1. A Key Factor in Student
Achievement
Brian Johnson
Any District USA High School
2. • Staff Development is Essential
• Research Shows that Technology is a
Positive on Achievement
• Standardized Tests Scores have
improved as a result of Technology
• Preparing Students for the 21st Century
3. ď‚žA variety of studies indicate that
technology will have little effect unless
teachers are adequately and
appropriately trained.
ď‚ž In a report that examined the results of
over 300 studies of technology
use, authors concluded that teacher
training was the most significant factor
influencing the effective use of
educational technology to improve
student achievement.
4. ď‚ž Trained Teachers use technology more
frequently and in a variety of ways
ď‚ž New Models of Staff Development
• Focus on technologies role in learning &
teaching, not just the technology
• Teachers Need Opportunities to work with
Colleagues (PLCs & Peer Coaching)
5. ď‚ž Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow Study
 Harold Wenglinsky’s National Study
ď‚ž John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation Study
6. 1. Get everyone on board
2. Learn from others
3. Utilize assessment tools
4. Determine and provide professional
development needs
5. Establish curriculum objectives
6. Explore research-based instruction
7. Encourage parental involvement
8. Publicize progress
9. Locate funding sources
10. Utilize supporting resources
7. ď‚ž Universal and significant increases
• Schacter’s Report for the Milken Family Foundation
• Common Themes:
ď‚– Consistent access to technology
ď‚– Consistent professional development and support
8.
9. ď‚ž Genres of Participation in New Media
Activities
• Hanging Out - learn critical social skills
• Messing Around - leads to interest-driven activities
• Geeking Out - develop expertise, learn how to
evaluate media content
10. ď‚ž Teachers need to find a way to be open
and receptive to the things students are
doing online on their own.
ď‚ž The challenge for educators is to
recognize the value of these levels of
participation and to stop seeing them as
distracting from school, and to find ways to
exploit them in the classroom.
11. Using Technology Effectively will have a
positive impact on student achievement.
We must:
• Make a Commitment to Staff Development
• Let the research guide our decisions
• Use standardized test to make sure we are
being productive
• Be open to the needs of our 21st Century
students.
Hinweis der Redaktion
Technology is now a major part of our society. Everyplace that you go to you can see a piece of technology in action. From cell phones to computers to video games technology is everywhere. Kids of today are growing up using this technology. As a school district it is importance for us to take advantage of something that really engages students and peaks their interests. Tonight I will be discussing how the use of technology effectively has shown to have positive impacts of student achievement. The price of technology is well worth it. The following slides will help support my stance.,
In this presentation I am going to discuss 4 main points that helps support my opinion that technology is a crucial element to an education system and must be supported and funded by the school board. The points that I will discuss are: Staff Development and its very important role in this process. The research that is out there that supports my views. The proof the impact of technology seen on standardized tests. and how technology is going to play a vital role in preparing our students for the 21st Century.
Both of these statements on this slide were taken from a journal article titled “The Learning Return on Our Educational Technology Investment”. The evidence is clear that proper staff development is a necessary component to a quality technology plan. It is vital for our school district to make a commitment to staff members to train them properly so that staff are able to use the technology in a manner that will be effective.
Research has also discovered that teachers that are properly trained are more likely to use that technology in the classroom. Teachers that receive quality staff development feel comfortable with the technology and will find a variety of ways to use and implement it into their instruction. To achieve these results the format of staff development must change. Teachers can no longer work alone in their rooms or listen to a speaker. Research states that the most effective type of training is when staff are allowed to share ideas and experiences with others. Instead of just focusing on how the technology works, the training must show how the technology can be properly used in the learning and teaching processes. Methods of staff development that have shown to be effective are Professional Learning Communities (PLCs0 and peer coaching.
Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow Study: Resulted in new learning experiences requiring higher level reasoning and problem solving. Had a positive impact on student attitudes towards learning.Harold Wenglinsky’s National study found that 8th grade students that used simulation and higher order thinking software show gains in math scores of up to 15 weeks ahead in grade level. Higher order uses of computers and staff development were positively related to students’ academic achievement in mathematics for both 4th and 8th graders.The researchers in the MacArthur Study discovered that the internet is empowering a tech-savvy generation to pursue a central element of 21stcentury education-- self-directed learning, performed on kids' own terms and time schedules. It's a finding that compels educators to disregard any lingering notions that the internet is strictly unproductive playtime.
In his article “Technology, the Missing Link” Wayne Moore present a list of ten tips to maximize student achievement through technology. I believe that these tips can be the basis for our district plan to help utilize the capabilities of technology in our curriculum. (I will go over the list and explain how each can be incorporated into our school district.)
In the previous section, I highlighted the powerful tool technology can be in creating timely and meaningful curriculum. With such a curriculum, it is natural to think that student performance will improve on such individualized assessments, but how about on those standardized assessments that are so important in today’s educational environment. Simply put, technology holds it weight here as well. The data is plentiful and easy to find that creates a direct positive link between student achievement and test scores. (I will explain the Schacter reports and it summarizing of the major studies analyzing the role of tech and learning – all reported positive impact on testing - highlight solid and easy facts like Kulik’s 64th percentile with computers to 50th percentile withoutContinue with an closer look of data – 30 computers in a room doesn’t simply equal 30 higher test scores – assert common factors in the reports that allowed technology to open the door to improvement was access to the technology and professional development of staff)
As mentioned previously, one of Schacter’s studies was the work of James Kulik. This chart was taken from taken from his report Meta-Analytic studies of Findings on Computer Based Instruction. It clearly shows growth for all groups. The thing that I really wanted to show is that the chart clearly proves that technology can equate to measurable improvement at all levels, elementary to college.
AS ONE ASPECT of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation study, "Kids' Informal Learning With Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures," researchers explored the concept of media ecologies, which are collections of interconnected technologies and activities involving new media.Within these ecologies, they identified three "genres of participation," which they labeled "hanging out," "messing around," and "geeking out." They used these genres to describe students' varying "levels of investment"-- that is, participation-- in new media activities.
As a result of the 3 genres of the MacArthur Study researchers have concluded that teachers need to find a way to be open and receptive to the things students are doing online on their own.The challenge for educators is to recognize the value of these levels of participation and to stop seeing them as distracting from school, and to find ways to exploit them in the classroom.The only way that we can meet these needs of our students is to make a commitment to technology. That commitment means the spending of money on training and new technology.
As the presentation comes to a close, I want to reiterate the great impact that technology expenditures have on the success of all of our students. To experience the positives that technologies can bring to our district we must make a commitment to using the technology correctly and effectively. The only way to do this is to put financial resources on the table to make sure that staff are getting the best available training. This will lead to student achievement and a peak in student interest and we strive to make our students successful in the 21st Century.(Will take time for questions)