A Grant Proposal by April Icsman University of Akron

Summer Session 2009

Ted Lysiak, Instructor

Planning for Technology

Description A recent article published by the Technology Initiative states, “To prepare students to thrive in today’s society, teachers need to know more about how technologies are used in disciplines and workplaces, and—most critically—how to use the right technologies to support student learning..gone are the days when teachers could use computers merely for basic drills. Conducting research, evaluating sources of information, displaying data, solving problem, working collaboratively on written and oral presentations—these are the new “basic skills” of the 21st century.” The article continues , “ many schools have computers available for classroom use. Yet computers themselves don’t teach teachers or students how to use them. Teachers need high quality, hands-on experiences…” (www.nwp.org/cs)

I have found the above scenario to be true. At our school we have technology available. For a video view of one of the labs at our high school, please view:

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Description (con’t)

As a language arts teacher who began teaching in the late 70’s, I have seen many changes, the most noticeable ones in the use and variety of technology. We now routinely use word processing in our language arts classes, but the last few years of our digital age have produced a plethora of resources including Web 2.0 which is corroborative and fluid in nature, one of these being wikispaces. For a basic introduction to wikis, please view this video. Many teachers are wary of these and are hesitant to utilize them in the classroom. The Medina City School District as detailed in the State Auditor’s report is not staffed to its potential; therefore, the participation in emerging technologies is at the early adopter stage

We as language arts teachers can capitalize on the collabaorative nature of wikispaces to meet the above writing standards and cross disciplines with social studies and foreign language to name just two examples. The uses are limitless; for example, foreign language teachers could initiate discussions and conversations via this virtual pen pal system with other classes in foreign countries. Instead of depending on news sources to give us information about Iran, a social studies teacher could set up a wiki with a class in Iran. Even if a teacher decided a wiki would not help him or her achieve the specific content standards, the general knowledge gleaned from the in-service about wikis, blogs and similar sources students now use to solve problems, obtain and create information will be invaluable.

Timeline

This project will consist of three phases.

Phase 1 begins the fall semester of 2009-2010

Phase 2 begins the spring semester of 2009-2010

Phase 3 begins the fall semester 0f 2010-2011

QualificationsI have been teaching writing at Medina Senior High School for the past nine years. Before that I taught two years of junior high language arts and three years of journalism and language arts . I was a writing fellow at the College of William and Mary, becoming one of the first National Writing Project graduates in 1984. I have 15 graduate hours in writing . As to my qualifications for teaching an in-service on wikis, I have completed 17 graduate hours in technology, have maintained a webpage for 8 years and recently designed my own e-portfolio. I have a good relationship with my colleagues and feel an inservice based on their needs and deficiencies would be welcomed and provide an essential skill to them to provide students with the necessary tools to not only survive but excel in a global society

Effectiveness and Goals1. to effectively use technology in teaching Ohio

Content Language Arts Standards :

#10 “use available technology to compose text”

#17 “Prepare for publication (e.g., for display or for sharing with others) writing that follows a manuscript form appropriate for the purpose, which could include such techniques as electronic resources, principles of design (e.g., margins, tabs, spacing and columns) and graphics (e.g., drawings, charts and graphs) to enhance the final product.”

#16 “ Apply tools (e.g., rubric, checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing.”

2. to support the professional development of teachers , specifically in the area of emerging technology as stated in ITES-T and the Medina City Technology Plan 3.1 and 4.2

Objectives and Plan of Action

The projects consists of three parts for Phase I (the first semester-fall 09-10):

1. I will create a wikispace for the Creative Writing class.

2. The class will use the wiki to edit, revise, comment on, and compose a short story.

3. The class will publish their short stories in a bound book in December, 2009 which will be both collective and collaborative since each story will be the result of every one’s editing and everyone will have a short story published in the book.

In Phase II (the second semester-spring 09-10):

1-3 (same as above), plus:

4. I will invite another class from another Ohio school to join our wiki.

5. I will conduct an in-service utilizing existing school district resources and introduce other teachers to the wikispace using my personal experience with one the previous semester.

6. I will provide follow-up instruction and trouble shooting for four weeks.

In Phase III (the third semester-fall 10-11):

1-3 (same as above)

4. I will invite another class from a different country to join our wiki.

5. I will provide encouragement, follow-up and instruction on an informal and flexible schedule.

In-Service

Before conducting the in-service, I would survey the participants to see what the knowledge base is about wikispaces.

I would use a variety of methods to disseminate information including handouts, hands-on participation,powerpoint lecture, question and answer, and video. Wikispaces has several training videos to use and here is an informational video that will also provide comic relief explaining the difference between wikis and blogs.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsFU3sAlPx4

AssessmentI will assess the effectiveness of the wikispace course by the students’ quantity and quality of their writing as measured by rubrics. These rubrics will include evaluation of their writing as well as evaluation of their peer revision techniques and experience.

I will assess the effectiveness of the teacher in-service with a survey immediately after the in-service and a follow-up survey two months after the initial in-service. I will especially be interested in how many teachers used wikis in their classrooms, how they were used, and if teachers felt they were beneficial. I will use surveymonkey.com.

I will assess the effectiveness of the global and nation-wide aspects of phases 2 and 3 with surveys and rubrics and by the number of purchases of bound books.

SustainabilityAfter the three semesters funded by the grant, teachers will assess the feasibility of their wikispaces. Since public spaces are free of cost, they will be able to continue if so desired at the free level.

Since the wikispaces are provided free of charge, the grant funding discontinuation will not affect that part of the project for me or any other teachers who have decided to start a wiki. The only part that would be affected would be the book publishing for the Creative Writing class. I will have several options if I decide the book publishing is integral:1. Ask students to pay their own books.2. Ask the district to pick up the cost.3. Ask the PTO for special funding.4. Ask a printing shop to donate their services.

If the in-service is funded for phase II , the follow-up time should be sufficient and no additional funds will be required. However, if the district administrators decide the in-service was valuable and would like to provide another opportunity to teachers, the district could decide to fund it.

Dissemination

I will disseminate the findings of the Creative Writing wikispace course to teachers in an initial in-service. Since this in-service will be face-to-face, I will be able to answer questions immediately. I will provide the wikispace url to them as well as a summary of my reflection. These will be available in word and PDF forms on my webpage.

I will disseminate the survey results of the teacher in-service on my webpage as well.

AlignmentLanguage Arts Standards:

Every student in the state of Ohio is required to take four years of language arts on the high school level in order to graduate. In each of these classes, they are required to write and meet the 17 standards of the Writing Process section of the Ohio Department of education English Language Arts Academic Content Standards. #10 standard reads “use available technology to compose text” and #17 reads “Prepare for publication (e.g., for display or for sharing with others) writing that follows a manuscript form appropriate for the purpose, which could include such techniques as electronic resources, principles of design (e.g., margins, tabs, spacing and columns) and graphics (e.g., drawings, charts and graphs) to enhance the final product.” #16 reads “ Apply tools (e.g., rubric, checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing.” We as language arts teachers can capitalize on the collaborative nature of wikispaces to meet the above writing standards.

Alignment (con’t)

Technology standards:

In the Educational Technology Plan for Medina City School District, section 3.1(Analyzing District Education Technology Policies) , F states “development and dissemination of educational technology devices applications and approaches “ as in the adoption stage and section 4.2 (Access to Technology) states we are in the early adoption sage of “Emerging Technologies.” My in-service would help us move to the respective levels of exploration and adoption.

BudgetWikispace: free

In-service: 7 hours (5 hours planning and 2-hour session) at the curriculum pay of $29.87/hour = $209.09

Follow-up instruction: At the present time, I am teaching half-time at Medina Senior High School , from 7:25-11:00 . I could provide formal follow-up and instruction for 4 Tuesday afternoons after the initial teacher in-service. At my per diem pay of $317.005, the total would be $634.01

Book publishing: My school district has agreed to publish this book in our in-house printing facility at a reduced cost of $5.30 per book. With an average of 28 students per class, the cost for phase 1 will be $148.40 , phase 2 will be $296.80 and 3 will be $296.80. Shipping costs will be approximately $300.00 Students will be given the opportunity to purchase additional copies at their own expense. in-service $209.09

follow-up $634.01

book publishing $1042.00 Total : $1885.11

Referenceshttp://w”ww.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm

http://www.edutopica.org/print/1355

www.surveymonkey.com

www.wikispaces.com

www.mcsoh.org/boe/technology/pdf/0609MCSTP.pdf

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsFU3sAlPx4

www.gozips.uakron.edu/~adi2/final/index.html