District Technology Training Plan Meredith Holczer University of Maryland University College EDTC 640 Leading Technology Change in Schools
The District Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is the second largest school district in the state of Maryland. The county enrolls about 125,000 students. PGCPS has about 204 schools and special centers which include 122 elementary schools, 24 middle schools, 23 high schools, 9 special centers, and 12 academies. PGCPS employs about 18,000 staff members which includes about 9,000 teachers. The Problem Prince George’s County Public Schools has most of the technology equipment and computer programs. The issue is how to use the programs to increase student reading comprehension levels. Teachers use technology daily in reading rotations but often do not check the data from the programs. In second grade, students use many county purchased computer programs during computer rotations such as My On for online reading books. The Needs Prince George’s County Public School is creating a five day workshops to teach teachers how to access online assessment data to move student comprehension scores. This training will be called PGCPS U, the U stands for university. After asking and polling teachers how to help them best, I will create a training to address these issues. Based on the results of the teacher survey, the following are the needs of the teachers in order from most important to least important: 1) How to create lessons for reading comprehension using technology 2) How to create lessons using the computer programs 3) How to create ESOL lessons using computer programs 4) Better training how to incorporate computer programs 5) Training how to start incorporating technology in the classroom 6) How can I use technology to meet students’needs 7) How can I use technology to communicate with families 8) How to use technology to assess comprehension skills 9) How to use technology to collaborate with other teachers 10) Where they can get additional resources. Workshops proposed on this training plan will address many of the demands that teachers have and need. The Audience This program is for primary elementary English Language Arts teachers. This PGCPS U course will be specifically targeted on how to use the technology devices and software that are provided. Teachers should take this course if they want to learn more about, not just how to use, the actual technology. The course will cover how to use technology to drive student reading comprehension achievement. No prior experience is needed. All teachers have been using the technology since the beginning of the year, so the course will provide a quick recap and then work on increasing student comprehension through the use of reading technology. The Goals and Objectives The goal of this workshop is to get teachers using technology in their classrooms effectively. Teachers will get a better understanding of how to use data from technology and the technology they collect in their classroom in order to drive learning. Teachers many need to reteach a lesson or restructure reading ability learning groups. The data allows teachers to better understand how to help their students master the comprehension skills they do not yet understand. This five day workshop series will help teachers choose better technology for their students.
Content There are five sessions in the PGCPS U workshop. Each session will address a different part of understanding how to better utilize the reading technology and the reading data. The intended audience for all of the sessions is primary teachers. The first session will be an overview of what we have available to us and our students. This session will begin with how a teacher can use the technology in the classroom to deliver instruction. There will be examples from literacy in primary grade levels. There will be an overview of technology in each classroom and the computer programs. During this session teachers will be able to try out the programs and think about what would work best for their students. The second session will focus on how to read the data from the specific programs students use each day. Teachers will have an opportunity to study their student’s data while taking notes. The third session will focus on next steps. Teachers will come to this session with classroom data. Teachers will create a plan for how to re-teach a comprehension skill. Teachers will decide how to re-teach and how the students should use the computer program. Teachers will figure out how to informal assess. The fourth session will be a chance for teachers to evaluate how their plans have been going and make edits. This workshop will look at what has been working. The fifth session will be a review of how the plans have been working and what other support may be needed. Instructional Strategies I am going to teach these workshops topics through hands on sessions. I will present materials on an Interwrite board so that teachers can interact with the computers programs in front of each other. Teachers will be required to bring their fully charged laptops to the workshop every time.
Five Day Workshop
Day 1 Workshop
Objective: Teachers will be able to identify and describe the technology they access to and what their students can use.
How lesson will be taught: What technology do you use on daily? How comfortable are with using it? Teachers will turn and talk with each other. Review the technology available. Teachers will demonstrate technology they use. Introduce student software programs and have teachers explore the programs. Teachers will take online notes. Review how students will use the computer programs during the English Language Arts block.
Materials: Online Notes, computer programs
Online Exit Ticket: Which school computer programs would be the most beneficial for you and your students to use?
Day 2 Workshop
Objective: Teachers will be able to evaluate student data on the data from the software programs.
How lesson will be taught: What have you done differently since our first workshop? Review the various student computer programs. Choose one computer program to view the student data. Teachers will review their class data and make factual statements. Online Exit Ticket: What did you learn from your class data?
Materials: Online Notes, computer programs
Online Exit Ticket: What surprised you about the data? What did not surprise you
Day 3 Workshop
Objective: Teachers will be able to study student data and make a next step plan.
How lesson will be taught: How have you used the in your classroom? Go over how to create a plan using data. Model creating a plan using technology to show student comprehension growth. Teachers work on the plans. Teachers should have their plan ready to be into action.
Materials:action plan, student data, software program data
Online Exit Ticket:How can this data help you?
Day 4 Workshop
Objective: Teachers will be able evaluate how their plan is working and make edits.
How lesson will be taught: How are your plans coming along? What have you noticed? Review data from the software programs. Have students made growth? Model how to revise a plan. Teachers will be given time to make edits to use technology effective to move student comprehension levels.
Materials: action plan, student data, software program data
Online Exit Ticket: What goals do you have for your revised plan?
Day 5 Workshop
Objective: Teachers will be able evaluate how the action plan went. Teachers will understand the vision for blended learning at
How lesson will be taught: How did the plans turn out? What worked? Review data from the software programs. What statements can be made about the data? What would you do differently? What worked?
Materials: action plan, student data, software program data
Online Exit Ticket: What additional support do you need?
Evaluations The five workshops will be evaluated every week using online exit tickets. The sessions will be tweaked based on the data from the exit tickets. The online exit tickets will be plus and deltas on a Google Document so everyone can view the feedback.
Budget No budget is needed for this workshop since it is part of county required professional development. No extra materials or technology is needed for the workshops. Workshop will be held after the school day so no stipend or sub code or transportation is needed. Teachers will be able to add they attend the workshop on their end of the year evaluations. Follow-Up I plan to follow up on this workshop through observations and walk ins. I plan to continue to follow up on how teachers are using data to drive reading comprehension instruction. References
PGCPS. (n.d.) Prince Georges County Public Schools. Retrieved from http://www1.pgcps.org
District Technology Training Plan
Meredith Holczer
University of Maryland University College
EDTC 640
Leading Technology Change in Schools
The District
Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is the second largest school district in the state of Maryland. The county enrolls about 125,000 students. PGCPS has about 204 schools and special centers which include 122 elementary schools, 24 middle schools, 23 high schools, 9 special centers, and 12 academies. PGCPS employs about 18,000 staff members which includes about 9,000 teachers.
The Problem
Prince George’s County Public Schools has most of the technology equipment and computer programs. The issue is how to use the programs to increase student reading comprehension levels. Teachers use technology daily in reading rotations but often do not check the data from the programs. In second grade, students use many county purchased computer programs during computer rotations such as My On for online reading books.
The Needs
Prince George’s County Public School is creating a five day workshops to teach teachers how to access online assessment data to move student comprehension scores. This training will be called PGCPS U, the U stands for university. After asking and polling teachers how to help them best, I will create a training to address these issues.
Based on the results of the teacher survey, the following are the needs of the teachers in order from most important to least important:
1) How to create lessons for reading comprehension using technology
2) How to create lessons using the computer programs
3) How to create ESOL lessons using computer programs
4) Better training how to incorporate computer programs
5) Training how to start incorporating technology in the classroom
6) How can I use technology to meet students’needs
7) How can I use technology to communicate with families
8) How to use technology to assess comprehension skills
9) How to use technology to collaborate with other teachers
10) Where they can get additional resources.
Workshops proposed on this training plan will address many of the demands that teachers have and need.
The Audience
This program is for primary elementary English Language Arts teachers. This PGCPS U course will be specifically targeted on how to use the technology devices and software that are provided. Teachers should take this course if they want to learn more about, not just how to use, the actual technology. The course will cover how to use technology to drive student reading comprehension achievement. No prior experience is needed. All teachers have been using the technology since the beginning of the year, so the course will provide a quick recap and then work on increasing student comprehension through the use of reading technology.
The Goals and Objectives
The goal of this workshop is to get teachers using technology in their classrooms effectively. Teachers will get a better understanding of how to use data from technology and the technology they collect in their classroom in order to drive learning. Teachers many need to reteach a lesson or restructure reading ability learning groups. The data allows teachers to better understand how to help their students master the comprehension skills they do not yet understand. This five day workshop series will help teachers choose better technology for their students.
Content
There are five sessions in the PGCPS U workshop. Each session will address a different part of understanding how to better utilize the reading technology and the reading data. The intended audience for all of the sessions is primary teachers.
The first session will be an overview of what we have available to us and our students. This session will begin with how a teacher can use the technology in the classroom to deliver instruction. There will be examples from literacy in primary grade levels. There will be an overview of technology in each classroom and the computer programs. During this session teachers will be able to try out the programs and think about what would work best for their students.
The second session will focus on how to read the data from the specific programs students use each day. Teachers will have an opportunity to study their student’s data while taking notes.
The third session will focus on next steps. Teachers will come to this session with classroom data. Teachers will create a plan for how to re-teach a comprehension skill. Teachers will decide how to re-teach and how the students should use the computer program. Teachers will figure out how to informal assess.
The fourth session will be a chance for teachers to evaluate how their plans have been going and make edits. This workshop will look at what has been working.
The fifth session will be a review of how the plans have been working and what other support may be needed.
Instructional Strategies
I am going to teach these workshops topics through hands on sessions. I will present materials on an Interwrite board so that teachers can interact with the computers programs in front of each other. Teachers will be required to bring their fully charged laptops to the workshop every time.
Five Day Workshop
What technology do you use on daily?
How comfortable are with using it? Teachers will turn and talk with each other.
Review the technology available. Teachers will demonstrate technology they use.
Introduce student software programs and have teachers explore the programs.
Teachers will take online notes.
Review how students will use the computer programs during the English Language Arts block.
What have you done differently since our first workshop?
Review the various student computer programs.
Choose one computer program to view the student data.
Teachers will review their class data and make factual statements.
Online Exit Ticket: What did you learn from your class data?
How have you used the in your classroom?
Go over how to create a plan using data.
Model creating a plan using technology to show student comprehension growth.
Teachers work on the plans. Teachers should have their plan ready to be into action.
How are your plans coming along? What have you noticed?
Review data from the software programs. Have students made growth?
Model how to revise a plan.
Teachers will be given time to make edits to use technology effective to move student comprehension levels.
How did the plans turn out? What worked?
Review data from the software programs. What statements can be made about the data? What would you do differently? What worked?
Evaluations
The five workshops will be evaluated every week using online exit tickets. The sessions will be tweaked based on the data from the exit tickets. The online exit tickets will be plus and deltas on a Google Document so everyone can view the feedback.
Budget
No budget is needed for this workshop since it is part of county required professional development. No extra materials or technology is needed for the workshops. Workshop will be held after the school day so no stipend or sub code or transportation is needed. Teachers will be able to add they attend the workshop on their end of the year evaluations.
Follow-Up
I plan to follow up on this workshop through observations and walk ins. I plan to continue to follow up on how teachers are using data to drive reading comprehension instruction.
References
PGCPS. (n.d.) Prince Georges County Public Schools. Retrieved from http://www1.pgcps.org
/