ITF+Research+Project

ITF Research Project
Mandama Primary School is aiming to become a “High Technology School” in Geelong. With this in mind I am interested in looking at the variety of technologies, and how they are used and integrated into the school system. I would be investigating issues relating to funding, uptake and ongoing support. I would be looking at the amount of teacher professional development and support, and also the direction and support offered and provided by the District, Province, State, Federal or philanthropic avenues. // // I am also interested in the evolution of the Ultranet, and would be looking at similar, or comparable systems. //
 * Original proposal: **//

Background
At the beginning of 2009 [|Mandama Primary School] had a computer lab with 30 desktop computers, and at least 2 desktop computers in every classroom. All teachers also had their own laptop computer. As well as this there were 36 netbooks in tubs that could be borrowed. These were set up with 6 in a tub and became a mobile solution to our computing needs. A tub of netbooks was allocated to each class level, except for year 5, which had become part of a DEECD pilot program where every grade 5 student would get their own netbook. This was another 76 netbooks. As well as the computers, each classroom, the library, and the computer lab all had an Interactive White Boards fixed on a wall and a projector on the ceiling.

**Eastview Elementary School**
When I arrived at [|Eastview Elementary School], I found one computer in each classroom, and a lab of 30 eMac’s. The North Vancouver School District (NVSD) used Apple Mac computers for curriculum use, and Windows based machines for Administration. The one computer in each classroom was usually located on, or near the teacher’s desk, and had been provided by the NVSD. They were used for attendance twice a day, and communication using the district email through Novacom. It didn’t appear that the computers were used very much at all in the classrooms for instruction, or student use. There were 3 data projectors in the school: one in the library, one in the office, and one that was kept in a drawer, in a filing cabinet in a grade 6 teacher’s classroom, which could be booked for individual lessons. The lab of 30 computers had been purchased years earlier by the PAC and could be booked for class use. The main issue with all the computers was that they were running on Mac OS9, which had last been sold in 2002, so these computers were at least 7 years old and most of the newer applications and Web 2.0 tools would not run.

One of the first tasks was to become familiar with the [|NVSD] site. It was like a large intranet, or in some ways a smaller version of what I presumed the Ultranet may end up looking like. As a teacher, I had to use this to log attendance, access email, book any resources from the District Resource Centre, monitor and edit student IEP’s, and access student reports. It was also where teachers could create their own websites, and provide students with assignment information and access to forms and calendars. This was also the portal through which we could access email, and message to ourselves, entire staff, or entire school district.

Professional Development
I let the staff at Eastview know that I was interested in Information and Communication Technologies, and was immediate drafted to the Technology team. I was also informed about a District professional development opportunity that was being run one evening a month. These evenings were called “LAN parties”, LAN standing for Learning At Night, not as in Local Area Network. I was told that they were being run by key technology people in the district, and thought that this would be a chance to at least introduce myself to them.

The first LAN Party had been in September of 2008

media type="custom" key="5918641"

The LAN planning team had decided that in order to get teachers to give up some of their own time, because these sessions were being run from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm, they should offer an incentive – dinner. They had a different theme each time. Chinese around New Year, Irish around St. Patrick's Day, Mexican around Cinqo de Mayo etc.

The plan for the evening was to get interested staff from all Elementary Schools and High Schools across the school district together for discussions about technology, and the use of technology in classrooms to improve student engagement and learning. There was an introduction and a couple if discussion points, followed by a breakout session, where participants were invited to choose one of several different Skype sessions to attend. The sessions were an introduction, by way of a presentation from the K-12 On-line Conference followed by a discussion with the on-line presenter.. The Skype session was followed by dinner, which in turn was followed by a group sharing and discussion session, and evaluation.

It was at the January meeting that I introduced myself to the District Technology Manager, and met the key people who were running the night. I also met the key people I needed to speak to in order to get my laptop connected to the district network. The only reason that it was eventually connected to the district network was because it was a DEECD machine on joint lease. None of the other teachers in the district were allowed to get their own laptops, or netbooks connected. This was a cause of frustration amongst the teachers because many of them did want to be able to use the computers for their planning and teaching.

I found the meetings to be valuable and looked forward to going to the next one. I continued to go to the meetings and was asked to speak at the December 2009 LAN. I spoke about Technology in Victorian schools, and demonstrated creating an interactive whiteboard experience with a Wii-mote.

I was looking for opportunities to get out and observe innovative programs, but was restricted by the limited time available. I was hearing that ITF's in other districts were being granted days to complete their investigations, and when I inquired about this, I was told that I was entitled to the 3 days that were allocated each year for Pro-D. I was then informed that I could use those days for my project, but unfortunately 2 of these had already been used when I had been involved in school Pro-D. I did put in an application for assistance to the North Vancouver Teacher's Association, which decided to grant me 1 day.

This was provided in a variety of ways, on a variety of levels.
 * Starting at the school level there was a Professional Development (Pro-D) team. This team was responsible for planning and providing Pro-D for the staff, as well as keeping track of the budget. It did not include the principal, or vice-principal. They could be consulted, and invited to attend if the team wished. Professional Development money came from the NVTA, not the school district.
 * There was a technology team that was responsible for basic training and support for the computers and programs in the school.
 * District staff ran workshops on a variety of programs, and on the use of the various components of NovaCom. There were also training videos provided online.
 * LAN parties once a month organised by district staff.
 * District Pro-D day - this was run at one of the high schools, where there was a keynote speaker, followed by a variety of workshops on a wide range of topics.
 * Provincial Specialist Pro-D day - this day was set aside for specialist conferences across the province. There were a variety of conferences in different locations to cater for your specialised interest. Staff could decide whether they wanted to attend.

I looked at the options available for the Provincial Specialist Pro-D day. There were ICT related conferences in Surrey and Kamloops. I decided to apply to attend the Computer Using Educators of British Columbia ([|CUEBC]) [|conference]. CUEBC is a PSA (Provincial Specialist Association) of the BCTF (British Columbia Teachers' Federation) and is an organization of British Columbia educators dedicated to promoting the educational uses of computer technology.The school Pro-D committee approved the application and covered the cost of the conference. The keynote speaker was [|Steve Hargadon] who is Elluminate's Social Learning Consultant and the founder of the [|Classroom 2.0] social network.

It was while I was reading about the CUEBC conference that I noticed one of the other keynote speakers was Chris Kennedy, the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for West Vancouver. This was the school district next to the one I was teaching in, so I contacted him to see if there were any outstanding programs being run in elementary schools in his district that I might be able to visit. He mentioned a couple of programs, but suggested that it might be of interest to visit Cari Wilson, a grade 6 teacher at [|Ridgeview Elementary School]. Cari had won awards for her work with wikis in her classrooms, including an informational wiki on their home town and the 2010 Olympics at [] and a virtual museum about ancient civilizations at http://elementsofcivilization.wikispaces.com/.

Ridgeview had two grade 6 classes and one class set of laptops. They organised it so that Cari took the two classes for Language Arts and Social Studies, and the other teacher took them for Phys Ed. and Math. The use of computers was integrated into the program and used for research, and with wikis and blogs. This was not quite a 1 : 1 laptop program, but worked well in this team teaching situation. The types of projects that they got involved with gave the students an opportunity to produce work for authentic, real world audiences.



Funding and Resources
I realised early into the year that I could contribute towards the development of the use of technology at Eastview. At Mandama, we were much better resourced with infrastructure and equipment. Here they were severely restricted because the district budget was so tight and being cut further with the state of the economy. The district had funded one computer for each classroom, which was used for attendance and teacher administration. Teachers were not allowed to connect their own computers to the school network, so this computer became the main tool for teacher communication and administration.

The school district also had two mobile laptop carts that could be booked. These were in high demand. They came on a lock-up trolley with their own wireless connection and printer.

The Parent Advisory Committee was the only other source of funds for technology equipment. Over the years they had purchased a lab of computers and licensed software, and helped purchase some data projectors.

Some of the PAC members were parents of students in my classroom, and had seen how I was using technology in the classroom. They asked if I would give a demonstration at the meeting where they were deciding the allocation of their 2009 - 10 funds. I demonstrated using my computer, a projector, an interactive whiteboard, and a visualiser. I was congratulated the next day, and told that the PAC had decided to allocate funds to purchase 2 more projectors and 2 visualisers. I was then asked to train a couple of teachers in how to use them with the computers in the classrooms. This was not ideal, but it was at least a start. They had also agreed to fund a digital camera for each classroom. This was another thing that I had suggested at a Technology team meeting and had been agreed to by the staff. I then ran some training sessions in how to use digital photographs in the classroom.

I had wanted to see new things and pick up new ideas during the year, but on balance I would say that they benefited from my sharing of skill and knowledge, and I benefited mainly from the practical and appropriate Pro-D that was offered through the innovative and enjoyable LAN parties.

In the end - "Learning is Social".

I have continued to learn and explore technology and links with education through the links that I have made through the LAN, and Twitter, which allows me to follow their tweets.

Other links: [|Audrey's Blog page] [|K-12 On-Line Conference]