Loyola University Internship Proposal for Educational Technology

Anitra Palmer
Jeffers Hill Elementary School
2015-2016
Internship Goal:
To promote staff and student learning through the use of CANVAS and technology
resources.
Internship Objectives
To support staff in becoming comfortable with and implementing the new CANVAS learning
management system.
To instruct and support paraeducators in implementing interventions through technology
resources that can be used on their county-issued IPads for students who need interventions.
School Needs

CANVAS is a new learning management system for the entire county therefore all staff
need professional development to become proficient users of CANVAS. Many staff members
have already come to me wanting individualized sessions for concerns.
Our administration has decided to use our paraeducators differently. No paraeducator
will be assigned to one specific team. Instead, all paraeducators will perform interventions
throughout the grade levels. Many paraeducators have been in the same grade for over three
years and have no experience in other grades. In order to implement interventions correctly and
in a way that student learning is successful, they must learn the best interventions to implement
in a variety of grade levels.

Internship Plan Summary

In the new school year, all Howard County Public Schools will be conducting full implementation of the
CANVAS learning management system. All curriculum based information, assessment examples, and
teacher homepages will be accessed through this new system. Because this system is different from the
current learning management systems that Howard County Public Schools uses, staff needs to be able to
navigate and access all of the functions of CANVAS easily. In order for this to occur, staff development
needs to be put in place so all staff can learn and become comfortable with the features and functions of
CANVAS. I am implementing a five session CANVAS Camp in which the four neediest concerns about
CANVAS will be addressed. By attending CANVAS Camp, teachers can satisfy Domain 4: Professional
Responsibilities according to the Danielson Framework for Teaching which is part of the evaluation of
teachers.
In addition to learning CANVAS, our school is going through a change in which all paraeducators will be
giving interventions throughout the school instead of to a specific grade. Paraeducators will be
responsible for implementing interventions on specific students needs and will assess and record
students data on these interventions. Typically, paraeducators have only implemented interventions for
the grade they are assigned. Now, they will be expanding to all the grades within our school. Because
many of the paraeducators do not have experience with other grades and their interventions, they will

need professional development on interventions that can be applied to a variety of grade level students
and how to implement them. It is known that technology engages students. Therefore, technological
interventions will be presented and taught to the paraeducators during four separate paraeducator
meetings. These sessions will be called Iintervene sessions. These sessions can be tied to the paraeducator
evaluations in the areas of: job knowledge, initiative, and resourcefulness. Tying it to how paraeducators
are evaluated will make these sessions more meaningful for all paraeducators. At the end of both sessions,
participants will share their findings with colleagues. After instruction on the technological interventions
have occurred, they will be housed as a resource on the Jeffers Hill Elementary School Webpage as an
easy access point for all.
Internship Tentative Timeline
***Yellow highlighting indicates goals that have already been completed***
Goal

Indicator

Timeline

1. Express interest in becoming a CANVAS

Point of Contact and discuss internship
opportunity

Face-to-Face meeting with

Principal
-Email confirmation

March
2015

2. Attend CANVAS POC training to learn

more about features and functions of the
learning management system.

-Email confirmation
-Access to CANVAS POC training
community.

April 2015

3. Staff receives initial training on CANVAS

prior to the new school year when it will be
fully implemented.

Survey assessing what additional

training is needed for participants
to become comfortable using
CANVAS in the new year

May 2015

4. Review of CANVAS features and

expectations with whole staff

CANVAS school expectations.

August
Survey of additional staff needs
2015
for CANVAS. This information
will form the CANVAS Camp
sessions.
-Send out 1st CANVAS Camp sign
up

5. 1st CANVAS Camp:

Focus: Greatest area of concern based on data
from August staff survey

Feedback form (Google Form

assigned in CANVAS) assessing
the effectiveness of instruction and
how comfortable participants feel
with concerned area.
-Send out 2nd CANVAS Camp
sign up

6. Grade level teacher assessment of

interventions needed for paraeducators

Survey assessing intervention need October

2015

September
2015

7. 2nd CANVAS Camp

Focus: 2nd greatest area of concern based on
data from August staff survey

Feedback form (Google Form

assigned in CANVAS) assessing
the effectiveness of instruction and
how comfortable participants feel
with concerned area.
-Send out 3rd CANVAS Camp
sign up

October
2015

8. 1st Iintervene session with paraeducators

Focus: Math interventions

Feedback form (Google Form

November
assigned in CANVAS) assessing
2015
effectiveness of instruction and
use of technology resource.
-Technology interventions will be
added to JHES CANVAS page as a
reference.

9. 3rd CANVAS Camp

Focus: 3rd greatest area of concern based on
data from August staff survey

Feedback form (Google Form

assigned in CANVAS) assessing
the effectiveness of instruction and
how comfortable participants feel
with concerned area.
-Send out 4th CANVAS Camp
sign up

10. 2nd Iintervene session with paraeducators

Focus: Reading interventions

Feedback form (Google Form

December
assigned in CANVAS) assessing
2015
effectiveness of instruction and
use of technology resource.
-Technology interventions will be
added to JHES CANVAS page as a
reference.

11. 4th CANVAS Camp

Focus: Least greatest area of concern based on
data from August staff survey

Feedback form (Google Form

assigned in CANVAS) assessing
the effectiveness of instruction and
how comfortable participants feel
with concerned area.
-Send out all participant invitation
to last CANVAS Camp

December
2015

12. 3rd Iintervene session

Focus: Writing interventions

Feedback form (Google Form

assigned in CANVAS) assessing
effectiveness of instruction and
use of technology resource.
-Technology interventions will be

January
2016

November
2015

added to JHES CANVAS page as a

reference.
13. 5th CANVAS Camp (last session)
Focus: Participants present favorite feature of
CANVAS and how to use it. Any unaddressed
concerns about CANVAS along with
celebrations and discussion of how CANVAS
can be used next year. Mini-Graduation
celebration

Participant presentations.
Feedback form (Google Form
assigned in CANVAS) assessing
effectiveness of CANVAS Camp
as a whole and Google Doc
recording CANVAS ideas for next
year

January
2016

14. 4th Iintervene session (last session)

Focus: Participants present favorite/most
useful technology intervention along with
grade level(s) it services. Share successes and
problems. Discussion of Iintervene sessions
for next year. Mini-Graduation celebration

Participant presentations.
Feedback form (Google Form
assigned in CANVAS) assessing
effectiveness of Iintervene
sessions as a whole and Google
Doc recording of Iintervene ideas
for next year.

February
2016

***Extra month added to accommodate paraeducators completing feedback forms as

paraeducator meetings tend to occur at the end of the month.***