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l e a d i n g t he way in progressive education
GRANTS FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE PROPOSAL
SUBMITTED & WRITTEN BY: William J Seng, Science WITH: David New, English Language Arts & Nicole Buck, Special Education 21 April 2009
Lenape High School,235 Hartford Road, Medford, NJ • wseng@lrhsd.org • dnew@lrhsd.org • nbuck@lrhsd.org •
Table of Contents Overview and Summary
1
Mastery Objectives
1
Given an iPod Touch‌.
Methods
1 2
How can the iPod touch be used as a mobile learning tool?
3
Use in other classes, across the curriculum
8
Now and looking to their future
8
Justification
9
Personnel Responsibilities
10
Budget Description
11
Evaluation
11
Dissemination
11
Overview and Summary Mr. Seng’s and Mr. New’s incoming Freshman students in L2 Environmental Earth Science and L2 English classes will each be given an iPod Touch to use as cross-curricular mobile learning tools. Mrs. Buck and Mrs. O’Callaghan will work together with Mr. Seng and Mr. New to provide students with innovative and engaging lesson plans using this technology.
Mastery Objectives Given an iPod Touch…. 1.
Students will be able to assume roles as “digital natives” and responsibly embrace the tools that are being presented to them in this model for twenty-first century classroom design.
2.
Students will be able to connect the LRHSD WiFi network to access the internet and explore, locate and share relevant news articles, podcasts, images and videos with the rest of their class.
3.
Students will be able to use iTunes to backup and sync data from their iPod to a “master” remote personal computer.
4.
Students will be able to locate, obtain, launch and exploit core content relevant software applications (apps) to be used as tools for peer collaboration, research, interaction and learning.
5.
Students will be able to maximize the potential of their teacher’s eBoard and participate in RBT style activators, summarizers, and other formative assessments.
6.
Students will be able to build and sketch graphic organizers that are relative to class material in “virtual” cooperative group settings.
7.
Students will be able to explore, examine and nurture the particular strengths of their personal learning styles by engaging in project based assignments.
8.
Students will be able to record, schedule, manage, and organize classroom relevant events (homework, reading assignment, test, quiz and project due dates) using “iCal” calendar and “myHomework” applications.
9.
Students will be able to exercise and apply skills of literacy learned from English class to compose formal laboratory reports and critical writing assignments in Environmental Earth Science AND submit them for instructor/peer review on turnitin.com
10.
Students will be able to present insightful comments and suggestions to both peers and instructors regarding ideas for usage, the discovery of relevant content/apps, and troubleshooting as members of a unique community of iPod Touch users within the Lenape district
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Methods Initial Planning From a scheduling perspective, our incoming students will be set up as “singleton” classes that stay together as fixed “groups” for a minimum of two periods. Initially, our plan is to align two sections of L2 English and L2 Environmental Earth (one section will be team taught). This has already been arranged with our department Supervisors. Ideally, however, we will be able to extend this proposal to teachers in other departments and place the same “singelton” groups into other classes such as Math, Foreign Language, Art, World Civ, etc. so that these students will be able to use their iPod Touch in EVERY class (not just two). This becomes increasingly more of a scheduling challenge as more classes are added but luckily, our Department Supervisors have graciously agreed to work with Guidance Department and our building Principals do everything in their power to arrange this. We are extremely grateful to have their blessings and highly anticipate news regarding the feasibility of this potentially revolutionary proposal which will undoubtedly have a monumental impact on the educational experience for the students involved. On the first day of school... Instead of signing a book loan slip for textbooks, students will sign loan slips for their iPods! Training and a series of assignments will be provided for students to acclimate them to their new devices. In many cases, some students will already be quite familiar with operation and they could possibly be singled out to serve as team leaders to give individual attention to students that need further assistance. Throughout the year... Teachers that are part of this initiative will meet at least once per week during a common prep period to discuss, share, troubleshoot and plan engaging and exciting cross-curricular lesson plans. Lenape Regional District “iPod Touch User Support Community” Additionally, I am proposing to establish an “iPod touch users support group” that would meet once a month and would be open to any interested students or staff from all schools. As the District Academy for Academic Excellence Instructor of iPod for Educators, I would be honored to host and moderate this forum. There was an overwhelming response for the first two sessions of this class and it’s my guess that participation in this proposed group would also follow suit. Four additional Lenape Teachers, Mr. Nicholas Orphanos (Foreign Language), Mr. Daniel Monaghan (English), Mr. Eric Toscano (Art) and Mr. Mark Neel (Math) have already expressed interest in participating. It is my hope that this group will provide support and inspiration for anyone currently engaged or merely interested in piloting the use of this technology.
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Initial Environmental Earth/English cross-curricular Lesson Plan ideas These will be dynamically developed throughout the year, as we compare curricular topics during our meeting times, but 5 preliminary ideas are listed below: 1.
On a regular basis, work on science vocabulary & grammar, definitions and syntax.
2.
Relate ocean currents, waves and tides to major events in the “Odyssey”
3.
Analyze the significance of the title “Breathing Under Water” and how it relates to the importance of water on planet Earth.
4.
On a regular basis, access current environmental articles and post responses within an eBoard, iNote forum.
5.
Discuss frontal systems and air masses in Environmental Earth and explain how a snowstorm could have occurred in Alabama in “To Kill a Mockingbird” and also explain why there is so much snow in settings of the book “Speak”
How can the iPod touch be used as a mobile learning tool? When most people are asked what comes to mind when thinking of iPods, they respond with the words “music” or “videos.” This was certainly true of the initial generations of iPods which were first introduced in 2001. Over the course of eight years, however, music and media have taken a backseat as the newest generation of iPods like the iPod touch and iPhone have truly become the ultimate compact communication and personal computing devices. The multi-touch screen of an iPod Touch responds to your fingers and simple finger taps are all it takes to navigate it’s features. The iPod touch is WiFi ready; connection to Lenape’s wireless network is seamless, simple and facilitates many of it’s internet-based features. Here’s a mere sampling of what students can do on the iPod touch:
1.Access the Internet: Every iPod touch comes with a built in web browser (Safari) that allows access to any webpage that is permitted on the LRHSD network. This will be extremely useful for research, accessing news, eboard interaction, quia assessment, etc, etc.
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2. Compose and receive email: Part of the district’s long range plan is to provide each student with a lrhsd.org email account. The iPod touch can send and receive email from the district server, in addition to nearly every other email service provider, which could be used in the interim (examples: yahoo, gmail, aol, comcast, verizon, etc.)
3. Compose text based entries for countless other applications: Whenever text-based input is called for, the iPod Touch automatically opens a complete keypad which can type as well as a full-sized keyboard. This works for turnitin.com submissions, iNote postings on eBoards, email, browser input/ internet searches, etc, etc.
4. Connect to eBoard: From here, students can springboard to any assignments from links posted by teachers, access supplemental notes and worksheets, connect to quia.com and other online assessment tools, participate in iNote discussions, etc, etc. Our eBoards will be the portals for student direction and instruction.
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5.All of your textbooks in your pocket: Textbooks and other ancilliary materials may be stored on the iPod or alternatively, posted on a teacher’s eBoard and viewed on the iPod touch. “I forgot my textbook” will no longer be an excuse! Students will have access whenever they need it.
6. Stay organized and connected: Free applications like “myhomework” help students keep track of due dates and upcoming tests/ quizzes. Additionally, native applications like iCal (calendar) and Contacts stores other events/ contact information and generates automatic reminders (audible alarms) when events are about to happen.
7. Post to instructor moderated iNote: eBoard’s latest feature allows students to post comments & responses on eboards. Teachers are able to review each posting and choose to accept or reject it before it is mad public. This has countless possibilities for RBT strategies, for example, students will be able to respond to an image that is posted via data projector as a “do now” or other classroom activator. Another example would be a required posting as a “ticket to leave” or other class summarizer. G r a n t s f o r E d u c a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e P r o p o s a l
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8. Shakespeare to go: The complete works of William Shakespeare are available as an application for free. This is just one of the thousand of examples of reference materials that integrate seamlessly with the iPod touch. Students will also have access to a dictionary, thesaurus, multiple media readers like Amazon’s Kindle and Stanza. There are readers for practically every type of media file out there including Word, PDF, PowePoint, etc.
9. Take a virtual trip to the Media Center. Overcrowded conditions and overbooked classes in the media center will be a thing of the past. With these 1:1 devices, students will have access to all the media center database subscriptions right from the Media Center’s homepage. More time can be spent on actual research and interaction, rather than travel to and from the media center.
10. Study Earthquake waves using iSeismometer. The built in accelerometer (orientation device) allows for some incredible possibilites especially for Science students. This is merely one of the hundreds of science applications available. Others include a virtual periodic table of the elements, atomic and molecular visualizers, earthquake and volcanic feeds, celestial guides, compasses, field guides, etc, etc. Google Earth is also available as an app for free, opening a whole other dimension of possibilities for virtual field trips!
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11. Collaborative Whiteboard: This is a free application that allows students to “join” another student’s iPod from their iPod and collaboratively work from across the room via WiFi on sketches, Venn diagrams, graphic organizers, or anything else you can dream up. This is cooperative learning at it’s best ala RBT. When finished with a project, students can connect their iPod into the back of the teacher’s data projector to share their results with the rest of the class. What is equally exciting about this application is what lies in store for the future. Developers are currently creating applications for the newest release of iPod touch software which allow even greater possibilities for cooperative learning strategies. The newest release is due out this summer and promises to be extremely exciting!
12. Interactive Student Response Systems: Free Web-powered polling options like pollanywhere.com are paving the way towards making the iPod touch the solution of choice for all forms classroom assessment, especially improvisation means like “dipsticking”. The interactive classroom experience driven by hardware technologies (like Qwizdom) can now also be run on an iPod touch, saving funds, alleviating device to device confusion and further simplifiying technology infusion within classrooms. Turning Technologies has already developed an application that runs natively and others are following suit.
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Use in other classes, across the curriculum It is our hope that students in other classes will also be able to use their iPods where use is relevant. The Apple commercial that says “There’s an app for that. There’s an app for everything” is telling the truth. With over 30,00 currently offered and new ones being added every day, the educational possibilities continue to expand faster than we can keep up. The few examples listed above represent a mere snapshot of what these devices can do. Serving as graphing calculators, foreign language translators, dictionaries, thesauruses, GPS units, student response units (like Qwizdom and Turning Point), and practically anything else you can think of, the iPod touch truly has the potential for being the ideal all-in-one technological solution for mobile learning.
Now and looking to their future We believe that Freshmen are the perfect target group for this proposal since we are trying to establish a model that will carry through their entire four years at Lenape and well into their careers in higher education. Many colleges and Universities have already implemented plans like this. According to the New York Times article Welcome Freshmen, Have an iPod from 20 August, 2008, “At least four institutions — the University of Maryland, Oklahoma Christian University, Abilene Christian and Freed-Hardeman — have announced that they will give the devices to some or all of their students this fall” AND other institutions like MIT and Stanford (which had 700 registered iPhones on campus last year) are exploring options for deployment. As our newly oriented students become acclimated to an iPod Touch, they will be more likely to purchase one of their own, releasing this liability from the district which would also ultimately wind up saving funding for the district.
“At least four institutions — the University of Maryland, Oklahoma Christian University, Abilene Christian and Freed-Hardeman — have announced that they will give the devices to some or all of their students this fall.” NYTimes, 20 August 2008
shown above is how a typical question on quia.com quiz appears.
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Justification 1:1 devices in the District’s Long Range Plan The Lenape Regional High School District’s long range plan Strategy # 5 action plan aims to develop a program that will ensure that every student has a computing device and access to a district e-mail address. The iPod touch is the perfect tool to accomplish this goal. In a recent poll among Lenape Freshmen Science Students, nearly 90% said they would be VERY interested in using an iPod Touch in every class and nearly 65% of participants said that they would rather have an iPod touch as an all-inone device instead of a Windows or Macintosh laptop. Why the iPod touch? It’s small, lightweight, compact, relatively inexpensive, extremely user friendly and, most of all, extremely versatile. An iPod Touch’s potential as a 1:1 mobile computing devices far exceeds anything currently available on the market and is extremely cost effective when factoring in the funds that would be saved on multiple copies of textbooks alone. Our proposal could serve as a pilot program to test the feasibility of iPod touch incorporation into our classrooms throughout the district. Mobile Learning In another recent classroom polls among freshmen science students at Lenape High School, nearly 100% of students own and use cellular telephones and as many as 35% of participants own and use an iPod touch or iPhone. The potential for using these devices as tools for mobile learning is exploding exponentially, not only with means to stay connected with our students and teach them outside of the classroom, but also with ways to engage them with the very same devices that they’ve grown with as “digital natives.” Lenape’s brick, mortar, cement and steel will no longer be the boundaries for learning as students access digital content from teachers ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE. As educators and “digital natives” who are striving to find new ways to contend with the demands of twenty-first century classrooms and connect with our students, we need to embrace these “pocket” technologies and use them to enhance our curricular objectives. Students who already own a device could opt to use their own Cross-Curricular Relevance is always one of the keys behind an effective lesson. Opening the door for cross-curricular integration in multiple subject areas will undoubtedly improve student interest, motivation, and ultimately, performance. As team teachers of Environmental Earth Science, Mrs. Buck and I have noted that one of the biggest challenges facing our students is literacy. Yes, most of them are proficient readers, but many have difficulty with analysis of vocabulary and in turn, its proper syntax and use. Many students struggle with formal assessments not because they don’t know or understand the material, but often because they do not understand what the question is asking them. If we were able to use the English Language Arts classes as extensions of our goals in Science class, it’s our hope that it would dramatically improve student achievement not only in our classes but also on State mandated tests, like the End of course Test for Biology.
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RBT iPods support the district’s RBT initiative seamlessly, allowing instructors to exercise the models of classroom design that we’ve worked so hard to establish. The iPod touch can be used as a tool for active learning, to conduct activators, summarizers, and multiple types of formative assessment. It also enhances and facilitates attempts at differentiated instruction as iPods themselves appeal to multiple learning styles (see below). In my humble opinion, students who often struggle with devices like these as being distractions will actually thrive, remain engaged and become more focused upon classroom tasks since they are now being permitted to use the tools that they already relate to on so many levels.
Appeals to multiple styles of learning. For instructors attempting to appease For example: 1.Kinesthetic: Simple act of operating the iPods to check out class content, and the thrill of creating their own content which can also be viewed/shared with the class. searching the web for course content related material... Active student engagement for kinesthetic learners 2.Visual: the video processing features of the iPod are unmatched in any other handheld device and makes watching podcasts/videos and viewing supplemental notes made available on eBoard a pleasure. 3.Auditory: Let’s not forget what the original iPods were first designed for: Audio. Students can listen to educational audio podcasts that are either posted on iTunes or created by their peers. Teachers who take the iPod for Educators course will learn how to create their own podcasts of their lectures and students
Integration with existing technology The iPod Touch is WiFi ready and easily connects to the wireless networks that are established in every district school. Other services like quia.com, turnitin.com, eBoard, district email and ePortfolio are also entirely accessible. Looking to the future, many student response system manufacturers (examples: Qwizdom and Turning Technologies) are developing software to eliminate the need for additional hardware with their systems. Ultimately, iPod touch has the potential to be the all-in-one “swiss army knife” solution.
Personnel Responsibilities Training Participating Teachers will take the iPod for Educators class available through the District Academy. During the 15 hour course, teachers explore the dynamic world of podcasts, learn how to use iPods to enhance curriculum & streamline workflow, explore exciting education applications for the iPod touch and learn how to create their own audio podcasts. Additionally, staff may review the video tutorials on Apple.com or visit the genius bar at the Apple Store in Marlton for additional support.
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Budget Description 35 requested for each group On average, L2 Environmental Earth class sizes are between 30-32. We’re requesting 35 per class to have a few extras on hand for emergencies or technical issues. Timing Holding off on purchase of the iPods until mid-August would be the BEST approach since Apple is scheduled to release an updated version of their iPod touch software sometime in the summer. The update will include 100 new features and open the door even further for interactive classroom opportunities. Waiting until after the software release will ensure that we will be able to take full advantage of these new features without having to pay for an upgrade ($10 per iPod).
equipment
Quantity
Unit Price
Cost
iPod Touch 8GB classroom set for group one
35
$229.00
$8,015.00
iPod Touch 8GB classroom set for group two
35
$229.00
$8,015.00
Subtotal
$16,030.00
7.00%
$1,122.10
Total
$17,152.10
Tax
Evaluation Feedback from all directions Our supervisors have already pledged their commiment and will monitor our progress. Since this is a student centered initiative, feedback from the classes in survey form through quia.com or polleverywhere.com will be some of the most useful data and will assist us with enhancing the student experience.
These results can be shared in the
support group forum and used as models for others as we search for the most effective means for reaching our students.
Dissemination I speak for myself and my colleagues when I say that It would be my great honor and pleasure to present and share our triumphs at a Board of Education meeting and be featured on LDTV in multiple capacities. It is our intention to make this grow! A dedicated schoolwires page on lrhsd.org with a moderated blogging option would allow opinions from students, staff and the community to be publicized and would be a fantastic extension of our user support group which will also have an eBoard section for FAQ’s, instructions and tutorials Thank you immensely for your time and consideration. We are truly honored and privileged to be able to work in our progressive district with your unparalleled support and clear mission for success for all of our students! G r a n t s f o r E d u c a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e P r o p o s a l
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L e n a p eR e g io n a lHig h Sch o o lDistr ict TechnologyCra n t sf o r E d u c a t io n aEl x c e lle n c e (C E E /Tech C rants)
S up e rv is oSr ig no f f F o rm
D ate:2 L A pril 2009 N am eof Grant:Cross-curricula r,Mo b ile L e a rn in gf o r S t u d e n t sUs in g iP o d t o u c h a s L :1 D evices Fun d in gY ear:2009-20L0 Te a ch er'sName:William S eng D ep a r tment: S cience Sch o o l:Lenape Re a so nswhy I believethis gran t s h o u ld b e f u n d e d : Th is w i l l be interdisciplinary, facilit a t et h e c re a t io no f a 2 1 s t c e n t u ryc la s s ro o m e n vir o nment,foster mobilelearn in g s, u p p o rtt h e Dis t ric t ' slo n g ra n g ep la n ,a n d pr o vid eseamlessintegrationof tec h n o lo g ya n d 1 : 1 c o mp u t in g . Wa ys I will assist the teacher in it s imp le me n t a t io n : Pr o vid ethe teacherswith commo np la n n in go p p o rt u n it ie sa n d s u p p o rta mo n t h ly m e e ti ngof "21st centuryclassro o m"t e a c h e rsh e rea t L e n a p ea n d in c lu d ea ll o t h e r sch o o lsas well. A dditionally,explo reme a n sf o r e x p a n d in gt h e p ro g ra mt o in c lu d e othe r subjectareasand createan e n t ire lya c ro s st h e c u rric u lu me x p e rie n c e for the stud e n tsinvolved. lf th is g rant is funded,it will be th e re s p o n s ib ilitoyf t h e s u p e rv is otro ma k es u ret h at th e te a cherlistedabovefulfillsthe re q u ire me n t o s f t h e g ra n t . The su p ervisorshouldonly sign this p a p e rif t h e y b e lie v et h a t rh e g ra n t h a st h e po ten ti alto be adoptedas part of t h e c u rric u lu min t h e f u t u re .
Slp'ervisor R e v i s e d2 1 20 0 9
LenapeRegionalHighSchoolDistrict TechnologyGrontsfor EducationalExcellence (GEE/TechGronts)
Supervisor Signoff Form
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FundingYear: .2tc1 -.tiiC Teacher's Name: D.r' r d Ntuw Department: E,'.,i.,1 Lr,,y,,.r." A, ts School: Lt,u*ptReasons why I believethisgrantshouldbe funded: ThisgrantsupportsLRHSD's on-goingcommitmentto differentiated classroominstructional strategies, LRHSD's LongRangePlanand the District'smissionstatementregardingtheinfusionof technologyin the classroom. WaysI will assistthe teacherin its implementation: planningand monitorthe teacher's I will suppor tthe teacherwith opportunities for interdisciplinary grantwillalsoserveas a workingexamplefor sharedfacilitation of suchtechnology. ThisGEE/TECH futuredepartmentalprofessionaldevelopment as the teacherutilizesand integrates the technologyinto the classroom. lf thisgrantis funded,it will be the responsibility of the supervisor to makesurethat the teacherlisted abovefulfillsthe requirements of the grant. Thesupervisor shouldonlysignthis paperif they believethat the granthasthe potentialtobe adopted as oartof the curriculumin the future.
Supervisor Revised2/2009