CAPSTONE PRESENTATION

1. Kennesaw State University Masters in Instructional Technology CAPSTONE PRESENTATION Presented by: Lea Capps July 15, 2014 Advisor: Sheri Booker Equipping Teachers with the Tools Needed to Create Global Learners: Teacher Professional Development to Increase Academic Achievement

2. KSU SETTING & CONTEXT • Green Acres Elementary Title I School • N= 841 • 74% Hispanic • 91% Free and Reduced Lunch • Dominated by LEP • Little or no reading of English support at home • Lack of clubs at the school level • Stakeholders: staff members, administrators, local community • Principal supported capstone project

3. KSU SETTING & CONTEXT

4. KSU NEEDS ASSESSMENT • Surveys Utilized: • Current uses of technology needs assessment- Focused On: • What specific technology was being used • How technology was being used • Who was using the technology (student or teacher) • LoTi Digital Age Survey • January 2012 • Distributed by the county and results analyzed by LoTi Connection • Interest Inventories • Used to assess participants’ dispositions, attitudes, and skills and comfort level

5. KSU EVALUATION

6. KSU NEEDS ASSESSMENT How often do students engage at a Blooms Taxonomy level of Analysis or Evaluation? How often do students engage at a Blooms Taxonomy level of Creation? Student use, Teacher observe Teacher use, student observe

7. KSU NEEDS ASSESSMENT Green Acres Elementary School Digital-Age Results Professional Development Priority Areas The greatest priority indicated by the LoTi profile is using technology in student centered learning and creativity, which includes promoting higher order thinking and student engagement ("Loti digital-age profile:" 2012).

8. KSU LOTI LEVEL 2 While 100% of the participants in the survey report having access to multiple technology tools, 56% of the teachers at Green Acres self-assessed at a LoTi level of 2 or lower.

9. KSU PROBLEM!!!! • Technology is not being used effectively at Green Acres Elementary!! • Question: How can we address technology use at Green Acres Elementary? • How can we model, instruct, and support teachers in utilizing technology to engage and motivate learners at a higher level of thinking? • How can we do this effectively, efficiently, and with the support of the community?

10. KSU CAPSTONE PROJECT PLAN • Plan: Create a Professional Development Course designed with the goal of impacting student achievement through the improvement of technology use in the classroom. • It was important for this course to be meaningful and relevant to teachers so they would be motivated to implement the tools and strategies learned. • The vision for the professional learning course was driven by the desire to improve teaching practices at Green Acres Elementary. • The purpose was to provide teachers with the tools to incorporate technology into their classroom and provide students with rich learning experiences.

11. KSU COURSE GOALS • Make teachers aware of ISTE standards and LoTi levels (ITEC 7480) • Give teachers time to learn new technologies and practice with guided instruction • Provide applicable examples for using technology to meet the needs of diverse grades, classrooms, and learners (INED 7783) • Help teachers understand how to implement learning experiences that promoted higher order thinking • Improve teacher confidence and attitude towards student technology use in the classroom • Provide a flexible course environment that featuring high quality and relevant instruction (ITEC 7460)

12. KSU DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT • Originally planned for 10 weeks (Jan-May) • Actual Timeline 5 weeks (April-May) • 5 Face-to-Face Classes • 5 Online collaborative sessions • Originally planned for PLU credits • Zero PLU credits offered • Weekly “office hours” tech support as needed • Three separate sessions offered • Teacher Effective Web 2.0 tools • Implementing Tech Tools in the Classroom • Bridging the Gap Between School and Community • Sessions were not all mandatory but recommended • Weebly used for online collaboration

13. KSU PARTICIPANTS • The participants varied with each session • The Capstone Experience catered to • Counselors • Administration • Specialists • Special Ed Teachers • 3 Primary Teachers • All of the Facilitator’s Grade Level Team • 4 Intermediate Teachers • The School’s Technology Specialist

14. KSU RESOURCES & IMPLEMENTATION http://teachtechconnect.weebly.com/#/

15. KSU Course Description • Weebly used for the online platform • Online collaboration • Face to face instruction • In class learning/ application • Participants were expected to create lessons using digital tools learned in workshops • Resources and discussions posted on Weebly • Technology and digital tools explored during professional development • Voicethread • Photostory • Audacity • Wallwisher/ Padlet • Graphclub • Digital Storytelling • Wordle • Polleverywhere • Remind101 was digital tool preferred by most in this course!! • BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY!!!

16. KSU EVALUATION PLAN

17. KSU RESULTS/REFLECTION This experience will help me with my ELL learners. Thanks for everything! --Teacher Participant Wow! I never thought I could be so tech savvy, Capps!! Thanks a bunch. This was fun. Sad you are leaving. -----Specialist Participantant Capps, Maybe next time we could do more slow paced things like Excel or Active Inspire? Thanks ------Primary Teacher Participant

18. KSU RESULTS • The post assessment reflected considerable growth in the teacher’s knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of utilizing digital tools. • Teachers reported being more aware of the available technologies and how to utilize them in their classrooms. • The post survey also indicated an improvement in teachers’ comfort levels as well as willingness to implement learning activities with new unfamiliar technologies.

19. KSU QUESTIONS • How do we implement follow-up support for these teachers? • How do we ensure PLU credits for future professional development courses in the field of technology enhanced learning? • How do we assess the impact of this professional development on student learning and ensure its continued impact in the future? • Technology is continually evolving. How do we ensure that our professional learning communities are doing the same to ensure that we are preparing 21st Century learners?

20. KSU PROFESSIONAL GROWTH & LEADERSHIP • According to the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) from ISTE, Professional Growth and Leadership signifies a teacher's inclination to "continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources." Based on this priority area, a teacher is able to participate in local and global learning communities, evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice involving the use of digital tools and resources, and exercise leadership in promoting the technology skills of others as well as improvements to the teaching profession.

21. KSU REFERENCES • International Society for Technology in Education. (2012). Essential conditions: necessary conditions to effectively leverage technology for learning. Retrieved, 2013, from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-for-students-essential-conditions • Moersch, C. (1994). Loti framework. Retrieved from http://loticonnection.com/index.php/more/frameworks/20-loti-framework