District+Tech+Training+Plan

toc

 Anne Arundel County is made up of one hundred and twenty-five schools that enroll approximately 75,500 students. All of these schools have internet access in every classroom and there is one computer for every 2.7 students (AACPS website, 2011). This student to computer ratio is better than the national ratio of students to instructional computers as reported by National Center for Educational Statistics (2000). Technology within each of the schools is plentiful and readily available for the teachers to implement in their classrooms.  In addition to desktop and laptop computers, the county has supplied the schools with numerous software programs such as Adobe Creative Suite and subscriptions for all teachers to interactive online simulations known as Gizmos through Explorelearning.com. With the assumption that all schools in the county are afforded equal technology access, the technology accessibility at one particular high school in the county can be generalized to represent what all schools in the county have at their disposal. Each classroom has a document camera and VGA projector. SMART Technologies such as SMART Boards, Slates, and Response systems are also available for instructional purposes. There is no shortage of technology available in Anne Arundel County Public Schools. The issue instead lies in the percentage of teachers in the county who know how to use this technology and are effectively implementing this technology in their classes.

=County Training Needs =  In order to properly assess the training needs of Anne Arundel County Public Schools a survey was developed using Survey Monkey and was administered to many of the county schools’ faculty and staff. This survey included a one to five scoring system where one corresponded with never use this technology or have no knowledge of this technology and five corresponded with use this technology often or expert knowledge of this technology. The following questions were asked of the survey participants:
 * 1) How often do you use technology in your classroom for instruction?
 * 2)  How often do you use computers as a part of your lessons?
 * 3) How often do you use a SMART Board with your students?
 * 4) How often do you use a document camera and projector?
 * 5) How often do you use SMART Response Systems in your classroom?
 * 6) How often do you use SMART Slates in your classroom?
 * 7) How would you rate your educational technology knowledge?

 This survey was administered to the faculty and staff of one of the twelve high schools in Anne Arundel County. The results were used as a representative sample of the training needs of the entire county. Questions two through six were used to pinpoint which of educational technologies available in the county that the participants were lacking knowledge of and therefore not using them in their classrooms. The resulting survey data indicated that faculty and staff is using computers, projectors, and document cameras on a fairly regular basis. The SMART Technologies, however, are rarely being utilized and will therefore become the focus of the training included in this district technology training plan.  The current SMART Technologies training within the county is offered at random after school sessions during the school year at varying locations throughout the county. These sessions are few and far between, not convenient to attend for all county schools depending on location, limited to thirty participants, and limited to the basic functionality of the technologies. If county employees would like further training on these technologies, they can schedule a meeting with the educational technology specialist who will then come to the school and meet with any interested educators. There are also some online tutorials located on a county Blackboard site.  The major issues with the existing training within Anne Arundel County Public Schools pertain to the limitations of the training sessions and lack of any set mandatory training schedule. The final survey question asked the participants to assess their educational technology knowledge. The results of the responses to this question can be seen in the bar graph below:

A majority of the survey participants categorized their educational technology knowledge as none or beginner. In this day and age this is simply unacceptable. This data exposes the reason the development of a district technology training plan is necessary in this county. Educators who classify themselves as having limited educational technology knowledge, in this case half of the survey participants, may not readily advocate for themselves and seek out the training they need.  The current county training requires this self-advocacy and the resulting data above demonstrates that this method of technology training is not effective and desperately needs to be revamped. This district technology training plan will address these existing training issues and is projected to expand the educational technology knowledge of all Anne Arundel County Public school educators.

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Target Audience = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The prime target of this DTTP will include anyone who serves as an educator of the students in the county. This target group will therefore mostly consist of teachers. The majority of the teachers in the county are women. More male teachers can be found in the secondary schools, however. The ages of the teachers is evenly distributed between two groups who fall into those that are twenty-two through thirty-five and those who are between the ages of thirty-six and sixty-five. With the recent downturn in the economy there have been very few new teacher hires within the county in the past six years. Most teachers have been teaching in this district for numerous years at this point and as indicated by the survey mentioned earlier have very little educational technology training. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Considering the audience profile described above this DTTP needs to be maximally effective, mandatory, and time sensitive. Women teachers, some with families, who have been teaching in the county for at least three years at this point, are the core group of people this DTTP will accommodate as they make up about 75% of the county’s educators. As was seen by the survey data displayed above, nearly half of these teachers consider their educational technology knowledge minimal. The teachers who fell into the intermediate and expert categories will need to be identified and utilized as the core support people at each of the schools. Their needs must also be taken into account however so that every educator benefits from the implementation of this plan.

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Overarching Objectives = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> In order for this DTTP to be deemed effective the following objectives must be obtained. 1. Teachers will demonstrate a significant increase in educational technology knowledge. 2. An overall increase in every teacher’s technology comfort level will be observed. 3. Teachers will use the educational technology the county provides on a regular basis. 4. Teachers will effectively implement instructional technology which will result in improved instruction and promote learning.

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Workshop Schedule = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> After reviewing the responses to the survey questions, specifically the questions pertaining to how often each type of educational technology is being used in classes, it was determined that the SMART technologies were the least implemented. Very few teachers reported using these technologies in their classes and personally I very rarely use them myself. I am always signing up for training to learn about any new things the county has to offer teachers in regards to teaching resources. Very little has been offered for SMART technology training within the county and it is not surprising therefore, that these great resources are not being utilized. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> In Anne Arundel County, Tuesday afternoons are reserved for faculty and professional development meetings. Courses will be scheduled in one hour increments to occur in schools during one of these after school meeting times each month. The courses that will be included in this DTTP are as follows:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Secondary ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Workshop || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Description || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sections ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Boards 101 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Introductory basic uses for the SMART Board will be the main focus of these sessions. Target audience: teachers with little to no experience with the SMART board. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Boards Intermediate || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Creating SMART Notebooks and using other more in depth features of the technology will be explored in these sessions. Target audience: teachers who have used a SMART board at least once a month and would like to use it more often. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Boards Expert || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Advanced SMART Board applications will be the main focus of these sessions. Target audience: teachers who use a SMART board on a regular basis (daily/weekly). || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Response Systems 101 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Introductory basic uses for the SMART Response Systems will be the main focus of these sessions. Target audience: teachers with little to no experience with the SMART Response Systems. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Response Systems Intermediate || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Participants will tackle more in depth features of this technology. Target audience: teachers who have used the SMART Response System at least once a month and would like to use it more often. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Response Systems Expert || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Advanced SMART Response System applications will be the main focus of these sessions. Target audience: teachers who use SMART Response Systems on a regular basis (daily/weekly). || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Slates 101 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Introductory basic uses for the SMART Slates will be the main focus of these sessions. Target audience: teachers with little to no experience with the SMART Slate. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Slates Intermediate || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Participants will tackle more in depth features of this technology. Target audience: teachers who have used the SMART Slates at least once a month and would like to use it more often. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Slates Expert || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be offered in two sections, one for grades K-6 and the other for grades 7-12. Advanced SMART Slate applications will be the main focus of these sessions. Target audience: teachers who use a SMART Slate on a regular basis (daily/weekly). || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elementary

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Training Instruction = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> In order to maximize effectiveness, all training will consist of hands-on, group activities where the participants will work together with a SMART technology to practice each skill that the trainer has presented in short segments throughout the session. In the intermediate and 101 courses the trainer will demonstrate a SMART technology skill using one of the SMART tools while the participants observe and interact with the trainer. Then the participants will be given a copy of progressive step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish the skill the presenter has just demonstrated. A sample of these instructions in included in a separate document. Finally, in groups, the teachers will practice the skill. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> In an hour long session there should be enough time for two to three skills to be covered. Once the teachers have developed a substantial knowledge of the technology’s functions they can be given more freedom in their groups to utilize the SMART tool. Teachers will be instructed to bring existing lessons so that they can reinvent them with the inclusion of the SMART technology.



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> At the conclusion of each of these training sessions, the participants will be asked to complete a short survey. This survey will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training and future training decisions will be made based on the data gathered from these exit surveys.

=__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">One Week SMART Board Training Workshop Syllabus __=

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Teachers will be able to develop SMART Board applications <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Teachers will be able to implement what they have developed in their classes <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Teachers will utilize a SMART Board in their classes at least twice per month. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This course will be very successful if the participants play an active role in the training. Interaction with the trainer and other participants is recommended for best returns on this experience.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Instructor: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Melanie Doucette
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Description: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Introductory basic uses for the SMART Board will be the main focus of these sessions. Target audience: teachers with little to no experience with the SMART board.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Objectives: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Course Topics: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Starting up your SMART Board
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SMART Board Functionality
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Creating a SMART Notebook
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Input and Evaluation: **

=__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Technology Workshop One Day Lesson Plan __=


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Name: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Melanie Doucette **Course:** SMART Boards 101 **Day #:** 1
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Subject of the day: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> How to get started with your SMART Board
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Prerequisite Knowledge: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> None
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Content: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Today we will spend the first half of the day becoming acquainted with the SMART Board itself. Teachers will work with a board and learn how to set it up, calibrate it, and write on it. The second half of the day will be spent becoming familiar with the different functions and buttons the SMART board comes with along with how to set up a simple SMART Notebook.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Objectives: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Teachers will be able to set up and effectively operate a SMART board.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The trainer will demonstrate a SMART board technology skill while the participants observe and interact with the trainer. Then the participants will be given a copy of progressive step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish the skill the presenter has just demonstrated. A sample of these instructions in included in a separate document. Finally, in groups, the teachers will practice the skill.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">How the lesson will be taught: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Additional Materials: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Handouts, SMART boards
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Evaluation Strategies: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Exit Survey