| Project
Description
Goal:
Our pilot program of one will assist teachers at Dansville Middle School
to become more effective instructional guides in integrating information
technology within their individual classrooms to achieve higher student
achievement.
Objective:
The pilot program of one year will assist 11 teachers at Dansville Middle
School in improving their level of technology integration within their
curriculum as demonstrated by lesson plans which show technology integration
as a part of the lesson.
Methods:
Statistics show that teachers who receive 11 hours or more of technology
training feel better prepared to use technology than those who receive
less hours of training. “51 percent of teachers who had 11 hours
or more basic-skills training within the past year say they feel "much
better" prepared to use technology than they did 12 months ago, compared
with 65 percent of teachers who received that much curriculum-integration
training. “
Funding from this proposal would be utilized to equip teachers with the
technological knowledge and skills necessary to develop student-centered,
project-based learning lessons across all curriculum areas.
-
Teachers
will attend software-training sessions to learn the Microsoft suite
of applications including Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook and Publisher
(as well as specific programs as needed.)
- Training
sessions will be instructor-led and take place during and after school
hours in ninety-minute blocks of time in small groups in the computer
lab or one on one at the teacher’s desk. The union approved 20
hours per teacher for staff development currently in place will cover
these hours.
- Training
sessions will begin during the second week of school and be offered
throughout the school year.
- Teachers
will be required to attend at least ten hours of training. Reward incentives
are in place for those teachers who complete ten hours or more or training.
The October
1999 issue of Technology & Learning magazine story “Staff Development:
The Inside Story” tells of five school districts where this type
of program has been successful.
- Alief
Independent School District in Texas provides what they call “round
the clock” training by offering training for administrators, new
teachers, content-area teachers, paraprofessionals, teachers at each
level of education, experienced technology teachers and anyone they
can identify as a group. They offer training on Saturdays, after school
and any time during the day they can fit it in. Teachers who show a
consistent and extraordinary interest in technology are rewarded with
an opportunity to attend “Camp Explore It All,” a summer
program allowing them to push the limits of technology in a non-threatening
situation and work out the bugs before they move it into the classroom
on a large scale.
- Key
Largo School in Florida was named a National blue Ribbon School of Excellence
and recognized as a top technology school by the U.S. Department of
Education for their commitment to provide 60 in-service hours in technology
to every staff member. They accomplished this goal in a number ways,
including creating two new positions, a technology resource teacher
and technology technician, who both train and support the staff in a
variety of ways.
Staffing/Administration:
A Technology Trainer/Specialist will be hired six weeks before the start
of the pilot. This person will have a background in technology training
and also education. He/she will hold a valid current Michigan Teacher’s
certificate. The Technology Trainer/Specialist will perform the following
duties:
- Train
users on all district software packages in basic skills and curriculum
integration strategies. Basic Skills training will be completed by the
end of the first semester. Integration Strategies training will be completed
by the end of the second semester.
- Create
and manage a schedule of computer classes for all district employees
- Create
and manage database of classes taken for all teachers.
- Schedule
one-on-one training with individual teachers as needed on an on-going
basis.
- Facilitate
“brown bag” lunches once a month with staff to discuss training
and software concerns and questions.
- Facilitate
“Five on Five” sessions, going to five classrooms a day
for five minutes each to check in on teacher’s technology needs
and concerns.
Reward
Incentives:
-
Teachers who complete at least ten hours of technology training within
the pilot year will be rewarded with a personal laptop computer and
one piece of educational software of their choice with a $250 limit.
Evaluation: Students are the indirect beneficiaries of this proposal.
Teachers who are trained will become confident and this confidence will
enable teachers to integrate technology within their curriculum, allowing
them to address higher-order thinking and research skills on the part
of the students, through the use of technology. The following evaluation
process will be implemented:
- Teachers
will be required to submit two lesson plans per quarter, which will
demonstrate their ability to integrate technology via one of the applications,
they have learned.
- A
formal survey will be conducted each quarter during the pilot period
to access teacher/staff comfort level and needs.
- Informal
surveys will be taken weekly at the “five on five” sessions
to access teacher/staff comfort level and needs.
- Success
of the program will also be determined by the total number of hours
of training teachers.
- This
technology integration will be included in the school improvement plan
and will be modified when appropriate during the school year.
Budget:
Item Description Cost
Technology Trainer/Specialist 1.0 FTE Software trainer 12 months at
$37,00025% benefits = $8,750
Personal Laptops (11) Dell 350mhz Notebooks with MS Office Professional
pre-loaded.5 G hard drive 11 at $1500= $16,500
Software 11 at $250=$2,750
Total $65,000.00
Additional
In-Kind district contributions needed for this proposal include:
- The
use of the district’s Computer Labs
- A
desk and space to store manuals and other materials needed for training.
- The
use of supplies and equipment needed to generate course session documents,
i.e., copy machines, copy paper, toner, and miscellaneous office supplies.
The
current industry-wide average for a technology trainer is between $35,000
and 45,000. The current teacher’s salary for a first year teacher
with a Bachelor’s Degree in the Dansville School district is $33,500.
Since we are asking for the Technology Trainer/Specialist position to
be filled with a person with both a valid teaching certificate and a technology
training background, we feel the salary of $37,000 is reasonable and justifiable.
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