Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Vahsen Tress DTTP - Edtc 640
Vahsen Tress DTTP - Edtc 640
County A's school district is extremely large, diverse and it services students of varying
backgrounds, capabilities and needs. The county itself is located between Baltimore and
Washington D.C., contains the city of Annapolis, and includes over 534 miles of coastline;
therefore, it is comprised of many different types of communities, including urban, suburban,
rural, and coastal communities (Our county, 2016). It is comprised of 126 schools and serves
approximately 81,000 students, as of September 2016 (Fast facts, 2016). In terms of ethnicity,
56.7% of these students are White, 20.5% are African American, 12.7% are Hispanic/Latino, 6%
are two or more races, 3.6% are Asian, .3% are American Indian and .2% are Pacific Islanders
(aacps.org, 2016). The school systems' website boasts that within the district, there is, "1
computer for every 1.4 students" and that all classrooms have Internet access (Fast facts, 2016).
Also, according to information found on the district's website, teachers and students have access
to SMART boards and SMART technology; Google Chromebooks; iPods; iPads; Surface Pros;
document cameras and LCD projectors (Instructional technology, 2016), although there is no
available information on how this is distributed through different schools and classrooms.
The Problems:
While it is wonderful to have so much technology at our disposal in County A, there are
some issues with its' effective integration into instruction. First of all, much of the technology is
new to the county (or at least to certain schools), including the Surface Pros, Google
Chromebooks and iPads; therefore, many teachers have not received adequate (if any) training
on how to use and integrate them into instruction. While many trainings on technology tools,
strategies and resources are available to teachers through the county, these trainings are not part
of a mandated professional development schedule teachers may sign up for the trainings
voluntarily, but they are never enforced. Also, 12 years is the average amount of experience of
teachers in the county (Fast facts, 2016). This means that there are many teachers with 12 or
more years of experience; these teachers were around long before the county adopted many new
forms of technology and may either be uninformed on how to use technology and integrate it
effectively or may be uncomfortable doing so.
Based on the limited amount of information available about technology training needs of
the county, I created a survey via Survey Monkey to ascertain staff comfort levels with different
technology tools, what topics staff would be most interested in for professional development
sessions and what staff views as their biggest areas of personal weakness when it comes to
technology integration. Questions on the survey include items like:
What technology is currently available to you and your students (check all that apply)?
How comfortable do you feel using (different technology tools) for instructional
purposes?
If you were to attend a professional development session on technology currently
available to you, what are some topics that would be of interest to you? (multiple choice
and text box for response of "Other")
If you were to determine one area of weakness for yourself when it comes to integrating
technology into instruction, what would it be?
The survey in its' entirety can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YTDKVBT. As per
the results of the survey, it was found that a majority of teachers have access to SMART boards
and SMART technology as well as iPads. Some have access to Chromebooks are well.
Additionally, many teachers are comfortable using a SMART board and SMART technology for
instructional purposes but are much less comfortable using iPads and even less so using
Chromebooks. It was also found that in terms of professional development, most teachers were
interested in topics like using apps for instruction, enhancing students' literacy skills using
technology, and teaching research skills with technology. Teachers also felt that areas of
weakness for them in terms of technology integration were in finding the time to effectively plan
for it, student accountability measures and finding new resources.
The Needs:
I have ascertained from information gathered from my survey and from the fact that there
is no existing plan for technology training in the county, that there are very clear needs for
teachers of County A in terms of professional development for technology integration. The most
pertinent training needs are as follows, from the least to the most prominent need:
Teachers need to be shown where they can look for new resources, such as apps for the
iPad or pre-made SMART boards.
Teachers have a need for learning effective classroom management techniques when it
comes to managing technology.
Teachers need to be trained on ways to hold students accountable for being safe and
responsible while using technology but also for getting their assigned work done.
Teachers need to know effective techniques for using technology to help students practice
their math skills. This should be differentiated to each individual students' level.
Teachers need to know effective techniques for using technology in enhancing students'
literacy skills. This can be for whole group and small group lessons as well as for centers
and/or independent work.
Teachers need to be made aware of instructional technology standards that are part of
Common Core; they need to understand what skills their students need to be able to
master by the end of the school year.
Teachers need to be made aware of what resources are already at their disposal to help
them integrate technology. County A has an Office of Information Technology with its'
own website (https://sites.google.com/a/aacps.org/aacps-oit-site/). This site contains
many links to information, tutorial videos, sign-ups for county trainings and other
technology resources. Many teachers are not aware of the availability of these resources
or of these ongoing opportunities for trainings.
All teachers need to be proficient with using the basic technology hardware available to
them, including SMART boards and SMART technology, iPads and Chromebooks. Some
teachers need to be trained on the basic functions of each of these.
Perhaps most importantly, teachers need time during professional development to:
o get to know the technology they are working with by having time to explore its'
features
o collaborate with peers and plan for using the technology in their classrooms.
Currently in County A, there are many trainings available to staff that they can
voluntarily register for online; however, through the following District Technology Training
Plan, I will detail which courses will be required to be taken by different groups of staff
members and in what sequence they should be taken. I will also describe new trainings that will
be required for all staff. This plan will be enacted over the course of one fiscal year.
The Audience:
This technology plan for the district will be aimed at training Pre-K-12 classroom
teachers in the district. There will be sessions offered based on: a. age of the students that
teachers work with (primary grades (Pre-K-2), intermediate grades (3-5) and then secondary
education (6-12)) and b. experience and comfort-level using various technology tools as
determined by the teacher. For example, teachers will be given the option of attending basic
training on tools such as the SMART board, but if they feel they are already passed that level of
development, they will not need to attend those courses. According to Knowles' theory on adult
learning, "Experience provides the basis for learning activities (Pappas, 2013)." As such,
teachers' experience levels using different technology tools as well as their personal comfort
levels using those tools must be taken into account when planning for professional development;
there is no need for teachers who are already comfortably using the basic functions of a
technology tool in their classrooms to receive training on it. Instead, their experience will allow
them to explore more advanced topics, such as finding new ways to utilize that tool for
instruction or exploring with new resources!
Although it is not part of this current plan, administrators in the district would also
receive professional development as well. There's would be based upon the age level of students
that their school includes; therefore, elementary school administrators would attend sessions
about using technology with primary and intermediate learners and middle and high school
administrators would attend sessions for secondary learners. For administrators, their training
would focus less on the basic "how-tos" of using the technology tools and more on how teachers
can be utilizing the technology to enhance academic skills in their students. Since administration
will most likely not be utilizing the technology to instruct themselves, they won't need as much
functional knowledge of the tools as teachers, but they will need to be understanding how the
staff can be using the technology to support instructional purposes. In this way, administration
could play a stronger support role to their staff by being aware of some of the same strategies,
techniques and resources that are being presented through professional development to the
teachers.
The Goals and Objectives:
Content:
The following schedule outlines the series of trainings that teachers in County A will
participate in over the course of the next year:
Basic Training The following trainings will be mandatory for teachers new to the
county, new to teaching or who have never used SMART technology, iPads or Chromebooks
before for instruction. For all other teachers it will be optional. It will be highly encouraged for
teachers who report feeling extremely uncomfortable using technology tools for instruction as
knowledge from these courses will be useful in further mandatory trainings.
Overview of the County A In this course, teachers will One 3-hour training session.
Office of Instructional receive a comprehensive view
Technology Resources of information and resources
Middle School provided online through the
County A Office of
Instructional Technology.
They will learn what
information is available and
how to sign up for further
trainings of interest to them
through the county system.
Enhancing Instruction In this course, teachers will A series of workshops,
Through Technology Tools learn how to use SMART existing across 5 professional
(Intermediate and Advanced boards and SMART development days, 5 hours
Options Available; Break-out technology, iPads and per session. These sessions
sessions will be provided for Chromebooks in conjunction will be spread throughout the
both intermediate and with multimedia tools and school year.
advanced for the following apps to enhance instruction
subjects: for their students.
Language
Arts/Literacy Teachers may choose the
Instruction intermediate option of this
Mathematics course if they feel they only
Science have a basic level of
knowledge on how to use
Social Studies)
these tools. They may choose
the advanced option if they
feel that they are already
effectively using these tools
to instruct literacy and would
like more ideas and
resources!
High School Teacher Trainings:
Being presented information by the instructor. This occurs many different ways, such as
through lecture, being given materials to read and analyze, being shown a tutorial video
or by having a technology skill modeled to them by the instructor. When teachers are
modeled to, they will be modeled to utilizing the technology tool that is being taught to
them.
Being given time to collaborate. This is where autonomy comes into play. In most of the
professional development sessions, teachers will be given the time, space and technology
tools to collaborate with grade-level peers. They will often be given a choice to work
with a partner or in groups. This collaboration will either be collaborating in order to
brainstorm ideas, to share ideas, or (in many cases) to actually create a technology lesson
using a tool that was instructed on. When creating these collaborative lessons, teachers
will be given parameters (I.e. If the entire workshop is incorporating technology into
literacy instruction, the parameters will obviously be to use a literacy standard) but they
will sometimes have choice when it comes to: materials, what exact standard is being
taught and how they wish to teach it through the technology tool.
Being given time to share their work. In my sessions, teachers will have opportunities
throughout to show their products (even unfinished) to peers; this will allow teachers to
feed off of one another's instructional ideas as they create lessons.
Being given time to evaluate their learning. According to Knowles' theory on adult
learning, "Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction
(Pappas, 2013)." In my sessions, teachers will have time to evaluate what they learned
what was effective and ineffective, how comfortable they feel using the technology that
was presented and what they would still like to know.
Sample 5-Day Workshop:
Workshop Title: Enhancing Literacy Instruction through Technology Tools Primary- Pre-K-2-
Intermediate Session
Day 1:
Pre-Requisite Knowledge:
Grade-level texts from their curriculum to be used for Interactive Read-Aloud lessons
Grade-level reading standards document (also available online through the county
curriculum website)
(if possible) a laptop equipped with SMART technology
The location where the training is held will be equipped with:
Computers and/or laptops enough for a group of 2-3 teachers to share one at least (for
those who did not come with one)
A SMART board
SMART technology (installed on the computers and laptops to be used)
An LCD projector
Evaluation: Teachers will be evaluated at the end of the session by being asked to complete an
online survey using Survey Monkey. They will answer questions on how well they were able to
master the objective of the training.
Day 2:
Pre-Requisite Knowledge:
Teachers will be able to use grade-level literacy standards and SMART technology to
create interactive SMART notebooks for whole group phonics lessons.
How it will be taught:
Grade-level literacy standards document (also available online through the county
curriculum website)
(if possible) a laptop equipped with SMART technology
The location where the training is held will be equipped with:
Computers and/or laptops enough for a group of 2-3 teachers to share one at least (for
those who did not come with one)
A SMART board
SMART technology (installed on the computers and laptops to be used)
An LCD projector
Evaluation: Teachers will be evaluated at the end of the session by being asked to complete an
online survey using Survey Monkey. They will answer questions on how well they were able to
master the objective of the training.
Day 3:
Subject: Literacy Instruction through Technology (Primary Grades) - Using Apps to Enhance
Literacy Instruction
Pre-Requisite Knowledge:
Teachers will be able to learn about several iPad apps that can enhance student literacy
skills
Teachers will be able to explore using these apps as well as have time to search and
explore other app resources
Teachers will be able to plan for effective classroom management when using iPads for
literacy instruction
How it will be taught:
Overview/Review - Instructor will review the basics of iPad technology. They will also
review where to go on the county website to find information about different apps.
Presentation/Modeling - Instructor will model using several apps and present information
about how these apps will improve student literacy skills.
Hands-On Learning Teachers will work independently or with others to explore the apps
presented at the training; they will have time to use them for themselves and/or to read
more information about what you can do with them. Teachers will also have time to
search for other apps to use.
Sharing At several points throughout the session, teachers or teacher groups will share
out to the whole group what apps they have explored with. They will share what skills
the app is used to teach and what students will do on the app.
Presentation/Modeling - Instructor will present several ways (can be ways that they've
seen in actual classrooms in their buildings) to structure the use of iPads during the
reading block (specifically for centers activities). They will present ideas about how to
equitably share the iPads amongst your students in an organized manner. They will also
present ideas for using an organizational chart during center rotations to keep track of
who is using the technology and when.
Collaboration Teachers will have time to work in grade-level teams to brainstorm ideas
based on what the instructor presented to structure their reading block to incorporate
the use of iPads during literacy center time. They will think about aspects such as: how
many iPads are available to me personally? Does our school grade-level team share
iPads? Does each class have their own set? What space in my classroom will I allow
students to use iPads in for literacy centers so that it won't be disruptive to other students?
What organizational chart will I use to keep track of who is using iPads and when? How
will I teach students how to access apps on the iPads? What resources will I have for
students when they are working on iPads independently and I am teaching a small group?
Materials: Teachers will be required to bring the following materials to the training:
Grade-level literacy standards document (also available online through the county
curriculum website)
(if possible) a school-issued iPad with apps downloaded to it
The location where the training is held will be equipped with:
Day 4:
Subject: Literacy Instruction through Technology (Primary Grades) - Using Nearpod to Enhance
Literacy Instruction
Pre-Requisite Knowledge:
Teachers will be able to learn about what Nearpod is and how to create literacy lessons
using it for student use on iPads, Chromebooks or computers.
Teachers will collaborate with grade-level teams to create an interactive Nearpod lesson
based on a literacy or reading standard.
How it will be taught:
Presentation As a whole group, teachers will watch two videos on what Nearpod is and
how to create a Nearpod lesson.
Collaboration - Teachers will work in grade-level groups to design Nearpod lessons for a
reading or literacy standard; collaborative groups will choose a standard of focus to
design a Nearpod lesson around. Since these lessons are designed to be used individually
by students, each lesson should contain an assessment element. Teachers will use
computers or laptops to design their lesson. They will be able to refer to the Nearpod
YouTube Channel for informational videos on further features of Nearpod.
Sharing At several points throughout the session, teachers or teacher groups will share
out to the whole group what they have created or begun to create. Teachers will use these
ideas from sharing out to revise/add to their current Nearpod lessons.
Materials: Teachers will be required to bring the following materials to the training:
Grade-level literacy/reading standards documents (also available online through the
county curriculum website)
(if possible) a laptop
The location where the training is held will be equipped with:
Computers and/or laptops enough for a group of 2-3 teachers to share one at least (for
those who did not come with one)
A SMART board and LCD projector to project videos
Additional Materials:
Day 5:
Subject: Literacy Instruction through Technology (Primary Grades) - How Can We Embed
Common Core Technology Standards into Literacy Instruction?
Pre-Requisite Knowledge:
Teachers will become familiar with Common Core State Standards for Technology.
Teachers will collaborate with grade-level teams to create a literacy lesson utilizing
technology and incorporating Common Core State Standards for Technology.
How it will be taught:
Warm-Up - Teachers will collaboratively brainstorm with table groups about what they
already know about Common Core technology standards. They will answer the question -
"What do we need to teach students to do in terms of utilizing technology?" They will
record their ideas on chart paper. Teachers will then complete a gallery walk to look at
other groups' brainstorms.
Reading for Information - Each teacher will be directed to the "Technology Scope and
Sequence, Pre-K-8" document produced by County A; it is based on Common Core
Technology Standards and can be accessed through this link:
https://blackboard.aacps.org/bbcswebdav/institution/Instructional%20Technology/Scope
%20and%20Sequence%20%28revised%202014%29/2014%20Student%20Technology%
20Standards%20Scope%20and%20Sequence.pdf. They will locate their appropriate
grade-level in the Scope and Sequence and read about what skills they should be
reinforcing with their students, which skills they should be introducing to their students
and which skills their students should be already doing independently.
Collaboration - Teachers will work in grade-level groups to design a literacy lesson that
incorporates technology standards; collaborative groups will choose a literacy/reading
standard of focus to design a technology-based lesson around. They will write a formal
lesson plan which includes the technology standard(s) that their lesson incorporates. They
will be able to refer to the Scope and Sequence online document provided by County A.
Sharing At several points throughout the session, teachers or teacher groups will share
out to the whole group what they have created or begun to create. Teachers will use these
ideas from sharing out to revise/add to their current lessons.
Materials: Teachers will be required to bring the following materials to the training:
Chart paper and markers for use during the brainstorming activity in the warm-up
Access to the "Technology Scope and Sequence, Pre-K-8" document produced by County
A
Evaluation: Teachers will be evaluated at the end of the session by being asked to share their
lesson plan to a partner or group. They will have to explain how their lesson incorporates
technology standards appropriate to that grade-level.
Materials:
The materials necessary for each day of this five-day workshop are listed within the
above plans. Below is a screen-shot of a sample Survey Monkey evaluation survey to be used to
assess the Nearpod training on Day 4 of my plan:
All professional development sessions will be conducted at each school; teachers will
report to their regular school building to attend the sessions. They will be conducted by the
Office of Information Technology staff as well as by e-coaches in the county; e-coaches are
teachers trained through the Office of Information Technology as technology experts for their
buildings. Additional breakout sessions may also be conducted by teachers selected by the e-
coaches who are proficient in using technology tools to instruct.
As such, professional development sessions will first be field tested amongst the e-
coaches. They will gather in a central location or locations (to be determined) and be provided
with the training, instructed by Office of Information Technology staff. They will then evaluate
the sessions and decide what was effective, what was not effective and what needs to be
changed. All revisions will be made prior to the e-coaches delivering the training to teachers.
Summative Evaluation:
Ranking how comfortable you feel using the different technology tools at your disposal.
How often did you integrate technology into your lessons prior to the professional
development sessions? (Never, Occasionally, Weekly, Daily, All the time, etc.) How
often do you now?
What was the most valuable thing that you learned throughout the course of the trainings?
What did you feel was least effective about the trainings?
What would you hope to learn through future trainings?
Additionally, a summative evaluation would be completed by the e-coaches and
administration at each school. E-coach and administration teams would conduct a walkthrough to
determine if and how effectively technology is being utilized throughout the building. A general
questionnaire for use during the walkthrough would be generated to include items such as: what
types of technology do you observe being used? What subjects or areas of study do you see
technology being utilized for? Are students interactively engaging with technology in the
classrooms? What are students using the technology to do? As e-coaches and administration
walk through rooms, they would take anecdotal notes about what they see around their building;
they would then report these notes to staff later during a staff meeting to share whats being
observed and to determine next steps.
Follow-Up Plan:
The results of the summative assessments would then be used to drive further steps. As
stated previously, the results of the teacher survey as well as the results of the walkthrough
questionnaire would be shared with each schools staff separately in the district to identify good
things being observed in terms of technology integration, to determine what types of things the
staff at that school still needs to work on, and to determine next steps.
Another follow-up procedure, perhaps at the staff meeting where results of the
evaluations are shared, would be determine what types of technology professional development
the staff (at each individual school) is interested in next. Perhaps there will be different small
interest groups or perhaps there will be a large overall need identified.
Budget:
The projected budget for this project will include instructor pay as well as a $50 one-time
stipend for teachers attending the training. All technology and materials utilized are already
purchased through the county and located in each school building; each school building will use
their own technology tools for the trainings. There are 126 school buildings in the district.
Therefore, there will be no additional materials cost.
Resources: