Schoolwires ~ Meeting District Goals

Training Program ProposalDecember 2009

Review ~ of The Educational Technology Plan from Donegal’s Strategic Plan

Analysis ~ of Donegal’s School Website

Surveys and Interviews ~ with administrators and teachers

Identifying the Need:

Technology will be used to increase student achievement◦ Strategy Engage students with technology

◦ Strategy Engage parents with technology

◦ Strategy Provide access to quality technology resources

Staff Development: “the district needs to better address the technology training needs of its staff…”

Review of The Educational Technology Section from Donegal’s Strategic Plan

Teacher background pages with no picture or content

“Under Construction” labels on many grade and team pages

Content that is several years out of date

Observation of Donegal’s School Website

Teachers◦ Never trained/minimal training◦ Not sure of the purpose, or administrators’

expectations◦ Would like to know/do more◦ Like it, and feel competent using it

Administrators◦ Concerned that parents/users see unfinished pages◦ Want to know how to do more with district/building

pages◦ Want teachers to have content in both individual and

team/grade pages

Feedback from administrators and teachers

To take advantage of the district’s Schoolwires site to meet district technology goals, and communicate with stakeholders

To do this, all teachers must be proficient users

The Need:

Audience ~ beginners, and users with some experience needing re-training◦ Teachers, many of whom teach K - 5◦ Administrators, selected staff

Benefits ~ a well developed, content-rich school website will:◦ Meet district technology goals

Engaging parents and students Providing access to technology resources

◦ Meet parent expectations◦ Meet administration expectations

Solution: Schoolwires Training

Introductory Course◦ 3 hours total ◦ 5 modules/time frames◦ Appropriate for new teachers, teachers not

previously trained, and teachers who feel they need re-training

Follow up Advanced Course ◦ Emphasis on special – purpose pages◦ Hierarchical arrangement◦ Grade, team, school activity pages

Proposal

To introduce users to their Schoolwires profiles

To familiarize users with the basic text and image editing options available in the Schoolwires software

To introduce users to the Schoolwires calendar tool

COURSE OBJECTIVES

◦Delivery: Interactive video tutorial

◦Activities:  Independent use of the tutorial as needed to learn how to access the Website, access and edit the user profile, and access editing mode

◦Assessment: Embedded quiz; updated information in learner’s profile

Module 1: Accessing Schoolwires and the User Profile – 15 min.

◦Delivery: Direct instruction

◦Activities: Edit text boxes, add text, add a saved image or Schoolwires clipart; edit an image; save and preview work

◦Assessment: Updated teacher page demonstrates decision-making concerning formatting of images and text; electronic quiz

Module 2: Editing Text and Images – 45 min.

◦Delivery: Direct instruction

◦Activities: Add and edit new pages using tools and processes learned in previous lesson; add content-specific pages; add links; become familiar with Online support materials

◦Assessment: Learners have added a minimum of two pages to their sections, and content appropriate to their curriculum; electronic quiz

Module 3: New Pages, Support Materials – 45 min.

◦Delivery: Interactive video tutorial

◦Activities: Access the Schoolwires calendar; view calendar pages; add detailed events or “quick’ events to the calendar;

◦Assessment: Embedded quiz; events added to section calendar

Module 4:  Schoolwires Calendar – 15 min.

◦Delivery: Facilitated Workspace/classroom setting

◦Activities: Review of tools and process learned in previous modules; questions and sharing; independent work time; remediation as needed

◦Assessment: Sharing of work; section/pages updated during the school year

Module 5:  Schoolwires Review – 60 min.

Module 1Logging on to Schoolwires, Editing the Profile, Accessing the Site Manager

Sept. - Dec. 2009 ~ Course development

Oct. – Dec. 2009 ~ Pilot Development

1 Month after Project Approval ~ Revisions

March 2011 ~ Evaluation

Project Timeline ~ Development

May 2010 ~ determine needs of current teachers for beginner training

August 2010 ~ Modules 1and 2◦ Induction ◦ In-service

Project Timeline ~ Implementation

October 2010 ~ Module 3 during in service

October 2010 to January 2011 ~ Module 4

January 2011~ Module 5 during in service

Project Timeline ~ Implementation (cont.)

Cost to the District Development

o Course development - $1200

o Pilot development - $500

o Revisions – $850

o Evaluation - $400

o Cost beyond developer’s salary - $0

Training During school hours

◦ $64 per teacher (1 half-day substitute)

After school hours◦ Up to $180 per teacher (non-instructional hourly

pay rate)

During In-service ◦ $0 per teacher

Cost to the District

This is the solution

illustrated in the timeline

Participant reaction◦ Act 48 form◦ Workshop feedback form

Learning◦ Quiz, embedded in each module ◦ Evaluation of tasks accomplished

Conclusions◦ Who needs additional instruction during module 5?◦ What course revisions are needed?

Program Evaluation

Change in behavior◦ Benchmarks set for six weeks after modules 2 and 3◦ Benchmarks set for six weeks and six months after

module 5◦ Building supervisors to determine if staff members have

reached benchmarks

Return on investment◦ Usage comparison

Teachers Site ‘visitors’

◦ Student and parent surveys

Program Evaluation (cont.)

Schoolwires ~ Meeting District

Goals