Part 1

EDUC6914

Lisa Bowen

PART 1

Preliminary Work:

January 14, 2015- The initial contact for the practicum was by e-mail to my principal, assistant principal, and the technology coordinator for Morgan County.  The following is a copy of that e-mail:

This semester, I am taking a practicum course and need 60 hours of service concerning technology.   I have recognized a couple of needs at Cotaco but require your assistance in concluding ideas and accomplishing my required goal while making it most beneficial to Cotaco and the Morgan County School system.  

There is not enough time for a thorough implementation of technology into the classroom.  Teachers still use technology as a tool instead of student immersion through independent thinking and activities.  I would like to help change the situation.  The 4^th grade has been learning computer coding through Khan Academy.  They are having a great time and learning.  I would like to take it school-wide.  I could train the teachers by letting them participate in a trial run and guide their class during computer lab.  I would also like to send out a survey to gain the knowledge of what teachers would like to add to their classroom projects and then teach them at the next early release day.  I could then help in the classroom to complete the projects. 

My concern is that using Khan Academy is too basic for my practicum but at the same time we need to start somewhere.  I am asking for your help and your time to help me achieve my goal and make an impact in our school.    

Two primary assignments during practicum –

1)       Prepare and conduct professional development training

a.        Conduct needs assessment

b.       Conduct training – video yourself doing the training and take pictures

c.        Evaluate training – learner evaluation; self-reflection; supervisor evaluation

d.       Detail progress on this training in weekly blog

2)       Work with practicum supervisor on tasks related to his/her job –

a.        Detail your work in your weekly blog related to these duties

b.       List all tasks in final letter from supervisor

Problem Identified

After the initial contact was made, the principal and I met in order to discuss where my needs would best be utilized and most beneficial for the school or county.  Several ideas were discussed including teaching about Khan Academy, Google Tools, and Learning Earnings.  The discussion concluded with two areas identified as the utmost problem areas for Cotaco School. 

1.      Google Docs and Tools- the majority of teachers at Cotaco School use the Morgan County e-mail system set up through Google.  The weakness is in using Google Docs, Forms, Sheets, and other collaboration applications that can be beneficial for the school and classroom. 

2.      Learning Earnings- a tool that is set up through the STI program as a reward system for students.  A very brief introduction was given at the beginning of the school year with little success in teacher implementation. 

Solution:

A variation of the Flipped PD Concept will be used for teaching the identified problems.  The first meeting with the teachers will be on the February Early Release Day.  After the initial meeting, then videos will be used to update teachers and one-to-one help will be used inside the teacher classroom as help is needed. 

February 11, 2015-On this day, the teachers will be meeting in the computer lab for professional development.  A thorough overview of Google Docs, Forms, Mail, and Search tips will be given in a face to face format.  A Google Form will be sent out a couple of days before the initial meeting in order to establish how many teachers are using Learning Earnings, how points are rewarded and redeemed, and any questions from the teachers.  This form will help to teach Google Forms and to identify the problems teachers are facing with using Learning Earnings.  The teachers also expressed concern that a baseline was to be established in order to have points and rewards used in the same format throughout the school in order to be fair to the students. 

After the initial meeting with teachers, then questions will be answered by going directly into the teacher classrooms for additional support in the implementation of both Google Tools and Learning Earnings.  Videos will be created to send out after questions are established in order for teachers to view in their own time.  Then additional face to face time will be used to insure that the tools are in fact being implemented. 

Support:

The principal and assistant principle support the problems that have been identified and have both been instrumental in providing extra support and ideas for presentation.  Applications were decided to be kept at the local school level and therefore the Technology Coordinator for the school system will not be the contact person.