Module 7 - Laura Funk

Laura Funk

South Middle School Teacher

Technology Integration Initiative

Needs Assessment (Rationale)

We have over 750 students at South Middle School.  Our school services students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades.  We are in a low-income area and test in the mid-ranges on the county standardized tests.  Most classrooms at South are utilized during all periods.  Teachers give up their classrooms during their planning periods to facilitate school wide needs, such as our special education teachers, reading teachers and any remedial or advanced classes that require a quiet space to work with smaller groups of students. 

At South Middle School we are moderately equipped for general technology usage school-wide.  We have a few mobile laptop carts that are shared between grade levels and 3 computer labs are reserved to use throughout the school year.  I have personally raised the bar in my department by working very hard to save levy funds from past years to acquire ipads for my students.   By the New Year, I hope to have received the remainder of my ipad order so that I have a complete classroom set of ipads to be a one-to-one classroom.  I have decided to pursue acquiring the “genius kit” offered by OSMO programs for each of my ipad devices in the New Year, to further push the effectiveness of the ipads as educational tools.  The OSMO programs will come with 5 options for educational exploration:  Words, Tangram, Newton, Masterpiece & Numbers.  The ipad devices are currently used solely by the art department, so are not loaned out around the school.  However, with all of the interactive educational opportunities these kits provide for our students, I may look into loaning out (trading) my classroom with other teachers so that these OSMO capabilities can be utilized to their full potential in all subject areas, not just ART.  I would need to train teachers on how to use the devices beforehand, but I feel the educational possibilities with the genius kit is going to be immense.  The OSMO features are very user-friendly and basic, so students of all developmental levels should be able to complete the tasks with ease on their own, with a partner, or with an aide.  The use of this technology supports student engagement in learning across the board! - Vocabulary, shapes, colors and their relationships, facilitates creativity and out-of-box thinking, as well as group collaboration and math development.  As I mentioned above, the learning options are vast with the OSMO genius kit.  I believe the integration of the OSMO devices at South would be hugely beneficial and would increase confidence, engagement and participation. 

Cost-Benefit Analysis

OSMO Genius Kit  $99.99 x 25 (ipad devices) = $2,499.75 Total

Tax free & free shipping. 

Cost to educate teachers in the school $0

Grant I would apply for

Investing in Innovation – US Department of Education

This program provides competitive grants to applicants with the purpose of improving student achievement and attainment in order to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices that are shown to have an impact on improving student achievement or student growth.

I feel this grant would be perfectly suited for my project needs and the needs of my school long-term.  This could be the beginning of a larger-scale endeavor that stems school and countywide.   

The site does not list a deadline.  They state “The FY 2015 competitions are closed and award announcements will be made by the end of December 2015” I think this particular grant has a gradual grant approval rate as the year progresses depending on monies available and worthy applicants.   Perhaps a first come, first serve motto. 

Technology Implementation Plan

To Do

·      Acquire funding approval from a grant committee.

·      Purchase OSMO Genius Kits

·      Upon arrival of OSMO Kits, set up each ipad device with the programs, apps and accessories needed to be fully operational and OSMO tricked out. 

·      Train myself and a group of willing teachers in how to properly utilize the OSMO learning stations for optimum learning and efficiency. 

·      Get started with classrooms using the OSMO learning stations and unleash the potential!

Professional Development Materials

Why reinvent the wheel here?!  OSMO has created several short video clips highlighting the various learning benefits of the OSMO programs and how easy and user-friendly the accessories are, so for this part I would be sure to show each video clip to the whole faculty to give them a glimpse of the possibilities within their classrooms in using the OSMO learning stations.  

I would then explain to them that I have acquired grant monies to purchase the programs and will be using them soon with my classes.  At this point I would also express to the faculty that I would be willing to train and loan out my classroom so that others may benefit from the devices if interested.  I’m sure my list of interested teachers would be growing fast at this point and I would move on to training teachers and setting up an OSMO Station schedule. 

My professional development will NOT be a required training for all faculty and staff.  The professional development will only be required for those interested in utilizing my OSMO stations for their classes.  I will provide deadlines for those interested, so everyone can be trained at once in an efficient manner and we can begin to set up a schedule for trading classrooms.  I will provide a short survey at the conclusion of the training, after the teachers have spent at least 3 classes utilizing the OSMO stations.  I feel that timeframe will give the teachers a good scope for how much the stations can impact the learning of their students. 

Here is the reflective survey I created for the professional development:

OSMO Survey

Addendum

The OSMO programs are fairly new, so relevant information is limited to video advertisements, reviews, demonstrations, and blogs, so those are what I have listed in my resources. 

Resources

Chatzopoulos, N. (2015, April 6). How to use Osmo in the classroom - Daily Genius. Retrieved November 4, 2015, from http://dailygenius.com/use-osmo-classroom/

Eligibility - Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). (2015, April 22). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/eligibility.html

Make Better Decisions with the World's #1 Survey Platform. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from https://www.surveymonkey.com

Masterpiece for Osmo. (2015, March 12). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0upQlA6K5YI

Moynihan, T. (2015, March 12). A Simple iPad Add-On That Helps You Draw Flawlessly. Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.wired.com/2015/03/simple-ipad-add-helps-draw-flawlessly/

NAEA - National Art Education Association. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.arteducators.org/grants/additional-grant-tips-scholarships

Osmo Masterpiece is iPad Freehand Drawing Magic (HP Sprout beater). (2015, March 12). Retrieved November 11, 2015, from https://youtu.be/UjLM5GFcut4

Osmo from Tangible Play. (2014, July 8). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from https://youtu.be/fx1ecLoBkss

Osmo in Schools. (2014, November 20). Retrieved November 7, 2015, from https://youtu.be/zEsJwwdq4r8

Osmo | Educational Games System for iPad. (2015, June 14). Retrieved November 16, 2015, from http://www.ourkidsmom.com/osmo-educational-games-system-for-ipad/

Seidman, L. (2014, September 14). Osmo for iPad Review - Educational apps that interact with real objects. Retrieved December 6, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERwtTmdJxgA

Simms, G. (2015, April 27). Our iPad Classroom. Retrieved November 11, 2015, from http://ouripadclass.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-one-where-i-share-all-things-osmo.html

Playosmo. (2015, December 2). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://blog.playosmo.com/

Module 6

Chapter 11

I think that it’s great the way that Maplewood Richmond Heights School District has been able to build an interconnect network within their community with university partners, mental health partners, intraschool partners, experimental learning partners, and corporate and community partners. My personal favorites among these are the university partners, because I think it’s a great that college age students have the chance to work with younger middle and high school age students, and it also gives the younger students the chance to get a view of college life. I also liked experiential learning partners because it gives students real world experiences in an environment that cannot be replicated in the regular classroom. While it might not be the most reasonable position I don’t personally care for corporate partners, because I am an advocate of not having sources outside the education system have any influence in school curriculum.

Chapter 12

I think that this chapter does a good job at showing the need for balance between using technology in the classroom and break away from using it at all, and how the schools digital leaders need to be able to demonstrate the appropriate amount. It warns of the trap of using technology to a dangerous degree, where the digital leader is so wrapped up in the technology they completely ignore the human aspect of it. 

Module 6: Brianna Jones

1. As you explore the resources, reflect on the role teacher leaders can play in the strategies of engaging school community resources.

Teacher leaders are able to connect with the students and the community that the school is based from. By keeping the community involved will benefit not only the students but the school as well. At the beginning of the school year our school has a back to school bash where parents are invited to come to the school and meet all of their teachers that their children are going to have. Our school also has board meetings here so that parents and community members are able to attend and be a part of.  Like I said in my last module post, my school is involved in a lot of outside projects in the community. My school is always being used for different events in our community and supports families that are in need as well.

2. Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (Chapters 11-12)

Chapter 11 Discovering Opportunity  

Chapter 11 talks about digital leadership and school creating different partnerships to help students become successful. Strategic Partnerships, University Partnerships, Experiential Learning Partnerships, Intraschool Partnerships, Corporate/Community Partnerships, Mental Health Partnerships, and Leveraging Social Media.

University Partnerships are helpful to students that are going to attend college and want to take courses from that college while still in high school.

Experiential Learning Partnership is when you are allowing your students to allow work in the classroom a percentage of the time. For students to really understand something and learn new things they must experience it first hand. They are able to go to other places and learn what they do.

Instraschool Partnership would be a neat thing to do. Teachers are working with other teachers around the world or just in a different school down the road. When teachers are collaborating with other teachers they are able to discuss different strategies and their classes can always work together to help each other. Corporate/Community Partnership is something that schools should do. Schools need to have a relationship with businesses that are in the community and the community itself. Everyone should be involved when it comes to helping our students.

The Mental Health Partnership is something that I think is wonderful. Students need to be able to have somewhere to go when they are having a hard time with drug abuse or mental health. In this chapter it talks about a business that works with students ages 19 and under that are dealing with those things.

Leveraging Social Media is something that everyone in the school can do. With web 2.0 tools anything is possible as long as teachers are taking the correct steps for safe learning or use of social media.

Chapter 12 A Call to Action

Chapter 12 talks about using the pillars of digital leadership as well and that educator need to follow their leader and know when to use technology. Students need to have a real world connection to content that is being taught in the classroom. Teachers need to know when it is a good time to use technology and when it is better to have face-to-face conversations. People want to use their phones constantly today instead of having an actual conversation with someone. Technology has evolved so much compared to when the home phone was created. People are sending emails and text messages instead of calling someone or have a conversation with someone face-to-face.

Module 6 - Amanda Smith

Module 6---

1. As you explore the resources, reflect on the role teacher leaders can play in the strategies of engaging school community resources-

I believe that to community SHOULD be involved in the schools. Without the "community", there would be no need for the school because there would be no kids! Parents should want to know what is happened in their children's school and want to be a part of their education. Business owners also have kids in school and they should be willing to help out if they can. It's good for the school, kids, and positive advertisement never hurt anyone!

When I was a substitute teacher, I also worked with the Boys & Girls Club, which is an after-school program here in Marion County. This is where I saw teacher leadership and community involvement.

In our club at Blackshere Elementary, we had lots of different "teachers". Some were real teachers, some were college students, and some were even high school volunteers from North Marion. Each month, we had a family night. During these family nights, the Specials teachers and the Title 1 teachers would help us and we would have activities. One theme was Family Fitness. We had healthy smoothies and a healthy dinner supplied by a local cafe. 

We had a basket bingo as a fund raiser and we asked local businesses and community members to sponsor a bag to raffle off. This was a huge success and we had a lot of places donate to us because they wanted their name to be associated with the Club. The Club also  hosted a 5K in Fairmont where community member came out to run for a good cause. We also held evening activities at the Custard Stand in Mannington, and other locations where we sold lemonade.

**I found this article to be particular truthful regarding family involvement and education. During my time in the club, my favorite thing was when we took field trips! Parents were always invited and the kids loved it when they came too! It was fun to see the kids and parents interact in an environment that wasn't a school setting, like a hockey game or a trip to Valley Worlds of Fun.

 

2. Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times-

Chapter 11: Discovering Opportunity

This chapter discusses different types of partnerships that schools can form, which provides an array of different opportunities to the school.

"By leveraging social media, leaders can share school and professional successes, build strategic partnerships, present work to a wide array of audiences, and discover authentic learning experiences for students and staff alike" (p. 186).

These partnerships allow high school students to come to college campuses, take students out of state for experiential learning, allow teachers and students to work with others located in different schools/ countries, and many other amazing opportunities that once did not exist.




Chapter 12: A Call to Action

This chapter is a call to action for all leaders to become more knowledgeable about society and make real world connections. It tells us that the job of a digital leader is not only to model the art or being connected, but also model the art of being unplugging the devices and having human interaction. "As important as technology is, and it is an important tool, so is our need to have human interaction, and digital leaders need to promote that too" (p. 190).

Digital leadership is about making schools fun, exciting, and stimulating while students are actively involved in learning both traditionally and through the use of educational technology. "This is digital leadership at its finest form: students using real-world tools to enhance learning, with the leader modeling appropriate and effective use every step of the way" (p. 187).

These two quotes sum it up perfectly for me. Finding that balance between technology and human interaction. It's tough to find that balance, but that is what being a digital leader is all about!

Solutions through Opportunities

Please understand that due to the sensitive nature of some the material in my proposal I can Not share the entire document until further approval by the approving agency. That said, I will try to provide enough information for you to fully inderstand the nature of the proposal.

Proposal Summary:

Additional Career and Technical Education (CTE) program opportunities are needed for students to receive a diploma and continue to decrease the dropout rate, while increasing the countywide graduation rate. The CTE program proposal requires the creation of a 30-station desktop computer lap, one facilitator station, and software. The estimated cost for this desktop computer lab, which includes computers, furniture, wired internet connections, and software, is fifty-two thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars ($52,850.00).

Proposal 

The WVDE will be the primary source to seek funding or partial funding for this project as well as other identified agencies or grant sources. The Carl D. Perkins Act is identified as a possible source of this project as it meets all the requirements as outlined in the “guidelines for funding.” This Act was designed to create or enhance CTE education, which in this case, this proposal, more than meets the required criteria. By creating this CTE opportunity and providing access to this CTE opportunity to students in unique or “non-traditional” settings clearly defines the legislative intent of the Perkins Act (Public Law 109-270). The career readiness provided by CTE courses can be the interest driven motivation needed for many students to graduate and helps the student transition into life beyond high school.

Project Funding and Timeline:

The targeted timeline for this proposal is a future school term, which means it is the intent of this proposal to have the 30-station desktop lab operational with an identified professional employee hired with at least one program of study ready to implement at the beginning of a school term. Note: Any BOE funding of a certified professional to facilitate the learning in this new CTE classroom should have some consideration for matching funds. It should be noted in the job description that a certain amount of program flexibility and duties could change throughout the school term as needs arise.  The multiple use nature of this classroom and previously identified operating system (OS) conflicts was the criteria used to specify desktops utilizing the PC platform OS system.

Table 1

Expenditure Category	Quantity	Amount	Total
Desktop Computer (PC)	31	$900.00	$27,900.00
Computer Table 4’	30	$200.00	$6,000.00
Student Chair	30	$80.00	$2,400.00
Desk / Office Chair	1/1	$1150.00	$1150.00
Router Switch	1	$5,000.00	$5,000.00
Internet Drops	33	$300.00	$9,900.00
Software	1	$500.00	$500.00
Total Estimate			$52,850.00

Program Evaluation:

All CTE programs rely on student interest in order to be considered for continued funding, but due to the nature of this program and the targeted clientele along with the limited competition from other electives this program should flourish.  That said this CTE program would have to be monitored for effectiveness based on the following criteria.

1.     Total number of student participants from various feeder programs.

2.     Is there continued reduction in the number of dropouts in Harrison County Schools?

3.     Is this program contributing to that continued success?

4.     How many Option 1 students are using this CTE program in order to graduate?

5.     Total number of PD / CE / Training sessions for professional and service personnel.

     

At the end of the second full year of implementation, the BOE will collect and disaggregate the data to determine the continuation of the CTE program. The BOE may even consider a three-year period in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

Module 6 - Laura Funk

1.    As you explore the resources, reflect on the role teacher leaders can play in the strategies of engaging school community resources.

I am trying to start-up a health conscious link between my school (South Middle) and the community.  Many times there is such a disconnect between teachers, school staff, and the outside world.  Many of us (me at least) don’t live in the same county that we teach, so there is even more of a disconnect.  It is hard for me to develop relationships with my students or support the local community and make connections not being a local resident.  I took it upon myself to sign my school up for the 100 Mile Club, which is a program organized to encourage students to seek a healthy lifestyle habit through running and regular exercise.  I joined the free portion of the program, where we, as a school document the miles that teachers or students run at school in a given school year.  This endeavor is fairly new in the making, as I just learned about this program and am trying to decide the best way to begin implementing it.  I have begun to get teachers on board with participating, and now just need to motivate others to log their miles for the cause, so that as a school and COMMUNITY, we can foster healthy habits to motivate and encourage our students.  I would like to host a community-wide event in the spring to serve as a relationship builder in efforts to promote and sustain the program and its ideals - so a lot is “to be decided.”  I believe I am on the right track in having the motivation to make a difference, so I am sure I will in no time. 

Our school has “back to school” nights and we are starting to offer events at the school to bring in the community.  The idea is to bring in people to speak, do crafts, host group exercise classes or art sessions, anything we can think of to support and encourage community outreach.  South is working on this aspect of our school identity, it is all new territory and we are weeding out what would be most effective and influential in our demographic area.  Wish us luck! 

South’s other current community involvement includes:

1. Girls on the Run, 2.  Boys and Girls Club 3.  Americorp Community Volunteers

2.    Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (Chapters 11-12)

Chapter 11 Discovering Opportunity  

This chapter focuses on the various partnership opportunities available to schools and districts and the many positive results these partnerships can achieve for the school and community and a whole.  Partnerships take time and cultivation, but are extremely valuable in setting a precedent of excellence and advancement in any school and educational system.  Progress and advancement takes innovation and motivation, so leaders of schools and communities need to foster such partnerships and sustain them to be effective and impactful in the long term. 

Chapter 12 A Call to Action

This chapter discusses briefly our need to evolve and advance - but in order to do so leaders must make connections, establish long-term plans and goals and gather willing and motivated team members.  These leadership teams must sustain and develop the advancements of the technologies and spearhead integrations in the classroom in effective ways for real-world and impactful teaching methods for their students and staff. 

“Digital leadership is about transforming schools into exciting and stimulating institutions of learning where students are actively involved in applying and mastering concepts both in traditional ways and through the use of educational technology”(pp. 190-191 of our text in Chapter 12). 

“The job of the digital leader is not just to model the art of being connected; it’s also to model the art of human conversation and unplugging the devices” (p. 190 of our text in Chapter 12).   

This quote stuck with me as something to always remember as we move forward in support of technology advancements in our leadership roles.  We need to make sure we are modeling the positive behaviors that demonstrate we are “with it” in our technology integration personally and in our own usage, but not so much so that the “devices” become all that we are.  We should not be modeling behaviors that suggest to the students “we would just die without our iphones.”  Or be constantly staring and checking our messages, email, etc.  I use my phone very little at school.  When in class with students, I have it out on my podium, but it is not a distraction.  I do not give it any attention.  Students know my cell phone is there, but just in case of emergency or some such school-wide communication necessary for me to be aware of.  I mentioned before we started the “Remind 101” texts when we are having drills or any pertinent information that teachers need to know is happening or soon to occur.  That is the only reason my phone is out and visible.  Otherwise, it is a non-issue and is the farthest from my main focus.   In that same frame of mind, I have taken up running this year, and one of my favorite motivations I’ve received from my “running life inspiration” app is to “LOG OFF, SHUT DOWN, GO RUN!”  We humans need to be reminded to disconnect and “log off” from our smart phones and the “intersweb” as I like to call it sometimes jokingly with my students.  We need to “disconnect” to recharge or in many cases to “reconnect” with ourselves and the relationships we have in our lives.  This is hugely important to keep in the forefront of our minds as technology is propelled into even further “smart-ness.”  Don’t lose sight of what is outside your screen and the people and things in life that make it all worth living and breathing each day.  Be the cultivators of change to inspire, not just to become another mindless drone.  Haha!  Ok, serious face off now, I know you all can relate and understand my message.  I apologize for all the quotation marks in this posting.  I guess I got a bit carried away.  Warm thoughts sent to each of you this holiday season.  Congrats to us all for being so close to the finishline!  Whoop whoop!