnfromoneanotherthroughouttheschoolyear.

ClassroomExamples

• IntheSocialStudiesclassroom,theteacherdesignedageographygametoreviewlandforms.Eachstudentreceivedadifferentlandformwrittenonapieceofpaperfor“hisorhereyesonly.”Studentswerethenrandomlyselectedtocomeuptothefrontoftheroomandactouthis/herassignedlandforminacharadeformatviathevideodocumentcameratool.After30secondsofacting,studentsintheaudiencetextedtheirresponseviatheinteractiveresponsesystemsandresultswerepostedonthescreen.Thisactivitybecameatemplateforothertopicsandothersubjectareas.

• Inacross‐disciplinarylesson,integratingscience,history,health,andtechnology,studentswereshownAlaskaseaweedspeciesandrecipes.Next,studentsresearchedvariousseaweedrecipesontheirlaptops,andcreatedadigitalseaweedcardthatincludedapicture,classification,explanationofhowtoharvest,andarecipe.Cardswereprintedandsharedwithfriendsandfamily.


ThesuccessoftheWaveVIIgranthelpedtodefineprofessionaldevelopmentforSitkaSchoolDistrictteachersintheareaofintegratingengagedtechnology‐infusedteachingandlearning.Theongoingprofessionaldevelopmentestablishedthroughregularface‐to‐facemeetingsandtheuseofonlinetoolswasoftencitedasthemostimportantpartof

Iletstudentsteachmetechnologytechniquesandpraisedtheirexpertise!Isawstudentproductivitydoublealongwiththeirexcitementoftheresearch.

‐PattyDick,WaveVIITeacher



program’ssuccess.Thesupporttheteachersreceivedfromtheirpeerswascriticalintermsofunderstandingsuccessesandfailuresandhowtoimproveforthefuture.Thesixthgradeteachersemergedasschoolanddistrictleadersandservedasmodelsforinnovativeteaching.Forexample,attheTechnologyInfusedLearningConference,theWaveVIIteacherstaughtsessionsinamini‐conferenceenvironmentfortheirsecondarycolleagues.TheyalsopresentedattheAlaskaSocietyforTechnologyinEducation(ASTE)conference.Thegrantevaluatorsurveyedtheteachersattheendofthegrantperiod,andasaresultoftheresponsesfoundthreethemesthatemergedfromthedata.

MovingForward

Acriticalmassofstakeholders,students,parents,schoolboard,teachers,andadministratorsembracedthejourneytowardrelevantteachingandlearningfortoday’sstudents.Eveninthefaceofdecliningrevenue,theschoolboardincreasedthetechnologybudgetforthe2011‐2012schoolyear.Thisprogramwillcontinuetoexpand;theteachersinvolvedinthegrantwillmentorotherteachers.Theprogressmadeinacquiringhardwareandbandwidthwillcontinuetoopennewopportunitiesforallteachersinthedistrict.

Resources

SitkaSchoolDistrict’sGrantPagehttp://sitkaschools.org/Page/288Alaska’sFullEvaluationReportoftheWaveVIICompetitiveGranthttp://tinyurl.com/6sksrt2AlaskaDepartmentofEducationandEarlyDevelopment’sEducationalTechnologyResourceshttp://eed.state.ak.us/EdTech/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

Themes

1. Thegranthadapositiveimpactonhowteachersteach.2. Thegranthadapositiveimpactonhowstudentslearnandbehave.3. Collegialitywasakeytosuccess.

CreightonCountyElementary

SchoolDistrict


iAchieveProject

CreightonElementarySchoolDistrict,Arizona

March2010‐September2011Creighton’siAchieveprojectaddressedspecificacademicneedsbyintroducinganenvironmentofhigh‐access,1‐to‐1mobiledevicestosupportinstruction.ThefundingprovidediPodTouchesandiPodLearningLabsin18thirdgradeclassroomsacrossthedistrictandtwoSpanishimmersionclassroomsinoneschool.Fundingalsoprovidedtrainingforteacherstomanageandintegratethetoolsandonlinecontentintothecurriculum.

Demographics

CreightonElementaryisaK‐8schooldistrictbasedinPhoenix,Arizona.Thedistricthas10schoolswithapproximately750staffmembersprovidinginstructionalandsupportservicesto6,848students.Thestudentpopulationis85%Hispanic,6%Caucasian,5%AfricanAmerican,3%NativeAmerican,and1%Asian.Inaddition,94%havelowsocio‐economicstatus,and31%ofthestudentsareEnglishLanguageLearners.ThemajorityspeakSpanishathomeandhavelittletonoexperiencereadingorspeakingEnglishbeforeenteringschool.

BackgroundTheAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009(ARRA)includeda$650millionallocationinESEATitleII,PartD,commonlyreferredtoastheEnhancingEducationThroughTechnologyprogram(EETT).ThiscasestudywaspreparedbytheStateEducationalTechnologyDirectorsAssociation(SETDA)—theprincipalassociationrepresentingthetechnologyleadershipofstateandterritorialdepartmentsofeducation—toprovideanexampleofARRAfundsworkingatthedistrictandclassroomlevelthatcreateseffective,viable,androbustreformineducation,andimprovesthewayteachersteachandstudentslearn.

Arizona’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsInArizona,theARRAEETTcompetitivegrantprovidedfundingtoassistlocaldistrictsincreatingandexpanding21stcentury,technology‐richclassrooms,andhelpedtoensurethateverystudentistechnologicallyliteratebytheendofeighthgrade.

ARRACaseStudies2012|CreightonElementarySchoolDistrict,Arizona

Page11


ProjectDescription

TheiAchieveprojectwasdesignedtocreate21stcenturylearningopportunitiesandtousetechnologytoclosetheperformancegapinthirdgradereading.Thirdgradestudentswereidentifiedasbeingathighrisktofailstateachievementexpectations.Atthetimeofimplementation,sixofthesevenprojectschoolswereinTitleISchoolImprovement,andthedistricthadnotachievedAdequateYearlyProgress(AYP)withthreeconsecutiveyearsofreadingforthethirdgradeintheEnglishLanguageLearner(ELL)subgroup.Atoneadditionalschool,theprojectalsosupportedEnglishreadinginstructionandsecondlanguagelearning(Spanish)fornativeEnglishspeakersthroughmathandscienceinstructioninkindergarten.Grantfundswereusedtowardthepurchaseof700iPodTouchesandprofessionaldevelopmenttraining.CreightonElementarySchoolDistricthasastrongtraditionofsupportingeducationaltechnologytools.EachCreightonteacheralreadyhadaccesstoalaptop,classroomprojector,anddocumentcamera.Adoptingtheuseofhandhelddeviceswasagoodmatchforthirdgradestudents.Thedeviceswereeasilyhandledandmanagedbythestudentsandmanysoftwareapplicationswerenotonlyengagingtothisgradelevelbutalsoavailableatnocost.


InJuneof2010,participatingteachersattendedaweek‐longtrainingsessiontosetuptheirlearninglabswiththeiPodsandtopracticeusingeducationalapps.ThetrainingalsoincludedIntelTeach’sprofessionaldevelopmentcomponentsandinstructiononproject‐basedlessonplanning.Duringtheschoolyear,teachershadaccesstotwofull‐timeTechnologyPeerCoachesformallytrainedinadult


GrantFocus HighAccess,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironments


March24,2010‐September30,2011

Locale Urban


GradeLevel(s) GradesKindergartenand3


27


10


700

TheiPodsareagreatwaytoincreasestudentengagement.Oneofthemostessentialthingsinteachingstudentsistohavethemengaged,excited,andwantingtolearn.

‐ThirdGradeTeacher


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mentoringandcoachingconcepts.Thecoachesvisitedclassesonaweeklybasis,providingprofessionaldevelopmentthroughouttheschoolyear.Thecoachesprovidedreal‐time,hands‐onsupportintheclassroomandinlessonplanning.Aprojectwebsitewasdevelopedtoshareprojectsuccessesandchallenges,includingstaffblogs.StudentsbeganusingtheiPodsatthebeginningofthe2010‐2011schoolyear.InitialemphasiswasonimprovingstudentreadingfluencythroughiPodrecordings.Studentsrecordedthemselvesreadingstories,passages,andhigh‐frequencywords.Theyworkedindependentlyorwithapartner;onestudentwouldreadthepassagewhiletheotherlistened,timedthereading,andrecordederrors.Recordingsbecameadigitalrunningrecordforstudents,withrubricsbeingusedtoevaluateandsetgoalsforthenextrecording.TheiPodswerealsousedtocreateflashcardsanddigitalstories.AvarietyofeducationalappsandinternetresourcesaccessedviatheiPodalsosupportedthecurriculum.Inaddition,twokindergartenclassesatSquawPeakTraditionalAcademypilotedaSpanishimmersionprogramthatallowedfluentEnglishspeakerstolearnSpanish.TheiPodswereusedtoaidintheirlearningofSpanishwhilealsosupportingtheirdevelopingliteracyskillsinEnglish.Duringthisgrantimplementation,teachersutilizedcommonplanning,whichwasalreadyinplace,tomakesounddecisionsonapplicationuseandintegration.Forexample,teachersfoundthat“drillandkill”appsdidnothavetheimpactorusefulnesstostudentsasappswherestudentscreatedandsharedproducts,suchas“StoryKit”and“SonicPics.”Inthesummerof2011,three‐daytrainingwasprovidedforreturningandnewteachersandpresentedteacherswithanopportunitytoshareresources,lessons,andideas.

ClassroomExamples

• Duringareadinginstruction,thirdgraderslearnedabouttheorganizationalfeaturesofexpositorytexts,suchasatableofcontents.Usuallystudentsexploredbooksandcompletedworksheetstolearntheconcept.UsingtheStoryKitappontheiPodTouch,studentscreatedtheirownexpositorybooksthatincludedthesefeatures.Theydrewpictures,wrotetext,andincludedatableofcontents,index,andglossaryfortheirbooks.Thisappallowedstudentstorecordthemselvesreadingtheirbooksandtosharetheirproductswithclassmates.

• Inanotherexample,whilelearningaboutpersuasivetext,thirdgraders,insmallgroups,createdanewbrandofcerealandwrotecommercialspersuadingotherstobuyit.Next,studentspresentedthecerealcommercialstotheirclassmates.Studentsinotherparticipatingclassroomswatchedthe

IlikemyiPodbecauseitislikeplayinggamesallthetime,evenwhenyousaywearelearning!

–Eric,ThirdGradeStudent


Page13


commercialsviaSkype,andparentswerealsoabletoobserveandparticipateinthepresentationsbecauseoftheonlineaccess.


iAchievethirdgradersimprovedinreadingproficiencyandtechnologicalliteracy,basedonthespring2011assessments.Oncommonformativeassessments,whereiPodswereintegratedintoinitialinstructionoftheperformanceobjective,resultsiniPodprojectclassroomsweresignificantlybetterthanthoseinnon‐iPodclassrooms.Inaddition,conceptsconsideredrotetoteachandlearn,liketheorganizationalfeaturesofabook,camealivewhenstudentscreatedtheirowndigitalbooks.Thebooksincludedatableofcontentsandindex,alongwithrecordedaudioexplainingthepurposeofthebookfeatures.Whenfocusedinthismanner,studentsshowedmuchgreatercontentunderstandingandretentionofknowledge,asobservedbyteachers.

MovingForward

Movingforward,theCreightonElementarySchoolDistrictwillmaintainoneTechnologyPeerCoach.Thiscoach,alongwiththedistrictTechnologyTrainer,willcontinuetosupportiPodclassroomsandwillalsohelpimplementasmallpilotof60iPadsattwoadditionalschoolsthatwerenotpartoftheoriginalproject.ThedistrictusedcapitalfundstopurchasetheiPads,demonstratingtheimportancetheCreightonSchoolDistrictplacesonprovidingeffectivetechnologytools.Inaddition,administratorsandteacherswillcontinuetobecognizantofhowsoftwareapplicationsareselectedandimplementedintocurriculum,consideringage,content,andinstructionalappropriateness.

Resources

iAchieveProjecthttp://tinyurl.com/74fztu5

SchoolData

• iAchievethirdgradersimprovedby8%from2010to2011ontheArizonaInstructiontoMeasureStandards(AIMS)readingassessment,whilestudentsinnon‐iPodclassroomsimprovedbyjust0.5%.

• iAchievethirdgradersachieveda7%pre‐postgrowthinstudenttechnologicalliteracy.


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iAchieveClassroomVideos

• StudentsTrainingStudents:http://vimeo.com/2910318• SonicPicsTutorialVideo:

http://youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2ks__PbBz0A• iAchieveParentVideo:http://vimeo.com/28074929• HighFrequencySightWordVideos:

http://creightonschools.org/?page_id=2599CreightonElementarySchoolDistricthttp://creightonschools.org/ArizonaDepartmentofEducationhttp://azed.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

NorthwestArkansasEducation

ServiceCooperative


ExploreLearning:MathandScienceGizmos

StatewideInitiative

July2009‐September2011NorthwestArkansasEducationCooperativemanagedthestatewidegrant,whichprovidedprofessionaldevelopmentandonlinemathandsciencesimulationsforArkansas’ssixth,seventh,andeighthgradeteachersandstudents.Professionaldevelopmentincludedworkshops,one‐on‐onetraining,andcoaching.ThecooperativecontractedwithExploreLearningtoprovidealibraryofonlinesimulationsforthemathandsciencecurriculum.

Demographics

Approximately480,000studentsareenrolledinArkansas’s1,145publicschools.Ofthoseschools,67.6%areTitleIschoolsand59.6%ofstudentsareeligibleforfreeorreducedlunch.Arkansasisdividedinto16educationalcooperativeunitstohelpservethedistricts.Thecooperativessupporttheschooldistrictsbyprovidingprofessionaldevelopmentandtechnicalsupport.


Arkansas’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsInArkansas,thefocusofARRAEETTfundingwastocreate21stcenturylearningenvironments,develophigherlevelthinkingskillsandincreasestudentengagement.Throughtheuseofdigitalcontent,teachersdevelopedinteractivelessons,andstudentswereexposedtoavarietyoftechnologyrichlearningactivities,includinginteractiveresourcesandmodelsimulations.

ARRACaseStudies2012|NorthwestArkansasEducationServiceCooperative


ProjectDescription

Atthetimeofthegrant,46%ofArkansasstudentsenteringcollegehadtotakeremedialmathcourses.Inscience,59%ofstudentstakingthestateEndofCourse(EOC)biologyexamwerenotproficient.Thisdatasuggestedalackofunderstandingofkeymathandscienceconcepts.Thisproject’sintentwastoassistteachersincreating21stcenturylearningenvironmentsbyprovidingaccesstodigitalcontentinmathandscience.Inaddition,theprogramassistedteachersinusingtechnologyasatoolfortranslatingabstractideasintoconcreterepresentations,resultingindeeperunderstandingforstudents.Grantfundswereusedtopurchaseaone‐yearsubscriptiontoExploreLearning’sGizmos,theworld'slargestandmostadvancedlibraryofonlinemathandsciencesimulations.AllofArkansas’sixth,seventh,andeighthgrademathandscienceteachersandtheirstudentsweregivenaccesstothecontentsotheycouldexplore,experimentwith,andvisualizemathandsciencetopics.Thesimulationswereaccompaniedbycustomizableinquiry‐basedlessons,whichincludedreal‐timeassessment,reporting,andinstructionalbackgroundforteachers.Gizmoscouldbepresentedtostudentsusingaprojectorand/orinteractivewhiteboardaswellasonindividuallaptopsordesktopcomputers.Mostimportantly,fundingwasalsousedforprofessionaldevelopment,includingthepositionofaprojectmanager.Theprojectmanagerprovidedtrain‐the‐trainersessions,workshopsandcoachingacrossthestate.Withtrainingandaccesstothecontent,teachersbetterutilizedexistingtechnologies,suchasinteractivewhiteboardsandlaptopcomputers.Thegrantfundsdidnotincludethepurchaseofanydevicesandthereforeimplementationvariedbasedontheavailabletechnologies.


Inthefallof2010,allArkansasdistrictsreceivedtheCommissionerofEducation’smemoannouncingthenewprogram.Awarenesssessionsregardingtheprojectanditsbenefitstomiddlegradestudentsandteacherswereheldinthe16regionalservicecooperatives.Two‐dayinitialtrain‐the‐trainersessionsweregiveninvariousregionsofthestateso“Gizmotrainers”couldbegintrainingteachersintheirrespectiveareasonthesetupanduseofthedigitalcontent.Teachers,curriculumspecialists,andmediaspecialists


GrantFocus DigitalContentandHigh‐QualityAssessments


July2009‐September2011

Locale Statewide

Funding $500,000

GradeLevel(s) 6‐8


3,226


600


113,746



volunteeredtobeGizmotrainers.Over120trainingsessionsweresubsequentlyheldthroughoutthestate,ledbytheGizmosprojectmanager.ExploreLearningalsoprovidedanonlinetrainingcourse.Theinitialcourseincludeddemonstration,guidedinstruction,andhands‐onpracticewiththetools.Approximately1,627teachersreceivedformaltrainingthoughitwasnotarequirementforaccesstothecontent.Teacherssimplyneededtorequestlogininformationtoaccesstheprogram,whichwasavailableonline.Teachersthenregisteredtheirstudentswhowereprovidedfullaccesstothecontentforbothclassroomandhomeuse.Parentswerealsoprovidedaccessthroughtheirchild’sstudentlogin.Toassistteachersinusingthesimulationstocontentandlearningstandards,theExploreLearningwebsiteprovidedthecorrelationstotheArkansasFrameworksformathandscience,andtheGizmosprojectmanagercreatedaspreadsheetofcorrelationstothemostfrequentlytestedStudentLearningExpectations(SLEs)insixth,seventh,andeighthgrademath,andEOCalgebra. PresentationsweremadeatmultiplestateconferencesduringtheyeartocontinuepromotingtheintegrationofGizmosinthemathandscienceclassrooms.Anelectronicnewsletterproducedbytheprojectmanager,theArkansasGizmoGazette,wassentoutacrossthestatetohighlightupcomingtrainingsessions,communicatesupportavailable,andspotlightArkansasteachersanddistrictsthatwereusingGizmostoenhancelearning.

ClassroomExamples

• Inseventhgrade,studentslearnaboutplantgrowth.BeforeusingGizmos,studentswouldhavelearnedaboutplantsthroughthetextbook,teacherlectures,andgrowingplantsintheclassroom.UsingtheGrowingPlantsGizmo,studentssimulatedthegrowthofplantsandmanipulatedfourvariables:seedtype,soiladditives,amountofwater,andamountoflight.StudentsusedtheGizmotogrowthebiggestplantwhileinvestigatingtheeffectsofeachvariable.Atthebeginningofthelesson,studentscompletedPriorKnowledgeQuestionsanddiscussedasaclasskeyterms,suchascompost,fertilizer,mass,seed,soil,andvariable.StudentsthenworkedinsmallgroupstocompletetheGrowingPlantsGizmo.Asstudentsworked,theteacherandstudentsdiscussedtheeffectsofthevariables,controllinganexperiment,andtheresults.Studentsthengrewtheirownplantswithbetterknowledgeofhowtocontrolthevariables.

• InAlgebraI,studentsusedtheDistanceTimeGraphsGizmotolearnwhattheslopeandy‐interceptrepresent,andhowdistanceandtimearedisplayedonagraph.TheDistanceTimeGraphsGizmoshowsarunneronatrackalongwithagraphthatrepresentstherunner'spositionovertime.Bychangingthegraph,students

IhaveusedGizmosasafulllessononaspecificstandard,likespringandneaptides.Itwaswonderfultoseethestudentshavean“ah‐hah”momentwhenthemoonandsunlinedupduringfullandnewmoon.Thestudentswereabletomanipulatethetimeandthemoonphasestowatchthetideschangefromspringtoneap.Theyhadafullunderstandingofthegravityofthesunandmoonandtheireffectonthetides.

–KellyAllison,ScienceTeacher



manipulatedtherunner.Thestudentswerebetterabletovisualizeagraph’srepresentations,timeversusdistance.Studentsexploredhowthegraphdisplayedthespeedofarunnerandinterpretedagraphwhentworunnersweredisplayed.Finally,theysolvedproblemsusingthegraph.Inthepast,studentsmayhavejustworkedongraphpaper,plottingpointswithoutthebenefitofacorrespondingmodeltoprovidecontexttothegraphicalrepresentation.


Withthesupportprovided,teachersincreasinglyintegratedthedigitalcontentandsimulationsoverthecourseoftheproject.Teachersnotedtheeaseofusingthetoolsandparticularlytheabilitytodifferentiatethecontentwithstudents.Forexample,somestudentsneededtorunasimulationmultipletimesforbetterunderstandingwhileotherstudentswereabletomoveontothenextsimulation.Studentscouldalsoaccessthecontentathometoreinforceconcepts.ManyteachersnotedthatGizmosprovidedcontentandconceptsthatwereoftendifficulttoputinwords,andthemodelsandsimulationsledtogreatmomentsofunderstandingforstudents.Overthecourseoftheproject,3,226teachersrequestedloginsfor113,746students.Whileitistooearlytomakethecorrelationbetweenstudentachievementandtheuseofthesedigitaltools,teachersreportedincreasedstudentunderstandingandengagement.

MovingForward

TheGizmossubscriptionprovidedbythisprogramexpiredinJanuaryof2011;however,statefundswereusedtoextendthesubscriptionthroughtheendoftheschoolyear.Manydistrictsfoundlocalfundstorenewthesubscriptionforthe2011‐2012schoolyear.RegardlessofcurrentaccesstotheGizmos,teachersgainedexperiencewiththepowerofdigitalcontentandarenowabletointegrateavarietyofdigitalcontentresourcesintotheirdailylessons.

Resources

ExploreLearninginArkansashttp://explorelearning.blogs.com/Arkansas/ArkansasDepartmentofEducationhttp://arkansased.org/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

Thesimulationsallowedthestudentstoactuallybeapartoftheexperimentoractivityastheymanipulatedvariablesandcontroldatainput.Thismakesitmuch,mucheasierforstudentstomaketheleapfromsimplymemorizingdefinitionstoactuallyunderstandingscienceandmathematicsaspartoftheirdailylives.

–Dr.CurtisVarnell,ScienceSpecialist

ACES/WintergreenInterdistrict

MagnetSchool


Green‐GreenWintergreen

WintergreenInterdistrictMagnetSchool,Connecticut

March2010‐August2011Thepurposeofthisgrantwastoengagestudentsin21stcenturytechnology‐richlearningfocusedonthestudyoftheenvironment.Teachersintegratedenvironmentalstudiesinallareasofthecurriculumwhiletransformingtheschoolintoatechnologicallyandecologicallyfluentcommunity.

Demographics

WintergreenInterdistrictMagnetSchoolislocatedinHamden,ConnecticutandmanagedbyAreaCooperativeEducationalServices.Theschoolprovidesaliberalartseducation,whichissupportedbytechnologyincludinga1‐to‐1laptopprogram.Wintergreenhasanextendedschoolyear,insessionfrommid‐AugusttolateJune.Theschoolpopulationisapproximately640studentsfromthe5townsthatareeligibletoapplytoWintergreen.Thefivetownsbringtogetheradiversestudentbody,whichincludeschildrenfromtheinnercityofNewHaven,tosuburbanareasofHamdenandWoodbridge.StudentsareselectedbylotterytoattendWintergreen.


Connecticut’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsConnecticut’scompetitivegrantprogramprovidedfundingtoschooldistrictsforimprovingstudentachievementthroughthecreationandimplementationof21stcentury,technology‐richlearningenvironments.Professionaldevelopmentopportunitiesprovidedtrainingforteacherstotransforminstructionthatincludedtechnologicaltools,andprovidedstudentswithopportunitiestocollaborateandconnectwithrelevantcontentthroughproject‐basedlearning.

ARRACaseStudies2012|ACES/WintergreenInterdistrictMagnetSchool,Connecticut


ProjectDescription

ThepurposeoftheGreen‐GreenWintergreenprojectwastointegrateinteractivetools,whileengagingstudentsinthepracticeofenvironmentalawareness.WintergreenInterdistrictMagnetSchoolestablisheda1‐to‐1laptopprogramin2006.Withtechnologyintegrationunderway,administratorsandteacherssoughttobuildastrongerschoolcommunityandincrease21stcenturyskills.Byexploringtheenvironmentandwhatitmeanstobe“green,”teachersintroducedstudentstoamorein‐depthstudyofenvironmentalscience.Studentslearnedaboutscientifictheoryandthechangestomakingapositive,sustainablechangeintheenvironment.Throughthesestudies,thegrantfocuswastoimprovescienceandtechnologyskills.Allteachersandstudentswereincludedintheeffortsofthisprogram.Teachersparticipatedinprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesthatprovidedresourcesandinstructiononconnectingthecurriculumtoreal‐lifescienceandusingtechnologytohelpsolveeverydayproblems.Thegrantfundingalsoprovidedinteractivewhiteboards,scienceprobes,birdhouses,videocamerastofilmthebirdsandplants,andonehydroponicgardenperclassroom.Inaddition,theschoolpurchasedMoodletoprovideacontentmanagementsystemandacommunicationtoolforteachersandstudents.


Green‐GreenWintergreenstartedwithateamofteacherswhovolunteeredtodevelopandguidethecurriculumactivitiesforrenewableandsustainableenergywhileincorporatingtheschoolthemeofbeing“green.”Duringtheschoolyear,allteacherswererequiredtodesignoneresearchprojectwithagreentheme,usingtheBig6,aresearchapproachtoteachinginformationandtechnologyskills.Allteachersweretrainedonusingthenewlyinstalledinteractivewhiteboardsandthevideocameras.Inaddition,professionaldevelopment


GrantFocus High‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironmentandOngoingProfessionalDevelopment


March1,2010‐August31,2011

Locale Urban


GradeLevel(s) K‐8


37


3


640

Thisgrantempoweredourstudentsandteacherstothinkgloballyandtoactlocally.Neverbeforehassciencebeensuchahands‐on,interactivesubjectatourschool.

‐WintergreenTeacher



highlightedtheuseofMoodleintheclassroom,technologyskillsforstudents,aswellastrainingoncontentsuchashowtoconductascientificstudy.TeamsofteachersmettodiscussprojectideaswiththehelpofDr.LaraSmetanaofSouthernConnecticutStateUniversity.Dr.Smetanaprovidedsupportforteachersforproject‐basedsciencelessons,whichincludedmonthlyvisitstotheschoolandongoing,onlinesupportforteachers.Asafaculty,teachersmetweeklytodiscussstrategiesforintegratingthetechnologyintoproject‐basedsciencelessons.Duringthesemeetings,expertsinthefieldwereinvitedtohelpteacherscrafttheirprojects,includingfacultyfromYaleUniversityandmembersoftheConnecticutForestrydepartment.Teachersalsoparticipatedine‐learningworkshopsusingMoodletohelpdevelopstudent‐centeredlessons.InJanuaryof2011,afulldayofprofessionaldevelopmentwasprovidedforteachers,spanningthetopicsofhydroponicgardening,energysources,communityinvolvement,interactivewhiteboardtraining,andMoodleintegration.Theongoingtrainingandsupporthelpedteacherstoprovideproject‐basedlessonsforstudentswithauthentic,relevantlearningexperiences.Teachersandstudentsmaintainedindoorhydroponicgardensineachclassroomandharvestedgreensandherbstosellthroughtheschoolstoreandatparentmeetings.Thegardensbecameasourceofprideandaccomplishmentforthestaffandstudents.Allclassesingrades2to8usedtheBig6modelforresearchandexploredvarioustopics,suchascomposting,recycling,andenergysourcesbestsuitedfortheregionandglobe.Throughthevariousprojects,withtechnologyseamlesslyintegrated,teachersandstudentsincreasedtheirunderstandingofhabitats,alternativeandrenewableenergy,windturbines,solarpower,andhydropower.Inaddition,teachersandstudentsincreasedtheirtechnologyskills.

ClassroomExamples

• Insecondgrade,studentslearnedaboutthelifecyclesoffloweringplantsincludingseedgermination,growth,flowering,pollination,andseeddispersal.DuringtheBig6researchproject,studentsusedtextsandonlineresourcestostudyseedsandtheirgrowth.StudentspostedblogentriesonMoodledescribingtheirparticularflowerandwereabletoreadandrespondtoeachother’sentries.Theculminatingprojectwasthecreationofamultimediaprojectthatcombinedimagesandstudentnarrationandexplainedthelifecycleoftheirplant.StudentsuploadedtheirprojectstoMoodleforallstudentsandparentstoview.Priortothisgrant,teacherstypicallyassignedbooksandstudentstooknotesonaplant’slifecycleviatheirlaptops,however,theculminatingprojectwastypicallyaself‐drawnpictureoftheplant.

• Anafter‐schoolprogramwasdevelopedforstudentscalled“BirdBrains.”Twenty‐fivestudentswereacceptedtobeapartofthisgroup.Thepurposeoftheprogramwastoconnectandenrichthecurriculuminscience,andtounderstandanimalbehavior,specificallyofbirds.Studentserectednumerous

Ifeellikearealscientist.Ilovetoseewhatthebirdsaredoingandknowthattheyarelivingrighthereinourownschoolyard.It’ssoexcitingtoseethemeveryday.

‐WintergreenStudent



birdhousesthroughouttheschoolproperty.Teachersinstalledvideocamerastocapturefootageofthebirds(birdcams).Studentsbloggedabouttheirbirdobservations.TheBirdBrainsprogramalsoconnectedwiththefirstgradescienceclassastheystudiedlivingthings,animalbehaviors,andthefulfillmentofbasicneeds.TheBirdBrainstudentsmadevideosfromtheirbirdcamexplorationsforfirstgradeaswellaspostingthevideosonMoodleforthelargerschoolaudience.Allstudentswereabletoseefirsthandwhatbirdsneededtobuildandproducefortheirnests.Beforethisgrant,studentsstudiedanimalbehaviorthroughtheuseofpicturesandtextbookmaterial.Thecontentwasnotconnectedtotheregion,andstudentscouldnotobservebirdsinrealtime.Thebirdcamsallowedstudentstowatchtheanimalsthatsurroundedtheirschooleachday.TheBirdBrainstudentsoftengaveuptheirrecesstimetocheckthebirdhouses.


Teachersandstudentsfoundtheintegrationofscienceandtechnologytobemotivating.Theintegrationoftheonlinecontentmanagementssystemenabledfullinteractionforstudentsandteachersandalsoprovidedaccesstoparents.Oneofthemajorimpactsofthisgrantwasintheareaofteacherproductivity.

MovingForward

Thegoals,objectives,andtoolsforthisgrantareinplaceandcanbeeasilysustainedinthecomingyears.Theinteractivewhiteboards,cameras,andprobeswillcontinuetoengagestudentsinallareasoflearning.Theschoolcommunityacquiredseedstomaintainthehydroponicgardensthroughthesaleofherbsgrownintheclassroomgardens.Additionally,theassessmenttool,whichwasacquiredwithgrantfunds,willcontinuetobeusedtomeasure21stcenturyskills.TheuseofMoodlealsogrowsasteacherscontinuetosharelessonsandstudentstoposttheirwork,evenparent‐teacherconferenceswerescheduledusingaMoodlewiki.

SchoolData

• 100%ofteacherscreatedatleastonecontent‐richonlinelesson.• 100%ofteachers,whoreceivedaninteractivewhiteboard,usedthemonadailybasis.

• Approximately80%ofteachersmadegainsintheuseof21stcenturytechnologiesasmeasuredbyEdvation,anonlineassessmenttool.



Resources

AreaCooperativeEducationalServiceshttp://aces.org/Big6:InformationandTechnologySkillsforStudentAchievementhttp://big6.com/ConnecticutStateBoardofEducationhttp://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/site/default.aspSETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

RedClayConsolidated

SchoolDistrict


Delaware21stCenturyWirelessConsortium

RedClayConsolidatedSchoolDistrict,Delaware

April2010‐September2011TheDelaware21stCenturyWirelessConsortiumusedARRAEETTfundstocreateastate

oftheartwirelessinfrastructureinninedistrictsacrossthestatewiththegoaltoincrease

theintegrationoftechnologyseamlessly.Districtsalsousedfundstocreateprofessional

developmentopportunitiesspecifictotheneedsoftheindividualdistricts.RedClay

ConsolidatedSchoolDistrictmanagedtheprojectandledthecollaborativeprocess.

Demographics

Delawareishometoapproximately103,000studentsin19districtsandwasamongthe

firststatestodevelopastatewideonlineassessmentprogram.Startedduringthe2010‐

2011schoolyear,thenewonlineassessmentprogramisadministeredmultipletimes

duringtheschoolyeartoprovideteachersandparentsimmediatefeedbackonstudent

performance.Studentsfollowatestingschedulebygradelevelandsubjectareastartingin

thespringofsecondgrade.

BackgroundTheAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009(ARRA)includeda$650

millionallocationinESEATitleII,PartD,commonlyreferredtoastheEnhancing

EducationThroughTechnologyprogram(EETT).Thiscasestudywaspreparedby

theStateEducationalTechnologyDirectorsAssociation(SETDA)–theprincipal

associationrepresentingthetechnologyleadershipofstateandterritorial

departmentsofeducation–toprovideanexampleofARRAfundsworkingatthe

districtandclassroomlevelthatcreateseffective,viable,androbustreformin

education,andimprovesthewayteachersteachandstudentslearn.

Delaware’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsInDelaware,EETTfundshelpedtosupportthestategoalsinthreeareas:1)

continuedsupportoftheeMINTS(enhancingMissouri'sInstructionalNetworked

TeachingStrategies)modeltoimproveinstructionalstrategiesandstudent

academicachievementincludingtechnologyliteracy;2)innovativeuseoftechnology

toenhanceteachingandlearning;and3)upgradedorenhancedexistingtechnology

infrastructuretoimproveinstructionalstrategiesandstudentachievement.

ARRACaseStudies2012|RedClayConsolidatedSchoolDistrict,Delaware


ProjectDescription

TheDelaware21stCentury

WirelessConsortiumgrew

fromastatewideorganization

calledTechnologyManagers

andCoordinatorsCouncil

(TechMacc).Amemberfrom

eachdistrictisrepresentedon

thiscouncil,whichmeets

monthlytodiscusstechnical

supportissuesacrossthestate.

Membersrecognizedthat

ubiquitouswirelessaccesswas

neededtoensuresuccessofthe

statewideassessmentinitiative.

TheDelawareDepartmentof

Educationprovidedlaptopsto

assistwithtestadministration

oftheonlineassessment

program,butnotallschools

hadthewirelessinfrastructure

tousetheselaptops.The

consortiumrealizedthat

Delawarewouldbenefitfromaconsistentapproachtowirelessinfrastructure,andthe

grantwasacatalystforensuringwirelesscapability.Workinginaconsortiumprovidedan

economicadvantageintheabilitytobuyequipmentandserviceinbulk.Aswell,in

standardizinginstallationandutilization,districtscouldbettersupporteachother.The

consortiumconcentratedonhigh‐needschoolstoaddressthedigitaldivide.Theyalso

recognizedthateachindividualdistricthaduniqueprofessionaldevelopmentneedsand

thereforecreatedseparateprofessionaldevelopmentplansbutlinkedtheplansbysharing

resourcesviatheconsortium’swebsiteandsharingsessions.Aspartoftheprogram,83

schoolsparticipated(42TitleIschools)with1,633teachersparticipatinginprofessional

development.Anadditional1,984teacherswereindirectlyimpacted,benefittingfromthe

wirelessinfrastructure.Eachdistrictintheconsortiumtookadvantageoftheavailabilityof

wirelessinternetaccesstomeettheneedsofteachersandstudentsintheirownschools.

Theprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesincludedtrainingsonmultipletechnology

toolsincludinginteractivewhiteboards,podcastcreation,software,integrationoffree

onlineinternettools(i.e.GoogleApps),andclassroomwebpagedevelopment.Despitethe

varietyofactivities,allconsortiummembershadthesamegoaltoincreasethelevelof

technologyintegration.Duetothecollaborativenatureoftheconsortium,membersshared

professionaldevelopmentplans,replicatedsuccessfulstrategies,andsharedlessonplans

andrubrics.


GrantFocus Digitaland/orOpenContent

andHigh‐Access,Technology‐

RichLearningEnvironment

Beginning/EndDate

ofGrant

April2010‐September2011

Locale Rural

Funding $1,448,284EETTARRAFunds

$300,000LocalFunds

GradeLevel(s) K‐12

NumberofTeachers

Impacted(Directly

andIndirectly)

3,617

Numberof

Administrators

Impacted

34

NumberofStudents

Impacted(Directly

andIndirectly)

51,923




Beginninginthesummerof2010,thewirelessinfrastructureswasinstalledin

participatingschools;bandwidthprovidedbythe

installedaccesspointswas54MBforthelocal

LAN.Technicalstaffinthedistrictsreceived

trainingonhowtomanageandsupportthe

newinfrastructure.Inadditiontothetechnical

professionaldevelopment,individualdistricts

designedindividualprofessionaldevelopment

programs,whichwereimplementedinthe

2010‐2011schoolyearandcontinuedthrough

September2011.Theseplansvariedasthe

accesstotechnologytoolsandsoftwarevaried

fromdistricttodistrict.Forexample,intheRed

ClayConsolidatedSchoolDistrict,classroom

teachersweretrainedtocreateandmaintain

usefulandinformativeclassroomwebsitesthat

supportedinstructionandhelpedfoster

communicationbetweenteachers,students,and

parents.Edline,acontentmanagementsystem,

providedteachersanopportunitytopostcalendars,grades,assignments,andresourcesas

awayofextendingtheschoolday.IntheDelmarSchoolDistrict,16middleandhighschool

specialneedsteachersparticipatedinpodcastingtrainingandprofessionaldevelopment

underaLoTimodel,whichwasdesignedtoincreasestudentacademicprogresswhile

fosteringdigitalageprofessionallearningcommunities.Teachersattendedaworkshopon

podcastingandusingiPodsintheclassroomanddevelopedlessonsplansintegrating

podcastingintothecontentareas.

ClassroomExamples

• Seventhgradestudentsstudywatershedsinboththescienceandsocialstudies

class.Theylearnaboutthewatercycleandusetopographicmaps.Usingthe

technologyprovidedbythisgrant,studentscreatedpodcastsaboutstormwater

drainagepondsandtheChesapeakeBay.Thisprojectofferedstudentsan

opportunitytopracticetheirinformationalreadingandwritingskillswhile

reinforcingimportantscienceconcepts.Wirelessbroadbandaccessallowedthemto

usetheinternettoresearchtheChesapeakeBaywatershedandfactorsaffectingits

waterquality.Theteacherledadiscussionaboutstormwaterponds.Theclassthen

tookawalktoapondonschoolgrounds,notingitslocation,layout,andsurrounding

landuse.Studentsansweredtheresearchquestionsofhowtheschool’sstormwater

drainagepondaffectswaterqualityintheChesapeakeBayandrecordedtheir

responses.Studentsthensharedtheirrecordingswiththeteacherandtheclass.

Usingthewirelessinfrastructurein

combinationwithaninteractive

whiteboard,allowsstudentsand

teacherstodisplayamap,simulation,

orotherinteractivewebsite.Students

candesignexperimentsanduse

simulationstotesthypothesesina

center,smallgrouporasawholeclass.

Companionworkcanbedone

individuallyorinpairsonlaptopsor

mobiledevices.Studentsandteachers

areabletotakeadvantageofa

multitudeofhigherlevelthinking

resources.

‐JudithConway,Instructional

TechnologyCoach




Thedataanddemographicinformationbelowstronglysupportsthepurposeofthisgrant

toprovideassistancetoschoolsthatservestudentsfrompovertyandthosewithspecial

needs.

Eachindividualdistrictalsoassessedtheimpactoftheprofessionaldevelopmentprogram.

Forexample,intheRedClayConsolidatedSchoolDistrict,teachersstronglybelieveda

classroomwebsitewouldfostercommunication(4.28averageoutof5onteachersurvey),

andteachersstronglybelievedclassroomwebsitessupportinstruction(4.13averageoutof

5onteachersurvey).Theaverageincreaseinpageviewsonschoolwebsites(where

classroomwebsitesarelinked)was270%overthecourseoftheproject.InSmyrnaSchool

District,43%ofteachers’LoTIscoresincreased,andasurgeincreativityandenthusiasm

wasnotedinthewayparticipantsusedtheinstructionaltechnologystrategiesasexplored

intheirprofessionaldevelopment.

Thebiggestchallengeinadministeringthisgrantwascommunicatingamonga

geographicallydispersedconsortium.Aconsortiumwebsite,conferencecalls,andemail

communicationhelpedtodistributeinformationandsuccessfullyorganizeefforts.

MovingForward

Thesuccessofthewirelessinfrastructurespurredanumberofdistrictstofindfundingto

expandtheproject.InRedClay,forexample,thedistrictallocatedanadditional$300,000

tocontinuetherolloutofwirelessinfrastructure.Inaddition,RedClayfoundsuch

overwhelminginterestinthedistrict’swebpagetool,thetrainingwillbecontinuedfor

teacherswhowerenotabletotakepartinthefirsttrainingthroughatrain‐the‐trainer

model.Inaddition,thetoolhasbeenutilizedforthedistrict’snewdistancelearninglabsto

serveasanelectronicspaceforsharing,distributing,andcollectingwork.Otherdistricts

alsoadoptedthetrain‐the‐trainermodeltoestablishexpertsineachschoolonusingthe

interactivewhiteboards.

ProgramData

• Ofthe83schoolsaffectedbythisgrant:

50%oftheschoolsthatreceivedPDand/orwireless

equipmentwereTitleIschools

78%oftheschoolswhereawirelessnetworkwasinstalled

wereTitleIschools

• Ofthe83schoolsinvolved,thegrantaffected:

75%oftheinstructionalstaff

79%ofthestudents

81%ofthelow‐incomestudents

78%ofthespecialeducationstudents



Resources

RedClayConsolidatedSchoolDistrict

www.redclay.k12.de.us

Delaware21stCenturyWirelessConsortium

http://www.redclay.k12.de.us/jc/index.html

DelawareDepartmentofEducation

http://www.doe.k12.de.us/

SETDAARRAInformationandResources

http://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

ThomasvilleCitySchools


E‐TextbookProgram

ThomasvilleCitySchools,Georgia

June2010‐June2013ThegoalofThomasvilleHighSchoolandthee‐Textbooksprogramwastomovefromtraditionaltextbookstodigitalcontenttohelpincreasestudentachievementbyengagingstudentsanddifferentiatinginstruction.Thisgrantalsoaddressedtheproblemsoflowlevelsofstudenttechnologyliteracyandlackofadequatetechnologyresources.

Demographics

WhilelocatedinaruralareaofsouthwestGeorgia,ThomasvilleCitySchoolsisoneofthelastcityschoolsystemsinGeorgia.TheschoolsystemhasacharterfromthecitybutfunctionsasothersystemsinGeorgiawithanelectedschoolboardandappointedsuperintendent.ThereisonehighschoolinThomasvillewith475students,andtheScholarsAcademyeducatesstudentsingrades6to12,ofwhich319wereimpactedbythisgrant.Fifty‐fivepercentofstudentsqualifyforfreelunchand8%qualifyforreducedlunch.ThegraduationrateforThomasvilleHighSchoolhasfluctuatedinrecentyears;graduationratewas60.7%in2007‐2008,74.9%in2008‐2009,and72.7%in2009‐2010.

BackgroundTheTheAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009(ARRA)includeda$650millionallocationinESEATitleII,PartD,commonlyreferredtoastheEnhancingEducationThroughTechnologyprogram(EETT).ThiscasestudywaspreparedbytheStateEducationalTechnologyDirectorsAssociation(SETDA)–theprincipalassociationrepresentingthetechnologyleadershipofstateandterritorialdepartmentsofeducation–toprovideanexampleofARRAfundsworkingatthedistrictandclassroomlevelthatcreateseffective,viable,androbustreformineducation,andimprovesthewayteachersteachandstudentslearn.

Georgia’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsGeorgia’sARRAEETTcompetitivegrantssoughttocreatemodeleTextbookenvironmentstobeleveragedacrossallschooldistrictsinGeorgia.Thefocuswasonteacherprofessionaldevelopmentintheuseofdigitalcontenttodifferentiateinstruction,improvestudentengagement,andincreasestudenttechnologyliteracybyprovidingstudentswiththeopportunitytousedigitaltoolsandresources.ProgramsalsoconcentratedonparentengagementbyprovidingtrainingsessionsthatdemonstratedthepurposeofeTextbooksathomeandschool.

ARRACaseStudies2012|ThomasvilleCitySchools,Georgia


ProjectDescription

ThomasvilleHighSchoolstudentsperformedatabasicleveloftechnologyliteracyandlackedaccesstotechnologytools.Whiletherewere39desktopcomputersand43laptopspriortothegrant,thesewerescatteredamongclassroomswithamajorityoftheclassroomsonlyhavingoneortwocomputerstoshareamongstthestudentsandteacher.Eightoftheclassroomshadinteractivewhiteboards.Onthe21stCenturySkillsAssessmentPretest,theaveragescoreatThomasvilleHighSchoolwas275basicproficiency,inascaledscorerangeof155‐450.Withthisgrant,a1‐to‐1programwasimplementedforall9thto12thgradestudentsinThomasvilleHighSchoolandtheScholarsAcademy,aswellas8thgradestudentsparticipatingintheScholarsAcademyprogram.Teacherswerealsosuppliedwithanetbook.Inthehighschool,593notebookswereintegrated,alongwith56projectors,44whiteboards,and149individualstudentresponsedevices.SubscriptionstoDiscoveryEducation,Scholastic,andGizmosprovidedaccesstointeractivedigitalcontentinallcontentareasande‐textbooksformostcoresubjects.WirelessinfrastructureintheThomasvilleHighSchoolandScholarsAcademy,locatedacrossthestreetfromthehighschool,wasimprovedwithgrantfundsbyprovidingallnewaccesspointsaswellasamanagementsystem.Inaddition,apartnershipwasestablishedwiththeCityofThomasvilletosetupfreewirelessaccesspointsthroughoutthecityinthebusinesscorridorandattheBoysandGirlsClubsincethecitywasnotabletoprovidefreeorreducedcostinternetaccessforstudentsattheirhomes.Professionaldevelopmentwaskeytothesuccessoftheprogram.Theon‐sitetechnologycoordinatorandmediaspecialistprovidedprofessionaldevelopmentthroughouttheschoolyear.After‐schoolsessionsandjust‐in‐timetrainingprovidedopportunitiesforteacherstoexploretoolsanddevicesforintegration.Moreintensivetrainingwasofferedduringthesummers.


GrantFocus High‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironmentandDigitaland/orOpenContent


June10,2010‐June30,2013

Locale Rural

Funding $1,335,184



90


5


800




Duringthesummerof2010,interactivewhiteboards,mountedprojectors,documentcameras,andsoundsystemswereinstalledinallclassrooms.Thenetbookswerepreparedwiththenecessarysoftwareforteachersandstudents.InAugust2010,netbooksweredistributedtoteachersfirst,andwerethenissuedtoall9thto12thgradestudentsand8thgradeScholarsAcademystudents.Studentsandparentsparticipatedinanorientation,whichincludedinformationoncareandmaintenanceofthenotebook,cybersecurity,andacceptableusepolicies.Fourteenorientationsessionswereofferedandavideowasproducedforparentswhowerenotabletoparticipateinasessionortransferredintotheschoollaterintheschoolyear.Duringtheschoolyear,teachersparticipatedinafter‐schooltrainingsessionsandjust‐in‐timetraining.Onstaff,themediaspecialist,technologycoordinator,andtechnicianprovidedongoingsupporttoteachersandstudents.Duringthefirstyearofimplementation,teachersworkedtogetherandwiththetechnologysupportteamtolearnhowtointegratethetechnologyande‐Textbooks.Attheendoftheschoolyear,athree‐dayintensivecontentandunitplanningworkshopwasheld.RepresentativesfromDiscoveryEducation,Scholastic,andtheGeorgiaEducationalTechnologyCenterhelpedteachersworkwiththedigitalcontentandplanunits.Inthe2011‐2012schoolyear,twoadditionalpart‐timespecialists,formerlyoftheGeorgiaEducationalTechnologyCenter,joinedthestafftoassistandsupportteachersthroughcoaching,modelinglessons,andco‐teaching.

ClassroomExamples

• Thedigitalcontenthashadahugeimpactonmathematicsclasses.Priortothegrant,studentsworkedoutofthetextbook.Gizmosandinteractivesimulationsofferopportunitiesforstudentstodigitallysimulateandalterdataandfunctions.TheQuadraticsinFactoredFormGizmoshowsverticalandhorizontalshiftsaswellasshrinksandstretchesbasedonhowthenumbersarechangedinaninstant.Studentschangethedatatoseetheeffectsgraphically,andmakepredictionsandtesttheirprojections.Toseethechangesviatechnologyisdramaticallyfasterthangraphingseveralquadraticsonpaperandviewingtheresults.

• IntheUShistoryclasses,thenotebookswereusedforavarietyoftasks.Forexample,inreviewingtheReconstructioneraandpreparingforthetest,eachstudentwasassignedatopicandcompletedaslidepresentation.SlideswereuploadedandcombinedviaGoogleDocs.Studentswereabletousethecombinedpresentationtoreviewforthetest.DigitalcontentavailableontheiCivicswebsite(http://icivics.org/)createdbytheUnitedStatesSupremeCourt,wasalsoused

Studentsareengagedandeagertoparticipateinclassroomactivitieswhenusingtechnology.Studentsappeartoretaininformationbetterwhenitispresentedindifferentways,suchasontheinteractivewhiteboard,ontheirnotebooks,orontheinternet.‐ThomasvilleHighSchoolTeacher



throughoutthecoursewhichhelpedtoenhancethelessonsandproviderealworldexamples.


StudenttechnologyliteracyaswellasteachertechnologyproficiencyisbeingmeasuredbyThomasvilleCitySchoolsthroughLearning.com’s21stCenturySkillsAssessmentandWayFindTeacherAssessment.StudentachievementismeasuredthroughtheGeorgiaEnd‐of‐CourseTestsandGeorgiaHighSchoolGraduationTests.Nogainshavebeenrealizedyetinthesecondcurrentyearofimplementation.Throughinformaldiscussionswithteachers,ithasbeenreportedthatstudentsaremoreengagedinclass.Inwalkingthroughclassrooms,engagementisapparentasstudentsinteractwiththecontentavailableviaclassroomwhiteboards,usenetbooksforcollaborativegroupwork,andaccessdigitalresources.

MovingForward

ThecitizensofThomasCountypassedanEducationalSpecialPurposeLocalOptionSalesTax(ESPLOST)inNovember2011totakeeffectinJanuary2013.TheESPLOSTwillprovidefundstoaidinkeepingtheinfrastructureandtechnologyequipment,includingnetbookupgradesandreplacementsasneeded.Also,theschoolsystemwillcontinuetofundinstructionaltechnologyandinfrastructuresupportbysystememployeesthroughstateandlocalfunds.

Resources

ThomasvilleCitySchoolshttp://tcitys.orgGeorgiaDepartmentofEducationhttp://doe.k12.ga.us/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

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!Page%33!

Des$Moines$Public$Schools$%

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State%Educational%Technology%Directors%Association%|%www.setda.org%

$$

Iowa$Ed$Tech$ARRA$Des$Moines$Public$Schools,$Iowa$

June$2010=September$2011$In!Iowa,!rural!students!did!not!have!access!to!the!same!depth!of!curriculum!as!urban!students,!and!urban!students!needed!support!for!credit!recovery.!This!grant!focused!on!acquiring!and!developing!online!courses!and!content,!as!well!as!training!teachers!to!develop!and!facilitate!courses!so!that!all!Iowa!students!would!have!access!to!online!content!through!a!common,!statewide!content!management!system.!Therefore,!it!was!also!the!goal!of!the!grant!to!increase!student!achievement,!increase!access!to!technology,!and!better!prepare!students!for!the!21st!century.!Two!projects!were!funded!by!ARRA!EETT!funds,!including!the!Des!Moines!Public!Schools!(DMPS)!initiative,!which!focused!on!increasing!access!for!secondary!students!to!online!coursework!and!content.!!Demographics$

Located!in!the!center!of!Iowa,!DMPS!is!the!largest!district!with!30,000!kindergarten!through!12th!grade!students.!On!average,!58.5%!of!DMPS!high!school!students!are!eligible!for!free!or!reduced!lunch,!45.9%!are!minority,!7.2%!are!English!Language!Learners,!and!20.6%!receive!special!education!services.%%

Background$$The!American)Recovery)and)Reinvestment)Act)of)2009)(ARRA)!included!a!$650!million!allocation!in!ESEA!Title!II,!Part!D,!commonly!referred!to!as!the!Enhancing)Education)Through)Technology)program)(EETT).!This!case!study!was!prepared!by!the!State!Educational!Technology!Directors!Association!(SETDA)!–!the!principal!association!representing!the!technology!leadership!of!state!and!territorial!departments!of!education!–!to!provide!an!example!of!ARRA!funds!working!at!the!district!and!classroom!level!that!creates!effective,!viable,!and!robust!reform!in!education,!and!improves!the!way!teachers!teach!and!students!learn.!

!Iowa’s$EETT$Competitive$Grants!

Iowa’s!ARRA!EETT!competitive!grant!focused!on!online!learning!for!both!teachers!and!students!with!the!goal!to!positively!affect!student!achievement!in!Iowa.!The!project!included!the!purchase!of!online!content!for!all!Iowa!students,!creation!of!a!repository!for!online!content!and!professional!development!for!teachers!to!help!them!create!lessons,!units!and!online!courses.!

ARRA$Case$Studies$2012$|$Des$Moines$Public$Schools,$Iowa$

!Page%34!State%Educational%Technology%Directors%Association%|%www.setda.org%

Project$Description$

The!grant!targeted!secondary!students!to!address!achievement!gaps!and!to!provide!equity!to!resources.!The!program!sought!to!reach!a!large,!highXneed!student!population!with!limited!access!to!technology.!At!the!core!of!the!program!was!a!rigorous!professional!development!program!for!teachers,%including!a!course!sequence!built!around!best!practices!in!online!teaching!known!as!OLLIE!(Online!Learning!for!Iowa!Educators).!In!addition!to!OLLIE!courses,!Iowa!teachers!have!been!using!Communities!of!Practice!and!Innovation!with!contentXspecific!focus!groups!to!sustain!the!work!and!apply!it!into!content!areas.!In!this!program,!teachers!met!to!analyze,!evaluate,!develop,!and!implement!online!courses!in!four!content!areas!(mathematics,!science,!social!studies,!and!English/language!arts)!from!across!Iowa!with!93!districts!out!of!359!represented.!In!a!statewide!effort,!Iowa!provided!hundreds!of!hours!of!professional!development!for!teachers!on!how!to!use!online!tools,!develop!online!content,!and!integrate!media!into!existing!content!areas.!Des!Moines!teachers!benefitted!and!expanded!on!these!efforts!in!this!grant!program.!%!!Project$Implementation$

During!the!summer!of!2010,!Des!Moines!Public!Schools!purchased!300!netbooks!for!students!and!provided!100!teachers!with!2!of!the!5!OLLIE!courses!in!professional!development.!Teachers!returned!to!the!classroom!and!immediately!implemented!the!Moodle!Learning!Management!System!(LMS)!with!1,000!students.!Students!had!access!to!course!materials,!homework,!assignments,!and!projects!both!in!school!and!at!home. Learning!to!use!online!resources!like!Moodle!in!the!classroom!was!transformational!for!teachers. !

ARRA%EETT%Grant%Details%Grant!Focus! Professional!Development,!

Online!Learning!!

Beginning/End!Date!of!Grant!

June!2010XSeptember!2011!

Locale% Urban!!

Funding% $402,987!!

Grade!Level!(s)% 9X12!!

Number!of!Teachers!Impacted!%

100!

Number!of!Administrators!Impacted%

6!

Number!of!Students!Impacted%

1,000!!

Using!Moodle!and!the!various!links!to!many!tools,!a!teacher!can!focus!on!the!needs!of!students!as!learners!and!be!very!creative!with!their!assessments!of!learning.!

XDMPS!Teacher!



Classroom$Example$

• Des!Moines!teachers!use!a!blended!learning!model!to!implement!the!use!of!Moodle!in!their!classroom.!One!assignment!at!a!time!is!delivered!online!along!with!inquiry!and!discussion!activities!for!students.!Teachers!discovered!that!using!online!tools!provides!support!for!differentiated!instruction!in!the!classroom.!!

Evaluating$Effectiveness$

Enrollment!in!the!Iowa!Learning!Online!Virtual!School!is!700!students.!In!addition,!5,000!students!in!Des!Moines!and!9,000!students!statewide!were!learning!in!a!blended!learning!environment.!As!well,!the!grant!program!laid!a!foundation!for!the!training!and!tools!teachers!needed!to!effectively!use!technology!in!the!classroom.!For!the!first!time,!all!Iowa!Area!Education!Agencies!and!Urban!Education!Network!districts!worked!together!to!provide!economy!of!scale!solutions!on!a!statewide!basis!for!all!teachers!and!all!students!in!Iowa.!!!!!!!!!!!!Moving$Forward$

Despite!the!end!of!the!funding!in!Des!Moines!Public!Schools,!26!teachers!volunteered!to!act!as!building!leaders!to!continue!coaching!and!mentoring!teachers!in!how!to!use!the!online!content!and!Moodle.!At!the!beginning!of!the!2011X2012!school!year,!7,000!teachers!and!students!were!using!Moodle!in!Des!Moines.!!While!the!grant!funded!the!initial!startup!of!this!longXterm!project,!the!work!completed!during!the!grant!cycle!was!critical!to!the!longXterm!viability!of!education!in!Iowa.!With!declining!rural!enrollment!and!increasing!urban!enrollment,!online!learning!provides!equity!of!educational!content!for!students!and!allows!teachers!to!have!classes!composed!of!students!from!multiple!districts,!which!can!minimize!the!impact!of!changing!demographics.!Online!learning!also!offers!educational!opportunities!to!students!who!would,!in!other!educational!models,!have!restrictions!on!course!offerings.!With!the!establishment!of!this!program,!all!students!can!have!access!to!courses!offered!through!this!project!which!will,!in!turn,!allow!those!students!to!access!courses!required!by!institutions!of!higher!learning.!

District%Data%%

• In!2010X2011,!1,000!high!school!students!enrolled!in!an!online!course!in!Des!Moines.!!

• 80%!of!students!completed!an!online!course!with!a!GradeXtoXDate!of!60%!or!higher.!!

!



!Resources$

Des!Moines!Public!Schools!http://www.dmschools.org/!!Iowa!Department!of!Education!http://educateiowa.gov/!!SETDA!ARRA!Information!and!Resources!http://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources!!

RapidesParishSchoolDistrict


EETTHIGHTechGrant

RapidesParishSchoolDistrict,Louisiana

July2010‐June2011TheHIGHTechgrantprojectcreateda1‐to‐1,digitalcurriculumlearningenvironmentatNorthwoodHighSchool.Teachersreceivedprofessionaldevelopmentthroughthesupportofafull‐timetechnologyfacilitatorandthroughapartnershipwithnearbyBoltonHighSchool’sDigitalAcademy.

Demographics

RapidesParishSchoolDistrictislocatedinrural,centralLouisianainthetownofAlexandria.NorthwoodSchoolisaK‐12schoolof800students;NorthwoodHighSchoolisapartofthisschoolcommunityserving225studentsingrades9‐12.Seventy‐sevenpercentofNorthwoodstudentsqualifyforfreeorreducedlunch,andtheschoolqualifiesforTitleI.TheLouisianaSchoolAccountabilitySystemprovidesaSchoolPerformanceScore(SPS)consistingoftestandgraduationresults,studentattendancerate,anddropoutrate.NorthwoodHighSchool,atthebeginningofthegrantperiod,scored77.1.By2014,thestate'sgoalforeachschoolisanSPSof120.


Louisiana’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsInLouisiana,ARRAEETTgrantswereawardedtoaddressschool‐wideimprovementeffortsthroughtheeffective,expandeduseofinstructionaltechnologytools.Grantprogramsdevelopedinstructionaltechnologymodelsthataddressedthegoalsandinstructionalstrategiesofthetechnologyplanandlocalschoolimprovementeffortstoassistteacherswitheffectivetechnologyintegration,improvetechnologyproficiencyandincreasestudentperformance.

ARRACaseStudies2012|RapidesParishSchoolDistrict,Louisiana


ProjectDescription

RapidesParish,alowsocio‐economicruralschooldistrict,hadlimitedaccesstotechnologytools,digitalcontent,advancedplacementcourses,andhigh‐speedbroadbandpriortothisgrant.InNorthwoodHighSchool,therewerecomputerlabsforbusinessvocationalcoursesonlyandafewinteractivewhiteboards.Studentsalsostruggledwithdevelopingthe21stcenturyskillsofcollaboration,criticalthinking,andcommunication.Thisgrantprovidedatotalredesignoftheinstructionalenvironmentbyintegratinga1‐to‐1programandavarietyofonlineresourcesincludingadvancedplacementopportunities,distancelearningclasses,andsubscription‐basedservices.Studentswereprovidedwith24/7accesstonetbooks.Schoolandcommunitywirelesshotspotswereestablishedsothatstudentscouldaccessinternetresourcesduring,before,andafterschool,andoutsideofschoolpropertyatcommunitycentersandonthenearbyIndianreservation.Inadditiontostudenttools,classroomswereequippedwithinteractivewhiteboardsanddigitalcurricularesourcesincludingaschoolwidecontentmanagementsystem.Thetechnologycoordinatorprovidedcomprehensiveprofessionaldevelopmentforteacherswithin‐persontrainingandongoingclassroomsupport.Teacherslearnedhowtousethenewdevicesandhowtoimplementcollaborative,project‐basedlessonsintothecorecurriculum.NorthwoodteachersalsopartneredwithteachersfromBoltonHighSchool,thedistrict'sall‐digitalhighschool.


Thefirststepinimplementingthisprogramwastoestablishatechnology‐richinfrastructureincludingacampus‐widewirelessnetwork,laptopsforteachers,andnetbooksforall9th,10th,11th,and12thgradestudents.Additionally,digitalcurricularesourcessuchasGizmos,Geometer'sSketchpad,ABC‐CLIO,Nettrekker,andBlackboardwereprovidedtohelpcreateatechnology‐richinstructionalenvironment.


GrantFocus High‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironmentandTechnologyCoaches/Mentors


July1,2009‐September30,2011

Locale Rural

Funding $414,600



19


3


225

Beforewehadthecomputers,Iknewverylittleabouttechnology.NowIthinkIammorepreparedformyfuture.

‐12thgradestudent



Atthestartofthe2010‐2011schoolyear,parentsandstudentswereorientedtothe1‐to‐1programandsignedusercontracts.Studentsreceivedtrainingatthebeginningoftheyearinlaptopmaintenanceandbasicwordprocessing,spreadsheet,andpresentationapplications.Teachersreceivedprofessionaldevelopmentinbasiccomputerapplicationsandproject‐basedlearningprinciples.Beforethebeginningoftheschoolyear,teachersattendedworkshops,whichthencontinuedthroughouttheyear.Teachersalsoreceivedtrainingoneachofthedigitalcontentandonlinemanagementresources.Afull‐timetechnologyfacilitatorwasaddedtothefaculty,whocoached,modeled,andprovidedsupportbothduringtheschooldayandafterschool.Inaddition,duringthesummerof2011,Northwoodteachersattendedatwo‐daycurriculumplanningeventduringwhichtechnologyteacherleadersfromVirginia,Florida,andBoltonHighSchoolassistedtheNorthwoodteachersinworkingwithintheircontentareasandwritingunitplansthatintegratedthetechnology.

ThepartnershipwithBoltonHighSchoolwascriticaltothesuccessofthegrantimplementation.NorthwoodteachersworkedwiththemoreexperiencedBoltonHighSchoolteachers,whohadthreeyearsofexperiencewiththeir1‐to‐1program.NorthwoodteachersvisitedBoltontwiceduringtheschoolyearbycurriculumdepartmentstoobserveclassesandworkwithteachers.BoltonteachersalsoprovidedworkshopsforNorthwoodteachers.Inaddition,studentsandteachersreceivedtechnicalsupportfromBoltonHighSchool.Aslaptopsneededtobeserviced,theyweresenttothetechnicalstaffatBoltonandaloanerlaptopwasmadeavailablesostudentswerenotwithoutacomputer.

ClassroomExamples

• InanAlgebraIclass,studentsbecametravelagentsandcompletedonlineresearchtodevelopthreedifferenttravelpackagesforafamilyoffour.Eachseven‐dayvacationpackagewasresearchedandplannedtoadifferentlocation.Studentsusedtheirlaptopsandtheinternetforresearchinginformationfortheirdifferentdestinations.Researchincludedexploringavailabletransportation,entertainment,food,andlodgingoptions,andaveragetemperaturesofeachdestination.Studentsgraphedtemperaturedatabasedondatacollectedfromvariousweather‐relatedwebsites.Studentsproducedaone‐pagereportofallcostsassociatedwitheachvacationpackage.Inaddition,theypresentedtheirworkviaabrochure,slideshow,ormovie.FinalproductswerepresentedatTechnologyNight,anopenhouseforteachers,parents,students,andcommunityleaders,focusingonstudent‐createdtechnologyprojectsthatshowcasedtheirtechnologyskills.

• InAmericanhistoryclass,studentsstudiedChristopherColumbus.Inthepast,studentsreadanddiscussedgeneralinformationaboutChristopherColumbusandhisexplorations.Withthegrant,studentstooktheirexplorationofColumbusmuchfurther.Workinginsmallgroups,theyresearchedColumbus’sexpeditionsandoutcomes.EachgroupcreatedanelectronicflipchartinwhichtheyexplainedandsupportedtheiropinionsonwhetherColumbus’svoyagesshouldhavebeensupportedbySpain.Afterpresentingtheirflipchartstotheirclassmates,eachgroupscriptedandfilmedavideolettertothekingandqueenofSpaininwhichtheyeitherthankedthemforpayingforColumbus’expeditionortoldthemwhyitwasnotagooddecisionontheirpart.Thegroupssharedtheirvideoswiththerestofthestudentbodyata“VideoBreakfast.”A



sectionoftheschool’scafeteriawassetupwithtallcountertops,electricaloutlets,andalargeflat‐screentelevision.Onceaweekduringbreakfast,thestudentswereabletosharetheirprojectsusingtheirlaptopsandthetelevision.Allthestudentsinthecafeteriawereabletoseevideopresentations.


Atthebeginningandendoftheproject,teacherandadministratortechnologyproficiencywasassessedusingtheLouisianaDepartmentofEducationSouthwestEducationalDevelopmentLaboratorysurvey,basedonISTEEducationalTechnologyStandardsanditsperformanceindicators.Basedonsurveyresults,technologyskillsandstudentattitudestowardlearningwithtechnologyimproved.

Anecdotally,thechangestothecurriculumandaccesstotechnologyandtheinternetexcitedthestudentsandprovidednewopportunitiesastheyconsideredtheirfutures.Teacherssawanincreaseininterestinpursuinghighereducationand/ortechnicalcareers.

MovingForward

Nearthebeginningofthisproject,alocalpropertytaxmillagetoprovidetechnologyfortheschooldistrictwasimplemented.Thistaxprovideslong‐termsustainabilityforthisprojectandhasprovidedtechnologytoolsandtrainingforthelowergradesduringthisgrantperiod.Ongoing,thelocalfundswillsupportthemaintenanceandreplacementofthehighschool’snetbooks.Northwoodwillcontinuetoreceivesupportfromdistricttechnologyfacilitators;however,theschool‐basedtechnologyfacilitatorwasonlyprovidedduringthegrantcycle.Theprogramallowedmanyteacherstobecomecampusleadersandthoseleaderscontinuetosupportandeducatetheschoolcommunity.

Resources

NorthwoodHighSchoolhttp://rpsb.us/northwood/RapidesParishSchoolDistricthttp://rpsb.us/

SchoolData

• TeacherProficiency:Forthestandardmeasuringoftechnology‐richlearningenvironments,teacherproficiencyincreasedfrom64%to85%basedonpre‐andpost‐grantassessments.

• On‐TargetforGraduation:Previousjuniorclassesmeasuredapproximately58%ontrackforgraduation;forthelasttwoyearsthejuniorclasseshaveimprovedto75.6and74.5%ontrackforgraduation.



LouisianaDepartmentofPublicInstructionhttp://doe.louisiana.gov/http://louisianaschools.netSETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

Maine


OpenEducationalResourcesinMathematicsProfessionalDevelopmentProject

MaineRegionalSchoolDistricts#54and#11,StatewideGrant

April2010‐September2011TheprimarygoaloftheOpenEducationalResourcesinMathematicsProfessionalDevelopmentProjectwastobuildthecapacityofmathematicsteachersandtechnologyintegrationspecialiststoeffectivelyutilizeopeneducationalresourcesforselectedmathematicstopicstoimprovemathematicsachievementandtechnologicalliteracyforstudentsingrades7to12.Developmentteamsofteachersandeducationpartnersdesignedresourcesandactivitiestoconnectcontenttopicsandcurriculumneedstoassessmentpracticesandinstructionalstrategies.

Demographics

Thegrantrecipientsincludedtwopartnerdistricts:RegionalSchoolUnit(RSU)#54,whichincludesschoolsfromCanaan,Cornville,Mercer,Norridgewock,Skowhegan,andSmithfieldandRSU#11withschoolsfromGardiner,Pittston,Randolph,andWestGardiner.Bothdistrictsareregionalschoolunitsdrawingfromnearbyruralcommunities.ThreeofthepartnerschoolsareTitleIschools.


Maine’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsMaine’sARRAEETTcompetitivegrantfocusedontheintegrationofOpenEducationalResources(OER)intothedailycurriculum.ThegrantprovidedprofessionaldevelopmenttoincreaseawarenessofOER,research,andevaluationoftheresources.Inaddition,MainebuiltanonlinecommunitytoprovideanavenueforsharingandevaluatingOERbeyondtheendofthegrantcycle.

ARRACaseStudies2012|MaineRegionalSchoolDistrict#54


ProjectDescription

TheMaineLearningTechnologyInitiative(MLTI)currentlyprovidesprofessionaldevelopmenttoMaineteachersand21stcenturytoolstomiddleandhighschoolstudentstosupportthestatecurriculumandstandards.AsofJanuary2010,226middleschoolsand66highschoolswereparticipatinginthe1‐to‐1MLTIprogram.Withtoolsandstrongprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativesinplace,Mainesoughttoutilizeandextendresourcesandassessmentdatatobettermeettheneedsofstudents,particularlyintheareaofmathematics.ThisprojecttookadvantageofthepotentialofOER,combinedwithtrainingandappropriatetechnologicalhardware,tosupportclassroomtechnologyintegrationwiththegoaltoimprovemathematicsachievementandtechnologicalliteracyforgrades7to12students.Stateanddistrictassessmentdatashowedstudentsstrugglinginfoundationalalgebraicconcepts.Therefore,MaineRSU#54andRSU#11,inpartnershipwithEducationDevelopmentCenter,Inc.(EDC),collaboratedtodevelop,pilot,andimplementacomprehensivepackageofprofessionaldevelopmentresourcesforteacherstohelpimpactmathematicsinstructionandstudentachievement.Theprofessionaldevelopmentfocusedonuseofresearch‐basedinstructionalmethodsformathematicsindicatorsintheMaineLearningResults(MLR):ParametersforEssentialInstruction(PEI)alignedwithidentifiedneedsinthepartnerdistrictsandthestate.Thetargetedindicatorswerecriticalfoundationalskillsforalgebraingrades7to12,includingrationalnumberconcepts.ProfessionaldevelopmentwasdesignedtouseOERandtechnologytoolstosupporttheconnectionsbetweenandamongAssessmentpractices,Curriculum,andInstruction(ACI).Inaddition,theprojectutilizedthetechnologicalpedagogicalcontentknowledge(TPACK)frameworkforprojectplanningandprofessionaldevelopmentactivitieswitheducators.Teachersweretrainedtouseformativeassessmentdatatodeterminespecificareasofstudentdifficultyandhowtoexplicitlytargetthoseareasofweaknessthroughtheonlineresources.


GrantFocus OngoingProfessionalDevelopment,Digital,and/orOpenContent


April1,2010‐September30,2011

Locale Rural

Funding $183,868



97


5


1,684




Theprojectwasdesignedasamulti‐tieredprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativewiththreecohortsinvolved;thedevelopmentteamofteachersfromthepartnerdistricts,thepartnerteachersfromthepartnerdistricts,andthestatewideonlinegroup.Theprofessionaldevelopmentactivitiesprovidedinstruction,guidance,andsupportforallparticipants.ThethreegroupswereengagedinusingOERandothertechnologiestoconnectAssessmentpractices,CurriculumtopicsandInstruction(ACI)throughthelearningcycle.Thefirstcohort,thedevelopmentteam,whichincluded14teachersfrom2partneringdistricts,receivedface‐to‐faceprofessionaldevelopmentinthespringandsummerof2010alongwithonlineprofessionaldevelopmentthatincludedbothsynchronousandasynchronouscomponentsfromthefallof2010throughthespring2011.Thisteam,alongwiththeEDCstaff,createdaseriesoflessonsets,whichwereorganizedbytargetedmathematicstopics,suchasthedistributiveproperty.Thelessonsets,nowavailableontheprojectwebsite(http://maine.edc.org/file.php/1/oermath.html),includedlessonmaterials,diagnosticassessmenttools,informationonanalyzingdata,classroomimplementationandinstructionalresources,andapost‐assessmenttool.Designedforteachersandstudents,atypicallessonsetincludedscreencasts—digitalrecordingsofthecomputerscreen—asademonstrationofstudentthinkingorasaguidetoimplementationoftheresources.Aswell,theinstructionalresourcesincludedappletsdesignedspecificallyforthelessonsandmanyotherappropriateOERresources.Fifteentopicsessionsweremadeavailableontheprojectwebsite(seehttp://maine.edc.org/file.php/1/oer/math_PDResources.html).Thesecondcohort,theparticipatingpartnerteachers,receivedface‐to‐faceprofessionaldevelopmentinthefallof2010andparticipatedinonlineprofessionaldevelopmentthatincludedbothsynchronousandasynchronouscomponentsfromthefallof2010throughthespringof2011.Trainingbeganwithreviewofbackgroundlessonmaterialsinordertodeterminethelearningtargetsfollowedbytrainingintheadministrationofpre‐assessmentstodeterminestudents’knowledgeandareasofweakness.Theparticipatingteachersthenanalyzedtheirstudents’dataandselectedinstructionalactivitiesandareasoffocususingtheonlineappletsandstudentexplorations.Aftereachlesson,teachersre‐assessedtodeterminewhatstudentslearnedandthefocusofthenextinstructionalactivities.Overthecourseoftheyear,participatingteachersandprojectstaffcustomizedandsharedresources,creatednewresources,andestablishedacommunityofpracticebothonlineandinsmallerschool‐basedgroups.Thethirdcohort,thestatewideonlinegroup,participatedinonlineprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesdescribedabovethatincludedbothsynchronousandasynchronouscomponentsfromthefallon2010tospring2011.Teachers,notapartoftheinitialdevelopment,gatheredtodefineOER,exploreresources,anduseOERtoimprovethelearningprocess.Webinarswereconductedtoguideparticipantsinutilizingthelessonsets.Uponimplementingthelessons,teacherswereencouragedtoparticipateinanonlinediscussionontheprojectwebsite,includingareflectionaboutanychangespre‐topost‐assessmentandpossiblenextstepsininstruction.Throughparticipationinthisproject,teachersgainedabetterunderstandingofOERandhowtoimplementOERinthe



classroom.TeachersalsohadtheopportunitytocreateandshareOERthroughonlinediscussionsontheprojectwebsite.Atotalof58schoolssupportedteachersinthisprogramandinthespringof2011,face‐to‐faceprofessionaldevelopmentwasofferedtoadditionalmiddleandhighschoolteachersduringthestatewidedisseminationefforts.

ClassroomExamples

• Beforethegrant,evenwithlaptopsavailable,manyteacherstaughtintegeroperationsintheseventhgradeusingpaperandpencilactivities,andsomeusedhands‐onmanipulatives.Aspartofthisprogram,uponstartingthestudyofintegers,studentscompletedaformativeassessmenttaskandenteredthedatathroughtheuseofhandheldclickers.Thestudentsandteacherthenexaminedanddiscussedtheresults.Duringthisprocess,thestudentsandteacheridentifiedsomecriticalquestionstoexplore.Theteacherselectedteamsofstudentstoparticipateinanactivityinwhichthey"walkedthenumberline"toinvestigateintegeroperations.Studentsthenlaunchedaninteractiveapplettitled“WalkingtheNumberLine”ontheirlaptops.Thisappletmodelstheadditionandsubtractionofintegersbywalkingacharacteralonganumberline(http://maine.edc.org/file.php/1/tools/IntegerWalkNumLine2.html).

• Studentsineighthgrademathematicsengagedinalessonaboutequivalentexpressionsusingadistributivepropertyinteractiveapplet.Theybeganbypredictingwhetherexpressionsareequivalentornotonanonlineformativeassessmentprobe.Studentsandteacherdiscussedthewholeclasspredictionsthenpairedtoexplorethedistributivepropertywithaninteractiveapplet.Thestudentsdiscussedandcomparedtheirfindingswiththeiroriginalpredictions.Studentsrecordedtheirinteractionswiththeappletandtheirdiscussionsinascreencasttosharewithpeersandtheirteacher(foranexampleofascreencastsee:http://maine.edc.org/file.php/1/oer/math_StScreencast_EquivExprDistribProp3.html).


Theformalevaluationoftheprojectincludedteacherandstudentdata.Evaluationresultssuggesteducatorsinthesurveysampleself‐reportedupwardshiftsinareassuchas:knowledgeofareasofstudentdifficulty;frequencyofimplementingformativeassessments;frequencyofuseofOER;frequencyofuseoftechnologytosupportacycleofinquiry;andcompetencywithtargetedtechnologyintegrationstrategiesandtools.

Iammorecomfortableallowingstudentstoworkattheirownpaceandtobemoreindependentintheirlearning.Ilikethatdifferentstudentscandothesameactivity,beginningwithdifferentskilllevels,butstilladvancetheirunderstandingofatopicthroughtheappletandtheassessments.

–Grade8MathTeacher



AdescriptiveanalysisofprojectstudentformativeassessmentresultsshowsthatstudentachievementdidincreaseoverallintheMaineLearningResults(MLR):PEIindicatorstargetedbytheproject.Averagingthepercentcorrectscoresacrossthetargeteddomainsshowsthatincreasesvariedformatchedpre‐/postclassesfrom6%to17%,andformatchedpre‐/delayedpostclassesfrom0.2%to20%.Thegreatestgainsforboththepre‐/postmatchedclassesandthepre‐/delayedpostmatchedclasseswereinthedomainsofSymbolsandExpressions(17%and20%,respectively)andFunctionsandRelations(16%and12%,respectively).

MovingForward

ThelessonsandOERresourceswillbedisseminatedmorebroadlytoensureteachersstatewidecanimplementtheresourcesintheirclassrooms.Thewebsitedevelopedforthisprojectofferslessonsandappletsforglobaluse.

Resources

OERinMathematicsProfessionalDevelopmentProjecthttp://maine.edc.org/file.php/1/oermath.htmlMaineLearningTechnologyInitiativehttp://maine.gov/mlti/index.shtmlMaineDepartmentofEducationhttp://maine.gov/education/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

AssessmentData

• Theaveragepercentcorrectscoresacrossthetargeteddomainsshowsincreasesfrompre‐topost‐assessmentsupto17%.

• ThegreatestgainswereinthedomainsofSymbolsandExpressions(20%)andFunctionsandRelations(16%).

HowardCountyPublicSchools


TheCollegeandCareerReadinessSupportProject

HowardCountyPublicSchools,Maryland

July2009‐September2011TheCollegeandCareerReadinessSupportProjectprovidedhigh‐qualityprofessionaldevelopmentandresourcestohelpteachersindividualizeinstructionthroughtheuseofemergingtechnologiesintheirclassroomsandbyunderstandingandapplyingtheprinciplesofUniversalDesignforLearning.HowardCountypartneredwithnineMarylanddistrictstodevelopandofferanarrayofblendedlearningopportunitiesandup‐to‐datetechnologytoolsforteachers.ThepartneringdistrictsincludedBaltimoreCity,Calvert,Caroline,Carroll,Cecil,Dorchester,PrinceGeorge’s,Somerset,andWorcester.

Demographics

HowardCountyMarylandislocatedinthecentralpartofthestate,positionedconvenientlybetweenBaltimoreandWashington,D.C.HowardCountyisoneofthefastestgrowingregionsinthestate,increasingitspopulationby34%inthepast10years.Thepublicschoolsystemmanages71schoolswithapproximately49,000students,17.6%ofwhomqualifyforfreeorreducedmeals.


Maryland’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsTheARRAEETTcompetitivegrantfundsprovidedanopportunityforMarylandtoimplement21stcenturyclassroomsusinginnovativestrategiesthatenhancedinstruction,facilitatedteachingandlearning,andimprovedstudentachievement.ARRAfundshelpedtostabilizeLEAsandeligiblelocalentitiestoprovidenewandemergingtechnologies,andtoofferadditionaltrainingandsupportforteacherstohelpincreaseacademicachievementandacquiretheskillsneededtocompeteinaglobaleconomy.

ARRACaseStudies2012|HowardCountyPublicSchools,Maryland


SinceMaryland’sdistrictsincludeeconomicallychallengedcommunitiesaswellaswealthierones,theStaterequiredapplicantsintheformercategorytoincludeoneormorehigh‐needdistrictsintheirconsortia.PrinceGeorge’sCountyPublicSchools,inwhich53percentofthe125,000studentsareeligibleforfreeandreducedmeals,wasoneofHowardCounty’s9partnerdistrictsintheconsortiumdescribedinthiscasestudy.

ProjectDescription

TheCollegeandCareerReadinessSupportProject(CCRProject)aimedtosupportsecondaryteachersinhigh‐needcontentareasasidentifiedbythestatewidehighschoolassessmentprogram,particularlyinthesubjectareasofalgebra,biology,English,andgovernment.Thegoaloftheprojectwastocreateanddelivereffectiveprofessionaldevelopmentcoursesfocusingonopencontentandsupportforintegratingtechnology,particularlyUniversalDesignforLearning(UDL)principles.Usingablendedmodeloftraditionalandtechnology‐infusedinstructionandresources,teacherswereinspiredtoexploreandintegratenewonlinetoolsandtechniquesintheirclassrooms.Additionalaspectstothisprojectincludedthedevelopmentofateacherresourceappandaresearchprojecton21stcenturylearning.Theteacherresourceappwasdevelopedtorunonthetechnologytoolmanyteachersalreadyown;theirmobilephone.Also,software,withaccompanyingtraining,waspurchasedforusebypartnerdistricts’onlinecontentdevelopers.


Attheonsetoftheproject,effortsfocusedonthedevelopmentofprofessionaldevelopmentcoursesforintegratingtechnologyandusingtheframeworkofUDLprinciplesinalgebra,biology,English10,andgovernmentcontentareasrespectively.Thesecoursesincludedopenmaterialsfrom,butnotlimitedto,theNationalRepositoryofOnlineCourses(NROC),UDLCenterforAppliedSpecialTechnology(CAST)content,andCreativeCommons(CC)material.


GrantFocus OnlineandBlendedLearningandDigitalandOpenContent


July1,2009‐September30,2011

Locale Suburban

Funding $1,258,663



319


120


10,200



CourseDevelopment:Inthefallof2010,traininginUDLandapilotofthepreliminarycoursematerialwereconductedin3face‐to‐facesessionswith29administratorsand26teachersfrompartnerdistricts.Participantsweredual‐enrolledinaTeachingOnlinethree‐creditcourseofferedbytheMarylandStateDepartmentofEducation(MSDE)andwerepaidwithastipendtoparticipateinthecoursematerialpilot.Inearlyspring,theparticipantsviewedthecoursecontentviathecoursesites,conductedusabilitytesting,andprovidedvaluablefeedbackforthefinaldevelopmentofcourses.Laterinthespring,theBiologyOnlineProfessionalDevelopmentcourseandGovernmentOnlineProfessionalDevelopmentcoursewereofferedtoteachersfrompartnerdistricts.Theseonlineprofessionaldevelopmentofferingsincludedanonlineorientationsession,twoface‐to‐facemodules,andthreeonlinemodules,eachincorporatingUDL.The36participatingteachersinteractedonlinethroughdiscussionboardsandwikis.Thesethree‐credit,hybridprofessionaldevelopmentcoursessupportedtheuseoftechnologyinteachingandlearningwithanemphasisontheuseoftheonlineMarylandHighSchoolAssessment(HSA)masterycourses.Duringthewinterandspringof2011,228teachersandadministratorsparticipatedintheonlineprofessionaldevelopmentcoursepilotsandregionalUDLprofessionaldevelopmentofferings.AsaresultofthesuccessoftheUDLprofessionaldevelopmentcourse,MSDEaskedtheCollegeandCareerReadinessSupportProjecttodevelopanotherthree‐creditcourse:UDLandNextGenerationLearning(http://udl.mdonlinegrants.org).

MobileApps:Thedevelopmentofanotherproject,amobileapp,UDLinks,emergedfromteacherfeedbackduringtheprofessionaldevelopment.Participantsintheblendedandface‐to‐faceprofessionaldevelopmentindicatedthattheywereinneedofspecificcontentresourcesthatwerereadilyaccessible,searchable,andcorrelatedtoUDLprinciples.Theappcurrentlyfeaturesacompilationofover1300resourcesandisafreedownloadintheAppStoreandtheAndroidMarketPlace.TheappiscurrentlyusedbytheCenterforAppliedSpecialTechnologies(CAST)intheirUDLprofessionaldevelopmentofferingsaroundthecountry.InstructionalResources:Additionalprojectstookplacein2010‐2011,includingthedevelopmentoftwosetsofinstructionalresourcesforteachersandstudentsalignedwiththeCommonCoreStandardsinalgebraandEnglish12.TheAlgebraInstructionalResourcesincluded20lessonsand10tasksforstudents,andtheEnglishInstructionalResourcescoveredargument,explanatory,andnarrativewritingin16lessons.Tomodellow‐tohigh‐techaccesstotechnology,aninteractivewheelwasdevelopedasanonlineresource(http://udlwheel.mdonlinegrants.org/).Thisresource’sdisplayofUDLprinciplesandguidelineshelpseducatorsdesignflexiblelessonsandcurriculathatreduce

OneofthethingsthatIvaluedthemostfromtheUDLcoursewaslearningaboutthethreebrainnetworks.Thishelpedmetofindwaystoofferstudentsmorechoicestoaccomplishthesamegoal.–LauraHerbers,ScienceTeacher



barrierstolearningandprovideinnovativeandsupportivelearningtomeetthedemandsofalllearners.Italsohelpseducatorsevaluateexistingcurriculagoals,materials,methods,andassessments.21stCenturyLearnersResearchStudy:ThefinalprojectdevelopedwasacollaborativeresearchstudywithIDEO,adesign,thinking,andengineeringcompany,HowardCountyPublicSchools,andthelargestdistrictpartner,PrinceGeorge’sCountyPublicSchools.Inthespringof2011,thetwodistrictsandresearchpartnerconductedacollaborativeinvestigationtodiscoverthecharacteristicsofthe21stcenturylearnerwiththepurposetoguidepolicyandinstruction.Thestudyincludedaone‐weekworkshopandinterviewsinthefieldcenteredaroundtwofocusquestions:whatdoesitmeantobea21stcenturylearnertodayandhowmighttechnologyenable21stcenturylearning?Thestudyandsynthesisworkshopsconductedwithteachers,administrators,centralofficeleadership,andpartnerrepresentativesresultedinsevendesignprinciplesandseveninsights.Thesevenguidingprinciplesidentifiedwereintendedtohelpinformhowteachersandadministratorsshoulddesignfortoday’slearningenvironment.Web2.0Integration:Throughoutallaspectsoftheproject,numerousWeb2.0toolswereintegratedintotheprofessionaldevelopmentcourses,includingablogfortheUDLtraining,twitterpostings(@nextgenlearners)andawebsiteforquickdisseminationofcontent,includingvideoandwebconferencingforcourseorientations.TeacherswererequiredtoexploreandimplementatleastoneWeb2.0collaborativetoolintheirclassroomaspartoftheirtraining.

ClassroomExamples

• InanEnglishlessononnarrativewriting,studentslearnedtowriterealistic,effectivedialoguewithcorrectpunctuation.Studentsfirstcreatedacomicstripusingdialoguebetweentwocharactersusinganonlinecartoongenerator.Oncestudentsfinishedtheircomicstriporganizers,theysharedtheirworkwithpeersandrequestedfeedback.Studentsmadeeditsbasedonthepeercritique.Next,asaclass,studentslistenedtoanaudiorecordingofadialogueexcerptfromTheStoryofanHourbyKatieChopin.Studentsdiscussedthemoodcreatedbythedialogueandthecharacters'feelingsandreactionsasrevealedbydialogue.Additionallessonsandactivitiesinthisnarrativewritingunitincludedpunctuatingdialogue,andplotandcharacterdevelopmentthroughdialogue.Intheculminatingactivity,studentsusedtheirinitialcomicstriptowriteanarrative,whichhadtoincludedialoguetoadvancetheactionofthestoryandrevealtraitsofthecharacters.StudentsfirstcompletedadigitalStoryMap.Next,studentsworkedinpairsandsharedstorymaps,byswitchingcomputers,togainfeedbackandcritique.Studentsrevisedtheirstorymaps,wrotetheirnarratives,andsubmittedfinalproductstotheirteacherelectronically.

• Inascienceclass,utilizingtheUDLprinciplesofengagement,exploration,explanation,extension,andevaluation,studentslearnedthemechanismofevolutionarychangeandwereabletoexplainhownewtraitsmayresultfromnewcombinationsofexistinggenes.Studentsfirstexploredtheconceptofevolutionby



watchingvideosonline.Asaclass,studentscomparedtheirhand‐spreadmeasurementsanddiscussedthevariablesthatexist(gender,age,numberofstudentsinsample)toidentifyiftheaveragehandmeasurementoftheclasswasagoodrepresentationfortheschool.Next,studentsusedthewebsite,http://www.bighugelabs.comtocreateamosaicofpicturesthatshowedvariationsinorganisms.Uponcompletingthisactivity,studentsrespondedtotheteacher’sblogpostingontherelationshipbetweenevolutionandvariation.Toextendthelearning,theycompletedapepperedmothlab,asimulationofmothstoidentifythevariationandconditionsaffectingthesurvivalofmoths.Toassesslearning,studentsweregivenachoiceofthreeactivities:tocompleteapodcast,conceptmap,orlabdesign.Studentsshowedimprovementincollaborativeactivitiesandhadextendedopportunitiesforindependentlearningandself‐expression.


Inanend‐of‐the‐courseevaluation,teachersenrolledintheinitialUDLworkshopswereaskedhowtheyplannedtoapplywhattheyhadlearnedintotheirclassrooms,whileothereducatorswereaskedhowtheyplannedtoapplywhattheyhadlearnedtotheircurrentpositions.NearlyalloftheteachersattendingtheworkshopsindicatedthattheyplannedtodeveloporimplementalessonthatincorporatedUDLthefollowingschoolsemester.TheyplannedtoincorporateUDLintotheirlessonsbyprovidingmorestudentchoice,utilizingthewebsitesprovidedontheUDLchecklist,creatingengaginglessons,andintegratingWeb2.0tools.Othereducatorssaidtheywouldusewhattheylearnedfromtheworkshopintheircurrentrolesbyprovidingadditionalprofessionaldevelopmenttoteachersandadministrators,collaboratingwithstaffinlessonplanning,improvingandrevisingcurriculum,andaligningUDLprincipleswiththeCommonCoreStandards.Havingcompletedtheworkshop,participantsfeltmoststronglythattheycouldsupportteachersindevelopinglessonsusingtheUDLframeworkandincreatingengaginglessonsforstudents.

MovingForward

Inmovingforward,HowardCountyPublicSchoolscontinuestousetheUDLcoursewithitsMediaSpecialistsandTechnologyTeachersaspartoftheirprofessionaldevelopmentofferings.HowardCountyPublicSchoolsisalsoworkingonasystemicplantoincorporateUDLintonextgenerationcurriculumdesign.Inthespringof2012,theonlineprofessional

ParticipantData

• AllteachersparticipatingintheUDLprofessionaldevelopmentstronglyagreedoragreedthatUDLprincipleswillhelpindevelopingmoreengaginglessons.

• NinetypercentofteachersfeltpreparedtodeveloplessonsusingtheUDLframework.



developmentcourseswillbeofferedtoalldistrictsinMarylandforteacherstoreceivecontinuingprofessionaldevelopmentcredits.

Resources

TheCollegeandCareerReadinessSupportProjecthttp://ccr.mdonlinegrants.orgBiologyOnlineProfessionalDevelopmentCoursehttp://biology‐pd.mdonlinegrants.org/GovernmentOnlineProfessionalDevelopmentCoursehttp://government‐pd.mdonlinegrants.org/AlgebraInstructionalResourceshttp://algebra.mdonlinegrants.orgEnglishInstructionalResourceshttp://english12.mdonlinegrants.orgMarylandStateDepartmentofEducationhttp://marylandpublicschools.org/msdeSETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

http://tinyurl.com/7elppt9

http://tinyurl.com/7s86mbg

EasternUpperPeninsula

IntermediateSchoolDistrict


SparkingBroadbandUseintheEasternUpperPeninsulaofMichigan

EasternUpperPeninsulaIntermediateSchoolDistrict(EUPISD)

September2010‐August2013ThepurposeoftheSparkingBroadbandUseintheEasternUpperPeninsulaofMichiganprojectwastoincreasetheuseofbroadbandinruralcommunities.TheprogramleveragedARRAEETTfunds,BroadbandTechnologyOpportunitiesProgram(BTOP)ifunds,andlocalfunds.Thegoalwastoaddresstheexpandingdigitaldividebetweenruralandurbanresidentsbyprovidingopportunitiestostudentsandtheirparentstoaccesseducationalresourcesbothinschoolandathomeorincommunitycenters.TeachersparticipatedinongoingprofessionaldevelopmentinWeb2.0tools,onlinecoursecontentdevelopment,anddataassessment.

Demographics

InMichigan,IntermediateSchoolDistrictsservepublicschooldistricts,charterschools,andprivateschools.TheEasternUpperPeninsulaIntermediateSchoolDistrict(EUPISD)isanextremelyruralareainNorthernMichigan,coveringover4,000squaremiles.Insomeareas,theone‐roomschoolhouseconceptstillappliesasgradesK‐12arehousedononecampus.Inthisregion,thereare7,400studentsin50buildingsacross17schooldistricts.ThereisahighconcentrationofNativeAmericanstudentsacrossintheregionwitharangeof10%to99%bydistrictandanaverageof30%intheEUPISD.

BackgroundTheAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009(ARRA)includeda$650millionallocationinESEATitleII,PartD,commonlyreferredtoastheEnhancingEducationthroughTechnologyprogram(EETT).ThiscasestudywaspreparedbytheStateEducationalTechnologyDirectorsAssociation(SETDA)–theprincipalassociationrepresentingthetechnologyleadershipofstateandterritorialdepartmentsofeducation–toprovideanexampleofARRAfundsworkingatthedistrictandclassroomleveltocreateeffective,viable,androbustreformineducationandimprovingthewayteachersteachandstudentslearn.

Michigan’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsInMichigan,thegoaloftheARRAgrantprogramwastoprovideeducatorswithanopportunitytodifferentiateandindividualizeinstructiontoimprovestudentachievementutilizingstateandlocalstudentdata.Projectsincludedprovidingprofessionaldevelopmentonhowtousedatatoinforminstructionandhowtoindividualizeinstructiontobettermeettheneedsofstudents.

ARRACaseStudies2012|EasternUpperPeninsulaIntermediateSchoolDistrict,Michigan


ProjectDescription

Priortothisgrant,teachersandsomestudentshadsomeaccesstotechnology,andteacherswereprovidedwithtechnologyintegrationtraining,contentmanagementtools,andsoftware,butlackofaccessbothoncampusandathomeledtominimaluse.Thisnewprojectfocusedonincreasingbroadbandaccessand1‐to‐1studentaccesstomaximizetechnologyintegrationincluding,butnotlimitedtotheuseofonlinecontentanddatasystems.Essentialtothisgrantprogramwasthewidespreadtrainingopportunitiesforstudents,teachers,parents,andthecommunityatlarge.TheprogramleveragedgrantfundsfrommultiplefundingstreamsincludingARRAEETT,BTOP,andlocalfunds.TheEUPISDprojectimplementeda1‐to‐1netbookprogramingrades7to12.EUPISDworkedwithlocalbroadbandproviderstoofferdiscountedhomebroadbandconnectioncostsusinga$100perfamilyvouchersystem.Thevoucherwasaonetimeofferingtooffsetanyinitialconnectionfeesormonthlyfeesforfirstyear.Professionaldevelopmentwasprovidedusingworkshopsincluding50fullorhalfdaysessionsonavarietyofeducationalandWeb2.0toolstopicsinthesummerof2011andthroughouttheschoolyear.Inaddition,trainingextendedintothecommunitypromotingbroadbandadoptionandtheuseoftechnologytosupportlearning,finances,businessopportunities,healthcare,andcommunityoutreach.Additionalsupportwasprovidedfromoneinstructionaltechnologistandthreecomputersystemtechniciansfromthedistrict.


Beginninginthefallof2010,thenetbooksweredistributedtostudentsingrades7to12.Allstudentsreceivedahalf‐daysessiontrainingonbasicdeviceuse,howtoaccessfilesremotelyusingcloudcomputing,andhowtoaddresstechnologyissuesandrepairs.Parentmeetingswereheldsimultaneouslywhereacceptableusepolicieswerereviewed,thevouchersystemforbroadbandconnectionwasexplained,andtheentireprojectwas


GrantFocus TechnologyInfrastructureandHigh‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironment


September1,2010‐August31,2013

Locale Rural

Funding $3,165,207FederalBTOPFunds$273,000ARRAEETTFunds$1,275,000LocalFunds



420


56


4,200directly(withnetbooks);7,400byextensionviateacherstrainedinenhancedtechnologyuseandbroadbandsupporttofamiliesandcommunities



described.Localdistrictstaff,teachers,administrators,andtechnologistsreceivedsupportviaworkshopsonWeb2.0tools,Moodle(thedistrict’sadoptedonlinemanagementsystem),CompassLearning(amodular‐basedlearningproduct),andprogressmonitoringusingtheexistingregionaldatasystem.Face‐to‐facesessionsandwebinarsprovidedtheinitialinstruction,andtheinstructionaltechnologistvisiteddistrictsand/orschoolsforfollow‐upsupport.Afterthetrainingsonbasicuseandsoftware,participantsdiscussedopportunitiesandmethodsofintegratingtechnologyintolessons.Thedatasystemstraininghelpedteacherstousethenetbookstoconductmorefrequent,onlineassessmentsthathelpedtoguideinstructionandaidindifferentiation.Conductingpre‐andpost‐assessmentsfocusedonthestandardsbecameeasier.Datawasusedtohelptargetwholeclass,smallgroup,andindividualinstruction.OtherregionalprofessionaldevelopmentofferingssupportedthebroadbandeffortincludingtrainingthatwaspartoftheMid‐continentRegionforEducationandLearning(McREL)’s“UsingTechnologyintheClassroomthatWorks.”Thisthree‐daytraining,occurredthroughouttheacademicyearandlinkedintegrationoftechnologywithresearch‐basedinstructionalstrategiesattheclassroomlevel.Theonlinemanagementsystemandcoursesthatwereaccessibletotheruralstudentsprovidedmeaningfulalternativelearningexperiencesandassistedincreditrecovery.Likewise,studentswereabletotakecoursesofferedatotherschoolsusingMoodle.Otheronlineopportunitiesandcontentwereutilized,includingcoursesfromMichiganVirtualHighSchool,FloridaVirtualHighSchool,andWAV,aBritishonline,project‐basedprogram.Thestudentnetbooksandavailabilityofbroadbandaccessathomeprovidednewopportunitiesfortheentirefamily.Eachsemester,communityprogramswereofferedattheschools,whichtypicallyservedascommunitycenters.Topicswereselectedtoservethisremotearea,providingaccesstoinformationthattypicallycommunitymemberswouldhavetotravelconsiderabledistancestoobtain.Topicsincludedonlinebanking,onlinebusinessset‐up,andinstructionononlinecoursesenrollmentforadults.Studentsalsoprovidedsupporttotheirparentsandothercommunitymembers.Throughtheprogram“TeachingThroughGenerations,”studentshelpedadultswithtaskssuchassettingupemailaccountsanduploadingphotos.Additionalcommunitysessionswilleducatecommunitymembersontheavailabilityofonlinehealthcareservices,includingtheoptiontoteleconferencewithdoctors.

Thegranthasallowedstudentstounlocktheirpotentialinandoutoftheclassroom.Studentsfinditeasiertocompleteworksuchasnotetaking,presentations,andpapers.Studentsaregrowingwiththeexposuretothetechnology,beingabletounderstandandexecutetechnicalfunctionsthatmayhaveseemforeignlessthanayearago,butareessentialinapostgraduateworld.‐JasonByma,K‐12MusicTeacher,St.

IgnaceAreaSchools



ClassroomExamples

• InEUPISD,onlyfiveschoolshaveSpanishteachers.Thisprogramhasallowedschoolstoshareteachersmoreefficientlyacrosstheregion.Forexample,aSpanishteacherataverysmallhighschoolcanofferclassesattwoothernearbyschoolswithouthavingtodriveapproximately30milestotheotherschools.DeTourHighSchool’sSpanishteacherusedMoodletodeliverheronlinecoursetoallofherstudentsinthethreeschools.ThecourseincludedtheaudiofilesandopportunitiesforstudentstopracticetheirSpanishspeakingandwrittenskills.Ms.LivingstontraveledtothenearbyschoolsatleastonceasemesterbututilizedtheexistingIATV(interactivetelevision)roomstoprovideinstruction.SpanishstudentswouldmeetintheIATVroomtotaketheclassand“meet”withMs.Livingston.Typically,theclassesformallymetface‐to‐faceonceaweekand“asneeded”forindividualstudentsupportorconferencing.

• LesCheneauxHighSchoolsocialstudiesteacherusedwhatshelearnedfromthetrainingsheattendedatMcRELtoapplyresearch‐basedinstructionalstrategiesinherclassroom.Theteacherworkedtoimproveherstudents’notetakingandresearchskills.Studentsreadinformationbothonlineandinprint.Usingtheirnetbooks,theywrotefivesummarizingsentencesandfoundfivevisualrepresentationsorimagestorepresenteachsentence.Thistechniquewasutilizedoftenforavarietyofresearchtopicsandnotonlyengagedstudentsbutsolidifiedtheresearchprocess.Theteacheralsointegratedsmartphonesasameansofcollectinginformationtobringintoclass.Studentswouldtakepicturesusingtheirsmartphonesandemailtheimagestothemselvesandclassmates.Thisgrantprogramimplementationprovidedmanyopportunitiesincludingtheabilityforstudentstoposttheirassignmentsonline.Theteacherintegratedonlinediscussionsintoherassignments.


DistrictData

• EnrollmentinMoodlecoursesincreasedfrom0initialuserstoover1,000byFall2011.

• ThenumberofstudentusersinCompassLearningtripledtoover2,000.

• Improvementinsummativetestscoresingrades3to8studentswhoscoredproficientoradvancedinreading: 2008‐2009,82%students 2010‐2011,85%students

• Improvementinsummativetestscoresingrades3to8studentswhoscoredproficientoradvancedinmathematics: 2008‐2009,85%students 2009‐2010,85%students 2010‐2011,88%students



Thestate‐level,summativetestscoresforbothreadingandmathhaveimprovedoverallandthegapinscoresbetweenthelargestethnicgroups,NativeAmericanandwhite,hasbeenessentiallyeliminated.Inadditiontotheincreaseofuseofdataindecisionmaking,teachersincreasedtheintegrationofonlinecontentintheirinstruction.

MovingForward

AllEUPISDdistrictsareworkingonasharedsustainabilitymodelthatincludesreplacementofdeviceseverythreeyearsaswellasincreasedclassroomleveltechnologies,includingtheadditionandupgradeofinteractivewhiteboards.Districtshaveprovidedmatchingfundsof$50peryearperdeviceformaintenanceandupgrades.Somelocaldistrictshavebeenfortunatetopasstechnologymillages,whichhavehelpedexpand1‐to‐1laptopstosixthgradeandenhanceclassroomleveltechnologiessuchasinteractivewhiteboards,digitalcameras,andinteractiveresponsedevices.Thedistrict‐leveltechnology,generaleducation,andspecialeducationstaffwillcontinuetosupporttechnologyenhancedteachingandlearningbeyondthetermofthegrant.

Resources

EasternUpperPeninsulaIntermediateSchoolDistrictwww.eup.k12.mi.usMichiganDepartmentofEducationhttp://www.michigan.gov/mdeBroadbandTechnologyOpportunitiesProgram(BTOP)http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresourcesiAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActprovidedtheDepartmentofCommerce’sNationalTelecommunicationsandInformationAdministration(NTIA)andtheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture’sRuralUtilitiesService(RUS)with$7.2billiontoexpandaccesstobroadbandservicesintheUnitedStates.Ofthosefunds,theActprovided$4.7billiontoNTIAtosupportthedeploymentofbroadbandinfrastructure,enhanceandexpandpubliccomputercenters,encouragesustainableadoptionofbroadbandservice,anddevelopandmaintainanationwidepublicmapofbroadbandservicecapabilityandavailability.

ArcadiaValleyR‐IISchoolDistrict


TheAssessforSuccessProject

ArcadiaValleyR‐11SchoolDistrict,Missouri

June2009‐July2010AtArcadiaValleyR‐IIHighSchool,inArcadiaValleyR‐IISchoolDistrict,eachstudenthasaccesstoacomputer.Withtechnologyinplace,theAssessforSuccessProjectfocusedonusingassessmentdatatoprovideappropriate,technology‐richactivitiesinthecorecontentareas.Teachersreceivedinstructor‐ledprofessionaldevelopment,toeducateteachersonusinganddevelopingassessmenttoolstobetterservestudents.

Demographics

ArcadiaValleyR‐IISchoolDistrictislocatedinruralIronton,Missouri,75milessouthwestofSt.Louis.Irontondoesnothaveanyindustrytospeakof,andtheprimaryemployeristheschoolsystem.AtArcadiaValleyR‐IIHighSchool,47%ofstudentsreceivefreeorreducedlunch.Thegraduationrateis96.9%.Thepost‐secondaryentranceratebasedonMissouri’sdefinitionis59.8%.Withinthehighschool,thereisa1‐to‐1ratioofcomputerstostudents.ThetechnologywaspurchasedwiththeComprehensiveSchoolReformgrant,previousEETTfunding,andTitleVIBfunds.TheschoolwasalsotherecipientofaMissouri'sInstructionalNetworkedTeachingStrategiesprogram(eMINTS)grantpriortotheimplementationoftheAssessforSuccessproject.


Missouri’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsMissouri’sARRAEETTcompetitivegrantsprovidedprofessionaldevelopmentforteacherstomeetthedemandsfor21stcenturylearning.Missouri’sprofessionaldevelopmentfollowsaresearch‐basedapproachtoorganizinginstructionasameansofhelpingteachersintegratetechnologyintotheclassroombypromotinginquiry‐basedandproject‐basedlearning.

ARRACaseStudies2012|ArcadiaValleyR‐IISchoolDistrict,Missouri


ProjectDescription

TheAssessforSuccessProjectprovidedtechnologytoolsandprofessionaldevelopmenttoallArcadiaValleyR‐IIHighSchoolstaffwiththegoaltoraisestudentachievementbyplanninginstructionandremediationresourcesbasedonformativeandsummativeassessmentdata.Forthisproject,ArcadiaValleydistrictpooledfederalfundsincludingTitle1(formula),EETT(educationaltechnology),andTitleVI(smallschool)withdistrictfunds.Throughanalysisofassessmentdata,teachersrecommendedCAI(computer‐aidedinstruction)forremediation,enrichment,andproject‐basedlearningactivitiesforcoursecontentmastery.Studentsalsocompletedgrade‐leveltechnologyprojectsbasedontheNationalEducationalTechnologyStudent(NETS)standards.Inadditiontoprofessionaldevelopment,grantfundswereusedtopurchaseinteractivewhiteboards,teacherlaptops,classroomsetsofstudentresponsesystems,andcomputerstoprovideanadditionallabforstudents.


Teachersaimedtoprovidetechnology‐richlearningenvironmentsandreceivedtraininginvariousareas,includingsessionsontheuseofinteractivewhiteboards,studentresponseunitsetup,dataacquisition,anddataanalysis.Teachersalsoparticipatedinasix‐weekonlinelearningcourse,entitledClassroomAssessmentEnhancedbyTechnology.Inthiscourse,teachersdefinedandidentifiedstrategiestobetterunderstandandutilizetherelationshipbetweenclassroomassessmentandincreasedstudentachievement.Theprofessionaldevelopmenthelpedteachersmakebetteruseofthetechnologyintheirclassroomtoenhancethepresentationofthecontentduringtheirlessons.Teachersalsolearnedtousetechnologytodevelopvarioustypesofformativeassessments.Theformativeassessmentprocessallowedteacherstodetermineweaknessesinstudentperceptionandlearning,andadjusttheirinstructionaccordingly.Thestudentresponsesystemssuccessfullyallowedteacherstoincorporatetheformativeassessmentprocessalmostseamlesslyintheir


GrantFocus Technology‐RichLearningEnvironmentandAssessment


June1,2009‐July30,2010

Locale Rural

Funding $200,000



29


2


359

Technologyiskeytohelpingteachersmodifyinstructioneffectively.

‐ArcadiaValleyHighSchoolTeacher



classrooms.Whenapplicable,summativeassessmentswerealsocreatedandscoredthroughtheautomatedscoringdevices.TheearlyuseoftechnologyinformativeandsummativeassessmentsallowedArcadiaValleyR‐IIHighSchooltobeatanadvantageinmovingtothenewlyadoptedCommonCoreStateStandards.Theteachershaveasoundfoundationinassessmentandareadjustinginstructiontomeetstudentaswellasmeetcurricularneeds.In2009,thelanguageartsdepartmenttooktheleadinindividualizinginstructionbydesigningatechnology‐basedclassprojectrequirementforallstudents.Theyalsodevelopedtheirownassessmentstoindividualizeinstructionforstudentsbasedontheassessmentdata.

ClassroomExample

• Inan11thgradeEnglishclass,studentscompleteda"Historyvs.Hollywood"researchproject.Studentsselectedamoviebasedonarealeventandresearchedthehistoricalandliteraryaspectsofthefilmviaonlineresources.Theypreparedaslideshowpresentationfortheclasstocomparetheaccuraciesandinaccuraciesofthemovieversusreality.Thestudentsthendiscussedthecontentoftheslideshowsinsmallgroups.


Thisproject’sgoalwastohave80%ofArcadiaValleyR‐IIhighschoolstudentsmaster80%ofthedistrict’sidentifiedstudentlearningobjectivesforeachcourseasmeasuredthroughtechnology‐basedsummativeassessmentsattheendofeachquarter/semesterduringthe2009‐2010schoolyear.

ArcadiaValleyR‐IIHighSchoolhasarelativelyyoung,newstaffthatwaseagertoembracetechnologytoolsaspartofeverydayinstruction.Administratorsprovidedthenecessaryprofessionaldevelopmenttimesothatteacherscouldlearnhowtoutilizethosetools,suchasstudentresponsesystemstoassessstudents,andremediateandindividualizeinstructionasnecessary.Teachersalsolearnedhowtousethetechnologytoolstoincreasestudentengagementonadailybasis.

SchoolData

• Studentsmasteredtheunitobjectivesforeachcourseasmeasuredbytechnology‐basedsummativeassessmentsatanaverageof83%.

• Studentsscoring80percentorbetteronthelanguageartsculminatingprojectasscoredusingdepartment‐createdrubrics:

74%of10thgraders 68%of11thgraders 92%of12thgraders



MovingForward

ArcadiaValleyHighSchoolhasthetechnologytoolsandnecessaryprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativesinplacetocontinuetoprovidestudentswithahighaccess,technologyrichlearningenvironment.Since2010,thedistrictcontinuestohonebothformativeandsummativeassessmentstoguideneededchangesininstruction.In2011,thehighschoolteacherscontinuedtorefinetheirteachingandevaluationskillstoaugmentstudentsuccess.

Resources

ArcadiaValleyR‐IISchoolDistricthttp://avr2.org/MissouriDepartmentofElementaryandSecondaryEducationhttp://dese.mo.govSETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

EducationalServiceUnit6


ReadinginHandProgram

EducationalServiceUnit6,Nebraska

March2010‐September2011ReadinginHandsoughttoutilizeproven,researched-basedreadinginstruction,intervention,andassessmenttools(i.e.,Lexia,AcceleratedReader,DIBELS,andMAPS)onmobilecomputingdevices(iPodTouches)toimprovereadingachievementandliteracyskillsforK‐6studentsinfourruralNebraskaschools.

Demographics

In1965,theNebraskaLegislaturecreatededucationalserviceunits(ESU)toprovidesupplementalsupporttodistrictschools.ESUsofferservicesintheareasofadministration,media,professionaldevelopment,specialeducation,andtechnology.ESU6islocatedinthesoutheastcornerofthestate,aroundMilford.ThefourruralschoolsparticipatinginthisprogramincludedDorchester,Milford,York,andMcCoolJunctionElementarySchools.


Nebraska’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsNebraska’sARRAEETTgrantgoalsincluded:toimprovestudentacademicachievementthroughtheuseoftechnologyinelementaryandsecondaryschools;toassisteverystudentincrossingthedigitaldividebyensuringthateverystudentistechnologicallyliteratebythetimethestudentfinishestheeighthgrade,regardlessofthestudent’srace,ethnicity,gender,familyincome,geographiclocation,ordisability;andtoencouragetheeffectiveintegrationoftechnology.

ARRACaseStudies2012|EducationalServiceUnit6,Nebraska


ProjectDescription

ReadinginHandprogram’sgoalwastoimproveliteracyskillsforstudentsingradesK‐6amongfourruralNebraskaschoolswithaconcentrationofhigh‐povertystudents.Specifically,theproject’sprimarygoalwastomovefrom30‐50%ofstudentswhowerereadingbelowgradelevelorbenchmark(variedaccordingtogradelevel),toachieving100%ofK‐6studentsreadingatorabovegradebythecompletionofthe2010‐2011academicyear.ThisprojectalsointendedtoshowsustainedreadinggrowthamonghigherachievingK‐6students,asbaselinedataindicatedthatthemajorityofhigh‐achievingstudentswereactuallydeclininginreadingachievementundercurrentpractice.DatawascollectedfromESU6schoolstodocumentcontentareaswherestudentswerenotreadingatanacceptablelevel.Scoresshowedthattheelementarystudentsinthefourtargetedschoolsneededinterventiontoimprovetheirreadingskills.Thetwogradelevelsateachschoolwiththelowestreadingachievementscoresfromthepreviousschoolyearwerechosentobeapartoftheprogram.Duetoschoolsizes,thisrangedfromonetofourclassroomsateachgradelevel.Eachteacher,includingspecialeducationteachers,involvedintheprojectworkedwiththeESU6literacycoachandtechnologyintegrationspecialisttoreceivetrainingthroughlargegroup,professionaldevelopment,1-to‐1coachingandwebinars,livechatorinstantmessagingsessions,andotheronlinelearningenvironments.EachselectedschoolreceivedacartofstudentiPodTouchestobesharedbetweenthetwoteachersperschool.AlaptopwasmadeavailableontopofthecarttoassistwiththesyncingofiPodTouches.Eachmemberoftheleadershipteamreceivedalaptop,andeachteacherreceivedaniPodTouch.Thewirelessnetworkinfrastructurewasimprovedtosupporttheuseofthewirelesscapabilitiesofthetools.


Theprojectleadershipteam,consistingofrepresentativesfromeachschool,theliteracycoach,andtechnologyspecialist,playedaninstrumentalroleintheimplementationoftheproject.Theymetcontinuouslythroughouttheprojectandplannedthemajorityofthe


GrantFocus High‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironmentandTechnologyInfrastructure


March1,2010‐September30,2011

Locale Rural

Funding $300,057ARRAEETT$40,000FY10EETT

GradeLevel(s) K‐6


35


4


450



professionaldevelopment.InJuneof2010,participatingteachersmetalldayforanintroductionofthetoolsandanoverviewofapps.EachteacherreceivedaniPodTouchtouseoverthesummerwiththeintenttoincreasehisorhercomfortlevel.Theywereshownhowtodownloadfreeappsandpodcasts,includingresourcesfromNebraskaDepartmentofEducation'siTunesU.TeachersandadministratorsgatheredagaininAugustfortwodaystoreceivetrainingonliteracyandreadingfluency.Sinceresearchshowsastrongcorrelationbetweenfluencyandcomprehension,thistrainingcovereddiscussionsonconnectingfluencyandcomprehensioninclassroomactivities.Also,duringthistraining,thecoachesoutlinedthelogisticsofthefluency/comprehensionassessmentstoevaluatethestudents’readinglevels.Duringthe2010‐2011schoolyear,participatingteachersmetthreetimesindividuallywiththeprojectleadershipteam.InSeptember,theliteracycoachvisitedeachclassroomandmodeledlessonsforteachers.Thelessonfocusedonusingrubricstoteachstudentsaboutreadingfluency.StudentslearnedhowtorecordthemselvesontheiPodTouchesinordertoself‐assesstheirfluencyskills.Teachersdebriefedwiththecoachafterthemodeledlessontodiscussandassistwithlessonplanning.Thetechnologyspecialistwasalsoonsiteduringthesedaystohelpwithintegratingthetechnologyintothelessons,toprovidesupportandanswerquestions,andtoofferanyothertechnicalassistanceasneeded.InOctober,theliteracycoachobservedteachersandmeteachteachertodesignapersonalteacheractionplan.Theactionplanreflectedreadingandtechnologyuse,goals,andactionsthattheprojectleadershipteamneededtosupporttheteachers.InJanuaryof2011,coachingsessionsweredeterminedonanindividualbasisandincludedadditionalmodeledlessons,co‐taughtlessons,observations,and/orplanningsessions.

Teacherscreatedportfoliosofstudentfluencysamplesforeachstudentduringthefall.TeachersworkedtocompleteanalyticscoringofthesamplesinDecember,thencontinuedtheteaching,recording,andcollectingprocessthroughoutthespring.Teacherscamebacktogetherinlatespringtodoasecondanalyticscoringoftheaudiofiles,whichshoweduniversalgainsinfluency.Teachersusedthedatatovalidatethatgrantactivitiesweremakingapositiveimpactonstudentachievement.Thedataalsohelpedindicatewhichstudentsneededadditionalsupportstoreachbenchmarkfluencyrates. InadditiontousingtheiPodTouchesforliteracyrecordings,teachersdownloadedappropriateappsforstudentuse,suchasPuppetPalswherestudentscanchoosepuppets,animate,andrecordstoriestocreateapuppetshow.TeacherssharedandevaluatedappsusingtheReadinginHandprojectwebsite.

ClassroomExamples

• Insecondgrade,studentscompletedavarietyoffluencylessonsutilizingtheiPodTouchesasrecordingdevicestorecord,playback,andevaluatereadings.Toteachappropriateintonationwhilereading,studentslearnedtheimportanceofusingpunctuationasaguide.First,students,asawholegroup,recitedthealphabetornumbersasaconversation.Forexample,ABC?DE.FGH!I?JKL.MN?OPQ!RST!UV?WX.YZ!123.4!567?89.10!Next,studentsrecitedasentenceusingdifferentend



punctuationmarks.Forexample,Cowsmoo.Cowsmoo?Cowsmoo!Topracticeplacingthestressondifferentwordsinthesamesentence,theteachermodeledreadingthefollowingsentences:Iamsad.Iamsad.Iamsad.Studentsthenworkedinpairsandpracticedreadingthesentences.Next,studentsrecordedtheirreadings,listenedtotherecordings,andevaluatedthemselves,usingaprovidedrubric,withapartnerorateacher.Studentsworkedtoimprovetheirreadingbasedonselfandpeerevaluations.Priortothegrant,studentshadneverrecordedthemselvesorevaluatedtheirownreading.

• Tohelpstudentschunktextastheyread,aparticipatingteacherfocusedongrammarskills.Studentslearnedtodifferentiatebetweenasubjectandapredicateasameanstohelpthemchunktextbasedonthesetwomainpartsofasentence.Duringonelesson,studentswereprovidedapapercopyofashortpassagewiththesubjectunderlinedonceandthepredicateunderlinedtwice.Inpairs,studentsunderlinedtheprovidedtexts.Afterpracticeanddiscussion,studentsworkedwithanewshortpassage.Theteachermodeledhowtousethesephrasechunkstoreadfluently.Afterstudentspracticedreadingthepassage,theyrecordedthemselvesontheiPodTouchesandevaluatedtheirownreadingfluency.Theyweretaughttoevaluatetheirfluencyandanalyzethedatatoknowtheirstrengthsandweaknessesaspartofthisgrantprogram.


InDecemberof2010,participatingteachersworkedtogethertoevaluatetwoaudiofilesperstudent(totalof330students).Students’recordingswereevaluatedforthreereadingtraits;expression,smoothness/accuracy,andpacingusingadetailedfour‐pointscalerubric.

ComparingESU#6—330Students(December)toESU#6—335Students(May)



MovingForward

ManycomponentsoftheReadinginHandprogramwillbecontinued.Theliteracycoachwillbefundedusingstatefunds,andadditionaliPodToucheswerepurchasedbyindividualschools.AdditionalapplicationsandfunctionalityisbeingutilizedwiththeiPods,includingiMovieontheneweriPods,andliteracyapps.Theparticipatingteachershaveservedasmodelsandadvocatesforthereadingprogramandcannotimaginetheirclassroomswithoutthesepowerfultools.

Resources

ReadinginHandProjectWebsitehttp://esu6rih.wikispaces.comNebraskaDepartmentofEducationhttp://www.education.ne.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

ReadingEvaluationData

• InDecember,17%ofstudentsscoredatlevel1or2,46%scoredatlevel3,and37%scoredatlevel4.

• InMay,10%ofstudentsscoredatlevel1or2,34%scoredatlevel3,and56%scoredatlevel4demonstratingsignificantgains.

ClarkCountySchoolDistrict


PathwayProject

July2009‐July2011ThemainpurposeofthePathwayProjectwastoimprovemiddleschoolachievementbyengagingstudentsin21stcenturylearningexperiences.ThisstatewideprogramsoughttoprovideaccessibleprofessionaldevelopmentdespitethegeographyanddisparityofNevada’sschooldistricts.

Demographics

Nevadaisageographicallydiversestate.ClarkCounty,whichincludesLasVegas,isthelargestschooldistrict,andovertwo‐thirdsofNevada’spopulationlivesintheLasVegasmetropolitanarea.AstheseventhlargeststateintheUnitedStates,theremainderofthepopulationlivingoutsideLasVegasisspreadacrossvastruralareas.TheClarkCountystudentpopulationisapproximately314,000,whilethetotalstatestudentpopulationis437,000.Thereare341schoolsinClarkCountyandcurrentexpenditureperstudentis$7,615,wellbelowthenationalaverageof$10,190.


Nevada’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsNevada’sEETTcompetitivegrantaddressedthestatewideconcernregardingstudentengagementandachievement.Effortsfocusedonrecognizingandaddressingtheneedsof21stcenturystudentsthroughtheframeworkoftherevisedNevadaEducationalTechnologyStandards,whichaligntotheNationalEducationalTechnologyStandardsforStudents(NETS‐S).Inordertomeettheneedsofstudents,teachersweretrainedinproviding21stcenturylearningexperiencesforstudents.Tobestreachteachersacrossthestate,professionaldevelopmentwasprovidedonlineandarchivedforfutureprofessionaldevelopmentneeds.

ARRACaseStudies2012|ClarkCountySchoolDistrict,Nevada


ProjectDescription

ThePathwayProject,inspiredbycollaborativediscussionswithtechnologyprofessionalsfromaroundthestate,providedprofessionaldevelopmentandtoolstocreate21stcenturylearningexperiencesformiddleschoolstudents.ThePathwayProjectadvisorycommitteechosetotargetmiddleschoolteachersandstudentstosparkinterestandcuriosityinadolescentlearners.Thetwo‐yearprofessionaldevelopmentprogramfocusedonchangingteacherbehavior,usingtheTechnologicalPedagogicalContentKnowledge(TPACK)model,anddeliveringeffectiveonlineprofessionaldevelopment.Teachersreceivedtrainingandworkedcollaborativelytodevelop,implement,andrevisestandards‐basedprojectsfortheirstudents.Aclassroompackageoftechnologyequipmentwasprovidedtoparticipatingteacherstosupportthischange,includingiPodTouchesandlaptopcarts.Alltrainingwasconductedonline,throughaMoodleenvironmentandbybuildingelectronic,professionallearningcommunities.Inaddition,trainingandcollaborationwasprovidedforthesiteadministratorswhosupportedtheparticipatingteachers.


BeginninginJulyof2009,teachersacrossthestateappliedforacceptanceintothePathwayProject;teacherswereselectedinpairssothattheycouldprovidesupporttoeachotherastheyprogressedthroughthetwo‐yearprogram.Applicantswereselectedbasedonadministrationapproval,leveloftechnologysupportattheirschool,andgeographiclocationtoensurethateachdistrictwasrepresentedproportionally.Onehundredtwenty‐eightteacherswereselected,representing17


GrantFocus OngoingProfessionalDevelopmentandProject‐BasedCollaborativeLearning


July1,2009‐July31,2011

Locale Statewide

Funding $4,038,709FederalFunds$100,000LocalFunds

GradeLevel(s) 6‐8


128


30


18,000

Ihaven’thadtopulloutthetextbooksatallthisyear.It'snotthatIneverusepencilandpaper;obviouslythatstillhasalotofvalue,butasmuchasIcan,Itrytogetthetechnologyusedinwhateverwaypossible.It'sanever‐endingsourceofinformationandreadingandwritingandcriticalthinkingskills,andit'sreallyallofthattogether.It'sbeenaverypleasantexperiencehavingallthisstuffinmyclassroom!

–PathwayTeacher



districts.TheteachersreceivedaniPodTouchcartandalaptopcartperpairofteachers.Teacherswerealsoprovidedadditionaldevicessuchasalaptopandprojectorifnotalreadyinplaceattheschool.Theprofessionaldevelopmentconsistedoffourmodules,developedandfacilitatedbyUniversityofNevada,LasVegasprofessorsandschooldistrictprofessionaldevelopers.Module1providedanintroductiontothetechnologytoolsandatheoreticalfoundationoftheTPACKmodelandnationalandstatetechnologystandards.InModule2,teachersplannedproject‐basedactivities,collaboratingacrossthestate.InModule3,teachersimplementedprojectswithstudents.Module4providedtheopportunityforreflectionandrefinement.Throughoutallofthemodules,teacherscompletedassignments,attendedwebinars,participatedinonlinediscussions,andengagedinsynchronoussessions.

ClassroomExamples

• Inseventhgradescience,identifyingandexplainingseismicwavesispartofthecurriculum.Inpreviousyears,scienceteachersshowedavideoandaskedstudentstoreadaboutseismographs.InthePathwayclassroom,usingaseismographappontheiriPods,studentsrecordeddifferentwavesandmanipulatedthewavesinrealtime.Next,studentsworkedonlinetogatherdataandgraphseismicactivityinNevada.Studentswereengagedinthishands‐ondiscoveryofwavesandseismographfunctions.

• IntheunitonimmigrationinanAmericanhistoryclass,studentswouldtypicallyreadthetextbookandwatchavideoaboutimmigrationthroughEllisIsland.InthePathwayclass,pairsofstudentschosevideosegmentsfromthePBSFacesofAmerica.Studentsthenrespondedtopromptingquestionspostedontheteacher’sblog.Theyhadtheopportunitytoshareandreadthediversityofblogposts,resultingintheexpressionofempathyfortheimmigrantsandrealizingthateveryimmigratinggroupfaceddifferentandyetsimilarstrugglesanddreams.


Thetwomainobjectivesofthisprogramweretochangeteacherbehaviorthroughonline,collaborativeprofessionaldevelopment,andtoidentifyandimplementeffectivetools,strategies,andresourcesforprofessionaldevelopment.Toevaluatethesegoals,qualitativeandquantitativedatawerecollectedthroughmultiplesurveyinstruments,interviews,classroomobservations,andreviewofartifacts(blogreflections,worksamplesandonlinediscussionthreads).Surveysincludedthefollowingtools:AttitudesTowardTechnologicalTools,DispositionsTowardTeachingwithTechnology,TechnologySelf‐Efficacy(Confidence),andTPACKsurvey.Teachersweresurveyedatthebeginningoftheprofessionaldevelopmentandtheendofeachofthefourmodules.Dataconfirmedthatthefirstobjectivewasmet;theprogrampositivelyaffectedteacherbehavior.Participantsnotedincreasedconfidenceandhigherattitudeswiththetoolsandpedagogies.Inexaminingaparticularvariable,participants’attitudetowardinteractiveanddeliverytools,therewaslittlechangeinattitudewitheachmodulebutasignificantpositivechangebytheconclusionoftheproject. Subsequently,ampleanecdotaldata,includingthatfromclassroomobservationsandteacherinterviews,indicatedincreasedstudentengagement.



Findingsshowedthatstudentswereindeedmotivatedbythevarioustechnologytoolsandapplicationsemployed.Strengthsoftheprojectincludedtheaccesstothetoolsandresources,withthefreedomtoexplore,andthecollaborationandfeedbackfromtheprojectfacilitatorsandparticipants.See“Resources”belowforaccesstotheClarkCountySchoolDistrict:ARRAPathwaysProjectFinalReportFY2011.

MovingForward

ManyPathwayteachershavealreadyprovidedprofessionaldevelopmentwithintheirownschoolsanddistricts,andsomepresentedatthestateconference.Theseteachershavebecomeadvocatesandmentorsforintegratingtechnology.SmallpartsofeachmodulehavebeenarchivedwithplanstoadjustandcombineinaMoodleenvironmentsothatteachersmayparticipateinself‐pacedandunguidedprofessionaldevelopmentforcontinuingeducationcredit.

Resources

NevadaPathwayProjectWebsitehttp://cpdmoodle.ccsd.net/pathway/ClarkCountySchoolDistrict:ARRA‐PathwaysProjectFinalReportFY2011http://tinyurl.com/7fwy53dNevadaDepartmentofEducationhttp://doe.nv.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

NewHampshireSchool

AdministrativeUnit#53


TransformingClassroomsThroughTechnology

NewHampshireSchoolAdministrativeUnit#53

December2009‐September2011ThepurposeoftheTransformingClassroomsThroughTechnologygrantwastoincreasestudentachievementinsciencewithahands‐on,inquiry‐basedapproachinK‐12whileintegratingtechnology.Throughequipmentpurchases,professionaldevelopment,in‐depthcurriculumalignment,andacommitmenttohigherordercognitiveprocesses,thisprogramrevampedthesciencecurriculum.

Demographics

SchoolAdministrativeUnit(SAU)#53iscomprisedof10schoolsintheschooldistrictsofAllenstown,Chichester,Deerfield,EpsomandPembroke,NewHampshire.TheSAUprovidesPK‐12educationalexperiencesforapproximately3,500students.SAU#53schoolsareinthesuburbsofConcord,thestatecapital.


NewHampshire’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsInNewHampshire,the21stCenturyClassroomsInitiativeprovidedgrantstoschooldistrictsand/orconsortiaofschooldistrictsforinnovativeintegrationofeducationaltechnologyandinformationliteracytoadvancestudentlearning.Totransformtraditionalmodelsofschoolinginto21stcenturylearningenvironments,students,teachers,andadministratorswereimmersedinprojectsthatfocusedonmedia‐richteachingandlearningresourcesandstrategies.

ARRACaseStudies2012|SchoolAdministrativeUnit#53,NewHampshire


ProjectDescription

TheTransformingScienceClassroomsThroughTechnologyprojectfocusedonscienceeducationinnineschools,withmandatoryparticipationfromallfivehighschoolscienceteachersandvoluntaryparticipationbytheelementaryandmiddleschoolscienceteachers.RecentrevisionstotheNewHampshireScienceFrameworks,providedtheopportunitytoinfusetechnologyandencouragenewprofessionaldevelopment.Theequipmentpurchasedincludedtwolabstationsperschoolandfivelabstationsforthehighschool.Thelabstationsincludedalaptop,aninteractivewhiteboard,videocameras,scienceprobes(includingelectronic,motion,temperature,biology,andchemistryprobes),adocumentcamera,digitalmicroscopes,aweatherstation,highspeeddigitalcameras,andtheappropriatesoftware.ParticipatingteachersengagedinprofessionaldevelopmentanddevelopedlessonsusingtheUnderstandingbyDesign(UBD)model,whichincludedincorporatingthenewequipment.Theprofessionaldevelopmentalsoestablishedalearningcommunityforthescienceteachers.Aspartoftheprocess,teachersanalyzedtheeffectivenessoftechnology‐enrichedlessonsbycomparingthemtotraditionallydeliveredlessonsusingexperimentalandcontrolgroups.


Duringthespringandsummerof2010,materialsandequipmentwereorderedandsetupintheparticipatingclassrooms.Inpreparation,teachersconductedtechnologyliteracypreteststoestablishabaseline.Projectleadersattendedstatewidemeetings,andmonthlymeetingswereheldforallSAU#53participatingteachersandadministratorstodiscussprojectgoalsandactivities,equipmentuse(i.e.,interactivewhiteboards,probes,andweatherequipment),andexperimentandevaluationstrategies.Afull‐timeintegrationspecialistwasemployedaspartofthisproject.SheguidedtheclassroomteacherstointegratethetechnologytoolsintothecurriculumbasedontheNewHampshireScienceFrameworksandISTEstandards.Thisspecialistalsoassessedindividualprofessionaldevelopmentneedsandalignedtheprofessionaldevelopmentwith


GrantFocus ContentStandardsandHigh‐QualityAssessmentsandHigh‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironments


December10,2009‐September30,2011

Locale Town/Rural

Funding $534,066



27


10


482



districttechnologyplansandthesciencegrade‐spanstandards.Shevisitedeachparticipatingclassroomonanalmostweeklybasistohelpwithintegrationandcollaboration.Sheorganizedthetemplateusedforsharinglessonsinthelearningcommunity’sonlinesite,whichwashostedbySakai,NewHampshire’scontentmanagementsystem.Shealsoorganizedmonthlymeetingsanddisseminatedinformationlocally,acrosstheproject,andstatewide.TeacherswerewellversedindevelopinglessonsusingUBDprinciplesthroughpreviousprofessionaldevelopment.EachparticipatingteacherwasresponsiblefordevelopingaminimumoftwolessonsusingaUBDtemplatetoshareviathelearningcommunity’ssite.Inaddition,awikiwaspartofthissite,andteacherscommunicatedwitheachotherviathewikithroughouttheschoolyear.Alistservprovidedanotheropportunitytocommunicateinformationtoandbetweentheparticipants.Manyoftheparticipantsalsoattendedregionalandnationalconferences.

ClassroomExamples

• Intwofirstgradeclasses,studentsstudiedplantgrowth.Twoseparateclassroomswereestablished,acontrolandtreatment(withtechnology‐enhancedinstruction)classroom.Inthecontrolclass,studentsstudiedplantgrowthastheyhaveinthepast,plantingaseedinsoil,documentingtheplant’sgrowth,andlabelingdiagrams. Inthetechnology‐rich classroom,studentsplantedseedsandobservedgrowthbutalsousedprobesandtechnologytoolstovarysunlightandwatertomanipulateandobservetheireffectonsimulatedplants.Studentsviewedvideoclipstoshowplantgrowthfromaseedtoafullplantinfasttime.Theyalsousedinteractivesitesonthecomputerstoalterplantgrowthviasimulations.Pre‐andpost‐testscoresonaplantgrowthassessmentwerecollectedforboththecontrolandtreatmentclassesandshowedhigherscoresforthetreatmentgroup(87%versus82%). Teacherobservationsindicatedthatstudentsweresignificantlymoreengagedwhenusingtechnology.Thesimulationfortheplantgrowthwasespeciallybeneficialandfunforthestudents.

• Inasixthgradescienceunitonsound,theobjectivewastohavestudentsexplainthatsoundvibrationsmoveatdifferentspeedsandfrequenciesandhavedifferentwavelengths.Twoclasses,acontrolandtreatment(withtechnology‐enhancedinstruction)completedactivitiestostudysound.Adifferentteachertaughteachclass.Bothteachersdevelopedthelessonsandtriedtomaketheexperience,withtheexceptionofthetechnology,similarforthestudents.Studentsdeterminedwhatawavelookedlikeifasoundwasloudorsoftandwhatitlookedlikeifasoundhasahighpitchoralowpitch.Inthetechnology‐richclassroom,studentsusedanMP3player,tuningforks,andadditionalinstrumentstocreatedifferentsoundsandusedprobestorecordthewavelengths.Studentsuploadedthesoundfilestoacomputer

Theintegrationoftechnologyinthefirstgradeclassroomhasbeenpositive.Thestudentsaresignificantlymoreengaged.Theyregardthelessonsasfunandcan'twaittohavetheirturnwiththetools.‐BarbaraNelson,FirstGradeTeacher



andusedAudacitysoftwaretoviewandeditthesoundwaves.Inthecontrolclassroom,studentsworkedwithtuningforksandprobesbutdidnothavetheMP3playersusingtextbooksanddiagramsasreference.Attheendofthisactivity,allstudentstookaquiz.Studentsmatcheddiagramsofsixdifferentwaveswithitstype:loudandhigh‐pitched,loudandlow‐pitched,softandhigh‐pitched,softandlow‐pitched,loudandmedium‐pitched,orsoftandmedium‐pitched.Theaveragescoreofthetreatmentgroupwas5.29outofapossible6.Theaverageofthecontrolgroupwas3.88outof6points.Inaddition,70%ofthestudentsinthetreatmentgroupansweredallthequestionscorrectlyonthequizwhileonly47%ofthestudentsinthecontrolgroupansweredallthequestionscorrectly.


AlldistrictsreceivingARRAEdTechgrantfundswererequiredtocompleteevaluationinstruments/surveyscreatedbyHezelAssociatesandinstrumentscreatedbyNHDOE,includingaWalkthroughObservationTool,EducatorSurvey,StudentSurvey,NHSchoolTechnologyandReadiness(STaR)Chart,NHDistrictTechnologySurvey,andNHSchoolTechnologySurveys.See"Resources"belowforaccesstothefullevaluationreport.Theprogramhadmultiplebenefitsforbothstudentsandteachers.Studentsbenefitedfromanengagingandinteractive21stcenturylearningenvironment.Informalobservationsanddatacollectionbythescience/technologyintegrationspecialistandadministratorsconcludedthattheintegrationoftechnologyhelpedtoincreasestudentcomprehensionandengagement.Teachersbelievethattheirproductivityandefficiencyincreased,astheywereabletoutilizethenewtechnologyintheirdailyplansandshareplanswithotherteachers.

MovingForward

Asotherclassroomteacherssawthetechnologyusedbytheircolleaguesandthegainsincomprehensionandengagementwithstudents,therewasademandinotherclassesforincreasedtechnology.AtEpsomCentralHighSchool,allotherclassroomswereequippedwithinteractivewhiteboards.AtHillSchool,additionalstudentlabswereinstalled,andlocalfundswereusedtorehiretheproject’sintegrationspecialistonapart‐timebasis.Theonlinemanagementsystem,Sakai,continuestosupportprofessionallearning,andteacherscontinuetomeettoshareideas.

Resources

NewHampshireSchoolAdministrativeUnit#53http://www.sau53.orgState-wide Evaluation of the New Hampshire ESEA Title II, Part D Grant Program Final Report,

October 2011

http://tinyurl.com/8yz3l5k



NewHampshireDepartmentofEducationhttp://www.education.nh.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

LawrenceTownshipPublicSchools


Talent21Grant,LawrenceTownshipPublicSchools,NewJersey

June2010‐September2011LawrenceTownshipwasoneoftenNewJerseydistrictsthatreceivedaTalent21grant.InLawrenceTownship,eachsixthgradestudentreceivedanetbookforuseinschoolandathome.Teachersandadministratorsengagedinsummerandafter‐schoolprofessionaldevelopmentsessions,in‐classcoaching,andone‐on‐oneconsultationwithprofessionalconsultantsinthefieldsofeducationaltechnology.Thefocusofthetrainingwasonintegratingtechnologyintoallcurriculumareas,implementingstudent‐centeredinstructionthroughtheUDLframework,communicatingmoreeffectivelywithintheschoolandcommunity,usingcollaborativetools,andmanagingchange.

Demographics

LawrenceTownshipPublicSchoolsisasuburbanschooldistrictlocatedinLawrenceville,NewJersey,geographicallybetweenPrincetonandTrenton.Itisadiversecommunitywithover40languagesspokenbystudents.Theschoolsystemismadeupoffourelementaryschools(K‐3),oneintermediateschool(4‐6),onemiddleschool(7‐8),andonehighschool(9‐12).


NewJersey’sEETTARRACompetitiveGrantProgramNewJersey’sTalent21(TeachingandLearningwithEssentialNewTechnologiesinthe21stCentury)programawardedtendistrictsgrantfunds,targetingsixthandseventhgradestudents.Studentswereprovideda1‐to‐1mobiledevice,theuseofWeb2.0tools,andonlinecollaborativelearningopportunities.Intensiveprofessionaldevelopmentforteachersandadministratorsprovidedparticipantswiththeabilitytochangethedeliveryofinstructionthroughtheacquisitionofskillstoeffectivelyintegratetechnologyand21stcenturyskillsandthemesacrosscontentareasusingtheUniversalDesignforLearning(UDL)framework.Teachersandadministratorsalsodevelopedasustainabilityplanextendingbeyondthegrantperiod.

ARRACaseStudies2011|LawrenceTownshipPublicSchools,NewJersey


ProjectDescription

TheTalent21Projectprovidedtechnology‐enrichedclassroomsandprofessionaldevelopmentforschools.Grantfundsincludedtheestablishmentofareliableandrobustwirelessnetworkanda1‐to‐1wirelessmobilecomputingenvironment.Thegrantrequiredrecipientstoestablishaformativeassessmentsystemandprocesstocollect,manage,andanalyzestudentdatainordertoallowforindividualizedinstructionalstrategies.LawrenceTownship’sTalent21grantfocusedontheuseoftechnologytosupportandenhanceinstructioninthecorecontentareas.Intenseprofessionaldevelopmentforteachersandadministratorstargetedeffectiveintegrationoftechnologyand21stcenturyskills.


Toaccommodatethenewtools,theoneintermediateandmiddleschoolinLawrenceTownshipfirstincreaseditsbandwidthtoaccommodatethemaximumnumberofnetbookusers.Approximately288sixthgradestudentswereissuedanetbookduringthesummerof2010and310sixthgradestudentsduringthesummerof2011.Thesummersof2010and2011werefilledwithintensiveprofessionaldevelopmentforstaff,students,andparents.TeacherswereinstructedonusingWeb2.0tools,includingDiigo,Googledocs,GoogleEarth,Brainpopresources,Quizlet,Jing,andWikispaces.NovemberLearningconsultantstrainedteachersonusingthecollaborativeGoogletools,includingdocs,calendars,forms,sites,andgroups.TheconsultantsdemonstratedhowtomanagestudentworkelectronicallyandtocommunicatewithstudentsandparentsthroughGooglesites,Wikispaces,andTeacherspages.Duringthistime,teachersdevelopedcollaborativesitesbyclassandbycontentareaasawaytobetterorganizeandcommunicateinformation.Teachersalsotransformedlessonstoadigitalformattoallowstudentstoaccessinformationfromhome.Atthesametime,administratorsparticipatedinprofessionaldevelopmenttolearnnewwaystocommunicatewithparents,communitymembers,and


GrantFocus TechnologyCoachesandHigh‐AccessTechnologyandTechnology‐RichLearningEnvironment


June2010‐September15,2011

Locale Suburban

Funding $1,400,000

GradeLevel(s) Grades6and7


62


9


598

Thereisn’taplaceintheschoolthatisn’talearningspace.

‐LawrenceTownshipAssistantSuperintendent



studentsthroughsocialnetworks,suchasTwitter,blogs,andFacebook.ContentsupervisorsinvestigatedusingnewWeb2.0toolstoinfuseadditionaltechnologyresourcesintothecurriculum.Supervisorsalsoutilizednewtoolstodisseminateinformationtostaff.ParentsparticipatedinaseriesofworkshopsthatintroducedthemtotheWeb2.0toolstheirchildrenwouldbeusing,andtheywereprovidedhelpfultipsforinternetsafetyandinmanaging“netbooktime”athome.Professionaldevelopmentcontinuedduringtheschoolyearthroughin‐classcoaching.Participatingteachersreceivedonedayofcontenttrainingwithtimetodevelopnewlessonsintegratingtechnology.Duringthenextweek,acoachvisitedtheclassroomtoassisttheteacherinimplementingthelesson.Teachersandstudentstogetherbecameexpertsinlearning,anddevelopersofcontent,helpingeachotherwiththetechnologyandtheapplications.Withthemobilityofthenetbooks,allcornersoftheschoolbuildingwereutilizedforlearningspaces.Engagedlearningoccurredintheclassroomsandevenhallwaysasstudentsworkedinsmallgroups.Studentactivitiesincorporatedcollaborativelearning,podcasts,andvideos.Integratingtechnologytoolsandonlinecontentallowedstudentstounderstandglobalconnections,differingpointsofview,anddiverseculturalvalues.

ClassroomExamples

• LanguageArtsstudentstookanewapproachtostudyingcurrentevents.Insteadofclippingnewspaperarticlesandbringingthemintoclass,studentsusedTweenTribune.com,asitefeaturingrelevantnewsstoriesspecificallyfortweensandteens.Afterexploringandidentifyingproperwebetiquette,students,asaclass,setguidelinesforusingtheTweenTribunewebsiteandleavingcommentsonthesite.Studentsweretaskedwithreadingarticles,submittingcommentstotheteacherforreview,andthenpostingcomments.Thisprocessengagedthestudentandteacherinthewritingandreviewingprocess.Bypostingcommentsonthesite,studentswereabletosharetheirwritingnotonlywiththeirclassmatesbutwithallTweenTribunevisitors.Studentswerehighlymotivatedtoreadcurrentarticlesandcraftthoughtfulresponsestoelicitdiscussion.

• Mathematicsstudentsengagedinanongoingstockmarketprojectthroughouttheschoolyear.Earlyintheschoolyear,studentswatchedanonlinevideoandparticipatedindiscussions,whichprovidedanoverviewofthestockmarket.StudentstrackedstocksusingYahoo!Financeandconductedindependent,onlineresearchofvariouscompanies.FromSeptemberthroughApril,studentsselectedstocks,trackedthem,andgraphedprogressviadesktoptools.Whenpricesroseorfelldramatically,theteacherledadiscussiononhowmajorevents(suchastheJapanesetsunami)affectedthestockmarket.Astheculminatingproject,studentsworkedinpairsandchosetwocompetingcompanies,suchasAdidasvs.NikeorSprintvs.AT&T,andresearchedeachcompany.Studentschoseoneofthecompaniesasarecommendedinvestmentandpresentedallfindingstotheirclassmatesusingpresentationtools.Presentationswerealsopostedonline.




Thekeytothissuccessfulprogramwasongoingprofessionaldevelopment.Teachersreceivedsupportfromadministrators,coaches,andstudents.Theteacherswhoreceivedthecoachingaspartofthisprogramwillbecomethecoachestootherteachersinthefuture.Otheraccomplishmentsincludedtheestablishmentofavirtualprofessionallearningcommunity,teacherwebsites,andweb‐basedlessonsandtutorialsforstudentsandparentstoaccessfromhome.StudentsandteachersintheTalent21programincreasedtheirtechnologyproficiency.Basedonthepost‐testresultsofastudentengagementsurveydevelopedbytheNationalCenterforStudentEngagement,thestudentsintheTalent21groupoutscoredtheirpeers,fromacontrolgroupwhodidnotexperiencetheprogram,by13percentilepoints.

MovingForward

Buildingonthesuccessofthisprogram,theprogramexpandedforthe2011‐2012schoolyear.Eighthgradestudentsreceivedanetbookprovidedthroughlocalfunds.Studentsmovingfromsixthtoseventhgradewereredistributednetbooks,andthenewsixthgraderswereissuednewnetbooksaspartoftheTalent21program.Allmiddleschoolstudentswillwork1‐to‐1withthetechnologyforthefirsttimeinthedistrict’shistory.Inaddition,Talent21grantees,includingLawrenceTownship,nowserveasbestpracticemodelsforschoolsacrossthestateinestablishingandimplementing21stcenturylearningenvironments.

Resources

LawrenceTownshipPublicSchoolshttp://ltps.org/NewJerseyDepartmentofEducationhttp://nj.gov/education/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

SchoolData

• Studenttechnologyproficiencyincreasedfrom75%to87%inoneschoolyearasmeasuredbytheNJTAP‐INrubricfromtheNewJerseyDepartmentofEducation.

• Basedonresultsfromthepre‐testandpost‐testLOTIDigitalAge

Survey,theparticipatingteachersincreasedtheirtechnologyliteracybyapproximately11%inoneyear.

RochesterCitySchoolDistrict


EETTModelClassrooms

RochesterCitySchoolDistrict,NewYork

September2010‐September2011Thepurposeofthisgrantwastoscale‐upRochester’sModelClassroomsprogrambyprovidingtheequipmentandprofessionaldevelopmentrequiredtoestablishadditionaltechnology‐rich,studentcentered,modelclassrooms.Throughprofessionaldevelopmentandtheadditionoftechnologytoclassrooms,teacherslearnedtointegratetechnologyintoastudent‐centeredmodelofinstruction.

Demographics

ThecityofRochesterislocatedinupstateNewYork.ItisconsideredoneofNewYork’sBig5districts,alongwithSyracuse,NewYorkCity,Buffalo,andYonkers.Theschoolsystemsupportsapproximately32,000PK‐12studentsand10,000adults.Studentsspeak35differentlanguages,from28differentcountries.InRochester,88%ofthestudentpopulationiseligibleforfree/reducedlunch,while22%ofthecityschoolsareat90%povertyorhigher.


NewYork’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsTheNewYorkStateEducationDepartment(NYSED)identifiedfourprioritiesareasforARRAEETTfunds:1)Todeveloptechnology‐rich,student‐centered,activelearningenvironments;2)Provideanonlineformativeassessmentdatamanagementsystemcompatiblewithcurrentdatasystem;3)DeliveronlineinstructionconnectedwiththedevelopmentofNYSED’sVirtualSchoolInitiative;and4)SupportEnglishlanguagelearners(ELLs)andstudentswithdisabilitiesthroughtheuseoftechnologytools.

ARRACaseStudies2012|RochesterCitySchoolDistrict,NewYork


ProjectDescription

InRochesterCitySchools,adistrictsurveyrevealedthatmostteacherswerenotpreparedtoeffectivelyteachusingtechnologytools.Allteachershadacomputereach,andschoolshadatleastacomputerlab.Inaddition,someschoolshadmobilelabs,projectors,andinteractivewhiteboardsbutthiswasnotwidespread.Inresponse,thedistricttargetedfourththrougheighthgradeteacherstohelpensurestudenttechnologyproficiencybythetimestudentsenteredninthgrade.Usingacombinationoffederalandlocalfunds,thislargeendeavoraimedtocoupleappropriateaccesstotechnologytoolswithintense,professionaldevelopmentthatwouldbuildteachers’skills,supportinstruction,andchangeclassroompractices.Thisinitiativeinitiallybeganin2006withlocalfundsonasmallscale,andthenexpandedannuallywiththehelpoflocal,EETTformula,andcompetitivefunds.By2008,theprogramexpandedtoreacheachschoolinthedistrict.TheARRAEETTfundsawardedforthe2010‐2011schoolyearenabledtheModelClassroomprogramtoexpandto120additionalclassrooms.Theprogramprovidedmulti‐modalityprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforteachersandbuildinglevelstaff,whichincludedface‐to‐facetrainingandcoachingbyatechnologyintegrationspecialist.Overall,sincetheModelClassroomsinception,396teachersfrom159classroomshavebeentrained,andthedistrictcontinuallyprovidestrainingsothatstaffmembersarepreparedasadditionaltechnologytoolsaredistributed.Overall,5,683uniqueparticipantshaveparticipatedinatleastoneModelClassroomtrainingsessionssince2006.Thetotalfundsforthisgrantsince2006include$3,000,000inlocalfunds,$953,216inEETTFormulaFunds,$2.4millioninEETTcompetitivefunds,and$1,857,403inARRAEETTFunds.


Modelclassroomteacherswereselectedinpairsbasedontheirinstructionalexpertiseandtheirinterestintechnologyintegration.Eachparticipatingteacher'sclassroomwasoutfittedwithaninteractivewhiteboard,projector,documentcamera,ateacherlaptop,andapodofsixdesktopcomputers.Inaddition,eachparticipatingschoolwassuppliedwithamobilelabofnetbooks,classsetofinteractiveresponsesystems,anddigitalcamerasfor


GrantFocus OngoingProfessionalDevelopmentandHigh‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironments


September2010‐September2011

Locale Urban

TotalFunding $1,857,403

GradeLevel(s) 4‐8


120


150


3,600



themodelclassroomstoshare.Theteachersattendedfivetosevendaysoftrainingspreadoutoverthecourseoftheyear.Theface‐to‐faceinstructioncoveredtrainingofthetechnologyequipmentprovidedintheclassroom,softwareapplications,andtheoverallintegrationoftechnologyintoclassroompractices,includingTechnologicalPedagogicalContentKnowledge(TPACK)frameworkwithfocusoncontentandpedagogy.Followingeachtrainingsession,teachersbenefitedfromdirectsupportthroughclassroomcoaching.Forexample,ifteachersreceivedtrainingonusingtheinteractivewhiteboard,thecoachwouldworkwiththeteachertoeffectivelyintegratetheinteractivewhiteboardintothecontentinstructionaswellasdevelopstudent‐centeredclassroomactivities.

ClassroomExamples

• Infifthgradelanguagearts,studentswrotepoetryabouttheholidaysincludinghowdifferentcountriescelebrateChristmasandotherholidays.Usingtheirnetbooks,studentsresearchedothercountriesandtheircelebrationsincludingusingGoogleEarthtolocateandtrackthedistancestomultiplecountries.Studentspresentedtheirresearchusingaslideshowpresentationandsharedapoemabouttheircountry.Classmatesevaluatedotherstudents’presentationsusingarubric.Priortothegrant,limitedtechnologytoolsminimizedresearchandpresentationoptions.

• Inthefifthandsixthgrade,studentsstudiedgeologyandplatetectonics.Beforethegrant,studentsusedmapsprovidedbytheteacherandtextbookreadingstoexploreplatesandearthquakes.Withgreateraccesstotechnology,studentsparticipatedinaunitcreatedbyTheCenterforInnovationinEngineeringandScienceEducationduringwhichstudentstookontheroleofUnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey(USGS)scientiststoexplorelocationsofrecentearthquakesanddetermineareasthataremostpronetoearthquakes.StudentsusedmapsontheUSGSwebsitetoresearchearthquakeactivity.Theyexploredaprojectedtectonicplatemapandworkedinsmallteamstoexploretheconnectionsandcorrelationsbetweentheearthquakemapandtectonicmap.


Basedonteachersurveys,75%ofparticipatingclassroomteacherssurveyedstatedthattheynowroutinelyusetechnologyinthedeliveryoftheirdailycontentinstruction.Technologyisincreasinglyutilizedfortheplanningofteacherlessons,thedeliveryoftheclassroominstructionalprogram,andtheadaptationofmaterialsforindividualstudentuse.Furthermore,participatingteachersbelievethattechnologyservesasamotivatingfactorforbothteachersandtheirstudents,whichfostersstudents’activeparticipationinlearningactivitiesanddrivesincreasedstudents’achievement.Bytheendofthesecondyear,teacherscelebratedthemanywaysthattechnologyhelpedtoprovideamoreeffective

TheengagementIhaveseeninmyfifthandsixthgradersisinspiring.Theyareinvestedintheirlearningandtakeprideintheworktheyturnintome.Ihaven'tseenthatprideinthepaper/pencilassignmentsforsomeyearsnow.

‐RochesterCityTeacher



instructionalprogramandreportedthattheyhavebecomemorecognizantabouthowtoengagestudentsininstructionalcontentandprocessthroughtheuseoftechnology.Aswell,surveyresultsshowthatteachertraininghasapositiveimpactonteacheruseoftechnologyintheclassroomandthat,inturn,hasapositiveimpactonstudentacademicachievement.Thenumberofteacherswhoviewtechnologyasateachingtooltoenhanceandenrichstudents’learningexperienceshasgrown,andthenumberofteacherswhohavestruggledwithtechnologycontinuestodecline.Overallresultsinthesecondyearofthegrantimplementationshowthatinstructionfromtechnology‐trainedteachersinamodelclassroomsettinghadapositiveimpactontheachievementscoresofstudentsonthe2011NewYorkStateAssessments.TheNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB)subgroupsoffemale,disadvantaged,black,andHispanicstudentsnotedthehighestgains.ResultsindicatedthatthemostpositiveimpactwasmadeineighthgradeEnglishlanguageartswherenearlyallmeasuredsubgroupsdemonstratedscaledscoresthatweresignificantlygreaterthantheirregularclassroompeers.Overall,resultssuggestthatinstructionfromtechnology‐trainedteachersinaModelClassroomsettinghasapositiveimpactontheachievementscoresofstudentsonthe2011NewYorkStateAssessments.

Accessfullevaluationreportathttp://tinyurl.com/8xf5lxr.

DistrictData

• Inyearone,52%ofclassroomteacherssurveyednowstatethattheyroutinelyusetechnologyinthedeliveryoftheirdailyinstructionalprogram.

• Inyeartwo,75%ofclassroomteacherssurveyednowstatethattheyroutinelyusetechnologyinthedeliveryoftheirdailyinstructionalprogram.

• Englishandlanguageartshadthelargestpositiveacademicimpactwith44%ofthemeasuredstudentsbenefitingfromtechnology‐integratedinstructionbasedon2011NewYorkStateAssessments.

• Theaveragepositiveacademicimpactforallsubgroups;female,disadvantaged,blackandHispanicwasabove33%.

Usingtechnologyengagesstudentsandoffersthemanopportunitytodiscovertheworldattheirfingertips.Theinteractivewhiteboardsoftwareallowsmetoprepareengaging,eye‐catchinglessonsusingmediaresourcesthataddressstandardsinallacademicareas.IwouldfindteachingverydifficultifIhadtogobacktousingatextbook,markerboardonlymodel.

‐RochesterCityTeacher



MovingForward

Forthe2011‐2012schoolyear,$525,000ofFY10EETTfundsand$570,000inlocalfundshavebeendedicatedtosupportandexpandtheprogram.Basedontheimplementation,buildingsarenowalsousinglocalfundstoscaleouttheprogramwithinindividualschools.Duringthe2011‐2012schoolyear,allcertifieddistrictstaffreceivedtrainingandwereissuedlaptops.Inaddition,usingthesameprofessionaldevelopmentmodel,includingacoach,teachersarecontinuallytrainedtointegratetechnology.Thisprofessionaldevelopmentmodelhasprovenmosteffectiveandwillbeusedtoteachandimplementotherdistrictinitiativesstrategies.Technologywillcontinuetoberefreshed,andalternativedeviceswillberesearchedforimplementationintheclassrooms.

Resources

RochesterCitySchoolDistrictInstructionalTechnologyWebsitehttp://rcsdk12.org/197310107101030933/site/default.aspNewYorkStateEducationDepartmenthttp://nysed.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

AshevilleCitySchools


IMPACT:Leadershipforthe21stCenturyLearner

AshevilleCitySchools,NorthCarolina

September2009‐December2012ThisgrantwasdesignedtoincreasestudentlearningthroughthefullimplementationofNorthCarolinaDepartmentofPublicInstruction’sIMPACTmodelguidelines.AshevilleCitySchools’(ACS)teachers,mediacoordinators,instructionaltechnologyfacilitators,andothereducationleaderscollaborativelydevelopedcurriculumtoinfuselearningwithmediaandtechnologyresources.Thesecurriculaengagedstudentsinthecorecurriculumwhiledeveloping21stcenturyskills.


NorthCarolina’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsIMPACT(initiallytitled:InformationPower:BuildingPartnershipsforLearning)providestheoverallvisionoftheroleofmediaandtechnologyforNorthCarolinaDepartmentofPublicInstructionbyrecognizingthataneffectiveschoollibrarymediaandtechnologyprogramisessentialtosupportteachingandlearning.TheIMPACTLeadershipforthe21stCenturyLearnercontinuationgrantsprovidedfundingtoschoolsthatwereawardedIMPACTIIIandIMPACTIVfundsthroughtraditionalTitleIIPartD,competitivegrants.FundsawardedenabledIMPACTModelSchoolstoimplementadditionaltechnologyenhancementprograms,includinga1‐to‐1programforhighschoolsandprovisionofdigitalteachingtoolsformiddleandelementaryschools.Furthermore,theIMPACTmodelacknowledgesthataneffectiveschoolmediaandtechnologyprogramsupportsteachingandlearningandencouragescollaborativeplanning.

ARRACaseStudies2012|AshevilleCitySchools,NorthCarolina


Demographics

AshevilleislocatedinthewesternpartofNorthCarolinaintheBlueRidgeMountains.ACShastwohighschools,AshevilleHighSchoolandtheSchoolofInquiry&LifeSciencesatAsheville(SILSA),onemiddleschool,andfiveelementarymagnetschools.Elementarystudentsinthedistrictmayattendtheelementaryschooloftheirchoice;amagnetprogramallowsstudentstoattendtheschoolwhose“theme”bestmatchestheirinterests.ThemesincludeArtsandHumanities,Science,MathematicsandTechnologies,GlobalScholars,ExperientialLearning,andHumanDiversityandEcology.

ProjectDescription

ACStookthefirststepstowardimplementingtheIMPACTmodelduringthe2007‐2008schoolyearaspartofthe"DigitallyLiterateAsheville"(DLA)initiativethatthedistrictiscurrentlystrivingtofullyimplement.TheultimategoaloftheDLAinitiativeistotransformstudentlearningbyprovidingeveryteacherandstudentwithalaptopandastableinfrastructuretosupport21stcenturyteachingandlearning.AtthesametimetheDLAinitiativewasbeingdeveloped,ACSwasidentifiedasaNorthCarolinaDepartmentofPublicInstructionIMPACTModelDistrictandreceivedEETTfundstoprovideprofessionaldevelopmentanddevicestoteachers.BuildingontheinitialIMPACTgrants,theARRAEETTIMPACTLeadershipforthe21stCenturyLearnercontinuationgrantprovidedalleightACSschoolswithprofessionaldevelopment,supportforcollaborativeplanning,andequipment.Over25%ofgrantfundswereusedtoprovideprofessionaldevelopment,whichemphasizedtheuseofWeb2.0toolssuchaswikis,blogs,andMoodletosupportasocialconstructivistapproachtolearning.Teachers,mediacoordinators,instructionaltechnologyfacilitators,andothereducatorscollaboratedtodeveloprigorous,engaging,andstandards‐alignedcollaborativestudentlearningopportunitiesemphasizing21st


GrantFocus Project‐BasedCollaborativeLearningandProfessionalLearningCommunities


September2009‐December2012

Locale Rural

Funding $2,148,605CompetitiveGrant$32,170FormulaGrant



335


25


4,017



centuryskills.Theequipmentprovidedincludedteacherlaptops,networkinfrastructuretosupportwirelesscomputing,over900studentlaptopsforanytimeandanywherelearning,digitalprojectors,113interactivewhiteboards,33studentresponsesystemsclasssets,andotherdigitaltools.


Implementationstartedwithprofessionaldevelopmentforteachers,movedtonetworkreadiness,andonlythenmovedtoprovidestudentsaccesstolearningtechnologies.Toguidetheproject,eachschool’sMediaandTechnologyAdvisoryCommitteedevelopedanimplementationplan.Theplansincludedaneedsassessment,equipmentacquisitionplan,professionaldevelopmentplan,andschedulesforcollaborativeplanning.Thehardwareimplementationinitiallywentintobuildingthenetworkinfrastructureandincreasingswitchcapacityandwirelessaccess.Thenextstepofhardwareimplementationsuppliedteacherswithlaptopsandtheinteractivepresentationtechnologies.Thefinalstepintroducedthestudentlearningtechnologies,whichincludedlaptops,interactivewhiteboards,software,scientificmonitors,andmultimediatoolsforstudentsandteachers.Deploymentofthesetechnologiesrequiredcarefulplanningforimplementation.The9thgradeclasseswereprovided1‐to‐1access,and10thto12thgradeclasseswereprovidedlaptopcarts.Professionaldevelopmentvariedbyschoolandwastailoredtotheneedsoftheteachersandschoolprogram.Schoolteamsdevelopedtheirprofessionaldevelopmentplansbasedonteachersurveys,observedneeds,andrecommendationsofthestateinstructionaltechnologyspecialists.Eachschoolhadaschoolmediacoordinatorandinstructionaltechnologyfacilitatorfundedbythedistrict.Additionalprofessionaldevelopmentintheformofsummerinstitutes,afternoonworkshops,gradelevelanddepartmentprofessionallearningcommunities,guestspeakers,andconferenceattendance,includingISTEandtheNorthCarolinaTechnologyinEducationSocietyconference,wasalsoprovided.Asimportantly,teachersreceiveddirectsupportinplanningandimplementingnewmethodsofinstructionduringcollaborativeplanning.Intheelementaryandmiddleschools,teamsofteacherswereprovidedcollaborativeplanningsessionsfourtimesduringtheschoolyeartodesignunitsandworkwiththeschoolmediacoordinatorandinstructionaltechnologyfacilitatortointegratetechnologyandinformationskills.Inthehighschools,teachersmetasadepartmenttwiceduringtheschoolyear.HighschoolteachersreceivedtrainingonparticulardevicesorWeb2.0toolsinthe

Throughtechnology,studentengagementincreasedaswellastheabilitytoaccessandinteractwithrigorousmaterial.

‐AshevilleCitySchoolsTeacher,Grade5



morningandthenworkedasadepartmentintheafternoontoexploreinstructionaluses.Themostsuccessfulcollaborativeplanningteamsgrewintoprofessionallearningcommunitiesinwhichteachingprofessionalshelpedoneanotheranalyzeformativeandsummativestudentachievementdatainordertoidentifythebestwaystomeettheneedsoftheirstudents. Leadershipwascrucialinhelpingtheteachersseethenecessitytochangepracticeandmakeuseofnewtoolsandtechniques.Schoolleadershipwasparticularlyeffectiveintheinstanceswhereadministratorsmodelednewtoolsandallowedstafftoseethatmistakeswerepartofthelearningprocess.

ClassroomExamples

• Inacross‐curricularprojectinsecondgrade,studentsandteachersparticipatedinHeiferInternational’sChoresforChangeprogram.Teachersintegratedsocialstudies,researchskills,readingcomprehension,science,math,andpersuasivewriting.First,studentsparticipatedinareadaloudactivitywiththebookBeatrice’sGoat.InthisstoryinspiredbyHeiferInternational,Beatrice,aschoolgirlinapoorAfricanvillage,receivesthegiftofagoatandisabletosellthemilktohelpherfamilyofsix.Usingtheinteractivewhiteboard,studentslearnedmathematicalconceptsofdoublinganddivisionandinteractedwithalessonongeometricgrowthasdescribedinthebook.Studentsresearchedthevariousanimalsavailabletodonatethroughtheprogramandraisedfundstodonatetheanimal.Mathlessonsrevolvedaroundcountinganddividingthefundsreceived.Theseamlessaccesstointernetresources,theopportunitiesforsmallgroupresearchwithlaptops,andtheinteractivelessonsviathewhiteboardmadeanotherwisedauntingprojectmanageablefortheteacherstoengageandmotivatestudents.

• Inahighschoolsocialstudiesclass,studentsparticipatedina“MeetingoftheMinds”projectonCivilWartensions.Equippedwithlaptops,halfofstudentsconductedresearchandpreparedtotakeonthevoiceofanindividualfromtheCivilWareraduringaliveclassdebate.Therestoftheclasswasassignedtodeveloptheirbackgroundknowledgeofthehistoricalerainordertoanalyzethedebate.Theanalysistookplaceinliveonlinechatduringthedebate.Thisprovidedanopportunityforstudentstorecordreactionsandfactsasthedebatewastakingplacewithoutinterruptingtheflow.Debatestudentswereengaged,knowingtheirpeerswerechattingaboutthepointstheyweremaking,andthe“chat”studentswereengagedastheyhadthe

Ourgradelevelhasusedthequarterlycollaborativeplanningsessionstocreaterich,multidisciplinaryprojects,rangingfromstudent‐researchedandactedpublicserviceannouncementsaboutgermsandhealthtoservicelearningprojectsaboutworldhunger.

‐AshevilleCitySchoolsTeacher,Grade2



opportunitytobuildknowledgethroughthechat.Atextarchiveofthechatprovidedadditionallearningopportunities.Priortothegrant,studentsdebatedtheCivilWar,buttheengagementwasminimalexceptforthefewstudentswhoplayedmajorrolesinthedebate.


InpartnershipwiththeFridayInstituteatNorthCarolinaStateUniversity,ACSadministeredthefollowingsurveystostaffandstudents:SchoolTechnologyNeedsAssessment(STNA),TechnologySkillsChecklist(TSC),andNationalEducationalTechnologyStandardssurveyofPerformanceStandardsforIn‐serviceTeachers(NETS‐TSurvey).Basedonsurveyresults,technologyskillsandstudentattitudestowardlearningwithtechnologyimproved.

MovingForward

ThetwohighschoolshaveleveragedthisgranttoacquireadditionalfundingfromtheAppalachianRegionalCommissionandtheMebaneFoundationtosupporttheDigitallyLiterateAshevilleinitiative’sgoalof1‐to‐1computing.TheIMPACTgrantslaidthegroundworkthathasACSpoisedtoreapthebenefitsofadigitaltransformationinteachingandlearningandhasservedas“proofofconcept”,demonstratingthattheschoolswouldfulfillthepromiseof1‐to‐1.InFebruary2012,student‐to‐laptopratiowillincreaseto1‐to‐1in10ththrough12thgrade.AlthoughitmayprovedifficulttoequiptheschoolsatthesamelevelwithouttheIMPACTgrantfunds,thecollaborativepractices,professionallearningcommunities,andsocialconstructivistapproachestolearningbroughtaboutbytheIMPACTgrantswillsustainhighlevelsofstudentachievement.

DistrictData

• STNA:70.5%ofteacherseitheragreeorstronglyagreethattechnologyhasmadetheirstudentsbetterlearnersandself‐starters.

• STNA:74.3%ofteacherseitheragreeorstronglyagreethatstudentengagementissignificantlyincreasedasaresultoftechnology.

• STNA:Overthecourseofthegrant,thepercentageofteachersthatagreethat“technologyprofessionaldevelopmentisrelevant”increasedby30%inoneschoolandby27%inanother.

• NETS‐T:68.4%ofteachersreporttheynowregularlyteachstudentshowto“assessthequalityofinformationtheygatherviatheweband/orothertechnologies.”

• Studentpassingrateoftheendofgradelevelmathandreadingscoresincreasedby6%and7.5%respectively.Thepercentageofstudentsexceedingexpectationsalsoincreased.



Resources

AshevilleCitySchoolshttp://ashevillecityschools.netNorthCarolinaIMPACTWebsitehttp://it.ncwiseowl.org/resources/i_m_p_a_c_t/FridayInstituteEvaluationoftheIMPACTModelhttp://tinyurl.com/6v4xbvpNorthCarolinaPublicSchoolshttp://ncpublicschools.org/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

LakewoodCitySchools


21stCenturyLearning:TransformingTeachingandLearning,LHS2.0Program

LakewoodHighSchool,LakewoodCitySchools

May2010‐June2011LakewoodHighSchoolwasoneof96Ohioschoolsthatreceiveda21stCenturyLearningEnvironmentsTechnologygrant.Theyutilizedatechnology‐enhanced,newlyrenovatedschoolbuildingtobuildanacademicprogramembracingtechnology,project‐basedlearning,andtheteamapproach.

Demographics

LakewoodCitySchoolDistrictislocatedinawesternsuburbofCleveland,Ohio.Thedistrictcontainsahighlydiversestudentpopulationwithover30languagesspoken.Approximately,50%ofstudentsqualifyforfreeorreducedlunch.Thereisonehighschoolwith2000studentsinLakewood.Duetotheagingcommunity,theschoolhasnotedadecliningpopulationoverthelastfiveyears.


Ohio’sEETTARRACompetitiveGrantsOhio’s21stCenturyLearningEnvironmentsTechnologyprogramawarded96schoolsgrants,targetingstudentsingrades6to12.Ohio’sprogramfocusedonprofessionaldevelopmentandstudentlearning,.Throughintensive,collaborativeandjob‐embeddedprofessionaldevelopmentandtheuseofresearch‐basedmethods,teachersandadministratorsexperiencednewmodelsandstrategiesforteachingandlearning.Aspartoftherequiredsummerprofessionaldevelopment,eachschool’sgrantteam,madeupofthebuildingadministrator,fourteachers,andahalftimecoach,developedaneeds‐basedactionplanwhichhelpedinformtechnologypurchases.

ARRACaseStudies2012|LakewoodCitySchools,Ohio


ProjectDescription

In2008,LakewoodHighSchoolcompletedapartialrenovation,andallnewclassroomswereequippedwithprojectors,interactivewhiteboards,andwirelessinternetaccess.Atthesametime,asetofninthgradeteachersbeganteachinginateam;theteamconsistedofanEnglish,history,mathematics,andscienceteacherwhosharedthesamegroupofstudents.Inspiredbytheincreasedaccesstotechnologyandcollaborativenatureofteamteaching,teachersbegantoreassesstheirteachingpractices.Aswell,thedistrictfocusedonenablingandsupportingteacher‐basedteamsandproject‐basedlearning.Withtechnologyinplaceandteamteachingbeginningtotakehold,LakewoodHighSchoolreceivedtheARRAgrant.Attheonsetofthegrant,2teamsofcoresubjectareateachersandaninterventionspecialist,oneinthe9thgradeandoneinthe10thgrade,beganworkingwithapproximately100studentspergroup.Eachstudentwasprovidedwithanetbookforschoolandhomeuse.TheparticipatingteacherswereeachprovidedaniPad,andeachteamsharedtwoclassroomsetsofiPodTouches.Theteamapproachallowedforflexibletimeandflexiblegroupingwithinthescheduleandcross‐curricularteachingopportunities.Anytime,anywhereaccesstothenetbooksprovidedtheopportunityforteacherstoleveragetheirMoodlesitestocreatecollaborativeworkgroupsforstudentstoaccesscontentbothinandoutoftheclassroom,blurringthelinesofatypicalschoolschedule.Professionaldevelopmentthroughworkshopsandtheeffortsofatechnologycoachsupportedtheintegrationoftechnologytoolsandproject‐basedlearningthroughtheschoolyear.Inaddition,teamplanningandcollaborationenabledteacherstoemployandsharebestpractices.


Beginninginthesummerof2010,theteamparticipatedinthestate‐sponsoredTransformingEducationcoursefocusingonthedigitallearner,21stcenturyskills,Technology,PedagogyandContentKnowledge(TPACK),project‐basedlearning,andWeb2.0tools.Inthefall,teacherscompletedsmallprojectsandmetduringregularlyscheduledplanningtimestodiscusscurriculumandtheintegrationoftechnologytools.Studentsreceivedtheirnetbooksduringthesecondsemester.Teacherscontinuedtoincreasetheir


GrantFocus High‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironment,OnlineandBlendedLearning,andProfessionalDevelopment


May18,2010‐June9,2011

Locale Urban

Funding $225,000



10


1


200



collaborationandmovetowardamoreproject‐basedcurriculum,andbythefourthquartertheentirecurriculumwasproject‐based.Aninstructional,technologycoachwasassignedhalftimetotheprogram.Sheprovidedsupportintheclassroom,feedbackonlessons,andoverallsupport.Thecoachalsohelpedsupporttheteacherswithcurricularandtechnicalissuessotheycouldfocusonteachingandlearning.TeachersparticipatedinabookstudyofDougLemov’sTeachLikeaChampion,whichgenerateddiscussionsaroundbestteachingpractices.Teachersalsowereprovidedthreeseparatedaysduringtheschoolyeartospendwritingunitplans,usingtools,anddiscussingwhatwasworkingandwhatwasnot.Teachersformednaturalschool‐basedcommunities,sharingtheirideas,knowledge,andresearch.

ClassroomExamples

• Tenthgradestudentsresearchedandidentifiedanenvironmentalproblemwithintheircommunity.StudentsusedcommunityresourcesandtheInternettoresearchissuessuchaslitterintheparksandtheappropriateuseofbikelanes.Usingpersuasivewritingandprinciplesofdesign,studentspresentedtheselectedenvironmentalproblemandposedsolutions.Theycreatedfinalpresentations,whichtookonavarietyofformatsincludingblogs(sampleblogsareaccessiblebelowunder“Resources”).Studentsalsoworkedwithlocalnewspaperreporterstogettheirfeedbackoncoverageandpresentationofcommunityissues.Theculminatingactivitywasapresentationoftheirfindingstocityofficials.

• TenthgradestudentsworkedtogetheronanAIDSDayproject.Undertheguidanceofthebiologyteacher,studentsstudiedthescienceofvirusesandtheAIDSvirus.InEnglishandhistory,studentsexaminedstereotypesandstigmainAmericanliteratureandstudiedthepoliticsofthe1980'sduringtheonsetoftheAIDSepidemic.TheculminatingactivitywasadayspentsharingwithlocalAIDSactivists.ThestudentssimulatedanAIDStestanddiscussedtheresultswithrealAIDScounselors.Studentsbloggedtheirreactionsandresearchduringtheentireproject,andtheycreatedvideodiariesabouttheirreactionstotheday.Studentsalsocreated30‐secondpublicawarenesscommercialsonAIDS.


TheLHS2.0Program’soverallgoalwastoraisestudentachievementbycreatingamoreaccessible,flexible,andstudent‐responsivelearningenvironmentthatemploysinnovative21stcenturyskillsandtoolstoenablestudentstocreateauthenticandrelevantproducts

Throughthisgrant,ourteamhasreallycometothinkofourselvesaslearnersagain.Withsomanynewpossibilitiesopentousthankstoallofthenewtools,wehavereallyhadtogobackandthinkveryhardaboutwhatitmeanstobeastudent,whatitmeanstobeateacher,andwhatitmightlooklikeifwebecamebetterstudentsofourteaching.‐SeanWheeler,LakewoodHighSchool

Teacher



forauthenticaudiences.Accordingtotheirlocalevaluator,theLHS2.0projectsuccessfullymetallgrantobjectivesandwasshowntosignificantlyaffectstudentlearning.PositiveoutcomesforstudentsincludedanincreasedlevelofattainmentofknowledgeandskillsasmeasuredbytheOhioGraduationTestandanincreasedsenseofpersonalengagementandprideinstudents’learning.TheLHS2.0ProgramaffectedasubsetofLakewoodHighSchoolstudents.Tenthgraderesultsofthe2011SpringOhioGraduationTestsshowhigherscoresinallfivesubjectareasfortheparticipatingstudentscomparedtolikepeers.Therewasasignificantincreaseintestscoresforstudentswithdisabilities.Thetransitiontoproject‐basedlearning,specificallytheworkonalocalcommunity‐basedEarthDayprojectandapartnershipwiththeClevelandHIV/AIDSTaskforceduringanHIV/AIDSunit,broadenedstudents’understandingofcollaboration,communication,andcreativityasessential21stcenturyskillsandvitalcomponentsofanyrelevantclassroomaimedatpreparingstudentsfortheworldoutsidethewallsofaclassroom. Theroleandnatureofprofessionaldevelopmentunderwentasignificantchangeinrelationtothegrantteamandhasgreatpotentialasamodelforprofessionaldevelopmenttoamuchwiderdegreewithinthedistrictasawhole.TheteacherstrulyembracedthenotionofdevelopingaPersonalLearningNetwork(PLN).Someofthebestthinkingandwritingabouttheteachingprofessionisoccurringonawide‐arrayofblogsandtwitterfeeds,andthegrantteamisinastateofcontinuallearningthankstoitsuseofGoogleReaderandTwitterhash‐tagsearches.

SchoolData

• Allstudentscomparisonscores: WritingLHS2.096%passrate;Non‐LHS2.092%passrate ReadingLHS2.095%passrate;Non‐LHS2.090%passrate MathLHS2.088%passrate;Non‐LHS2.083%passrate SocialStudiesLHS2.088%passrate;84%Non‐LHSpass

rate ScienceLHS2.084%passrate;Non‐LHS2.079%passrate

• Specialeducationstudentscomparisonscores: WritingLHS2.077%passrate;Non‐LHS2.055%passrate ReadingLHS2.077%passrate;Non‐LHS2.058%passrate MathLHS2.058%passrate;Non‐LHS2.038%passrate SocialStudiesLHS2.054%passrate;40%Non‐LHSpass

rate ScienceLHS2.042%passrate;Non‐LHS2.033%passrate



MovingForward

Basedonthesuccessofthisprogram,LakewoodCitySchoolsismovingforwardwitha1‐to‐1model.Teamsofteachersacrossthedistrictwereabletoapplyforclasssetsofnetbooks.Usingfundsfromthetextbookbudget,500netbookswerepurchasedanddistributedforin‐classuseonly.Theschoolisresearchingthepossibilityofsupplyingallincomingninthgraderswithnetbooksinthe2012‐2013schoolyear.Traininginproject‐basedlearninghascontinuedwith15LakewoodHighSchoolteachersattendingtrainingbytheBuckInstituteforEducation,specializinginproject‐basedlearning.Newteamsofteachers,alongwiththeoriginalparticipants,meetonaregularbasistosupportoneanotherwiththeintegrationof21stCenturyskillsandtechnology,andnewteammembersarementoredbytheoriginalLHS2.0projectteamteachers.

Resources

LakewoodCitySchoolshttp://lakewoodcityschools.org/LakewoodHighSchoolStudentBlogshttp://kevinmarekblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/gum‐litter‐problem.htmlhttp://nattaliep.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog‐post.htmlhttp://imagine‐yesterday.blogspot.com/OhioDepartmentofEducationhttp://www.education.ohio.govSETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

http://tinyurl.com/6pqqnow

UpperDarbySchoolDistrict


UpperDarbySchoolDistrictMiddleSchoolEETTProject

June2010‐September2011IntheUpperDarbySchoolDistrictofPennsylvania,theEETTcompetitivegrantfocusedonincreasingteacherproficiencyintechnology,andeffectivelyintegratingtechnologyinthemiddleschoolclassroomthroughprofessionaldevelopmentandmentoringbyanInstructionalTechnologyCoach.

Demographics

LocatedjustwestofPhiladelphia,UpperDarbySchoolDistrictisoneofthemostdenselypopulatedandurbanizedtownshipsinPennsylvania.Overthepast23years,thedistricthasgrownfrom7,523to12,041students,makingitthe11thlargestschoolsysteminthestateoutofover500Pennsylvaniaschooldistricts.Atthesametimethatenrollmenthasincreased,theeducationalandsocioeconomicneedsofUpperDarbystudentshavegrownincomplexityandseverity.Almost50%ofdistrictstudentsmeetthelow‐incomestandardsetbytheFreeandReducedLunchProgram,and6ofthe14schoolsreceiveTitleIschoolwideservices.Studentsalsorepresentanincreasinglydiversepopulation:43%AfricanAmerican,39%Caucasian(non‐Hispanic),13%Asian/PacificIslander,4%Hispanic,and1%other.Acrossthedistrict,studentsspeak66languageswiththetop5beingSpanish,Bengali,Vietnamese,Punjabi,andChinese.UpperDarbySchoolDistrictmadeAnnualYearlyProgress(AYP),withoutqualification,in2009and2010,aftersixyearsinDistrictImprovementorCorrectiveActionstatus.


Pennsylvania’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsPennsylvania’sARRAEETTcompetitivegrantsfocusedonclassroomtechnologytoolsandteachertrainingtohelpprovideacademicsettingsstructuredtodevelop21stcenturyskills,suchascollaboration,problemsolving,creativity,andinnovation.Teachersparticipatedinextensivetrainingtodeveloprigorous,relevant,student‐centered,technology‐richlessons.

ARRACaseStudies2012|UpperDarbySchoolDistrict,Pennsylvania


ProjectDescription

UpperDarbySchooldistricttargetedtheEETTgrantforitstwolargemiddleschoolstoadvanceitsstrategicplanthatwouldincreaseteacherusageandtheintegrationoftechnology.ThedistricthadprevioussuccessinusinganEETTgranttoprovideelementaryteacherswithlaptops,andaClassroomsfortheFuture(CFF)state‐fundedgrantprovidedlaptopstoselectedhighschoolteachers.InthetwoUpperDarbymiddleschools,thegoalwastoincreaseteachercomputerliteracyingeneralandtheirabilitytointegratetechnologyintotheteaching‐learningprocessinparticular.Specifically,thegrantsupportedthreemajorprogramcomponents:1)alaptopforeachofthe215middleschoolteachers;2)professionaldevelopmentdeliveredbyafull‐timeInstructionalTechnologyCoachsharedbybothschools;and3)fourstudentlaptopcarts(2perschoolwith30computerseach)tobeusedintheeighthgradeSocialStudiesprogram.Whilethisgrantequippedallteacherswithlaptops,thedistricthadinvestedinanewSocialStudiesprogramthatincludedextensivetechnologyresources,andthegoalofincreasedtechnologyintegrationwasparticularlyextendedtothesevenSocialStudiesteachersforstudentlaptopuseintheeighthgrade.Aspartoftheinitiative,thedistrictinvesteditsownfundsinawirelessnetworkforbothschools.In2010‐2011,withtheimplementationofthegrantandadditionaldistrict‐fundedtechnologypurchases,thenumberofcomputersforinstructionaluseincreasedfrom619to881computerswithalloftheoldestcomputerseliminated.EighthgradeSocialStudiesstudentsweretheonlystudentswhohaddirectaccesstotheadditional120laptopcomputers(60perschool).


GrantFocus TechnologyCoachesandHigh‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironment


June2010‐September2011

Locale Urban

Funding $522,000

GradeLevel(s) MiddleSchool(6‐8)


215


7


2,707studentsimpactedduetoteacheruseoftechnology,with832eighthgradestudentsimpactedbydirectaccesstoclassroomlaptops




InJuneof2010,thedistrictconductedinitialteachertraining,whichincludedanoverviewofthelaptopfunctionalityandinstructionofspecificapplications.Aftertheinitialtrainingandthenthroughoutthesummerof2010,middleschoolteachersparticipatedinone‐daytrainingsessionsof6.5hoursingroupsof20ledbytheInstructionalTechnologyCoach.Thistrainingfocusedonintegratingtechnologyintolessonplanninganddelivery,includinghowtoconductcontent‐rich,visuallessons.Duringthe2010‐11schoolyear,theInstructionalTechnologyCoachworkedintensivelywithsubjectareadepartmentsupervisorsandteacherstoprovidetechnologyintegrationtrainingspecifictocurriculumareas.Theprofessionaldevelopmentincluded1‐to‐1sessions,smallgroups,modeling,andlargerworkshops.Teacherslearnedhowtocreatesolutionstotechnologicalissues,developinstructionalmaterials,andutilizethetechnologytoolsforinstruction.WhileallmiddleschoolteachersbenefittedfromthetrainingandworkwiththeInstructionalTechnologyCoach,theSocialStudiesclassroomshadaccesstotheadditionallaptopcartstoincreasestudenthands‐ontimewiththetechnology.Inadditiontothetechnologytraining,the7SocialStudiesteacherseachreceived120hoursofcoachingfromtheInstructionalTechnologyCoach.Anadditional60teachersreceived5hoursofcoachingbytheInstructionalCoach.

ClassroomExamples

• EighthgradestudentsusedonlinedigitalcontenttoresearchthehistoryoftheAlexanderHamiltonvs.ThomasJeffersondebateanddevelopedgrouppositionstatements,whichstudentsthenpresentedviaawiki.Theclassalsoparticipatedinavideoconferencingsessionwithauniversitydebateteam.Todemonstratemastery,thestudentscreatedvideopodcasts(orvodcasts)oftheirdebatesmodeledonthehistoricdebateofHamiltonandJefferson.Theteacherpostedlessonsandstudentproductsonlineasresourcesforotherteachersandstudents.Priortothegrantprogramimplementation,theteachertypicallyassignedtextbookreading,andthestudentscreatedaposter.

• Technologycoachesfromacrossthestatemeetregularlyfortheirownprofessionaldevelopmentandgrowth.Thisenablesthecoachestoconnectteachersandstudentsfromdifferentregionsofthestatetocollaborateonprojects.Forexample,theeighthgradestudentsfromUpperDarbyconnectedwithathirdgradeclassinPunxsutawney,Pennsylvania,asmall,ruraltown.BothgroupsofstudentswerestudyingtheOregonTrail,sotheymadepodcastsandsharedthemwitheachother.Throughtheircollaboration,theylearnedandtaughteachotherabouttheOregonTrail.Aswell,studentssharedinformationabouttheirhometownsandschools.

EverytimeImentionedtomyclassthatwewereusingcomputerstherewasmoreexcitementintheclassroom.Computersallowedustovisitplaceswewouldnormallyonlyreadabout,fromYorktowntotheHermitagetoEllisIsland.

‐UpperDarbyMiddleSchoolTeacher




Thisinitiativehashadmultiplebenefitsforteachersandstudents.Studentsbenefittedfromanengaging21stcenturylearningenvironment.InformalobservationsanddatacollectionbytheInstructionalTechnologyCoachandadministratorsconcludedthattheintegrationoftechnologyhelpedtoincreasecomprehensionandstudentengagement.Inaddition,teachersbelievethattheirproductivityandefficiencyincreased,astheywereabletoutilizethelaptopcomputersforadministrativetasks,suchasattendanceandgrading.Teachersalsoreportedmoretimelyandeffectivecommunicationwithparentsandstudents.Inthepastfiveyears,thedistricthasmovedfromoverfivestudentspercomputertoalittleovertwostudentspercomputer,inpartthankstothisprogram.Aprimaryconditionleadingtothesuccessofthisprogramimplementationwasthetimeandabilityforteacherstoworkcloselywithoneanother,andtheInstructionalTechnologyCoachwithsupportfromtheadministration.Thisprojectalsoleveragedthetechnologytoolsandbroadbandaccessavailablepriortoprogramimplementation.AdditionalinformationisavailableonPennsylvania’sCFF/EETTEvaluationProjectwebsiteaccessiblebelowinthe“Resources”section.

MovingForward

Thedistrictplanstomaintaintheequipmentpurchasedforuptofiveyearsandwilllooktotheirdistrict’stechnologybudgettocoordinatereplacements.Technologyintegrationcontinuestobeencouraged;however,theInstructionalTechnologyCoachpositionhasnotbeenfundedbecauseofdistrictcutbacks.

SchoolData

• Basedonpre‐andpost‐tests,themiddleschoolteachers’technologyproficiencyincreased47%to60%inoneschoolyearontheSimpleAssessmentTeacherEditiontoolfromSimpleK12.

• Studenttechnologyproficiencyincreasedfrom4%to17%inoneschoolyearontheSimpleAssessmentPlustoolfromSimpleK12



Resources

UpperDarbySchoolDistricthttp://upperdarbysd.orgPennsylvaniaDepartmentofEducationhttp://www.education.state.pa.usPennsylvaniaCFF/EETTEvaluationProjecthttp://eett.psu.eduSETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

LexingtonSchoolDistrictTwo


iLearn21

LexingtonSchoolDistrictTwo,SouthCarolina

August2010‐June2012TheiLearn21programaddressedtheneedtoincreaseteacherandstudenttechnologyproficiencylevelsandtointegratetechnologyintothecorecontentareasofmath,science,socialstudies,andlanguageartsineighttargetedschools.Byprovidingacomprehensiveprofessionaldevelopmentprogramandongoingschool‐basedsupport,teachersgainedknowledgeandexperienceinplanningdynamic,technology‐richlessons.

Demographics

LexingtonSchoolDistrictTwoisadiverseschooldistrictservingalmost9,000studentsin17schools.ThedistrictislocatedinWestColumbiaandisincloseproximitytothecapitolthusmaintainsasmalltownfeel.SevenoutofthenineelementaryschoolsqualifyforTitleIfunding,andoneofthethreemiddleschoolsisalsoaTitleIschool.


SouthCarolina’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsSouthCarolina’sEETTARRAcompetitivegrantprogramfocusedonincreasingachievementandtechnologyliteracyandprovidingnewapplicationsoftechnologytoenableteacherstoimprovestudentperformance.Professionaldevelopmentprovidedteachersandadministratorswiththeabilitytointegratetechnologyandaligninstructionwithstateacademiccontentthroughhigh‐qualityprofessionaldevelopmentprograms.

ARRACaseStudies2012|LexingtonSchoolDistrictTwo,SouthCarolina


ProjectDescription

Thegrantprovidedfundstopurchase1‐to‐1handhelddevices,iPodTouches,foralleighthgradestudentsinthreemiddleschools.TheiPodToucheswereassignedtoindividualstudentsforusethroughouttheschoolday;however,theywerenotprovided24/7accesstothedevices.Eighthgradeteachersalsoreceivedalaptop.ClasssetsofiPodToucheswerealsoprovidedtoninthgrademathematicsclassesandparticipatingteachersinthreeelementaryschools.Over1,000iPodToucheswereintegrateddailyintoinstructiontotarget21stcenturyskillswhileaddressingcorecontent.Overthe2yearsoftheprogram,75participatingteachersreceivedprofessionaldevelopmenttohelpensureseamlesstechnologyintegration.Teachersreceivedface‐to‐facetrainingfromcontractedtrainersandthedistricttechnologycoach.Aswell,aschool‐basedcoachwasassignedtoeachparticipatingschooltoprovideongoingsupportthroughouttheschoolyear.Eachteacherreceivedaminimumof20hoursofcoachingandsupportduringtheschoolyear.


Inthewinterof2010and2011,alleighthgradeteachersreceivedonefulldayofprofessionaldevelopmentontheirnewlaptops.Trainingincludedbasicfunctionsandapplicationsofthelaptop.Theeighthgradeteachersandadditionalparticipatingteachersalsoattendedaone‐daytrainingsessionwiththehandhelddevices.Teachersweregroupedbycontentareaandweretrainednotonlyonhowtousethedevicebutalsohowtoidentifyandintegrateappropriateappsfortheircontentareaandgradelevels.Lessonsweredemonstrated,andteachersfinishedthedaybydesigningalessontobeusedintheirclassroom.Ongoingprofessionaldevelopmentwasconducted


GrantFocus TechnologyCoachesandHigh‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironments


August1,2010‐June1,2012

Locale Suburban

Funding $240,000

GradeLevel(s) K‐9


75


12


1,350

Inthetwoandahalfyearsthatwe’veusedtheiPodTouchtechnologyasaprimaryclassroomtoolwehavetransformednotonlythewayteachersthinkaboutteachingbutthewaystudentsthinkaboutlearning.

‐Mr.Kinnett,LexingtonTwo

Teacher



quarterlybythedistricttechnologycoach,whichincludedinstructionofWeb2.0toolsandotherclassroomapplications,includingGoogleDocs,Glogs,WordClouds,StoryKit,Edmodo,andMoodle.TeachersusedGoogleDocsandGoogleMailwithstudents.Thisprovidedstudents24/7accesstotheirworkandopenedanewlineofcommunicationforstudentsandteachers.StudentsalsousedGoogleDocstocollaborateonprojectsandpostdocumentstosharewiththeirteacher.Thestudentsemailedtheseassignmentsfromtheirhandhelddevices.Inonemiddleschool,studentsusedtheiriPodTouchestoaccessGoogleDocs,andintheotherschools,studentsusedcomputersinalabsetting.Teachersalsoreceivedsupportfromaschool‐basedtechnologyinstructionalspecialist,typicallytheschool’smediaspecialist,whoservedtheroleofcoach.Theseschool‐basedcoachesmetwithparticipatingteachersweeklytoprovidesupportandprofessionaldevelopment.Togethertheyexaminedbestpractices,apps,andlessonplanning.Theschool‐basedtechnologycoachesalsoreceivedcoachingandprofessionaldevelopmentonamonthlybasisusingtheMicrosoftCoachingmodel.CoachesandteachersusedGoogleDocstocollaborate,andparticipatingteacherswererequiredtoshareatleastonelessonperquarter.FinallessonswerepostedonthestatewidemediashareofDiscoveryEducationUnitedStreaming.

ClassroomExamples

• Inaneighthgradescienceclass,studentsworkedingroupstocreatesurvivalvideosaftercrashlandingonaplanetinoursolarsystem.Usingtheinternet,studentsresearchedtheconditionsofthedifferentplanetsinthesolarsystem.Aftertheresearch,studentswrotescriptsaboutlifeontheselectedplanetandplannedtheirvideoproduction.TheperformanceswererecordedonagreenscreenusingtheiriPodTouches.StudentsusediMovietoeditthevideos,includingaddingbackgroundsoftheplanet.ThecompletedvideoswerepostedonDiscoveryEducationUnitedStreamingmediashareandlinkedtotheteachers'webpage.Priortothegrant,studentscompletedworksheetsabouttheplanets’composition.

• SecondgradestudentsattheEarlyChildhoodCenterusediPodTouchestoimprovereadingfluency.Duringatypicalweek,studentsusedtheiPodsonMondaytorecordtheirbookoftheweek.Whenthestudentsfinishedrecording,theteacherusedtherecordingtoconferencewiththestudentandidentifyareasofimprovementandstrengthinfluency.Together,theteacherandstudentsetgoalsfortheweek’sreading.Throughouttheweek,thestudentsthenpracticedthereadingusingtheiTalkappontheiPodandratedtheirperformance.Attheendoftheweek,theteacherconferencedwiththestudentagaintoreviewthereadingandgoals.Thetechnologyofferedanaccessibletoolforthestudenttouseandpracticereading,anditcontributedtoaricherdialoguebetweenthestudentandteacher.


SouthCarolinausestheePortfoliotechnologyproficiencysystemtotracktechnologyliteracyresults.Duetothisprogram,thedistrictsawanincreaseintechnologyproficiencyinstudentsandteachers.Inaddition,thedistrictalsosawimprovementinstate



standardizedtestscoreinsituationswheretechnologyintegrationhastakenplace.

MovingForward

Duetothesuccessofthisprogram,LexingtonSchoolDistrictTwowishestocontinuethisrolloutofa1‐to‐1foreverystudentinthedistrict.Othergrantsourcesarebeingsought,andinsomeschools,TitleIfundshavebeenusedtoexpandtheprogram.LexingtonSchoolDistrictTwowasnamedanAppleDistinguishedProgramrecipientforthe2010‐2011and2011‐2012schoolyearsandisdeterminedtocontinuethislevelofwork.

Resources

LexingtonTwoSchoolDistrictwww.lex2.orgSouthCarolinaDepartmentofEducationwww.ed.sc.govSETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

DistrictData

• Studenttechnologyliteracyscoresimproved15%fromthepre‐topost‐testinthe2010‐2011schoolyear.

• Inone7thand8thgrademathclass,27studentsmovedfrombelow‐averagetoproficient.

• Disciplinereferralsatoneoftheparticipatingmiddleschoolsdecreasedby40%.

EastDakotaEducationalCooperative


MasterTeacherAcademy

EastDakotaEducationalCooperative,SouthDakota

February2010‐July2011TheMasterTeacherAcademyeducatedleadteachersandadministratorstoimplementandshare21stcenturyskills.Teachersandadministratorsengagedinfocusedtrainingbothface‐to‐faceandonline,andtheyreceivedsupportintheclassroom.

Demographics

SouthDakotaisdividedinto7educationalserviceagenciesservingapproximately120,000studentsin703schools.TheEducationServiceAgenciesinSouthDakotabeganasawaytobetterdeliverservicestoschools.EastDakotaEducationalCooperativeservicestheschooldistrictsofBrandon,Lennox,andWestCentralineasternSouthDakotaandispartoftheEducationalServiceAgency,Region2(ESA2).ThisgrantwasdevelopedinRegion2butteachersstatewidewereinvitedtoparticipateintheprofessionaldevelopmentprogram.


SouthDakota’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsSouthDakota’sARRAEETTcompetitivegrantawardsencouragedtheeffectiveintegrationoftechnologythroughhighqualityprofessionaldevelopmentmodels.Focuswasplacedon21stcenturyskillsinstructionandimprovedstudentacademicachievement.Thefourmaingoalsoftheprojectweretoincreasestudentachievementthroughtheuseoftechnology;buildcapacityfor21stcenturyskillsinstaffandstudents;increasetheleveloftechnologyintegrationamongstaffandstudents;andadvancedevelopmentofsystemwideintegrationprograms

ARRACaseStudies2011|EastDakotaEducationalCooperative,SouthDakota


ProjectDescription

InSouthDakota,teachersandallhighschoolstudentshadaccesstolaptopsandtheinfrastructureforwirelessaccess.However,theteacherswereuntrainedinfullyutilizingthedevicesandweb‐basedtools,andhesitanttoexploretheeducationalusesfortheemergingtechnologies.Therefore,anincreasedneedexistedtoprovideprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiestoimproveteachingandtheeffectiveintegrationoftechnologyintheK‐12classroom.Centralizedprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitieswerenotreadilyaccessibleduetogeography,travelconstraints,andprogramavailabilitywithinthevaststate.Teachersneededmoreopportunitiestocollaborate,andschooldistrictsneededtocreatelearnersequippedwithskillsnecessarytoexcelina21stcenturyworld.Thepurposeofthisprojectwastoeducateleadteachersandadministratorstorecognizeandimplement21stcenturyskillsthroughclassroomlessons.MasterTeacherAcademyoriginatedin2008throughacombinationofstateandfederalfunding.From2008‐2010,30teachersparticipatedinavarietyofprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesandcreatedabankoflessonplansfocusingon21stcenturyskills.AttheonsetoftheARRAEETTfundinginJune2010,asecondcohortof60teacherswasrecruited.Theprogramwasrefinedusingfeedbackfromtheoriginalcohortandincludedface‐to‐facemeetings,coaching,andsmallgroupwork.AthirdcohortwasestablishedinApril2011andprovidedacondensedprofessionaldevelopmentprogramconcludinginJuneof2011.


Inthespringof2010,EducationServiceAgency,Region2acceptedapplicationsfortheinitialteachertraining.Sixtyteachersfromacrossthestatewerechosenfortheinitialfive‐daytraininginJune2010.GatheringattheUniversityofSiouxFalls,teachersmetformermembersoftheMasterTeacherAcademy,whosharedtheirexperiences.Theyalsoreceived


GrantFocus ProfessionalLearningCommunitiesandProject‐BasedCollaborativeLearning


February1,2010‐July30,2011

Locale Rural

Funding $460,878



134


20


1,810

TheMasterTeacherAcademyhelpedmegrowasateacher,mentor,andtechnologyuser.IhavemoreconfidencetodothingsIwouldhavenevertried.‐MasterTeacherAcademyParticipant



demonstrationsindifferenttechnologies,includingMoodleandWikispaces.Instructionalsessionsincludedtopicssuchasglobalawarenessandproject‐basedlearning.Teachersalsoparticipatedinamodel,project‐basedlessonandrole‐playedasstudentstoexperiencethisstyleoflearningfirsthand.Duringthe2010‐2011schoolyear,teacherparticipantsengagedin15hoursofonlinetrainingsessionsingroupsof8ledbytheInstructionalCoach.Thistrainingfocusedonhigherorderthinkingskills,assessment,andintegratingtechnologyintolessons.Twocoachesworkedwiththiscohortandvisitedeachclassroomatleasttwicetoprovidesupport.Teachersworkedthroughouttheyeartodeepentheirunderstandingof21stcenturyskillsandeffectivelyuseappropriatetechnologies.Teachersalsocoachedandofferedtrainingintheirschoolstoshareexpertiseandmentorcolleagues.Inthespringof2011,anadditional70teacherswereselectedtoattendaProject‐BasedLearningAcademy,taughtbytheBuckInstituteforEducation(BIE).Theteacherswrotelessons,implementedthem,andgatheredinJunetosharetheirsuccessesandchallenges.

ClassroomExamples

• Inonefifthgradeclass,intypicalpractice,studentsbegantheyearbyrecyclingpaperintheclassroom.Theclassroomteacherdesignedaproject‐basedlessoninspiringstudentstoresearch,investigate,andtakeactiononexpandingtheirrecyclingefforts.Withtheteacher’sguidance,studentsresearchedonlinethecostofrecyclingmaterialsandcollectioncontainersandbegantorecycleproductsinthelunchroomandatschoolevents.Thestudentsinterviewedrecyclingexpertsandcreatedavideooftheirtriptothelandfillabouttheimportanceofpreservingtheenvironmentbyrecycling.VideosweresharedwithstudentsandthePTAintheirschool.Theirprojectculminatedwithanorganizedprocessofrecyclingpaperthroughouttheschool.ThevideoandPTApresentationwasthefinaleventastheschoolyearconcluded.

• Amongotherexpectations,fifthgrademathstudentssolveone‐andtwo‐stepproblemsusingaddition,subtraction,multiplication,anddivisionofwholenumbers,useappropriateunitswithwhichtomeasurelength,weight,andcapacity,andsolveproblemsinvolvingperimeter,area,capacity,andvolume.Atypicalassignmentinvolvedmathworkfromthetextbook.WiththesupportoftheMasterTeacherAcademy,aproject‐basedlessoninvolvingtheredesignoftheplaygroundofferedrealworld,inspirationaluseofmathconcepts. Studentsstudiedandmeasuredtheircurrentplayground,thenbrainstormedideasforanewplayground.Onpaper,theydrewtheirconcepttoscale.Usingtheinternet,studentsresearchedthecostofmakingplaygroundequipmentandmaterials.ThestudentsalsointerviewedcommunitymemberstodeterminecostandensuretheymetallmunicipalandAmericanswithDisabilitieslaws.Thestudentscreatedwrittenandoralpresentationsformembersoftheschoolboard.SomestudentsusedMicrosoftPowerPoint;othersusedvideofortheirpresentations.TheyalsousedMicrosoftExceltobuildtheirbudgets.Theschoolboardagreedtofundsomeoftherequestsiftheyprioritizedneedsandpresentedrecommendationstotheboard.Technologywasusedseamlesslythroughoutthisprojectasstudentsgatheredinformationand



resourcestodesignaplaygroundandmaketheirpresentation.Theteacherwastheretoguidetheprocessbutthestudentswereleadersintheirlearning.Inthisclass,studentsgaveuptheirrecesstimetocompletetheproject.


Thisinitiativeresultedinmultiplebenefitsforbothteachersandstudents.Studentsbenefittedfromanengaging21stcenturylearningenvironment.Datacollectionconcludedthattheintegrationoftechnologyhelpedtoincreasehigherorderthinkingskillsandstudentengagement.Basedupononlinecollaborativecommunityresponses,comments,andclassroomvisits,MasterTeacherAcademyparticipantsindicatedanincreasedawarenessofhigherorderthinkingskills(criticalthinking,reflection,authenticlearning)from7%atthebeginningoftheprojectto92%attheendoftheproject.Inaddition,basedupononlinecollaborativecommunityresponses,comments,andclassroomvisits,MasterTeacherAcademyparticipantsindicatedanincreasedawarenessinincorporating21stcenturyskills(collaboration,communication,creativity)inteachinginacurrentcontextfrom9%atthebeginningoftheprojectto100%attheendoftheproject.Baseduponapre‐andpost‐surveydevelopedbytheSouthDakotaStateDepartmentofEducation,40ofthe54teacherssurveyedincreasedtheirunderstandingofthe21stcenturyskillsandtools,13participants’understandingremainedthesame,andoneteacherreportedthathis/herunderstandingof21stcenturyskillsandtoolsdeclined.Oftheschoolsparticipatingintheyear‐longMasterTeacherAcademy,cohort2,10schoolswereidentifiedforschoolimprovementin2010.ThreeoftheseschoolsmadeAdequateYearlyProgress(AYP)andarenolongeridentifiedforimprovement,adecreaseof12%.Asaresultofthisprogram,136teachersbecameteacherleaderswithintheirschoolsinregardto21stcenturyteachingandproject‐basedlearning.

ProgramData

• MasterTeacherAcademyparticipantsindicatedanincreasedawarenessofhigherorderthinkingskills(criticalthinking,reflection,authenticlearning)from7%atthebeginningoftheprojectto92%attheendoftheproject.

• MasterTeacherAcademyparticipantsindicatedanincreasedawarenessinincorporating21stcenturyskills(collaboration,communication,creativity)inteachinginacurrentcontextfrom9%atthebeginningoftheprojectto100%attheendoftheproject.

Project‐basedlearningprovidesstudentswitha“senseofaccomplishment”ratherthanlet’sjustgettheassignmentfinished.Studentsreallydigintotheirthinkingprocessandbecomemoremetacognitivelyaware.

‐MasterTeacherAcademyParticipant



AdditionaldataisavailableinthefullEETTProjectNarrativeaccessiblebelowinthe“Resources”section.

MovingForward

Theadministratorsmadethecommitmenttoensurethatteachershavethelocalsupporttocontinuetoimprovethecurriculumthroughproject‐basedlearningandprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities.Theteachersineachofthedistrictsexpressedthedesiretochangetheirteachingstylesafterseeingtheengagementofstudents.ThesuccessoftheMasterTeacherAcademyisattributedtothecollaborativeandsupportivelearningenvironment.Thedesignoftheprogramprovidedsupportforparticipantsthroughouttheyear.Teacherswerecontinuallyencouragedintheirefforts,includingsharingandlearningfromeachother.

Resources

SouthDakotaMasterTeacherAcademyhttp://sdmasterteachers.wikispaces.com/EETTProjectNarrative:Outline.SouthDakotaStimulatingInnovationARRA.Program

FundsMadeAvailableUnderAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009

http://tinyurl.com/7d3tzmgEastDakotaEducationalCooperativehttp://edec.org/SouthDakotaDepartmentofEducationhttp://doe.sd.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

TiptonCounty


E4000TNStatewideStimulusStrategye‐LearningProgram(e4TN)

TiptonCounty,Tennessee

January2010‐July2011Thepurposeofthee4000TNStatewideStimulusStrategye‐LearningProgram(e4000TN)

wastoexpandtheonlinelearningopportunitiesacrossthestateofTennesseebyproviding

fundingandaccesstoe4TNcoursesandestablishingaregionalconsortiummodelingtheexistinge4TNprogram.E4000TNprovidedfundingande4TNcourse“seats”to60

TennesseeLEAssothatmoredistrictswouldhaveexposuretothee4TNonlinecontent.Additionally,byestablishingaregionalmodel,thegoalofthegrantwastopromotethe

sharingofteachersandcoursesacrossdistrictlines.Throughparticipationinthegrant,

studentsgainedaccesstorigorousonlinecontent,aswellastocertified,highlyqualifiedteachers,andwereofferedopportunitiestotakeonlinecoursestoachievecreditsthatmay

nototherwisehavebeenavailable.

Demographics

TiptonCountywasthehuboftheregionalareaservedbythisprogramaswellasthefiscal

agent.TiptonCounty,locatedinWestTennessee,ishometothe13thlargestschoolsysteminTennessee.Theschoolsystemserves11,947studentsandisthelargestemployerinthe

county.Inthisarea,thereisdecreasedteacheravailabilityforspecificcoursesinthemore

ruralregions,particularlyinsubjectssuchasforeignlanguagesandphysics.

BackgroundTheAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009(ARRA)includeda$650

millionallocationinESEATitleII,PartD,commonlyreferredtoastheEnhancingEducationThroughTechnologyprogram(EETT).Thiscasestudywaspreparedbythe

StateEducationalTechnologyDirectorsAssociation(SETDA)–theprincipalassociationrepresentingthetechnologyleadershipofstateandterritorial

departmentsofeducation–toprovideanexampleofARRAfundsworkingatthe

districtandclassroomlevelthatcreateseffective,viable,androbustreformineducation,andimprovesthewayteachersteachandstudentslearn.

Tennessee’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsTennessee’sfocusedtheirgrantonexpandingopportunitiesforstudentstoenrollandsucceedinonlinecoursesthroughtheEffectiveEngagingE‐learning

EnvironmentforTennessee(e4TN’s)onlinelearningprogram.Individualdistricts

wereencouragedtopersonalizetheprogramandusetheprogramastheyseebesttomeettheirstudents’needs.

ARRACaseStudies2012|TiptonCounty,Tennessee


ProjectDescription

Whileonlinecourseswere

availableinTennesseethroughthee4TNprogram,the

enrollmentandacceptabilityof

onlinelearninginTiptonCountyandwesternTennessee

wasprimarilylow.Initially,96participatingteachersreceived

professionaldevelopmentand

trainingtofacilitatecourses,whichincreasedthenumberof

onlineteachersandthevarietyofonlinecoursestheregion

wasabletooffer.Thee4TN

catalogincludedapproximately30courses(primarilyhigh

schoollevel)suchasEnglish,

ComputerLiteracy,Wellness,Algebra,Geometry,Biology,

Physics,French,Spanish,Latin,History,GlobalStudies,Economics,Government,PersonalFinance,CareerManagement,

andArtAppreciation.Subject‐matterexperts(SMEs)andTennesseecertifiedteachersin

theparticularsubjectareadevelopedthecourses.Asnewcoursesweredeveloped,theyweresubjecttoarigorousbetatestperiod.Oncethe18‐monthtestperiodwascomplete,

coursesbecamepartoftheregulare4TNcatalog.Creditrecoveryandvendorcourseswerealsomadeavailablethroughtheprogram.

Theprogramnotonlystrivedtoprovideaccesstocoursesthatwerepreviouslynotavailable,suchasArtAppreciationandLatin,butalsoprovidedaccesstoupdateddevices,a

reliablenetworkandtheopportunitytoincreasetechnologyskillsusingtheonlinecourses.

Sixtydistricts,includingTiptonCountySchools,wereeachawarded$20,000touseforequipmentorteachersinordertofacilitateonlinelearning,and52%ofARRAcompetitive

fundswereusedtopurchaseequipment.Twenty‐ninedistrictsusedARRAformulafundstopurchasenetworkinghardwareresourcesandservices.Forexample,inSumnerCounty

Schools,atrafficanalysisoftheexistingT1linesshowedthatmanyoftheirschoolsmaxed

outtheiravailablebroadbandthroughouttheday.Teachershadtroubleconnectingtoresourcesintheclassrooms.Usingthesefunds,SumnerCountyinstalledfiberconnections

inalloftheirschoolsandincreasedtheirbandwidthto100mbpsintheirhighschools.

Regional,districtwide,andschoolwideprofessionaldevelopmentontopicsincludingweb

toolsandproject‐basedlearningnotonlyaddressedtheuseoftechnologyforonlinelearningbuthelpedenhanceoveralltechnologyintegrationintotheclassroom.The

professionaldevelopmentalsohelpedtogrowlocalandregionaltechnologyexperts.


GrantFocus OnlineandBlendedLearning

andDigitaland/orOpenContent

Beginning/EndDate

ofGrant

January2,2010–July31,

2011

Locale Rural

Funding $475,000



96

Numberof

AdministratorsImpacted

86

NumberofStudents

Impacted

2687




Theregionalmodelallowedfortrainingand

professionaldevelopmenttobedirectedthroughthreeregionaloffices,oneofwhichwaslocated

inTiptonCounty.Theinitialstepin

implementingtheprogramwastoincreaseparticipationofteachersandstudents.Recruited

teachersreceivedone‐daytrainingandparticipatedinmonthlymeetings.Theinitial

trainingincludedinstructioninusingthelearningmanagementsystem,expectationsofan

onlineinstructor,anduseofthetechnologytools.TheInstructionalSupportRepresentativetrainedteachersandprovidedsupportthroughouttheyearviaemailandphoneasneeded.

Throughtheregionaloffice,theRegionalServicesRepresentativeworkedwithschooldistrictstoenroll,train,andsupportstudentsacrosstheregiontoparticipateinthe

courses.Withthenewprogram,therewere2,687enrollmentsfromthespring2010

throughsummer2011,upfromtheaverageof500enrollmentseachyearfrom2006‐2009.

Thee4TNcoursesmetstudentneedsinmultipleways.Theprogramprovidednecessary

remediationforstudentsincludingcourserecovery.Thisallowedsomestudentstograduatewiththeirclasswhentheywerelackingcoursesduetotransferfromanother

stateordistrict.InShelbyCounty,morethan150studentsenrolledinthee4TNcoursesaspartofthesummerschoolprogram,inmanycaseseliminatingthetransportationbarrier,

whichotherwisepreventedthesestudentsfromtakingsummerschoolcourses.

Additionally,studentswhowereotherwiseunabletoenrollinupperlevelcoursesbecause

ofschedulingissuesorlackofqualifiedteacherswereabletocompletecoursesbyenrollingine4TN.Inaddition,e4TNservedgiftedstudentsinthemiddleschoolbyallowing

themtotakehighschoolcoursesonlinewithoutneedingtravelingtothehighschooleach

day.

Manyofthee4TNcoursesofferedaccesstoinnovativeinteractivitytogivestudentsvirtual

optionsthatsimulatedalabsetting.OrganTrail,forexample,wasdevelopedtobeanin‐depthsimulatorfore4TN’sbiologycourse.Studentsperformedvirtualdissectionson

specimens.Thevirtualenvironmentwasdevelopedwiththeideatoteachorganrecognition,showhoworgansrelatetoeachother,identifygeneralpurposesoforgans,and

showhoworgansfunctioninthecompletebiologicalsystem.Studentswereguided

throughthelessonsbyinstructordialoguedescribingwhatthestudentseesandtheproperstepsfordissectionandidentification.Virtualforcepsandscalpelscutandremovedorgans,

simulatingthewayanactualdissectionwouldbedoneinareallaboratory.Thistypeof

learningallowedstudentsthefreedomtoexploreeachspecimen,zoominginandoutonindividualpartsandinteractingwithspecimenstocompareandidentifyorganparts.

Itissoimportantforothersto

understandthatthetraditional

schoolsettingdoesnotbenefitall

students,especiallysincesmall

schoolsarenolongerthenorm.

‐Parentofe4TNstudent



ClassroomExamples

• InMilanCounty,eighthgraderstook

AlgebraIonline.ThecoursewasfacilitatedbyanexperiencedAlgebraI

teacherfromTiptonCountySchools.

TheMilanteacherwascertifiedAlgebraIteacherbuthadnottaughtAlgebrain

severalyears.Byworkingalongwiththestudentsandcollaboratingwiththe

onlineteacher,theMilanteacherwas

betterpreparedtosupportthestudentsandpreparedtoteachAlgebraIduringthenextschoolyear.

• Usingtheonlineforeignlanguagecoursesthroughe4TN,theTiptonCountyAlternativeLearningCenterwasabletoprovideSpanishandFrenchtostudentsto

stayontargetforgraduation.Theschooldoesnothaveaforeignlanguageteacher

onstaff.Usinge4TNcoursesinalearninglab,studentswereabletocompletecoursesinFrenchorSpanishtocompletetheforeignlanguagerequirementfor

graduation.Thisprovidedaneconomicalandequitablesolutionforthedistrict.


Theexternalevaluationofthee4TN,aspartoftheEETTprogram,isstillinprogressand

willbesubmittedtotheUSDepartmentofEducationinDecember2012.Theevaluationofe4TNisbeingcompiledbyTNCRED‐Vanderbilt.

MovingForward

Asaregionalofficefortheprogram,TiptonCountyreliedonthestatetoprovidethecurriculum,learningmanagement,andstudentmanagementprograms.Thestateof

Tennesseeownsthecurriculumandhasofferedittoanyschooldistrictinthestate.The

learningmanagementandstudentmanagementsystemssupportisnolongeravailableduetolackoffunds.TiptonCountywillassessthecostofrunningaprogramforTiptonand

othersinWestTennessee.

NewstatelegislationallowsLEAstoopentheirownvirtualschoolsinTennessee.Someof

theseLEAsarecollaboratingwitheachothertoofferonlinesolutions,notonlytostudentsintheirowndistrictbuttostudentsinotherdistricts.

E4TNhashelpedmecontinually

challengemyself.Ihavebeenableto

graduateearlybecauseofit,andIwill

alwaysbegratefulforthe

opportunitiesithasopenedforme.

‐Jordan,DicksonCountyStudent



Resources

TiptonCountySchools

http://www.tipton‐county.com

TennesseeDepartmentofEducation

http://tn.gov/education/

SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

http://tinyurl.com/76gvnc3

ManorIndependent

SchoolDistrict


ThinkForward,Project‐BasedLearningInstitute

ManorIndependentSchoolDistrict,Texas

October2009‐October2011ThinkForward,Project‐BasedLearning(PBL)Instituteisadynamicprofessionaldevelopmentprogramdesignedtotraineducatorsintechnologyuse,bestpracticesinPBL,leadership,and21stcenturyskillapplications.TheprofessionaldevelopmentofferedtoK‐8teachersintheManorIndependentSchoolDistrict(MISD)andtohighschoolteachersinHarlingenConsolidatedIndependentSchoolDistrict(HCISD)teachersincludedface‐to‐facetrainingandfollow‐up,job‐embeddedcoaching.

Demographics

MISDislocatedjustoutsidethecitylimitsofAustin,Texas.TheCityofManorwasestablishedinthemidtolate1800s.Bytheearly1900s,itwasahubforthecentralTexascottonandrailroadindustries.Today,ManorplaysakeyroleintheTexastechnologyindustryandishometocorporateofficesofAppliedMaterialsandSamsung.TheCityofManorisgrowingrapidly.Asaresult,MISDisexperiencingaphenomenalgrowthinstudentenrollmentwith80%growthfrom2004to2008.Theenrollmentfor2011‐2012iscurrentlyat7,600studentsintwelveschoolswith82%qualifyingforthefreeorreducedlunchprogram.


Texas’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsTheTexasEducationAgencydistributedARRAEETTfundsthroughtheTargetTechinTexas(T3)CollaborativeGrant‐AmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009.“TargetTech”isthehighestleveloftechnologyintegrationprogressaccordingtotheTexasCampusandTeacherSchoolTechnologyandReadiness(STaR)Chart.ThepurposeoftheT3grantwastoencouragetheuseofeducationaltechnologytoolstoimproveteachingandlearning.

ARRACaseStudies2012|ManorIndependentSchoolDistrict,Texas


ProjectDescription

In2007,MISDreceivedafour‐yearTexasSTEMgranttointegratetechnologyandPBLattheManorNewTechnologyHigh(MNTH).Theenormoussuccessoftheprogramresultedinabove‐averagestandardizedtestscores,highattendancerates,anda100%completionratein2010,comparedtoManor’straditionalhighschool’s82.4%completionrate.However,whileMNTHwasexcelling,othercampusesinMISDwerecontinuingtostrugglewith2ofits11othercampusesreceivingthestate'slowestrating.WiththeuseofT3/ARRAfunds,MISDsoughttoexpandtheuseofproject‐basedlearningthroughtheestablishmentoftheThinkForward:PBLInstitute.Teachersappliedtoparticipateintheprogramanduponcompletionofthefour‐dayinstitutereceivedatechnologypackageforclassroomuse.ThefirstMISDcohortincludedtwoteachersfromeachelementaryandmiddleschoolcampus.Subsequentcohortstrainedadditionalteachersfromthesecampuses,aswellascounselors,campusprincipals,centralofficecurriculumstaff,andalldepartmentheads.Eachclassroompackageincludedateacherlaptop,fourclassroomlaptops,andfiveiPodTouches.Additionally,classroomsnotalreadyequippedwithinteractivewhiteboardsorprojectorswereprovidedaprojectorandwhiteboard.Thefour‐dayThinkForward:PBLInstituteprovidedinstructioninbasictechnologyuse,PBL,andtechnologyintegrationfromMNTHteachermentors.AftertheInstitute,attendeesreceivedongoing,job‐embeddedsupportfromtheirdesignatedmentor.TheselectedMNTHteachermentorswereidentifiedaseffectiveintheimplementationofPBLbasedonatrackrecordofstudentsuccess.PriortotheinitialInstitute,thementorswereprovidedprofessionaldevelopmentrelatedtoeffectiveadultlearningtechniques,includingsuccessfulmentoringpractices.While29teachersweretrainedaspartofthisgrant,additionalteachersattendedtheInstituteusinglocalfunds.Bytheendofthegrantperiod,allfourthandfifthgradeteachers,specialeducationinclusionteachers,middleschoolmathteachers,districtcurriculumstaff,schooladministrators,andcentralofficeadministratorsreceivedthetraining.ThefocusoftheadministratorstrandtrainingwastoeliminateanybarrierstowardsuccessfulPBLimplementation.Thecurriculumstaffreceivedtrainingtoensurethatcurriculum,assessments,andprofessionaldevelopmentsessionsprovidedby


GrantFocus DeeperLearning/Project‐basedCollaborativeLearningandHigh‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironment


October1,2009‐October30,2011

Locale Rural




44


12


1075



thedistrictssupportedPBL.MISDalsopartneredwithHCISDtoprovidetrainingforteachersandtoestablishaninter‐regionalpartnership.FifteenHarlingenteachersattendedtheoriginalinstitute.Approximatelyonemonthlater,MNTHmentorsvisitedtheHCISDteachersfortwodaystoofferclassroomsupport.Mentorsalsoofferedsupportthroughouttheschoolyearviaemailandvideoconferencing.Approximately200educatorshaveparticipatedintheInstitute.


Participantsreceivedaninitialfour‐dayintensivetrainingduringwhichtheyeachdevelopedaprojectfortheirclassroomsandsharedwiththegroup.ThetrainingbeganwithareviewofbasictechnologyuseandanintroductiontoPBL.ParticipantsalsoobservedclassesatthesuccessfulMNTHandidentifiedkeyelementsofPBLinpractice.Onthesecondday,participantsexploredhowtocreateaPBLproject,includingmanagingcollaborativestudentworkandusingrubricstodeterminestudentprogresstowardstatestandards.Onthethirdday,participantslearnedhowtoscaffoldstudentactivitieswithcontinuedworkontheprojectindevelopment.Onthefinaldayoftheinstitute,mentorteachersconductedworkshopsprovidingguidancetailoredtotheindividualneedsoftheparticipantsbasedontheircontentareasandgradelevels.Also,participantssharedtheirindividualprojectsandreceivedfeedbackonthenextstepsofimplementation.Uponreturningtotheclassroom,teachersimplementedtheirprojectwithcontinuedsupportfromtheirmentors.Mentorsandparticipantscontinuedtointeractthroughouttheschoolyearthroughsitevisits,onlinelearningcommunities,lessonplandevelopment,andphoneandemailsupport.Teacherspostedprojectsonaprojectwikiasawaytoshareandreflect.ThiscontentisnowavailableforallMISDandHCISDteachersforfutureimplementation.

ClassroomExamples

• InafourthgradeSocialStudiesclass,studentsworkedinsmallgroupstoexplorehowthemediacoversnewsstories,andtheycreatedtheirownnewscast.UsingmediacoverageoftheGulfofMexicooilspill,theteacherandstudentsdiscussedandviewednewsvideos.Usingteacher‐providedrubrics,studentsevaluatednewsstoriesforcontent,location,expertcredibility,andreportingtechniques.Next,insmallgroups,studentsworkedtocreatetheirownnewscastoftheGulfoilspill.Theyresearchedfacts,wroteascript,createdprops,andpracticedtheirnewscast.Throughoutthegroupwork,studentsusedawikitoshareandcollaborateinformation.Thisallowedtheteachertocheckinontheirprogress.Studentgroupsfilmedtheirnewscast,andallnewscastsweresharedwiththeclassandpostedonline.Throughouttheproject,theteacheralsousedtheinteractivewhiteboardtosharevideos,rubrics,andfinalproducts.Theprojectclosedwithteamsevaluating

TheInstituteprovidednewopportunitiesandmethodstoengagemystudents.Studentsperformbetterwhentheirworkismoremeaningfultothem.

‐FourthGradeTeacher



theirprocessandproductandcelebratingwitha"wrap"party.SomeoftheproductswerepostedontheMISDwebsiteandonindividualteacherwebsites.

• Infourthgrademathandreading,studentsreceivedaspecialrequestfromthethirdgradeteam.Thefourthgraderswereaskedtocreateabooktohelpthirdgraderslearnmultiplication.Thebookwastocontainacover,titlepage,tableofcontents,numbers,words,anddrawingstorepresentthemultiplicationtables,propertiesofmultiplication,andtipsforlearningthemultiplicationtables.Tobegin,fourthgrade

studentsexploredwebsitesaboutbookmakingandideasforcreatingengagingpublications.Studentsalsoreadvariouspicturebooksandexaminedthepictures,amountoftextonapage,andotherelementsofpicturebookdesign.Aftermakingdecisionsonthetypeofbooktocreate,studentsstoryboardedtheirideasandfocusedonhowtopresentthemathcontentviaanonlinetool.Finally,studentscreatedtheirbooksusingonlineresourcesand

desktoppublishingtools.Thebookswerefinalizedandsharedwiththirdgraders.


Theexternalevaluator,EducationalResearchInstitute(ERI),assessedandmeasuredperformancemeasuresthroughperiodicsurveysandobservationsofstudents,parents,andteachers.Whilesomeexpectationswerenotfulfilled,theeffortofincreasingtechnologyintegrationandprovidingteacherprofessionaldevelopmentwasachieved.Thepercentageofstudentswhoseuseoftechnologyliteracyincreasedbecauseofthegrantwas100%.ThenumberofcampusesthatimprovedtheirSTaRChartlevel,targetgoalofeight,wasachieved.See“Resources”belowforaccesstofullevaluationreport.

MovingForward

TheThinkForward,PBLInstitutecontinuestothrive.Theprogramiscurrentlybeingsustainedwithlocalfunds.By2012,themajorityofMISDteacherswillhaveparticipated.UsingTexasTitleIPrioritySchoolsfunds,highschoolteachersinthetwootherhighschoolsofMISDwillreceivetrainingattheInstitutein2012.



Resources

ManorIndependentSchoolDistricthttp://manorisd.net/HarlingenCISDandManorISD(T3)FinalProgramEvaluation

http://tinyurl.com/7bj8e89TexasEducationAgencyhttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

PulaskiCountyPublicSchools


iLearnProject

PulaskiCountyPublicSchools,Virginia

January2010‐September2012TheiLearnprojectaddressedanincreasingneedtouseemergingtechnologiestoimprovefundamentalknowledgeincoretargetareasandtoincreaseproblemsolvingskills.InPulaskiCounty,K‐12teachersintegratediPodTouchesandlaptopstocreateengagingandeffectivelearningenvironments.TheRadfordUniversityGames,Animation,Modeling,andSimulation(GAMeS)LabworkedinconjunctionwithPulaskiCountySchoolsandotherpartnerstocreateappsthatalignedwithVirginia’sStandardsofLearning.

Demographics

PulaskiCountyislocatedinSouthwesternVirginiaintheheartoftheNewRiverValley.ThepopulationofPulaskiCountyis35,000people.Therearefiveelementaryschools,twomiddleschools,andonehighschool.PulaskiCountybenefitsfromcloseproximitytoVirginiaTech,RadfordUniversity,NewRiverCommunityCollege,andthecitiesofWythevilleandRoanoke.Oftheparticipatingschools,between37%and63%ofthestudentsreceivefreeorreducedlunch.


Virginia’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsTheprimarypurposeforVirginia’sEETTARRAcompetitivegrantcompetitionwastoimplementprogramstoencouragetheuseofeducationaltechnologytoimproveteachingandlearning.Divisionsandschoolsusedthefundstodevelop21stcenturyclassroomsasenvisionedbytheEducationalTechnologyPlanforVirginia:2010‐15,whichencouragestheeffectiveuseoftechnologytoprepareVirginiastudentstolearnandworkinthe21stcentury.

ARRACaseStudies2012|PulaskiCountyPublicSchools,Virginia


ProjectDescription

TheiLearnproject,acollaborationamongPulaskiCountyPublicSchools,RadfordCityPublicSchools,NewRiverCommunityCollege,AppleInc.,andRadfordUniversity,includedthreecomponents:1)thedevelopmentandintegrationofmobilegamesandsimulations;2)developmentandintegrationofiPodTouchapplicationsintothecorecontentcurriculum;and3)professionaldevelopmentforparticipatingteachers.Thisprojectemployedstrategies,whichnotonlyreflectedthelearningstylesandpersonalinterestsofstudentsbutalsoexpandedthecurrentunderstandingofclassroompracticesandcreated21stcenturylearningenvironments.InPulaskiCountySchools,thefocusonspecificcontentareaswasdeterminedbyananalysisofstateassessmentscoresforthespecificgradelevel.Twoelementaryschools,twomiddleschools,andonehighschoolparticipatedintheproject.


Attheonsetofthisproject,twoclassroomteacherswereselectedperschool.Eachschoolreceivedacartwith2setsof20iPodseachandacartwith30laptops.EachteacheralsoreceivedalaptopandaniPodTouch.Professionaldevelopmentwaskeytothisprogram’ssuccess.First,theteachersanddistricttrainersengagedinprofessionaldevelopmenttrainingtolearnthefunctionalityofeachtool.Next,thetrainingfocusedmoreonintegratingtheiPodsandlaptopsintothecurriculumandtheoverallinstructionalprocess.Atrainervisitedthecountyfourtimesandprovidedtraininginthebasicuseofdevices,iWorks,integrationofapps,andcurriculumsupport.Theparticipatingteachersalsohadongoingsupportfromthecounty’stechnologyspecialiststoassistintroubleshootingproblems,updatingandsyncingiPodTouches,andcreatingclassactivitiesandlessons.Throughthelifeofthegrant,teachershadanonlinelearningcommunitycreatedthroughNing,whichprovidedasocialnetworkingplatformallowingmembersto


GrantFocus TechnologyInfrastructureandProfessionalLearningCommunities


January1,2010‐September30,2012

Locale Rural

Funding $435,000



17


21


700

iPodToucheshavegivenustheabilitytodifferentiateinstruction.Timeon‐taskhasincreasedgreatly.

‐iLearnTeacher



sharetheirexperiencesandideas,receivefeedback,anddecideuponandcommunicateneededmodificationstotheprojectinasecureenvironmentintegratingwikis,blogs,andchatrooms.Inaddition,appsweredevelopedbytheGAMeSlabandsharedwithteachers.ArepresentativefromtheGAMeSlabvisitedtheschoolandworkedwithteacherstodeterminetheirneedsfororiginalappstargetingspecificcontentareas.TheappswerealignedwithVirginia’sStandardsofLearning(SOL).Integrationoftheseappswasexploredwiththetrainer.Overthecourseoftheproject,20SOL‐alignedappsweredevelopedandhavebeendownloadedover120,000timesbyconsumersinsevendifferentcountries.

ClassroomExamples

• Thefifthgradesciencecurriculumincludesthestudyofcells.Studentslearnthebasicstructuresofacellandthefunctionsofthestructures.Inteachingthisunit,oneofthefifthgradeiLearnteachersusedanappontheiPodTouchthatallowedeachstudenttoseea3Dviewofthepartsofacell.Bytappingeachpart,thefunctionofeachpartofthecellwasexplained.Afterworkingthroughthedifferentparts,thestudentscreatedtheirownmodelsofacellonpaperandcheckedtheirdrawingwiththecellapp.Beforeusingthetechnology,studentsgleanedinformationoncellsfromateacher’spresentation,textbook,and/orvideo.

• Tohelpincreasestudentengagement,seventhgrademathstudentsworkedindependentlyandcollaborativelyinstationstoreviewproportions,functions,andintegers.Attheproportionstation,studentsusedanapptohelpthemcreatetheirownwordproblemsdealingwithproportions.Thisnotonlygavethempracticeapplyingtheconceptbutalsoallowedstudentstosharetheirproblemswitheachother.Atthefunctionstation,studentusedadifferentapptoreviewtheconcept,andusedanotherapptocreatetheirownfunctionsthattheysharedwitheachother.Atthelaststation,thestudentsusedanapptopracticeadding,subtracting,multiplying,anddividingintegers.Priortothisproject,studentspracticedthesemathconceptsbyusingpencilandpaper.Basedonteacherobservation,useofthetechnologytoolshelpedtoincreasestudentfocusandinterestinmath.Teachershopethiswilltranslateintoincreasedstudentachievement.


TeachersrespondedpositivelytotheclassroomuseofiPodTouchesandlaptops.Thetoolsprovidedopportunitiestodifferentiatethecontentanddeliverytobettermeettheneedsofstudents.Manyappshavedifferentlevelsthatcanbeassignedtostudentsbasedonability.Anecdotally,asreportedbyteachers,studentsweremoreengagedwhentheirlessonsincludedopportunitiestousetheiPodTouchesandlaptops.



MovingForward

Participatingteacherswereempoweredtoassumeleadershippositionsbyofferingtoinformallysupporttheircolleaguesthroughpeer‐to‐peertrainingstherebysustainingthegrant’sproposedgoalsbeyondthelifeofthegrant.Aswell,thefocusonprofessionalgrowthincreasedthelevelofeducationaltechnologyintegrationexpertisethroughouttheregion.

Resources

iLearnWebsitehttp://gameslab.radford.edu/ilearn/PulaskiCountyPublicSchoolshttp://pcva.usVirginiaDepartmentofEducationhttp://doe.virginia.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

KanawhaCountySchools


SissonvilleHighSchool

KanawhaCountySchools,WestVirginia

January2010‐August2011ThepurposeoftheprogramatSissonvilleHighSchoolwastoimproveacademicachievementthroughtechnologyintegration,particularlymathandreadingproficiency,andtodecreasedropoutrates.ThegrantprovidedthesupportofaTechnologyIntegrationSpecialist(TIS)tohelpteachersimprovetheirtechnologyskills,makecurricularchanges,andmoreeffectivelyutilizeexistingtechnologydevicesandsoftware.

Demographics

SissonvilleHighSchoolisapublichighschoollocatedinruralSissonville,WestVirginia,outsideofCharleston.SissonvilleispartofKanawhaCountySchools(KCS),thelargestschoolsysteminWestVirginia.Thedistrictservesover28,000studentsin44elementaryschools,14middleschools,8highschoolsand2careerandtechnicaleducationcenters.


WestVirginia’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsBasedonresearchandtherecommendationsoftheWestVirginiaStateTechnologyPlan,thisgrantprogram’sfocuswastohaveaTechnologyIntegrationSpecialist(TIS)provideand/orcoordinateappropriateprofessionaldevelopmentactivitiesforallteachersandadministratorsinWestVirginia’sTechnologyModelschools.

ARRACaseStudies2012|KanawhaCountySchools,WestVirginia


ProjectDescription

Priortothegrant,SissonvilleHighSchoolhadadequatetechnologyinplace,includingthreeschool‐widelabsandprojectorswithinteractivewhiteboardsinmanyclassrooms.Aswell,manystate‐fundedsoftwareprogramswereavailableforteacherandstudentuseincludingcontentsitessuchasTechSTEPS,ThinkFinity,andtheonlinemanagementsystemEdline.ThemathematicsdepartmentwasscheduledtoreceiveamobilelabtosupporttheCarnegiemathcurriculumfundedbythecounty.However,evenwiththetechnologyavailable,devicesandprogramswerenotfullyutilized,andoftenthelabswereindisrepairwithnumerouscomputersunavailable.ThefacultyatSissonvilleHighSchoolwaseager,buttheydidnotknowwheretobegintointegratetechnology.Hence,SissonvilleHighSchoolwasagoodmatchtothestategoalsforthisgrantprogramandreceivedafull‐timeTIStoprovideon‐going,embeddedprofessionaldevelopmentforallstaffmembersatSissonvilleHighSchool.Withthelocalfunds,eachteacheralsoreceivedalaptopandadditionalsoftware,includingDiscoveryStreamingBasic,GradeQuick,andSkillsTutor.


Inthespringof2010,teacherswereissuedlaptops,andtheyreceivedtrainingprovidedbythedistrictforsomeofthesoftwareprograms.TheTISbeganthesummerof2010.HeattendedprofessionaldevelopmentprovidedbytheWestVirginiaDepartmentofEducationduringthesummerof2010.Healsometwiththestaffpriortostartingworkattheschooltoassesstheirneedsandtodevelopaninitialprofessionaldevelopmentplanalongwiththeteachersandadministrators.Teachersattendedsubject‐specificsessionsduringthesummerof2010,whichallowedthemtoshareideasandlearnhowtobettersupportoneanother.TheTISprovidedprofessionaldevelopmentworkshopsforteachersandadministratorsonvarioussoftwareapplicationsandinteractivewhiteboarduse.Teachersalsoreceivedtraininginsmallergroupsorone‐on‐oneinsuchareasastheuseofGoogledocumentsforcollaboration,content‐specificsoftware,andthecontentmanagementsystems.ThemajorityofcurricularsupportprovidedbytheTISoccurredinone‐on‐oneorsmallgroupsessions,utilizingteachers’planningtime.Forexample,theTIS


GrantFocus High‐Access,Technology‐RichLearningEnvironment,andOnline/BlendedLearning


January30,2010‐August15,2011

Locale Rural




60


3


630



workedwithateacherduringhisplanningtimetopreparealesson.Withablockschedule,thetypicalschooldaywasthreeperiods.TheTISwouldmodelthelessonduringthefirstblock.Duringthesecondblock,theTISandteacherwouldteamteach.And,duringthethirdblockoftheday,theteacherwouldteachthelessonwithsupportfromtheTIS.TheTISalsomanagedmanytechnicalissues,suchasensuringthatallcomputerlabswerefullyfunctionalandmaintainingbandwidthsupportintheschool.TheTISalsobuiltacadreofteachers,aninformalprofessionallearningcommunity,tosupportthestaff.SomeofthestaffparticipatedinaThinkfinitycommunitysetupfortheschooltosharetheirideasandthoughts.TheTISwasinstrumentalinencouragingandassistingtheuseofstate‐mandatedprograms,suchasTechSteps,atechnologyliteracycurriculumandassessmenttool.TeachersarerequiredtouseandassessTechStepsingradesKto8butoptionalforgrades9to12.Bytheendoftheschoolyear,80%ofteacherswereusingTechSteps’activitiesandtoolscomparedtonoteachersusingthetoolinthebeginningoftheyear,itssecondyearofimplementationinthestate.TheTISalsoworkedwithteachersusingEdline,acontentmanagementsystemforpostingclassroomresources,settingupclasswebpages,andusingasaparentcommunicationtool.TeachersalsousedasharedEdlinecalendartoschedulecomputerlabtime.

ClassroomExamples

• Inthe9thand10thgradereadingclass,studentsworkedtousevocabulary‐buildingtoolsandincreaseself‐esteemandparticipation.ThestudentsbuiltanonlinedictionarybyusingPowerPointtocreatetheirownVisual‐VerbalWordAssociationcharts,convertedthefilesintojpegformat,anduploadedthemtotheclasswebsite.Thestudentswereabletoseehowothersinterpretedwordsandtheirmeanings.Theteacherfoundincreasedcollaborationandinterestamongthestudentsincompletingthisactivityversusmoretraditionaldrillingandpracticeofvocabularywords.

• Inan11thgradeEnglishclass,studentsstudiedtypesofrhetoricandwritingpersuasively.Studentswereprovidedonlinearticlestoreadcriticallyandannotatetherhetoricaldevices,exploringhowdeviceswereappliedinthearticle.Thenthestudentsweregivenaneditorialtowhichtheyannotatedandrespondedusinglogos,ethos,andpathos.Theseresponseswerepostedontheclasswebsiteforcommentanddiscussionamongsttheclass.Traditionally,theteachersimplyexplainedlogos,ethos,andpathosandhowitwasexpressedintheworksofWilliamShakespeare.Studentspreferredtheonlinemethodofsharingtheirresponses.

Duringtheyear,asteachersmovedfurtherintotechnologyintegration,Isawtheirteachingstyleschangetobemoreinteractiveandinquirybased;andwiththatcameincreasedperformancelevelsandmorepositiveattitudesfromtheirstudents.

‐KevinGoff,SissonvilleHighSchoolTIS




InexaminingtheWESTEST,WestVirginia’send‐of‐yearproficiencytests,progresswasmadeineachofthecoresubjectareas,includingmathandEnglishasindicatedintheprogram’sgoal.

MovingForward

SissonvilleHighSchoolcontinuestomoveforwardintheirintegrationoftechnologyinclassroominstruction.WhiletheTISpositionwasonlyfundedforayear,acoregroupoftech‐savvyteachersidentifiedduringtheyearofthegrantcontinuetoprovidetechnicalsupportandideasforintegrationtoimproveacademicachievement.Inaddition,teacherscontinuetomeetduringplanningtimetodiscussideastoimproveclassroominstructionandacademicachievement.

Resources

KanawhaCountySchoolshttp://kcs.kana.k12.wv.usWestVirginiaDepartmentofEducationhttp://wvde.state.wv.us/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

SchoolData

• Englishproficiencyscoresforthe2009‐2010schoolyeartothe2010‐2011schoolyearshowed11.14%improvement.

• Mathproficiencyscoresfromthe2009‐2010schoolyeartothe2010‐2011schoolyearshowed7.51%improvement.

• Scienceproficiencyscoresfromthe2009‐2010schoolyeartothe2010‐2011schoolyearshowed11.12%improvement.

• SocialStudiesproficiencyscoresfromthe2009‐2010schoolyeartothe2010‐2011schoolyearshowed8.92%improvement.

SchoolDistrictofJanesville


Together—21stCenturyLearningEnvironment(ToTLE)Program

SchoolDistrictofJanesville,Wisconsin

July2009‐September2011TheSchoolDistrictofJanesville’sproject,Together—21stCenturyLearningEnvironment(ToTLE),engagedteamsofeducatorsandtheirstudentstobuildteachingandlearningstrategies,assessmentinstrumentstohelppersonalizestudentlearning,andtechnology‐rich,21stcenturyclassrooms.Teachersworkedinteamstodesign,implement,andassessproblem‐basedlearningunits.

Demographics

Janesvilleisacityofover60,000citizenslocatedinsouthernWisconsin,about40milessouthofthestatecapital,Madison.JanesvillewasonceastrongmanufacturingcommunityuntilGeneralMotorsshutdownitsplantinDecember2008.Unfortunately,theunemploymentrateof10.2%inJune2011issteadilygrowing.TheSchoolDistrictofJanesvillehasapproximately10,400prekindergartenthrough12thgradestudentsservedby21schools.WashingtonElementarySchoolhasapproximately500studentsand2computerlabs.Theyadded75netbooksinmobilecartsasaresultofthegrants.


Wisconsin’sEETTCompetitiveGrantsWisconsinsoughttoincreasestudentuseoftechnologyasalearningtooltoimprovestudentacademicachievementwithinalearningenvironmentwhereWisconsin’sModelAcademicStandardsforInformation&TechnologyLiteracyareembeddedwithinthecontentcurriculum.Inaddition,programsincreasedteachers’understandingoftechnologyasameanstosupportstudentacademicachievement.

ARRACaseStudies2011|SchoolDistrictofJanesville,Wisconsin


ProjectDescription

Janesvilleusedmultiplefundingstreamsforthisinitiativetoprovideteachertraining,onlinecommunitiesofpractice,hardwareandsoftware,andupgradestotheirinternetaccess.Technologytoolspurchasedincludednetbooks,interactivewhiteboards,responsesystems,andvideoequipment.Teachersparticipatedinongoingprofessionaldevelopment,whichwascomprisedofworkshops,commonplanningsessions,coaching,andonlinecourses.Teamsofteachersparticipatedintheprofessionaldevelopmentevenwhennotallteacherswereabletoreceiveallofthetechnologytools.Administratorsencouragedthisteamapproachsothatallstaffwascognizantofthepowerofintegratingtechnologyandinpreparationfortheadditionaltechnologytoolstobeaddedinfutureyears.ThedistrictinitiatedtheirARRA2009CompetitiveGrantprojectinWashingtonElementarySchool,whichhasahighpercentageoffreeandreducedlunchstudents,andaneedforimprovement.TestscoresonPearson’sDevelopmentalReadingAssessment(DRA)indicatedthethirdgradestudentshadhigh‐levelreadingskillsbutthefourthgradestudentswerescoringatsignificantlylowerlevels.TheWisconsinKnowledgeandConceptsExamandtheNorthwestEvaluationAssociationMeasuresof AcademicProgressproficiencylevelscorroboratedthefindingsfromtheDRAtestscores.Inaddition,thestudentsatWashingtonElementaryonlyhadaccessto2computerslabswith28computersineachlab.TheinitialARRAgrantprovidedwith2cartsof15netbookseachforthe4grade3and4grade4


GrantFocus Problem‐BasedCollaborativeLearningandCommunitiesofPractice


July2009–September2011

Locale Rural

Funding

$50,000(CompetitiveARRAEETT1)$80,000(CompetitiveGrantARRAEETT2)$27,000(ARRAEETTFormulaGrant)$14,501(PartialfundsFY09EETTFormulaGrant)$762,303(MicrosoftProgramVouchers)$150,000(WisconsinTechnologyInitiative,TOSAFoundation)$1,083,804Total



192


14


3,532



classroomstoshare.Subsequentgrantsprovided4additionalcartsforatotalof75netbooksforuseinclassrooms.Duringthesameyear,thedistrictprovidedwirelessaccessfortheschool.Seventy‐fourpercentoftheinitialARRAgrantfundswereusedforprofessionaldevelopment,andtheremainingfundswereusedforthehardwareandinfrastructureupgradesalongwithotherfunds.Teachersengagedinprofessionaldevelopmentthroughsummertraining,graduatecoursework,andpeercoachingtolearntocollaborateonandcreate21stcenturyclassroomswithtechnologytools.WashingtonElementarybecameamodelschoolforallotherJanesvilleschools.Infact,teamsfromneighboringdistricts,Wisconsin’sDepartmentofPublicInstruction,andeventheUkrainehavevisitedthismodelsitetoobserve.AsecondARRAawardwasgrantedinDecember2009,whichledtothecontinuationoftheprofessionaldevelopmentprogramatWashingtonElementarySchoolplustwomiddleschoolsandfiveadditionalelementaryschools.SomeARRAfundswereusedforthepurchaseofadditionalnetbooks,videoproductionequipment,andinteractivewhiteboardswithprojectors,butthemajorityoffundswereusedforprofessionaldevelopment.Inaddition,otherfederalfundsandprivatefoundationfundswereusedtoprovideadditionalnetbooks,iPads,interactivewhiteboardswithprojectors,andstudentresponsesystems.AthirdEETTgrantwasalsoawardedduringthesametimeperiodtoexpandtheentireprogram,onceagainonalargerscalethatincludedtwoentireelementarybuildings,additionalgradesatthreeelementaryschools,onemiddleschool,thetwohighschools,andonecharterschool.


Inthesummerof2009,agroupof12teacherscomprisedof3rdand4thgradeclassroomteachers,schoolleadersinspecialeducationandEnglishLanguageLearner(ELL),thelibrarymediaspecialist,thelearningsupportteacher,andoneadministratorfromWashingtonElementaryparticipatedinasummerinstitute,whichincludedinstructionincollaborationstrategies,UniversalDesignforLearning(UDL),problem‐basedlearning,21stlearningstandards,Web2.0tools,anddigitalresources.Thetechnologywasdistributedtotheclassroomsinthefallandthroughoutthe2009‐2010schoolyear.Professionaldevelopmentcontinuedwithmonthlysessions.ThemeetingshelpedtoestablishaprofessionallearningcommunitythatfollowedtheCriticalFriendsProtocol,aprofessionallearningcommunitymodeldesignedbytheAnnenbergInstituteforSchoolReform.Throughouttheschoolyear,teachers,librarymediaspecialists,andinnovativelearningspecialistsplanned,implemented,andsharedmodellessons,studentworksamples,andassessmentsviaawiki.

ThetechnologytoolsprovidedaccesstosocialnetworkingsitessuchasEdmodowherestudentsnowconverseandproblemsolvecollaboratively.Theseareconversationsthatourstudentsdidn’thavewhentheycompletedpaperandpenciltasks.Theonlinecollaborationleadstohigherlevelthinkingandstudentsmakeconnectionstotheirdailylives.

‐ShelleyBlock,InnovativeLearningSpecialist,AdamsandWashington

ElementarySchools



Duringthesummerof2010,104classroomteachers,includinggradelevel/contentteachers,giftedandtalentedchallengeteachers,specialeducationteachers,ELLteachers,andlibrarymediaspecialists,formedprofessionallearningteamstocompletea30‐hoursymposium.Teamsdevelopedproblem‐basedlearningactivitiesandlessonsalignedwiththeCommonCoreStandardsforEnglish/languageartsandmathematicsthatfollowedtheUDLmodelandtargetedPartnershipfor21stCenturySkills(P21).Also,atotalofsevencohortsofteacherstookatwo‐creditgraduateclassthroughViterboUniversity.TheclassofferedinstructioninUDLprinciplesofdesignandassistedteachersindevelopingproblem‐basedcollaborativeunitplans.OngoingsystemicprofessionaldevelopmentcontinuedthroughouttheschoolyearfromSeptember2010untilJune2011.ByJune2011,atotalof206additionalsocialstudies,science,mathematics,worldlanguage,languagearts,art,andhealtheducatorsfromotherelementaryandsecondaryschoolsparticipatedinatleast30hoursofprofessionaldevelopment.ThesharingofmodellessonsincludingvideosofclassroombestpracticescontinuedviaaGooglesite.Amonthlyonlineschoolnewsletterincludedparticipantinterviewshighlightingprofessionalactivities.Articlesandvideoswerefeaturedonthedistrictsuperintendent’s“What’sRightinJanesvilleEducation”monthlyblog.Face‐to‐faceandonlinepresentationsatregionalandstateconferencesprovidedtheopportunitytomodelbestpracticesandshareperformanceassessments.Throughoutbothschoolyears,teammemberslearnedtobe“CriticalFriends”andmutualpeercoaches.CriticalFriendsreviewedoneanother’slessondesigns,studiedstudentworksamples,andhelpedtoreviselessons.Teacherslearnedtosupporteachotherastheygrewtobecometheclassguideandfacilitatorfortheirownstudentsbychallengingthem,posinghigherlevelinformationquestions,andcreatingproblem‐basedlearningopportunitieswithinatechnology‐richlearningcommunity.Togethertheseteamsalsobuiltcommonformativeassessmentsforeachlesson,whichguidedfuturelessondesignanddeliveryworkingtowardhigherlevelsofthinkingandcontentproficiency.Eachteamdevelopedaminimumofthreedigital‐agecommonassessmentsbasedontargetedP21skills:collaboration,informationinquiry,criticalthinking,problemsolving,communication,andtechnologyliteracy.

ClassroomExamples

• Infourthgradescience,studentsstudiedthefoodchain.Workingwithintheircollaborativeteacherteams,teacherscreatedanewunitemployingUDLprincipleswiththeguidingquestionofwhatwouldhappentofoodchainsandwebsifadisasteroccurred.Studentsresearchedandparticipatedinonlinediscussionsaboutorganismfoodchains,andtheflowofenergyandinterdependenceoforganismswithinafoodchain.Next,studentsworkedwiththeirteachersandthemediaspecialisttoresearchfoodchainsonlinefromoneofthreebiomesandcreateda



slideshowonhowanaturaldisastermightaffecttheirfoodchain.StudentsusedtheBig6researchmodeltoplanandconducttheirresearch,andtheyusedastoryboardtoplanandcompletetheirfinalproduct.Assessmenttoolsincludedachecklist,formalrubric,andstudentreflectionjournalentry.Studentsalsopairedtoevaluateoneanotheraspartoftheprocessforpreparationofpresentingthefinishedprojectsatthespringtechnologyfair.

• Instudyingcivilrights,eighthgradesocialstudiesstudentsaddressedtheessentialquestionofwhyandhowpeoplehavestruggledforsocialjustice.Theclassexploredquestionsaboutsocialjusticeinteamsandthenstudentschoseacivilrightsleadertoresearchviaonlineandtraditionalresearchtools.StudentsthencompletedaGlogster(anonlineposter)sharingdetailsabouttheirleader.TheypresentedtheirGlogstertotheclassandpublisheditonline.AsaculminatingactivityintheTechnologyEducationclass,studentscreatedagraphicdesignrepresentingcivilrightsandprinteditouttobeironedonaT‐shirt.


BaselinedataforWashingtonElementarySchool,theschoolimpactedbythefirstARRAaward,showed3rdand4thgradersscoringwellbelowtheminimalscoreof80.5inreadingand68.5inmathonPearson’sDevelopmentalReadingAssessment(DRA)formeetingAdequateYearlyProgress.Oneyearlater,studentsshowedmarkedimprovement.

MovingForward

FundingfromaprivatefoundationcontinuestosupportJanesville’s21stCenturyLearningEnvironmentprogram. Futureplansincludeafocusoncontinualimprovementofthecourseworkofferedtoeducatorstoreflectchangingtechnologies.Also,buildingontheirexperiences,JanesvilleisadoptingMoodleasacontentlearningmanagementsystemforthedistrictin2012.LocalfundsandfederalEETTfundswillsupportcontinuedstaff

WashingtonElementarySchoolData

• 2009‐2010thirdgraders: 96%significantlyincreasedtheirreadingcomprehensionto

minimaloraboveasmeasuredbytheDRA. 98%reachedtheirgrowthtargetontheMeasuresof

AcademicProgress(MAP)assessment.• 2009‐2010fourthgraders:

100%increasedtheirreadingcomprehensiontoproficientasmeasuredbytheDRAtest.

• 2010‐2011eighthgraders: Studentsscoringproficientoradvancedonthebaseline

NextGenerationAssessmentforStudentInformationandTechnologyLiteracyincreasedby9.96%.



developmentincludingonlinecoursesforteachersandtransformingtheToTLEsymposiumintoahybrid‐learningenvironment.Currently,librarymediaspecialistsandinnovativelearningspecialistscontinuetocoachandteamteachlessonsasawayofmentoringandofferingadditionalsupporttoteachersthroughtheprocess.

ContactInformation

SchoolDistrictofJanesvillehttp://janesville.k12.wi.us/WisconsinDepartmentofPublicInstructionhttp://dpi.wi.gov/SETDAARRAInformationandResourceshttp://setda.org/web/guest/ARRAresources

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