STSD Curriculum & Technology Update

Regular updates and musings on curriculum and technology in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, PA.

Interactive Whiteboards

It has been great hearing the excitement and enthusiasm building for the Advancing Plan. I thought today I’d pass along two links to websites that focus on using the interactive whiteboard in the classroom. These are two excellent sites to visit if you want to start thinking about how best to use this technology. You can also speak with any of the teachers currently using the technology. Seek out and connect with those teachers in your building for more ideas!

Teaching with a SmartBoard - Links for lesson ideas and SmartBoard Notebook files.

Smartboard Lessons Podcasts - Podcasts on using the SmartBoard!

A short portion of our June workshops will get you started feeling comfortable with the software. More hands-on work with the interactive whiteboard will be coming during the August in-service days.

Technology is Alive and Well at Western!

As a third grade teacher, I integrate technology into my curriculum as often as possible.  Our classroom experiences are not confined to the computer lab.  Allow me to share with you one of my recent technology adventures.

On Tuesday, January 22, the entire 3rd grade at WSE traveled via technology to the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, VA.  The purpose of this activity was to supplement our Language Arts curriculum.  Our current reading program explores several disasters and this particular program offered insight into the voyage of the Titanic.

Our third grade students were active participants throughout the hour.  They were engaged with the presenter and found bits and pieces of new information regarding this historic voyage.  This program was originally scheduled during the disaster unit of study, however, the museum encountered several personnel and equipment problems which forced a cancellation on the day of the online reservation.

As with any outside presentation, there are always positive and negative issues to address.  The last minute cancellation was only one issue I had to bear.  Prior to the original booking, I was sent information regarding the presentation.  Several concepts sent up a red flag for me; suicide aboard ship, socially unacceptable gestures and the memorable “car” scene from the movie.  All three of these items were not appropriate for this age group.  After several phone calls, we were assured that the content would be appropriate.

I have found with integrating technology into my classroom, up-front work is necessary and often time consuming.  I spent approximately four hours investigating and planning with this activity.  I realize that this may not have been the normal experience, and I will try again this spring to bring another program into our class.  I now know more specific questions to ask when inquiring about a program.

Our technology growth is a team effort.  Debbie Caldwell, our building computer technician, spent time and effort testing our equipment for both scheduled presentations.  Planning and preparation from both the sponsor of the event and the school are essential to a successful production. 

Kathy DeBona - Third Grade Teacher, Western Salisbury Elementary School

Shifts in Learning - Collaborative Professional Development

Teachers keep hearing about the effects of technology in the classroom in relation to the students.  What about all of us in the classroom, not just the students?  As two teachers with different technological backgrounds, we were given a unique opportunity to spend the day collaborating to initiate a SMART classroom.  Reflecting on our day together, we feel energized to continue exploring and integrating technology.

We also experienced an unexpected turn of events where we learned that collaboration is not exclusive to the professionals in the setting, but also and more importantly our students.  We can now say with confidence that our classrooms encompass 21st Century skills and thinking. That opportunity to collaborate had a synergistic result between the students and us that led to an entire and ongoing shift in instruction and learning.

Simply put, technology in classrooms leads to engagement. Without engagement learning and/or 21st Century skills cannot occur. During our day together, there was a give and take in the process where all of us learned. Yes, even those of us who teach. We were amazed to experience the different levels of technology proficiency between students and teachers alike. It didn’t matter what level of knowledge each individual possessed, we all brought something to and took something from the experience.  Everyone benefits and learns from experience with technology.

The learning became student directed. Questions were asked and answers were found. These instances could never be planned because of the different schema everyone brings to the classroom. It also helps to make our thinking visible to students and theirs visible to us. Technology resolves the struggles to meet all the different schemas and learning styles. We can better address many modalities of learning to provide an individualized and rich learning environment.

Classrooms such as ours with state-of-the-art equipment lead to engagement, motivation, learning, communication, creativity, innovation, opportunity, and thought provoking environments.  The reality is that our students are accustomed to having information and communication instantaneously. Technology allows us to compete with that aspect of their lives.  It also prepares our children and us for life in the 21st century.

Terry Bruns and Diane Kasaczun

First Quarter Update

In this the first year of implementation for our district’s Technology & Learning Implementation Plan, we have taken some big steps toward achieving the goals as outlined in the plan. The purpose of this update is to share with you the district’s progress toward the goals of access, effective teaching and learning, professional development, information literacy and assessment/evaluation. What progress has been made?

• *District-wide wireless access
• *Six Smart Classrooms operating in elementary and middle schools
• *Classrooms for the Future Grant Implementation at the high school
• *LifeSmarts’ Beginnings at the high school
• *Videoconferencing
• *Information literacy discussion

This past summer, our five district buildings were outfitted with wireless network access. This was a significant step forward, laying the foundation for future progress toward our goal of access. By providing the entire district with wireless network access, flexibility of future plan implementation has been ensured. Limited network access is no longer an issue.

In conjunction with this upgrade to the network, we have been able to implement six “smart classrooms” throughout the elementary and middle levels. A “smart classroom” consists of five laptop computers, an interactive whiteboard and a multimedia projector. Three learning support classrooms (two 5th grade; one 6th grade) and three 6th grade classrooms have been outfitted with this technology. Simply providing access will not bring about necessary changes in the learning environment. With this in mind, the cohort of teachers has been meeting monthly to develop ideas surrounding change in their classrooms, share strategies and develop technology skills. These professional development opportunities will continue throughout the year. Participating teachers include Diane Kasaczun, Teri Bruns, Megan Pruner, David Beyer, Cathy Yurconic and Lynn Fuini-Hetten. Click here to view a video about the Smart Classrooms initiative.

In August, it was announced that the high school was the recipient of a state-funded Classrooms for the Future (CFF) grant in the amount of $166,000. The carefully crafted proposal, the result of some impressive collaboration between professional staff members, focused on developing connections between core content area subjects. The grant funding has provided the high school with 96 Macintosh student laptop computers, 19 Macintosh teacher laptop computers, 9 interactive whiteboards, 9 multimedia projectors, 5 digital video cameras, 3 digital cameras, and a new file server. Professional development is a significant piece of the grant’s implementation. Michele Honochick, high school library/media specialist, will be serving as the CFF Coach. Her primary responsibility will be to support the CFF teachers in their implementation of technology-rich, cross-curricular lessons in the content areas. In addition to receiving this professional support, participating teachers will complete 30 hours of professional development focused on changing the classroom learning environment for the 21st century learner. At this time, all equipment has been delivered and installation is expected to be completed prior to the December holiday break. Teachers and administrators are very excited about the possibilities brought by this increased access. Contingent upon state funding, additional resources will be available for the 2008-09 school year. Thank you to the following for their successful grant writing efforts! Cathie Meholic, RJ Stangherlin, Amy Reinert, Mary Agnew, Marge McGinty, Rick Marsico, Michele Honochick, Tom Smith, Chris Smith, Heather Morningstar, Louise Beauchemin and Randy Ziegenfuss.

The beginning of the school year brought a new integrated course to the high school – LifeSmarts. Bringing together content in Family & Consumer Science, Technology and Business, this course emphasizes real world applications supported by technology integration. Early activities enhanced the social aspects of learning with students participating in team building exercises supported by social uses of technology. Students have access to a mobile cart of 30 laptops, open-source software applications supporting activities such as concept mapping and podcasting, as well as student email access (through gaggle.net). The LifeSmarts teaching staff is comprised of Michele Cotugno, Frank Lane, and new Family & Consumer Science teacher, Holly Borthwick.

In October, several teachers participated in videoconferencing professional development from MAGPI through the University of Pennsylvania. The session, “Best Practices and Virtual Field Trips” provided our teachers with resources to find free and low-cost virtual field trips. Future professional development being offered by MAGPI includes, “Planning Interactive Videoconference Collaborations,” “Virtual Reality, Simulations and Gaming in Education,” as well as “Introduction to MAGPI.” Teachers who took advantage of this opportunity are planning on future uses of videoconference technology in Salisbury. Our students have or will be participating in these videoconferences: Virtual Knee Replacement Surgery; An Inconvenient Truth; Speak Out; Culture Clash; Titanic: Fortune and Fate; and Digital Film, Youth & Violence. Salisbury certainly has become a power user of videoconferencing technology!

Increased and improved access requires our students and staff to acquire new literacy skills. Librarians and administrators have begun discussions pertaining to information literacy, internet safety and computer ethics. You can visit the discussion board online. The work of this group will become increasingly more important as we continue to implement our plan.

As you can see from this summary, the district has made significant progress in several goal areas in a short period of time. Thank you to everyone, teacher and administrator, who has embraced the shift brought about by these developments. This is only the beginning. The plan outlines a vision, mission and beliefs that will not be achieved overnight. It is important for all of us to understand that this is a process that will take time. While we will continue to set high expectations for growth, we must also be mindful that shift is sometimes messy and unpredictable. Using the plan as a compass for the future, Salisbury is well on the way to transforming the teaching and learning environment for our students.

The complete Technology & Learning Implementation Plan can be accessed online.

Smart Classrooms and Classroom for the Future

Click on the audio file link below to learn more about these to Salisbury initiatives for 2007-08.

Smart Classrooms and Classrooms for the Future
This file is 8:00 long and 7.3 MB.

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