Ashleigh’s Blog

What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?

I think the keyword here is “effective” strategies.  I learned that some may think of technology as a “filler” or a way to collect data.  It is difficult for some to change their mindset and embrace new aspects of technology. I know that we have to work hard to be able to get the resources we need in order to effectively use technology in the classroom.  The best way to do this is to make sure technology is integrated throughout the curriculum in several different ways.  It is important to teach students how to use the resources, but it is also important for students to discover new things and utilize software which promotes higher level thinking.  In addition, we must always give time to practice at home and at school.  Of course, the Student and Teacher Technology Standards are useful guidelines.

 How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?

I think that this gave me a lot of new ideas about how I can more efficiently and effectively help all students become successful.  I honestly never realized all the different types of software that is out there for our use.  Now, I find that I am looking for technology which most closely supports the type of learning I want to take place.  While I have always used Microsoft Office, other versions (GoogleDocs) never crossed my mind.  Different web-based technologies have also helped me think about the experiences in which my students are participating.  They could be doing discovery, drill and practice, and simulations.  I have realized many new opportunities.

How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?

I believe that I had met many of the goals I set for myself, although I still have more to go!  I have been signing up for any extra time in the lab so that I can use technology throughout the curriculum.  I have used it in Math recently to have students answer a COST problem.  They had to explain their reasoning by using pictures and words on the computer.  Also, I had students listen to some podcasts on Grammar through Grammar Girl.  I also reviewed copyright and fair use with my students as they began research for Social Studies. 

What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?

I plan to continue my education by taking more Grad classes that deal with technology in education.  It is my hope to also subscribe to a technology newsletter and take technology Professional Development in the Fall.  Also, I would like to learn more about some resources that my group mates used in their TechQuest and our SIG Project. 

If I were to complete another project of this type, I would approach it a bit differently given what I’ve learned from my experience.  The biggest issue with my project is timing.  In order for this project to be most effective, it needs to be implemented at the start of the school year.  This way, I could prepare the necessary information and documentation.  At the start of the year I could identify the source of funding because money will be allocated toward different groups.  I would also gain more insight on increased motivation of students due to technology.  There were a few articles that would be very beneficial for the “buy-in” factor for administration. I would work at identifying those and bringing that information as one of the many purposes of my project.  In addition, I would work more closely with my Technology Representative in my building to formulate a revised Acceptance and Use Policy and a plan for lost or damaged items.  In addition, I think that the start of the year provides a fresh start for me to establish my technology expectations with my students.  I feel that I might see better results from the incentive program if I continue it throughout the school year.  

From this experience, I have definitely learned things about myself and my students.  I thought that this project was going to be very hard to effectively implement because of high costs and poor student work-habits.  However, people would be surprised at the number of organizations that are working to bridge the gap or the “digital divide.”  These groups provided me not only with useful resources, but hope that my students could be successful with a plan like mine in place.  In most cases I found that once students had the means, they were eager to get involved.  This was definitely the case when I surveyed my students and when my incentives program began.  I found it encouraging to see my struggling students making an effort to use the access they had in their given surroundings whether it be at the public library or at a relative’s home.   Also, the amount of low-priced resources was abundant.  I found several options which provided a learning experience my students would benefit from. 

My project, though not completely in place, has been very rewarding.  I would keep most of the aspects the same because of how well it has gone with students and administration.  As I stated before, I would change when this was implemented to ensure a better outcome with funding.  However, because I have to wait until the start of next year I have time to revise and tweak my proposal.  I plan to find more research to support me, gain more input from my Tech Representative in my building, and come up with solutions to the laptop “check out” system.

Project Implementation

While researching for this project, I began by looking to my colleagues and resources that I have in my building. So far I have consulted with my Tech Representative from my building as well as my Library Technician. They were extremely helpful in explaining the different avenues for funding as well as the latest cheap technology that I could look into. In addition, I checked Mel to see if I could find any resources there. When I searched the database I didn’t find any information that could really help my issue. More relevant research for my problem was found by using internet searches. I used several different search engines and began with the search “how to aid technology use in low-income homes.” I tried Google, Ask.com, Wikipedia, and Dogpile. I also tried ebooks. As I was searching, I refined the subject I used to search. The one that seemed to work the best was “technology access in low-income homes.” This produced much better outcomes. The search engine that was most beneficial was Ask.com because I could search the internet, blogs, newspapers, and videos. I refined my search yet again to search specific subjects that came up so that I could find out more information. For example, I searched for Danas and the different organizations. With the last few searches, I found some very interesting pieces of information. If I were to search again, I would try to refine the amount of words I put into the search engine and eliminate words that weren’t as important.

I found several other organizations who have attempted giving students access at home. There were several non-profit organizations that have achieved giving students computer/internet bundles—Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation, One Economy Corporation, Habitat for Humanity/AT&T partnership. There is also a non-profit program called One Laptop Per Child and their vision is “To provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves.” (http://laptop.media.mit.edu/). They started by trying to get developing countries up to date with technology. The different strategies they used will be beneficial for me. The One Economy Corporation hopes to use technology to help low-income people enter the “economic mainstream” and aid in their effort to improve their lives
(http://www.one-economy.com/company).
Another non-profit organization – Habitat for Humanity- partnered with AT&T to give struggling families an internet bundle. The interesting thing about this is that they provided these people with low priced computers, broadband internet and technology support. The support included receiving technology training, which I thought was very beneficial. The program AT&T AccessAll began this 3-year project in 2006 in Chicago and plan to help others across the country. One Economy was also involved in this endeavor (http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=6438).

Another part of my project was to find prospective companies that would be willing to donate computers to help those in need. There has been a legislative push to provide incentives (tax breaks) to companies who donated their old computers rather than get rid of them. This is known as the Computer Donation Incentive Act which was first brought up in 1997 to encourage companies to donate used computers. In search of donor companies I found technology donor sites where you can look for computer donors in your area. The two that looked the most promising were Techsoup and Sharetechnology.org. Businesses and organizations place their computers in the directory and when there is a match the company is contacted.

Along with these resources, I found some computer deals that would help me implement my project as well. While completing my search I found multiple choices. I have provided the list of computers I found, but for the purpose of implementation I have narrowed it down to a couple. This will allow administration to have choice and input when I apply for funding. There were two ultra cheap Linux laptops which were sold at Wal Mart– Everex Cloudbook, sold for $399 and the Linux Everex desktop PC $199 (no monitor). I also found the Asus EeePC which is $299, Danas (made by Alphsmart) from $350-$429, and the Intel Classmate PC starting at $499. Those three products as well as Cloudbook are laptop computers with access to the internet and processing programs. The Genesee County Public libraries all have wireless internet so students would be able to connect there if they didn’t have a home connection (dial-up). I really liked the Classmate PC because it was specifically designed with education in mind. There are several interesting opportunities which allow for collaboration and higher-level thinking. For the span of my project, I will be focusing on this PC as well as the Everex Cloudbook. These two seemed to offer the most for a reasonable price. See below to be directed to the sites.

Intel Classmate PC:
http://www.intel.com/intel/worldahead/classmatepc/

Everex Cloudbook:

http://www.everex.com/products/cloudbook/cloudbook.htm

Asus eeePC:
http://eeepc.asus.com

Dana’s made by Alphasmart (wi-fi connection):

http://www.alphasmart.com/pdf/DanaGenericFlyer_0307.pdf

Linux Everex: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8304655

In addition to computers, I found free Operating Systems like Ubuntu. Ubuntu is the most popular version of Linux, which is an operating system like Windows or Mac OS. It’s free and 99% of the software if free. You can have a computer that plays games, music, movies, makes CDs and DVDs, makes documents, presentations, spreadsheets, edits photos, anything Windows can do, for free, safer (no viruses) and more stable.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Podcast TEST

Project Description

I strongly believe in a technologically advance society we are living in today that everyone should benefit from the use of technology, especially in an educational setting. This is why I strongly feel that my TechQuest project is a definite educational need. All of our energy goes into making what we teach relatable to and useable by our students. Technology is the perfect way to do this. Those students who don’t have these resources at home are loosing out and are therefore, loosing the real-world connection. My goal is to help students learn about new resources and practice using them on their own, so I feel that this is definitely valuable in the educational setting.

I am planning to address this educational issue by finding technology that can be used in students’ homes. In addition, I will address the issue by stating multiple alternatives that students may employ. For example, Alpha Smarts and PDAs are some technologies that can be purchased and used by students in a check-out system. Also in other districts (Grand Rapids), they have asked for computer donations from major companies in the area and it has been proven very successful for those low-income families. Some possible alternatives for students are to go to the public library in Flint or Grand Blanc and use the resources available there. I could implement this by offering an incentive for students. Perhaps they could build up the amount of time spent on doing class-related activities and be rewarded by presenting to the class or earning extra privileges (depending on the student). Another choice would be to offer an after-school program focused on technology in the school computer lab. We could survey students about their computer/ internet access and implement a plan for those who don’t. We could look into getting a late bus to provide transportation for those who need it.

I realize that the purchase of new materials or the cost of extra bussing and pay for those who will run programs will need to come from somewhere. Our building is a Title 1 school and because of this we get funds to allocate toward our title students. We could look into how many of our Title students would need this extra support and use money towards an after-school program or resources. Also, we can apply for technology grants through our district which could be used to possibly purchase materials. We also have money that our building sets aside for Special Education and Differentiated Instruction. Because these materials could be used for several purposes, we could buy them for this and check them out at night or over the weekend. Bridges is another alternative for funding. Each year my school offers programs in which students may participate that are funded by Bridges. The only problem that would occur here would be the cost of transportation because these programs don’t provide a late bus. However, it may be possible to use multiple sources for this.

During this course I plan to research different materials that can be checked out for home use. Once I have done this, I will discuss possible ways to purchase a pilot group. I will talk with the Special Education department, Principal, Library Tech, Technology Rep, and others involved in allocating the DI and Title money. I also want to put my incentives plan in place in my classroom. I will create a log where students need to record their computer time usage and save what they have worked on to a disk. If students cannot purchase a disk, I will provide one for them. After students have logged in a certain amount of time, they can choose what they want because of their responsibility (present to me or class, classroom money, extra computer time, extra minutes during Fun Friday). After this course completes, I hope to implement an after-school program with bussing provided. I also want to look into getting donations from companies as well as pilot different materials.

I believe that my project addresses the four common places of education:

• Someone teaching: This helps limit the amount of time teachers spend teaching how to perform simple tasks on the computer (getting to the internet, typing, finding programs). It also enables teachers to assign technology practice at home so the skill that was taught isn’t lost the next day. In addition, technology can be integrated into any subject as an assignment or different methodology.
• Someone learning: Students will be able to make a real-world connection and students can use these resources on projects (Power Point) or to help them create a better understanding of what was taught (i.e. Study Island, A Plus Math)
• Some subject matter: This would greatly benefit any subject matter whether it be conducting research for Social Studies or watching a video on the Solar System for Science. Language Arts can always be addressed through Word Processing and Math through games and interactive lessons.
• Setting: 5th grade students enrolled in McGrath Elementary; reside in Flint, MI and Grand Blanc, MI

Relevant research and resources:

So far I have utilized the support that I have in my building. I consulted with my Tech Representative from my building as well as my library technician. In addition, I checked other resources available. I first started using Mel to see if I could find any resources there. However, I found that a lot more research for my issue was found by using internet searches. I tried google, ask.com, wikipedia, and dogpile. I also tried ebooks. The best results I found were from ask.com because I could search the internet and blogs. I found that interesting. Once I refined my search I found some very interesting pieces of information.

1. Non-profit organizations that have achieved giving students computer/internet bundles—Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation, One Economy Corporation, Habitat for Humanity and ATT partnership
2. Technology donor sites where you can look for computer donors in your area—techsoup and sharetechnology.org
3. Computer Donation Incentive Act- first brought up in 1997 to give incentives for businesses to donate used computers.
4. Free wireless internet through Genesee County Libraries
5. Various computer deals: There are ultra cheap Linux laptops: Everex Cloudbook that was sold at Wal Mart:
   http://www.everex.com/products/cloudbook/cloudbook.htm
   
   

Linux Everex desktop PC sold by Wal Mart for $200 (no monitor):
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8304655

Asus eeePC:
http://eeepc.asus.com

AlphaSmarts and Danas (wi-fi connection)

www.alphasmart.com

Intel Classmate PC:
http://www.intel.com/intel/worldahead/classmatepc/

6. Free Operating Systems: Ubuntu is the most popular version of Linux, which is an operating system like Windows or Mac OS. It’s free and 99% of the software if free. You can have a computer that plays games, music, movies, makes CDs and DVDs, makes documents, presentations, spreadsheets, edits photos, anything Windows can do, for free, safer (no viruses) and more stable.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

The compelling problem of practice and opportunity for gain that I want to address in my project is how I can make technology equitable for all students no matter their socio-economic background. My school make-up includes several at risk students with around 40% receiving free and reduced lunch. In my class of 28 students, 12 are also eligible for free breakfast in the morning. Because of these circumstances, I have found that several of my families’ incomes are devoted to maintaining a very basic life-style (i.e. having food, shelter, clothing, etc.). Unfortunately, some cannot afford to have basic technologies at home. This leads to large ability gaps between those students who do have the resources at home and those who do not. So instead of applying the technology during our 1 hour lab time, a great majority of the time is spent explaining how to use a computer and software that should have been used before 5^th grade (Word; Internet). In addition, those students who are familiar with the programs are loosing instructional and practice time.

I am choosing to address this problem because I feel it would make the most beneficial impact on my students’ abilities in school and in the “real world.” I want to make this effort so that these students are successful not only academically but in life. This home-school connection has high importance and greatly influences the amount of practice time available to students. In Barbec’s article “Building Better Instruction,” she discusses the nine research-proven instructional strategies. Strategy number four is Homework and Practice. This strategy allows students to create a deeper understanding of what they have learned and strengthens the given skill through independent application and practice at home (Brabec, 40). In addition Brabec mentions that in order to master skills, it takes up to 24 times of practice to reach 80% competency (Brabec, 40). If all these practice times were spent during the school day, there wouldn’t be much time for anything else; especially with my one hour lab time!

When I introduce a new assistive technology students are able to practice this during class time, but when they go home only a few can now apply it independently. This is why it is so important that students are able to take what they’ve learned in class and implement it at home as well. For my students who don’t have access to a computer or the internet, this practice time is lost with them. This lack of practice time and technology homework is what has them behind in the first place. My students are already considered “at risk” and I feel that it is my job to make sure I can do all I can to help my students succeed. “Consistently applying those (technology) strategies should help ensure high-quality instruction that has the potential of maximizing student achievement” (Brabec, 50). If technology can maximize the achievement of struggling students, why shouldn’t all students have access to these resources?