IMPACT Grant OverviewIMPACT Grant Overview
Collaborative Planning Using Technology Creatively
Thomasville City SchoolsThomasville City Schools
Mr. Dirk Gurley, PrincipalMr. Dirk Gurley, Principal
2008-092008-09
Dale Collins, Lynn Beasley, Alvin Rubin, Heath Williamson, Amy Boyle
Grayson Covington, Lyza Royal, Sam Captain, Donna Sink, Denese Byrd
13 Schools Funded for 08-09 13 Schools Funded for 08-09 $4.9 million$4.9 million
• Asheboro High
• N. Asheboro Middle
• S. Asheboro Middle
• Kannapolis Middle
• Kannapolis Intermediate
• A.L. Brown High
• Perquimans County High
• Perquimans County Middle
• Hertford Grammar
• D.F. Walker Elementary
• Liberty Drive Elementary
• Thomasville Middle
• Thomasville High
Purpose
To impact student learning and teaching in order to increase student proficiency and decrease the drop-out rate
We want to break the cycle of poverty through education
Technology will be the integral part
•Online professional development communities
–For instructional advice and sharing
•Development of teacher and student digital content
•Move from written form to digitally create verbal products
•Multiple forms of instruction
Vision
All students will graduate in four years equipped to communicate effectively with strong foundations in core academic areas and continue their education at a two or four year college.
Skills needed by pre-college students
• Written Skills
– Written literacy
• New Media literacies
– Research skills
– Technical skills
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Students and teachers must be able to:
• Locate appropriate resources
• Understand intellectual property restrictions
• Use scanning equipment to produce useful images
• Develop a narrative context for the website
• Develop a visually engaging site
Goals
• Student Proficiency = 80%
• Lower dropout rate below the state average
• Reduce teacher turnover
Partnerships
• QTL
• Winston-Net– 10 school districts & Wake Forest
• Piedmont Triad Consortium
• High Point University
• Friday Institute (NCSU)
• Davie County Schools
What Will it Look Like?
• Every teacher and administrator will use a wireless laptop with 24/7 access to all teaching resources from anywhere.
• Students use mobile devices to post work to wikis and blogs to collaborate and share their writing with other audiences as they enter thoughts about the day’s essential question.
Presently, students create digital materials without the benefit of instruction from the faculty… usually recreational in nature.
75% of THS students have MYSPACE.
Digital Content
• Text documents
• Pod casts
• Videos
• Data sets
• Multimedia presentations
• Simulations
• Games
What Will it Look Like?
• The essential question runs as a marquee across the interactive whiteboard.
• Teachers use individual podcasts to differentiate instruction in the classroom.
• Student journalists plan and prepare the school news to be broadcast each day.
What Will it Look Like?
• Students take asynchronous classes through the Virtual High School as well as real time classes through videoconferencing facilities.
• Teachers use planning blocks to update their websites and collaborate with colleagues from within and across the world.
• Teachers receive professional development from on demand online resources.
We must understand the importance of increasing student achievementthrough professional development and quality programs.
Professional Development
TRANSFORMED
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS THROUGH EDUCATION
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Professional Development
“Those (teachers) who are truly literate in the 21st century will be those who learn to both read and write the multimedia language of the screen.”
Phase One
• Leadership Training for Administrators
• Leadership Training for MTAC
– THS Media Technology Advisory Committee
• Develop Professional Development Plans
Professional Development
• Professional Development Plans
• Aligned with NC Standards and Guidelines for Professional Development
• Opportunities for teachers to guide their own learning by completing online learning classes through LearnNC, eBistro, and Promethean Learning
Professional Development
• Professional Learning Communities
– Inquiry Model – asking questions about student achievement and teacher needs
• Best Practices
• Understanding by Design
– Curriculum Mapping
• Promethean Planet
Professional Development
• Podcasting
• Blogging
• Geocaching
• PDAs
• Effective use of wikis
• Video conferencing
• Broadcasting
Professional Development
EdTech Leaders Online (ETLO)
• Online learning programs for teachers, administrators, and students
• Graduate level training courses for online instructors and course designers
• Online workshops focused on specific subject areas
First in the classroomWorking Smarter – Not Harder
• Flipcharts
• PowerPoints
• Video streaming
• ACTIVotes
• Digital Audio Playbooks
• IPods
Project Based LearningImproves…
Critical Thinking and Writing
Instruction is curriculum based, technology is the tool for learning.
Class Projects
Information Literacy
Technology Literacy
• Principles of written information technology
• Media literacies
INTEGRATE
Sample Student Projects – Creating digital Content
• Create a video for biology
• Create a website for history
• Create a multi-media presentation for English
Students• Will develop six-year plans
• Will have an advisor through Advisor-Advisee
• Will access classes at DCCC and NCVPS
• With 1st semester failures will be identified and recruited for credit recovery courses
• Scoring at levels I or II on EOC tests will have a Personalized Education Plan revised each semester.
Phase Two
Guide teachers to understand how the integration of both the information and computer skills curriculum are integrated into the core content.
Summer 2008• Technology Fair
– To provide teachers and administrators with a theoretical and practical understanding of the project.
– Sessions on podcasting, blogging, geocaching, effective use of wikis, video conferencing, broadcasting, and using PDAs.
– Add Interactive Whiteboards to the remaining classrooms
– Two Information Superhighway labs enhancing the core curriculum
First Semester
• Core collaboration teams
– Curriculum Facilitator, IT Facilitator, media Coordinator, department chair, curriculum consultants
Second Semester
• Teachers will engage in cross functional collaborative teams.
• Teachers will view and follow master teachers by participating in observations, demonstration lessons, and video conferencing.
Partnerships
• With respective departments in other schools to share in successes
• Use of distance learning labs for teachers to communicate with departments at other schools
MTACMedia Technology
Advisory Committee
Reviews evaluation sources and reports data
• To Administrators
• To the School Improvement Team
• To Teachers
School 2.0 Approach
• Communicate clear goals based on data
• Manage stable plans for student success
• Monitor implementation and performance
• Challenge and empower faculty
Alignment
• School Improvement Plan
• School and System Technology Plans
• THS Staff Development Plan
• NC Professional Teaching Standards