Instructional Technology Update & Highlights From Andover Innovation Lab Week Of February 24-February 28th, 2014

The state of teachers engaging in new projects with technology at Andover High School!

On Monday, the help desk received some older laptops to assist with projects for blogs, web development and using Google tools. Myself and the Lab Coordinator Zachary Griffin worked with Social Studies staff during their department meeting time to add links of resources, images and presentations which were organized according to different courses. The staff did a great job at learning how the technology worked and could immediately benefit from sharing between course and curriculums.

Teachers have been very open about making regular appointments with me to learn more about Google Drive, Forms and Google Groups. The teachers are fine tuning their knowledge with Wikispaces and using hardware such as scanners and their interactive boards. I have spent the past week working with 5 teachers beyond the Social Studies department with improving their skill base with Wikispaces to enhance in their classroom web space.

On Tuesday I met with Dr. Allen from the World Languages department and we circulated ideas surrounding the creation of a website for the World language department at the high school. The page would focus on sharing the focus of the program at the high school and also spotlighting its great faculty. Myself and the help desk will provide the layout and we will work to get them started.

Paula Westmacott a Special Education teacher at the high school dove into learning more about using her interactive board when she with me on Wednesday. I was able to walk her through step by step related to the Epsom Interactive hardware, software and pens. She will be mainly using a series of websites and documents with the interactive board. She is excited to integrate this knowledge into her SMART goals as an educator and use it in a variety of collaborative classroom activities.

Additionally, I was able to assist Physical Education teacher Carol Martini with the creation of a portion of her slide show for her “Warrior Way” program she will be presenting to students over the coming weeks. She made a great slideshow using her iPhoto tools and I worked with he in iMovie to add 2 different songs over the photos. She then embedded this video into her presentation.

Health teacher Holly Breen is using the sharing options within Google Drive to

enable students to share work more efficiently and return feedback to students

faster. She has also adopted the Chrome Browser for the use of Youtube resources in the classroom as well. 

On Thursday I was able to attend a training based in the development of an advisory program at Andover High School. We read a variety of interesting and intellectually stimulating articles surrounding the development of students emotional and intellectual well being. We were also able to thoughtfully consider what a program the High School would look like and who it may serve. I look forward to being part of this process moving forward.

Also on Thursday, a great article featuring the Andover Innovation Lab & Help Desk was published in the Andover Townsman. Dustin Luca included great photos from students projects at the help desk and highlighted some of the benefits we bring to the school.

Here is the link:

http://www.andovertownsman.com/education/x1196458307/From-support-squad-to-innovators

To close the week I finished the final draft for a potential grant from the AEA for some Google Chromebooks for the Innovation Lab/Help Desk. Here is a link describing more about what this web based laptop has to offer students. We hope to integrate tools like these at the help desk moving forward and provide a model of success related to technology integration.

The SETT Framework: Evaluating Special Education Assistive Technology-TIE Conference Holyoke,Ma January 2014

On January 14th, I had the opportunity to visit The "Technology in Education" Conference put on by the collaborative.org organization in Holyoke, Ma at the Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College. It was my first visit to this conference and was able to benefit from the small focused presentations made by educators predominantly from the western part of the state. 

I was accepted as a presenter for this conference and made a presentation to approximately 30 educators/administrators on the tools and resources for beginning a Mobile Application Development course. I presented using a Google Presentation but also included links to a website I am currently developing which contains all of the lessons I have created for the Bunker Hill Community College 

Courses Mobile App Development Certificate. I shared these resources and also a variety of videos students in my classes have made of apps made in a Project-Based Learning environment with technology. Here is a link to the resources and presentation.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zcQ3huA3-wKS2R34FgxgJ8AHqW9D12Pyg6sAwR7Q0WE/edit

http://(http://

After my presentation I had the pleasure of sitting in on a fantastic presentation from Dale Gardner-Fox, Jeanne Tuthill and Allegra Osborne. Their presentation "Are You SETT to go?" outlined the barriers to successful Assistive technology implementation in special education. They described the frustrating problems of choosing tools which don't fit students’ needs and abilities, lack of proper training, environmental factors as well as the timeliness and appropriateness of the assistive technology. 

The presenters described and outlined the "SETT" model developed by Joy Zabala(http://www.joyzabala.com/) as a beneficial process to help asset in best implementing assistive technology. SETT stands for 

Students, Environment, Task and Tools. Each one of these elements are collaboratively evaluated in teams which take into account consideration of the student needs, selection of proper technology, a plan for implementation and a process for evaluating the effectiveness of the process.

The SETT framework counters several large issues with assistive technology:

1. Poor implementation and planning of Assistive technology.

2. Consistent and Appropriate Use of Assistive Technology

3. Due to cognitive weaknesses "Tech & Content" cannot be expected learning goals due to

Cognitive failure.

4. Helps avoid "learned helplessness"(when students perceive frustration to the adaptation to the use of technology).

The SETT framework is a four part model using a collaborative approach to using the technology we want to use in the special education classroom. The stakeholder team makes things happen and students in some instances can be part of this decision.

1. Student: When addressing the students’ needs with assistive technology it is important to carefully consider the selection of digital tools which take into consideration the needs of the student and how they will be implemented into the classroom.

·         The consideration and selection process should be continual and use the IEP as a guide.

·         Selection should be based on what the stakeholders see the student as being able to do.

·         What barriers and potential successes are available with the tools?  

·         Developing student motivation to use the technology is beneficial for success.

·         The most important factor with tools is that there is a plan for the evaluation of the effectiveness which is done with a team approach including all stakeholders relative to the student (paraprofessional, teacher, administrators, aides, parents). 

2. Environment: Determining the environment in which the technology will be used is also a critical component to the SETT framework. 

Data from the environment should be collected from a variety of sources:

·         Strengths and Concerns

·         Physical Barriers

·         Expectations of others.

·         Outside of school environment.

·         Possible low-tech adaptations

3. Tasks: What is the point of the Tech?

It is important to directly address the purpose of the technology and how it will be used.

·         Is it going home?

·         Is it connected to real goals?

·         Do the tasks learned align with active participation in all environments (communication, instruction, productivity, environmental control)?

An assistive technology plan helps keep accountability with the student.

4. Tools: The tools are the choice of devices, applications, computer/web based technology used in the classroom/home.

·         Devices should support learning, communication and social goals (Intellitools, IPad, Apps).

·         Services and training should support the staff and student needs.

·         Specific strategies should be in place to create motivation with the tools (music, writing, normative activities).

This framework enables a real evaluation of how assistive tools can be used and supported in the classroom. The critical components are that the major stakeholders are involved in the decision making process and an alignment of the learning goals and technology used is made as tools are chosen. This framework can also be used as a district strategy for educating staff on the evaluation of assistive technology by adjusting the model as a district vision.

S-Student=District Personnel

E-Environment=District Level Knowledge

T-Tasks=Staff Implementing Technology

T-Technology=Technology Both High & Low Tech

By replacing the variables of the traditional model with district staff a plan for educating your district with the beneficial strategies of assistive technology alignment can be gained. A critical role in this process is the district level knowledge of the importance of a plan with assistive technology and also the training provided staff for the implementing of the technology into the classroom.

The training this presentation provided was well conceived and beneficial to my workplace environment as a high school digital learning specialist who works with devices in the classroom and student strategies.

News From The Andover Innovation Lab/Help Desk: IPad Cart Updates & Preparing Our Final Projects-Getting Back In the Flow

After a great Christmas break we are back at the Andover Innovation Lab and Help Desk ready to conclude the projects we have been working on in the first semester and also updating the IPad cart for the Science department. 

The Science Department at Andover High School has the amazing resource of a shared IPad cart which includes 24 IPad for classroom integration of technology and 1:1 learning opportunities. At a recent department meeting they collaborated and chose 18 new IPad applications to use in their courses. Amongst these was the app for Gizmo's which enables students engage in a variety of interactive science activities and the app for Prezi Presentations which will enable presentation creation from the IPad. The department did a great job selecting apps which fit their needs and classroom strategies. Apps like "Evolutionary Biology", "Ecosystem HD","Bridge Constructor”, and “Genetics Lab Mobile" will engage students with content rich learning on the IPad.

Organizing and adding these new applications to their shared IPad cart is the where the role of the help desk students come in. Viabhav Patel and I (Dan Downs) spent about an hour and a half with the cart adding the applications to the Science Departments ITunes account and then synching all the applications to the IPad. This is also an opportunity to check the status of the charging of the IPad and the MacBook laptop which is used to streamline this process.

It is great to have students as part of this process and enables them to not only see the connection of their learning at the help desk to the needs of the teachers in the classroom. 

After completing the update Viabhav also had time to do a blog entry for the Innovation Labs blog on the video series related to better helping teachers understand Minecraft for use in educational environments. Viabhav has done a great job balancing his time between working on his own independent project and assisting the needs of teachers who have the benefits of a variety of new technologies in the classroom.

Collaborative Wiki Project In A Science Classroom

In November I had the opportunity to sit in and work with one of the science teachers at Andover High School Mollie Shenker who developed a lesson using Wikis with her students collaboratively. Students grouped in pairs were assigned a project to create a wiki, which covered invertebrates. Students added links, photos, different pages and text, which described their chosen family of invertebrates. 

Mollie was very creative with her approach to this lesson in that after students had begun their wikis she had them edit each other’s wiki and share the knowledge that each group had developed on their pages. Another twist was that the students from different classes do the editing and by doing this created great cross collaboration and sharing. 

Besides using Wikis for the creation of the pages students also used the Ipad in the class for the adding of the pages, inserting images and editing text. A tip for teachers who want to try and use Wikis on the IPad's should know is that they do not have a great view on the layout of the Ipad. It is hard to create and edit pages. A recommendation would be to have student use laptops or desktops for the use of Wikis. 

Another tool Mollie had students use to collaborate with their acquired content was Google Docs. These were used to assist students with sharing their collaborative research before it was added to the Wiki. One of the issues students found using the Ipad's with the Google Docs was the ability to add emails to share their documents without using the desktop view on the Ipad's.

Overall this project was well conceived and relied on students to use a variety of technology-based tools and develop fluency with them to gain a desired result. Another component that added a layer of detail to the students project was the creation of clear citations for all the sources from images, content and links. This added an important layer to the editing process for students an allow them to find new sources and evaluate the organization of content.

Andover Innovation Lab/Help Desk Presents At "Today's Students,Tomorrow's Teachers"(TSTT) Conference - Wheelock College Boston,Ma

Right before Christmas break(12/20/13) I had the opportunity to discuss with some future teachers the application of Project based Learning with Technology to some motivated young high school students who are interested in becoming educators at the TSTTT(Today's Students Tomorrow's Teachers) conference at Wheelock College in Boston. Today's Students,Tomorrows Teachers is a non-profit organization whose mission is:

"To recruit, mentor, and train culturally diverse and economically challenged students from high school through college and place them as effective teachers and committed leaders who strengthen schools and communities."

(TSTT Website)

Wheelock College TSTT Conference

Myself (Dan Downs) and the Help Desk Intern Zach Griffin, Digital Learning Specialist Barbara Murray,Director of Digital Learning Joanne Najarian and 3 female students from Andover High School traveled down to the conference together and spent and an engaging afternoon together collaborating with the students and presenting to them a variety of teaching strategies and perspectives on working in education.

My Presnetation(Link In Text)

The conference at Wheelock  provided an opportunity for this high school students to engage in meaningful dialogue about what it means to be a teacher with educators. My presentation was focused on showing them the benefits of a PBL curriculum using technology and how projects engage students on a different level and enable students to acquire a range of leadership, technology and collaboration skills as they complete projects(My Presentation Link). The girls also had an opportunity to learn about how to use Wikispaces (Presentation of Zach Griffin,IT Intern) and ask critical questions about what the process of becoming a teacher really is. 

The conference was a great opportunity to engage the students with the benefits of the teaching profession and answer their questions. I hope that the girls that I met during my presentation follow through on their goal of going into education and can help influence the lives of other youth. The experience included a variety of media presentations on the importance of 21st century skills for students and the chance for students to interact with educators outside of the classroom.

For more information about this program check out their website: 

http://www.tstt.org/