InternshipProposal

KathrynBatwinis
20162017

Duringmyinternship,Iwouldliketoincreasetheknowledgeanduseof

technologybystaffmembersintheirclassrooms,regardlessofgradeorsubjectstaught,

andthereforeincreasingstudentuseoftechnologyintheclassroom.Studentsnowhave

accesstochromebooks(1:1inthirdthroughfifthgrades,anddailyaccessin

Kindergartenthroughsecondgrades)yetmanyteachersareunawareofhowtousethis

technologytoeffectivelysupplementtheirdailyteachingpractices.Iwouldliketo

reducethisgapbyprovidingteachersprofessionaldevelopmentoninstructional

technologyresourcesthatteacherscanuseatvariousgradelevelsandvariouslevelsof

expertise.

IwillstartwithaneedsassessmentusingaGoogleFormtosurveytheteachers

andparaeducatorsatmyschool.IdeallyallteachersK5,ESOL,SpecialEducation,

AcademicInterventionandSpecialistswilltakethissurvey,aswellastheparaeducators

whosupporttheseenvironments.InthisassessmentIwillsurveycomfortlevelswith

technology,thedegreetowhichtheyarewillingtolearnaboutandimplement

technologywithsupport,andgivethemexamples,aswellastheopportunitytorequest,

certainresourcesthattheywouldbeinterestedinlearningmoreabout.Paraeducators

areanimportantpopulationthatIwouldliketosurvey.Theseindividualsareoneswho

supportclassesandoftencoverclassesduringmeetings,andtheseclassesareusing

technologies,buttheparaeducatorshavenotbeenatinitialstaffmeetingstoreceive
training.ManyarecurioustolearnthesetechnologiessoIhopetoseeahighreturnin

thesurveyfromtheparaeducators.

Theresultsofmysurveywillaltermytimelineandideas.However,Ihaveamain

visionofhowitcouldplayoutin4pieces.IhavespokenwithmyprincipalandStaff

DevelopmentTeacherabouttheideaofdoingaTechnologyCarouselmeeting.This

wouldallowteacherstochoose12technologiestheyaremostinterestedinlearning

about,andchoosingthosesessionstoattendduringoneofourmacrostaffmeetings.A

secondpiecewillbetoholdvoluntaryprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesbeforeor

afterschool(dependentonsurveyresults)foranyonewhowouldliketoattendasession

tolearnaboutanewresource.Iwouldalsomakemyselfavailabletohelpindividual

teachers,paraeducators(duringtheirmonthlymeetingsorindividually)orteamsduring

theircollaborativeplanningsessionstohelponamoremicrolevelandwithamore

specificinterest.Keepingthesesessionsvoluntarywillincreasethebuyinfromteachers,

andbetailoredtotheirlearning.Additionally,athirdpiecewillbetosendoutaTech

Spotlightnewsletteronceevery12weeks.Thiswouldincludeanewresource,astepby

steptutorialinprint,ascreencastembeddedtoshowsetupsteps,instructions,etc.and

instructionalideasforhowdifferentgradelevelsorsubjectscouldusetheresource.

Finally,teachershavementionedhowtheywishtherewasacommunalwaytoshare

ideasandresources.Iwouldliketofindawaytosetupasystemwhereanystaff

membercouldshareanewideaorresourcethattheyhavefoundandhowtheyhave

founditbeneficialintheirclassrooms.Thiswouldbeaccessibletoanyonetogobackin

andlearnaboutwhatteachershaveusedintheirclassrooms.Aswelearnedwiththe
TPACKmodel,incorporatingtechnologyisaboutblendingwhatweknowpedagogically

asteachers,whatweneedtoteachthestudentsandincorporatingtechnology.Manydo

notknowaboutthisimportantbalance,andsoIhopethatsettingupaplatformfor

teacherstosharetechnologyideas,willhelpshowteachershowthoughtfultechnology

canbeusedtosupplementtheirbestteachingpractices.

Iwillassessteachershalfwaythroughtheinternshiptoseewhatpieceshave

beenthemosthelpful,whatistheleasthelpful,andwhatIneedtocontinuetodoor

changeinordertobestmeettheneedsofthestaff.Iwillkeepnotesformyselfina

notebook,whichwillthenbeenteredassequentialblogpostsonmyportfoliowebsite

throughWeebly.Asampletimelineisbelow:

TIMELINEACTIONPLAN

Action Who? When?

SendoutNeeds/Wants Me EndofSeptember
assessment,analyzeresults

CreatefirstTech Me EndofSeptember
Spotlightnewsletter.Send
itoutelectronicallytostaff
members

CreatesharedGoogle Me BeginningofOctober
Drivefoldertohouseall
TechSpotlight
newslettersforfuture
reference

Begintoplanportalfor Me/Kelly(forhelp)/SDT October

sharingtechnologyideas
forstaff

TechnologyCarousel Me/SDT OctoberNovember

Meeting
 HoldVoluntarySession Me November
afterschool

HalfWayAssessment Me November
Analyzeresults

ContinuewithTech Me NovemberFebruary
SpotlightNewsletters

Continuewithcollecting Me NovemberFebruary
Resources

Possible2ndCarousel Me/SDT February?

Meeting

FinalAssessmentfrom Me April
Staff

Myultimategoalistoincreasetheuseoftechnologybystaffmembers

throughoutthebuilding.Iknowthatbyincreasingthestaffknowledge,itwilltrickle

intotheclassroomsaswell.However,Iknowthatthestaffmembersatmyschoolare

alsoatverydifferentpointsofimplementationalready.ThisiswhyIthinkmyplancan

berealistic.Whileitdoesnotcenteraround1or2mainresources,itisopenenoughthat

Iwillbeabletodifferentiateforthedifferentlevelsoflearnersthroughoutthestaff.I

willgiveteachersanopportunitytotrynewresourcesandtocollaborateincreatinga

schoolwideresourcewhentheyfindasuccessfultechnology.Someteachersarevery

resistanttotechnology,andsomeareveryopenandareexcitedthatwecouldhavemore

directionwithhowtouseit.Iamlookingforwardtofindingnewresourcesmyself,as

wellasmakingmyselfthatleaderinthebuildingwhoteacherscanturntoforhelpwith

technology.