Jared's Module 5 Post

Grant Proposal Idea:

My grant proposal and my TI initiative are integrated.  As I expressed in my last blog entry, a couple of teachers and I have gotten together to try to open our school to some positive attitudes on Blended Learning.  This will be done through an initial class, followed by the establishment of an online PLC for teachers who want to participate.  Throughout the semester (Fall 2015) we will share ideas, and examples, and visit each others’ digital classrooms.  We will also meet at least twice to work together as a group, and share ideas in person.  I am sort of doing this a little out of order.  We have already come up with a basic structure for our initiative, and we have already applied for the grant (since it was due March 27).  Now we are continuing our research on Blended Learning to make sure that our professional development concept is up to date and informed.

The grant was for a little less than $5000, and was requested from Fairmont State with which we have a PDS relationship.  The money will mostly be used for teacher stipend, which I would argue is important, because to really kick-off something like this in a school you will get very little volunteer participation.  Many well-meaning, and respectable teachers still see technology as a “frill” and “Blended Learning” as just one more crazy idea thrust upon educators who just want to be left alone to teach.  There is still a mistrust of computer use in the classroom, and moving standardized testing to the computer labs hasn’t helped at all.  Offering an experience like this can help create some more positive attitudes toward a type of learning that is necessary in this century.

Chapter 9: Do you agree that schools should reflect real life?

“Sorry, the 21^st Century is blocked.”  I find myself saying that each week as the teachers in my school report to one another the new blocking of a website or app.  Some sites become blocked and unblocked on a weekly basis.  The status of Youtube each day is anybody’s guess.  Chances are the web-based lesson you created with ease on your own network at home will encounter several roadblocks when you bring it to school.  This only serves to illustrate the mistrust that school boards have for all things internet.  There is still a sign on my school’s library wall that says, “NO Facebook MySpace E-Mail or Games.”  The WVDE policy number that bans these things is referenced at the bottom.  The reason Twitter is absent from the list is because the policy was created years before Twitter was widely known, and it hasn’t changed since.

I would say that my county, as a whole, is still in the beginning stages of technology acceptance the author described for the Burlington School District: “They used to deny the changes that were happening outside their school doors because they could not deal with what might happen if they were to allow students to have the internet at their fingertips while sitting in classrooms” (Sheninger, 2014, p. 148).  We are still there.  The attitude is that communication technology is a danger and distraction, and that only by banning it can real learning begin.  There is still a “lack of trust shown by administrators who would not allow staff to utilizer mobile devices, even when they had concrete educational tasks tied to their lessons” (Sheninger, 2014, p. 149).

However, I do think that the page is about to turn.  I have noticed that attitudes toward social media are slowly shifting.  When I started teaching in 2008, teachers were warned again using social media even for personal use.  “You’ll get in trouble… Teachers have been fired for what they’ve said online!”  The policy was, just stay off of social media, and their was a stigma for teachers who had a Facebook profile.  I remember being ridiculed (just a little) because a Spanish teacher and I alluded to being “Facebook Friends.”  Now the stigma is no longer their.  In fact, most clubs have some kind of official social media page.  It’s a slow journey, but I have noticed that administration has been %100 supportive of Blended Learning and Flipped Learning efforts in our school.  That part of social media they like.  Now if we could only gain access to Youtube.

So, yes, school should reflect real life, and these days real life is integrated with digital technology.  Smart phone, computers, and tablets are as a part of our lives as cars and radios.

Chapter 10: Summarize the story of Clark Hall and reflect on your workplace or learning environment.  What are you thinking now after reading about Clark Hall?

 Due to overpopulation of students, combined with a lack of money and desire from the public to build a completely new high school, Gahanna District leaders worked with the public to build Clark Hall, a multi-purpose building that focuses on use of a wireless work to conduct education.  It has everything from open spaces, to classrooms, to a workout room.  It has colorful walls and furniture, and looks like an inviting, fun, modern facility.  To hear it described, I think of the type of building they might add to a college campus when enrollment is high.  The facility was not a success overnight, because the administrators of Clark Hall overestimated the power of their wireless network when BYOD use was allowed. 

After reading about Clark Hall, I can say that I’d like to work there.  I wish my school district had a facility like this.  I think it’s a great “happy medium” between the “brick and mortar school” and the completely “online high school.”  I think this is the type of solution I most support.  A place to meet, a place to be, but a place that is different from traditional schools.  I think this can work for many students, especially for those who need more than a day at home alone on the internet.  We can still reach students who need IEPs, and we can still demonstrate the use of technology in leading by example. 

A Note on BYOD:

I support the use of personal devices in schools, both for classroom and personal use. However, I do not agree with author when he says that we should just do it. I still believe that public education should be totally free.  Remember FAPE?  Sheninger acknowledges that some respected educators do not support BYOD because of reasons of equity (p. 152).  Will the kids with Smartphones have more access to school programs?  Sheninger does not, however, explain how to get around this problem.  He moves on without hinting at a solution.  Colleges can require students to buy virtually anything.  Public schools cannot. 

I think the solution is a Clark Hall type of environment where technology is provided, but where BYOD is permitted.

Module 5

Grant Proposal:
I am still trying to determine what grants I want to apply for, but I do know what I am trying to accomplish with it.  The elementary school that I work at is relatively large.  We have three computer labs throughout the school, which may sound like a lot for an elementary school, but when you have five classes for each grade, three labs are simply not enough. Students need to have as much access as possible with technology in order for them to become successful with it.  We began using a new program this year called MobyMax.  Students seem to like the program and as a teacher I can do a lot of different things with it.  However, students only get into the computer labs twice a week.  If we had computers, IPADS, or tablets in our rooms then students could access the technology even more.  We would not have to wait until our scheduled day in the computer lab to do interactive lessons.  There are several grants that I have researched, but I am looking mainly at the grants provided by Walmart.  I am familiar with applying for funding from Walmart because I have done this before through fundraisers.
Chapter 9:
I completely agree with the fact that schools need to reflect real life.  We are trying to help our students to become successful adults.  Our goal is to ensure that they will become prominent members of society and be able to keep up with the changes life throws at them.  How can we do this successfully if we do not teach them how to function in real life situations?  Students need to know how to take what they learn in school and use it in their adult lives.  As educators we can not forget that it is not our goal to simply teach students the basic facts, we need to teach them how to use those facts outside of school.
Chapter 10:
What can I say about this school?  WOW! The more I read about the high school the more I thought about it as a college.  Students have freedom to move and socialize.  They can interact with businesses and explore different real world learning situations.  The school has set goals to ensure that students are using real world situations to learn and they are given the materials to be successful at it.  The school focuses on making their learning spaces and environments conducive to digital learning, and provide students opportunities to express their natural creativity.

Module Five

Grant Proposal and Technology Integration Idea:

I am working closely with the Math, Science, and Physical Education departments on planning geocaching teams.  Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices.  The students on the teams will navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (a type of container) hidden at that specific location.  This will incorporate almost every subject that we teach here at Sherrard Middle School.  We are very excited to see if and how this will play out.  This activity is not only using real-world situations, but it would incorporate skills including map reading, problem solving, creative thinking, and countless opportunities to teach mathematics - which means the most to me considering I am a math teacher.

Chapter Nine:

I absolutely agree that schools need to reflect real-life situations.  For instance, just this week I was reviewing (aka re-teaching) area and circumference of circles.  I noticed that if my students had simple circles in front of them, they were decent at coming up with the answers.  For example, if they are given "If the diameter of a circle is 5 feet, what is the circumference?" - They could easily put the diameter into a formula (diameter times pi = circumference) and come up with the answer.  However, when I gave them problems like "Judy has a circular garden.  She wants to place fencing around the outside of the garden.  She has a fountain in the center of the garden.  The distance from the fountain to the edge of the garden is six feet.  How much fencing will she need for the garden?" They freak out because they did not see "The diameter is... or The radius is... Nor did they have a perfect question like "What is the circumference?"  They had to put words into math and come up with a solution on their own.  These kids need to be taught the standards, yes, however, they need to be taught in a way that they will actually use it in real life.  They need to stop with the basic worksheets and drills.  This is simply a teaching technique as opposed to an assessment technique.  That is why we are all so excited about out geocaching grant.  We know that we are using so much real life in so many different subject matters.

Chapter Ten:

The story of Clark Hall is basically a new way for schools to function and be structured in the new Digital Age.  This story reflects on the way that the school can be a comfortable space for learning.  This space should also provide choices for each student.  Learning should be more fun and enjoyable for the students.  Also, it should make time more flexible for each student.  Due to the digital age, this school should utilize technology more and use the teachers more as facilitators in a process of learning.  Also, more projects should be used to assess as opposed to worksheets and assignments.

When I reflect on my school and my classroom in particular, I feel that we are slowly moving in this direction.  The comfort level of the school is still the old fashion desks and tables; however, the emotional comfort level I try to make as peaceful as possible.  I give as many choices as I can.  I know that there are many ways to get to the correct answer of a math problem.  Also, so many students learn in different ways.  Therefore, I teach every possible way that I can think of in hopes that at least one of those ways will stick.  I catch myself saying - I do not care HOW you get the answer, as long as it is correct! When it comes to technology, I utilize it to my fullest extent; however, that is not a lot! With all of the standards as a seventh grade math teacher that I need to reach - it is difficult to incorporate as much technology as I would like.  However, when it comes to being a facilitator - I do try my very hardest to make sure that my students are coming up with answers on their own.  My favorite technique would have to be using inquiry.  "Ms. Crow, how do I get this answer?" - "Well, what information do you know? How can I begin to solve this? What is the question asking?" They know when they come to me with a question that they are most likely not going to receive an answer - just a probing question.

Module 5 - Grant

I am currently working on a grant proposal to start a food bank for our students located right on campus. If you have been on the FSU campus you have probably seen or heard about the nest. I am hoping to start something similar to this at my new school. 

Below is an at risk chart we have started to evaluated some at-risk factors for our new and current student population. as you can see employment and financial are our 2 highest at risk factors currently. My thought with this is food is probably the last thing on our students minds. Are they getting food to eat and nutritious food at that? This is what really got me starting to think about this as a need and how I could help. 

So I am going to write my grant for the Sam’s Club Community - Hunger Relief & Healthy Eating Grant. My goal is to keep this bank completely free of cost and receive all donations from the community. I am asking for $1500 to start the food bank. 

I am going to integrant free online technology for this grant as well. I am looking to currently use google docs and survey monkey for the technology. We have access to a computer already for this as well as internet. 

I am starting to reach out to the local minor league baseball team about support us with starting this bank. I would love for them to set up donation bins as well as maybe partner on a few games for fans to receive a discount if they donate items.

This currently might just be an assignment but I have all intentions of submitting this after wards and hope to eventually have a food bank available for our students. 

Excellent article shared by Tiffany... Why Leaders Should Brand Their School

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/12/why_leaders_should_brand_their_schools.html

Mod 4 Sophie

1.      What are your thoughts about effective professional development strategies? Describe a professional development opportunity that led to your adoption of new teaching or leadership practices.          

I have been to many one-stop-shop kinds of trainings. Some leave a little bit of a lasting impression, but many are long forgotten. I think that if a PD is not going to have a follow through, then it shouldn’t be taught. The follow through doesn’t even have to be by the presenter, it could just be the principal or teams discussing it in small groups.

I was at a training, one of those where they put you in a room and you listen the whole day and never see you again. I don’t remember the majority of the training or what the training was even about, but I do remember one thing. The presenter told us to stop answering questions. I thought he was crazy, but then he explained. (I’m not even sure that the presenter was male.)

It is easy for a student to come up and ask you a question. It is also easy just to give them the answer. However, this doesn’t lead to deeper thinking. Instead, when they ask you a question, answer it with another question. Not just any questions, a guiding question that will lead the student down the path to figure out the answer for him/herself. This strategy leads to deeper thinking and problem solving.

It is hard to implement this strategy, oh so hard. But in my experience, it is so worth it! Not only do students start thinking about what they are asking you, but they start thinking deeper all the time and they learn that questions are not scare, bad things.

2.      What made this professional development opportunity effective from your perspective?

The PD opportunity that I mentioned before, as a whole, was not an effective one. The one piece of information that I gleaned from it was the question strategy. That strategy intrigued and challenged me. I think because it was challenging for me, and I saw some results right away, I kept it up. Because that one strategy had certain characteristics for me: interesting, intriguing, challenging…I have kept it and continued to use it for four years now.

I did participate in another PD that had multiple gatherings and the presenter came to us at the school between meetings. She would always present us with something new and answer any questions at our meetings and when she came to us, she would help us implement the new stuff she had recently presented and answer questions. This PD was for a new math textbook. I loved the new book and I used what they said and applied it in my classroom. This kind of textbook called for student collaboration and student-centered learning. The kids loved it and I did too. I was successful because I tried it long enough to see that it really did make a difference. Other teachers didn’t try it long enough, got frustrated, and quit. It showed in their students’ achievements. However, they didn’t quit because they didn’t know how to implement it. We all had plenty of training on how to implement and we all had plenty of assistance when needed. It either worked or failed based on the teachers’ preferences.

3.      What is the PD strategy or strategies you plan to use in your Technology Integration Initiative? How will this strategy or strategies help you achieve the outcomes for your TI Initiative?  What will  you need to do to provide leadership to successful professional development (here you might think back on the results and your analysis of your Leadership Assessment and/or the  resources/challenges present in the context for delivering professional development)?

I think I would like to do the same kind of training that I received for my old math textbook. I would like to have multiple meetings over a period of time that would present new ideas and strategies and ways to use the tech and then I would like to coach them during the weeks/months between the meetings to help ensure understanding and smooth transitions. I would also encourage the ones that are quick to jump on the wagon to assist others and make a little presentation at our meetings.

Meetings over a span of time will allow me to give short bursts of information at each meeting. This will not overload the teachers with a ton of information at once; which can cause intimidation before they even start. Then the little visits from me between the meetings will be about the information I just presented at the most recent meeting. I will give assistance to those who need it and encourage first adopters to explore the rest and maybe present at our next meeting. Then the cycle will continue.

I will need to work on my confidence. I think if I understand the tech 100% and do research on it before I present each piece, I will have more confidence. I think if I bring in experts on the matter and learn all I can from them, then I will have more confidence.

4.      Please also share any literature or resources you are using to refine your focus and develop your plan.

Croft, A., Coggshall, J., Dolan, M., Powers, E., & Killion, J. (2010). Job-Embedded Professional Development: What it is, who is responsible, and how to get it done well. Issue Brief.

Implementation Support. (2015). Retrieved March 18, 2015, from https://www.carnegielearning.com/learning-solutions/professional-development/implementation-support/

Chapter 7  Branding

What is "Brand-ed" School Leadership?  

I think “Brand-ed” School Leadership is like advertising your school like a business does. It is where you try to put a positive image in someone’s head when they think about your school. When you think about Starbucks, for example, the little green and white girl with long hair and a crown pops into your head. This image is positive, interesting, bright, and smiley. It makes me think of goodies. I think every school should have a positive vibe like this and developing and implementing a brand can help. I also think that it gives the students and the staff at the school a since of comradery.

Chapter 8 Professional Growth and Development

After reading Chapter 8, what experience do you have with PLN – Personal Learning Networks?  Do you think using PLN would be an option in your workplace setting to promote professional growth and development?

I am currently a member of Fairmont State University Mathematics Facebook group. There I can post questions, give suggestions, receive information classroom strategies/lesson ideas and the most important part is that I am giving information about math conferences. I have been asked to present and attend many conferences (I have declined because of the timing). This, sadly, and my graduate classes are the only PLNs I have been active in.

At the school I am at now, the vibe that seems to be going through the school is that technology is not a priority. The county makes a point to tell all the staff that we should not be friends with any parents or students on social networks because it is inappropriate. Teachers are afraid to use the calendar that is linked to our new emails because they think it isn’t right to put personal information on a professional tool like that. I disagree with all of this. I think if you conduct yourself in a professional way, then there shouldn’t be a problem with either of these. I hope that at my new school, I will not only be able to communicate with other teachers in the same field as me in the building, but I also hope to get more involved in Twitter and teaching conferences. I would like to build the confidence up to actually take part in presentations and I would like to be a go to person when it comes to implanting engaging mathematics teachings.

I do know that our superintendent is thinking about starting a Twitter account to increase communication from the county board. Hopefully, this will cause a spark and social networking will stop being seen as an evil tool and instead be seen as a useful tool. 

Jared's Module Four Response

What are your thoughts about effective professional development strategies? Describe a professional development opportunity that led to your adoption of new teaching or leadership practices. What made this professional development opportunity effective from your perspective?

I consider myself a cheerful employee.  I am never the first to complain when it is time for a professional development workshop.  I try to keep an open mind.  However, many stand-alone workshop experiences I find myself among those that spurns the general idea.  They are unwelcome by the staff, as they are often wedged into inconvenient points in the schedule.  And, due to the time constraint, they usually contain no real content but more of an invitation to explore the content later… if you think of it.  I can see why it is “the form most criticized in the literature” (Garet et al. 2009). 

However, it was at one of the forms that shares the characteristics of a workshop where I found my first meaningful professional development.  A colleague of mine, the school’s Spanish teacher, invited me to a part of program called “Go Global.”  I signed on for the conference because this particular teacher had a great attitude toward education.  She made it an experience for her students and was always looking for unique opportunities for other teachers.  I really wanted to learn from her in this.  Go Global was a summer institute, a four day conference, full of workshops centered around using communication technology, and creative projects to help your students learn about other cultures and to collaborate on work with students in other countries.  Even though this conference did not really follow the job-embedded professional development model or any of the reform type models (Garet et al. 2009), it did help me to make many valuable connections and helped to change the way I viewed my classroom.  As I remember, six teachers and the principal from our school attended the conference, and this was the first time I had the chance to spend long periods of time with other educators talking about new strategies for my particular school.  This was also the first time I was really introduced to the idea that internet could be used for long distance student collaboration.  Looking back, I’d say this conference helped plant the seeds of digital media in my teaching.  Ultimately, I did learn a lot from the teacher who invited me to this conference.  So even though it was one of the less effective methods of professional development, I think it still had a lasting effect.

What is the PD strategy or strategies you plan to use in your Technology Integration Initiative? How will this strategy or strategies help you achieve the outcomes for your TI Initiative? 

I have the pleasure of working with a colleague on my Technology Integration Initiative.  We are working to apply for a small grant through our PDS relationship with Fairmont State.  We’d like to help teachers at our school (ourselves included) discover even more of the ways the “blended” classroom could help reach students and parents in new ways.  Last year, we all began studying the idea of the “flipped” classroom, and there have been a few days where we have met to review student work, or share ideas.  Through that, many of have realized that “blended” rather than “flipped” seems to work best in our community.  Although we are still hammering out the details of what we want to do, we do know that our professional development strategy is key.  We spent lots of time last Thursday talking about this.  I am currently leaning toward some creative way to provide some job-embedded development such as a critical friends group (Croft et al. 2010).  This sort of emerged naturally with our “flipped” discussion.  I think this could really be a year to hone our technology integration skills through working together to show how the “blended” model could be used more effectively in our school.  I will let you know more about plan in a couple of weeks, since our grant proposal is due at the end of the month!

What will you need to do to provide leadership to successful professional development (here you might think back on the results and your analysis of your Leadership Assessment and/or the  resources/challenges present in the context for delivering professional development)?

Being one of the three teachers working on this TI Initiative and Grant Proposal will require some leadership from me.  This was another thing a colleague and I discussed in our recent meeting.  We still have a lot to think about, but we know that we will have to do some work up front to get teachers interested in integrating technology in a way that empowers students.  Somewhere, in a previous course, I picked up the term “web-evangelist.”  Somehow, I feel like this project is asking me to play that role.  As learned from my Leadership Assessment, I am weak in providing a clear sense of goals to my teammates.  I will have to be very intentional when communicating the purpose of this initiative.

 Please also share any literature or resources you are using to refine your focus and develop your plan.

At the beginning of the school year we were using Flip Your Classroom by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams.  This is sort of a jumping off point for next year’s focus. 

Although this next resource is isn’t an academic article, I did find it helpful.  My colleague referred me to this teacher’s blog where I found some great presentations: http://janinecampbell.weebly.com/blended-learning.html. This will take you to a great Blended Learning Prezi, but this educator’s blog homepage is nice too.

Brand-Ed Thinking

Brand-ed “fuses the brand concept with education.”  I get this concept, and I think I started really working for this before I knew what it was called after I took a class with Dr. Price from Fairmont State.  His presence on the web had certain creative vibe.  He chose a logo for his class, and designed the syllabus with graphics and images.  I feel that I had a sense of what his class was going to be like, and even what his values were before the class even began.  I think many schools work hard to create a organizational brand.  My school has a logo, a website, a certain image it longs to promote in the community.  I think classrooms can have something similar.

PLN

At my school we have a monthly lunch meeting for the department.  There is a sense, however, that there is not enough time to do any meaningful work.  I think there is a sense that we’d like to be a communicative network, but most of us keep to ourselves due to time constraints in the workday.