High School Teachers Visit Omaha 1:1 School

A seminar that is set in a high school where every student has a laptop computer 24/7 may be the last place teachers would expect to hear good teaching and learning emphasized most during the conference. Teachers may even be surprised about how to use the 1 to 1 environment to make the relationships between students and teachers more collaborative. However, that was the case when four teachers from Spirit Lake High School explored the 1 to 1 learning environment while visiting Westside High School during two schools days last week. Kathy Kleen, science; Cathy Kuker, social studies; Kathy Owens, mathematics; and Tina Sherrill, teacher librarian and English, took part in the 21st Century Learning Leadership Institute in Omaha on Feb. 8-9.

“Using technology can help kids become better self-directed learners and help to create a culture of no-excuse, problem solving students who can move more easily to higher order thinking in the classroom,” said Kuker.

While at the institute, the teachers explored the key success factors in 1 to 1 environments utilizing Westside High School’s experiences as examples. Westside HS is in its sixth year of a laptop initiative. “Key success factors” discussed at one of the sessions included leadership, assessment, curriculum, professional development, community involvement, technical infrastructure, and financial planning. During one session, a panel of Westside administrators, teachers, students, and a parent answered specific questions about laptop learning. The group of SLHS teachers formulated ideas about such things as parent education for families who have students receiving a laptop from the school. For example, the group heard that one element of the family education is helping parents to understand that they control the student computer at home and can create restrictions for its use when the student brings it home.

Westside teachers, who presented content-specific curriculum and demonstrated how the 1 to 1 technology changed learning in their classrooms, also revisited each of the key success factors during presentations. Kuker said that she now knows that blogs, podcasts, and wikis are some of the ways a teacher can communicate with students about course content. The teachers returned from the leadership institute with an understanding of how these tools and other technology-based solutions for digital learning provide all students with the opportunity to access, create, and distribute information in collaborative environments.

Curriculum Tied To Computer Plan

Teacher Passion and Excitement Ignites
Technology Initiative, Maintains Momentum
Across Iowa, the potential of transforming teaching and learning is directing the search for methods which will yield the Characteristics of Effective Instruction as identified by Iowa Core Curriculum. Educators are also searching for guaranteed ways to prepare students for life and work and to ready students for the 21st Century. At fall 2009 focus meetings it became apparent that Spirit Lake teachers felt the school was behind in providing the technology needed to fully implement best educational practice for 21st Century learning and teaching.

Following the initial sessions, district personnel began researching and visiting other schools to discover the vehicle which would best provide the most efficient and effective tool for infusing, integrating and making technology accessible to every school family all of the time. The Technology Initiative in the form of a laptop computer for every student in Grades 5-12 and mobile carts of laptops for use in Grades K-4 emerged as the heart of the plan. Along with laptops for students, the plan will provide a laptop for every teacher, special education technology, science and math technology, digital cameras and projectors, and whiteboard technology. To support the laptops the initiative also includes wireless access throughout the district, security and virus monitoring, and warranty support for the computers.

At a December meeting, the school board unanimously voted to support this plan and to seek $1.77-Million through a voted PPEL. The voted PPEL provides 100% of the needed funds to support this technology initiative. Since the board’s vote of confidence, the district has sponsored more than 30 informational sessions open to community members about the PPEL. The district has used newspaper and radio dissemination and launched an informational website with video, audio and frequently asked questions (FAQ) features. Throughout the process the focus of the plan remained and will remain access and opportunity for all students and their families. Paired with detailed and individualized professional development for teachers, the district’s immediate, bold, and innovative plan is guaranteed to transform learning and teaching beyond the purchase of hardware and software.
Teachers at Spirit Lake Middle School aligned curriculum and are sponsoring a 1:1 computer pilot at the eighth grade level. Those teachers and students have become frontline presenters at many of the community meetings. An online BLOG about what Spirit Lake Grade 8 teachers and students think about the 1:1 computer environment is an ongoing informational source which now has a national following.

The activities developed by the teachers at the Grade 8 level have turned their rooms into student-centered classrooms in which students are directly involved and invested in the discovery of their own knowledge. Students are involved in collaboration and cooperation with others. Teachers assist the students in making connections between new and prior knowledge. Teachers guide students in developing understanding of core concepts and becoming producers of knowledge. Through the use of the laptops in the pilot, student learning differences are addressed. It is the laptops that provide the avenue for students to be involved in activities that challenge their thinking and help students relate to real world situations. The evidence is in--laptops used for teaching and learning will enhance the implementation of the Characteristics of Effective Instruction in Iowa Core Curriculum.

Levy Vote Passes To Support 1:1

Grade 8 Pilot Paves the Way
By Nelson Davis, SLHS Newspaper Writer
Imagine starting your fifth grade year with a brand new Apple laptop to take home and do school work! As one walks through the halls and visits with students of all ages everyone seems to be excited about the new change coming to the Spirit Lake School District.

For the last month students in Grade 8 have had laptops in their classrooms. Through a loan from the Apple company, a classroom set of laptops was used in various classrooms throughout the month of January. This allowed teachers and students to get used to how it would be if students each had a laptop all of the time.

The 1 to 1 program under the recent, successful levy vote will provide a new Apple laptop for every student from grades five through 12, and it will provide carts of laptops for grades K through four to move around and share. These laptops will be added to other technology that the school district provides for the students. The laptops come fully loaded with the hardware and software, 24-hour service and support for the staff as well as the students, a security and virus network, a monitoring system, and the entire school will be going to a wireless network.

On the learning side of things the school is trying to level the playing field for all students to be able to have the same technology. This means that over time the district would probably cut back on printing costs. For example, a teacher could tell the students that a worksheet is due and simply e-mail it to his/her students saving roughly 20 pieces of paper per class period. Another way costs could be lowered is through textbooks; some text-books are now online. All the students would have to do is get out their laptops and go to the website, and it would be a student‟s classic textbook only online.

Other questions can be answered by going to the Spirit Lake School District webpage and clicking on the PPEL link.

Teacher Journal

Did the Bell Ring Yet?
Mrs. Block’s Journal

Monday, January 18, 2010
Here is some background information on the current writing unit in Eighth Grade Language Arts. For the past week, I have been teaching students about persuasive writing. I took students through the process on how to produce a persuasive essay – find a topic of interest that has two sides to it, research and analyze other perspectives, take a stance on the issue, write an essay that has a strong opening, body which includes facts, examples, and personal experiences to support opinion, and a satisfying conclusion. Together, we analyzed the topic of cursive writing and whether schools should continue to teach and require cursive writing. Students read a variety of articles that presented different perspectives on this issue. After reading these articles and creating a class pros and cons list, students chose their position and what they felt were the best arguments and used these for their persuasive essays. We had a great time sharing these essays and had some lively discussions about this topic throughout the process.

Now it’s time for students to pick their own topic to develop into a five-paragraph persuasive essay. This is where the laptops came into play. To begin class today, I emailed the students two websites to access. The first website was used for our bellringer. Many students in period one, including myself, had difficulty accessing this website, but the rest of my classes had no problem. I was never able to access this site on my Mac – not sure why. This website took students to two different role-play situations – a conversation between a child and parent – the first scenario the student gave a very weak argument for his request. In the second scenario, the child gave a very strong argument for his request. We read both these scenarios out loud and discussed the connection to persuasive writing. The best thing about this is it was a simple way to get students engaged right away and thinking about our topic of persuasion, and it was PAPERLESS! Without a computer, this would have taken at least 120 copies for a classroom set of this role-play scenario so I probably would not have done it. I don’t think I would have done this activity in the computer lab either because of time. Usually when I take a class to the computer lab, we are under such a time crunch for a couple reasons…it takes 5-10 minutes to log on, the lab is always so booked – we only do what HAS to be done.
The main site I had students access today was www.iowaaeaonline.org where they selected the SIRS Issues Researcher. This is a perfect site to help students with research. It provides a variety of current, high-interest topics along with lists of articles that support the pros and cons of these issues. What I liked best about this site is it’s teacher-tested/teacher-approved – students have access to the most current information for their writing. Another thing I liked about this site is it narrows the focus for their research.
I showed students all the options this site gives using the projector hooked to my laptop. It was very easy to use the term “lids down” when I needed their attention in front. After my direct instruction, students’ task was to browse topics, choose one of their own, and write down their essential question for their research. Students worked quietly while I conferenced with individuals and recorded their topics.
The computers were user-friendly, the students were engaged, and they truly seemed excited to start the process of persuasive writing.
Great first day!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Today I did less direct instructing because students needed time to research. Part of their research is to read 2-3 suggested online articles for both the pros and cons of their topic. Each student must develop a pros and cons list to be turned in for a grade.
One thing I did talk to students about is other possible sources of information students might use for their research…one in particular is email. I encouraged students to think about someone who might be a good contact for their research and interview that person via email.
Again, students worked diligently and quietly. They were engaged in their online reading and note taking. In one of my classes the bell rang at the end of the period and very few people moved. Usually students race to the door – on to their next class. Not today. One student actually said a few seconds after the bell rang, “Did the bell ring yet?” Hence, the title of my journal.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Snow Day
My concern with not having school today was time. I was supposed to have the laptops through Thursday of this week, and then students would have them for social studies. Thanks to Mrs. Miller being flexible, I’ll still get them for four days.

Thursday, January 21, 2010
Today I had to do some more direct instructing about the next step in the writing process – completing the graphic organizer. Most students were close to finishing their research, so if they hadn’t already chosen a position on their topic, today was the day they had to decide. Before drafting a writing piece, I always have students complete a graphic organizer. I made copies of the graphic organizer I wanted students to use and had them complete it using paper/pencil. Since then I have found online interactive graphic organizers for students and plan to try some for future writings. Megan was very excited today in class. She received an email from a professor at John Hopkins University. She had emailed him for information on her topic of the ozone layer and he responded with some very useful information. Other students have also used email for their research. After my direct instruction, students spent the remainder of the period to finish research and/or complete their graphic organizer.

Friday, January 22, 2010
As part of our study of persuasive writing, we’ve discussed other forms of persuasion – the power of images as a persuasive tool. Previously we looked at a WWI poster of Uncle Sam pointing and saying “I Want You.” We also looked at two images of animals… one a picture of elephants roaming in the open wild and another of elephants behind bars – this represented the issue of zoos and whether or not they are good for animals.
Because the focus of today’s lesson was on persuasive images, I started class by showing a YouTube video of a heartbreaking commercial that features famous singer Sara McLaughlin’s campaign to help prevent cruelty to animals. We had a great conversation about all the persuasive techniques used in that commercial – a celebrity, a sad song, images of mistreated animals, etc. Most students were familiar with this commercial and we all agreed that it’s one of the most difficult commercials on TV to watch because it’s so sad. It was a perfect example of persuasion. It was so fun to use YouTube – it really kept their interest and led to a great discussion.
To connect this to our persuasive writing essay, students were challenged to create their own computerized persuasive poster that will be shown using the projector when they share their persuasive essay. I showed students how to create their poster using Keynote. Students were required to have 2-3 images that support their position, citing the sources where these images were borrowed, a title/caption, and as well as their thesis statement on the poster. I was very impressed by students’ posters. I especially want to thank a few students in my first period class – Kaela, Justine, and Ethan – their posters were so impressive that I used them as models for my other classes throughout the day.
Today was the first day I experienced some frustration with the technology, however. The computers were VERY slow in the afternoon. I felt bad for my students – they became very frustrated because they could not finish their project. As I understand, these kinds of problems with our server would be corrected with Apple.
I now have to pass these laptops to Mrs. Miller – my four days are up. I’m not finished with my persuasive writing unit so I must finish in the computer lab. I really need a couple days for students to draft their five-paragraph persuasive essay on the computer. After some revising and proofreading activities, I really need to allow 1-2 days for students to type their final writing piece. I really need at least one day for students to finish their poster. I have the computer lab signed out for Monday and Tuesday, but then it’s not available again until Friday. The computer lab is not available at all the following week… This is our currently reality.
In the past four days I didn’t use the laptops every minute of every day, but they were used a great deal each day. Through the use of technology, though, students were excited, engaged, making decisions, being creative, collaborating, and helping their peers while still focusing on the basics…reading, writing, listening, speaking. Technology is a tool that will definitely change the way we teach and it will also make learning more relevant to our students at Spirit Lake.