MEMO

TO:All Teachers

FROM:Technology Advisory Committee (TAC)

Paul WiechJoseph Urda

Mike MolinoJudith Swartwout

Polly Case- CodnerSheri Shurtleff

Chad DeVoeDr. Brenda Myers

John D’AntonioDr. Jennifer Dove

RE:Technology Teacher Leaders

DATE:March 14, 2008

Our committee has been developing a comprehensive, instructional technology plan to enhance student learning. As part of this work, we are defining outcomes for what we want students to know and be able to do in the area of technology in order to be prepared for the knowledge-based, digital age we have entered.

According to the latest research, NCREL research on effective technology integration ( technology enhances our ability to reach all students in meaningful ways, increases active student engagement, allows for more tailored and individualized instruction as well as more immediate feedback, and provides digital equity to all students. Technology brings new possibilities to teaching and learning.

To help us put this vision into action, we need teachers who are interested in serving a two year term as Technology Teacher Leaders (TTL) who will pave the way for the district by serving as role models and coaches for colleagues. We have 12 positions and would like our TTL to provide building-based support across all academic areas.

If you are interested in serving as a TTL, please complete the attached application and return it to Denise Sedorus via e-mail by April 4, 2008. If you have any questions about the position, feel free to contact any of us.

GROTONCENTRALSCHOOL

Technology Teacher Leader Application for 2008-2010

Name___David Syracuse___ Date______3/17/08______

I would like to be considered as a Technology Teacher Leader (TTL) to work closely with the __middle/high school___ building. I would be available to work with these grade levels__7-12______. I would specialize in integrating technology into these curricular areas___the sciences, as well as English, music, and technology______.

As a TTL, I am committing to and understand that I will:

_X_use technology in my classroom to enhance teaching/ learning and have a desire to explore new and innovative ideas.

_X_serve as a resource for grade level, building, and district colleagues to explore and problem solve the use of technology.

_X_open my classroom to other teachers who want to visit to get ideas for integrating technology in their own classrooms.

_X_ -- Though I would prefer that the meetings happen during non-instructional hours, which would save money on substitutes as well as give teachers more time with students.

meet with the Technology Director and the other TTL’s for three school days each year to continue learning about effective uses of technology for enhancing learning in the classroom and to share my learning experiences as I try things in my classroom and help colleagues.

_X_participate in an electronic forum for communicating and sharing ideas (i.e. a shared Moodle site for TTL’s)

_X_develop and deliver at least six hours of professional development for my colleagues each year.

_X_inform the District Technology Plan and the Technology Advisory Committee of my ideas, suggestions, & experiences.

_X_be responsible for a new instructional work station including a laptop, a projector, an Elmo, a notebook web camera, and speakers.

_X_attend Technology Teacher Leader training on July 30-31, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (stipend will be provided at $20/hr.) and two days TBD during the following summer.

Please answer the following questions: (Please limit your responses to 2 pages.)

  1. Describe your current experience with technology integration in your classroom.

At present, I use technology in my classroom whenever it is beneficial to students and will enhance, not get in the way of, their education. I am proficient in PowerPoint presentations, which I use whenever possible as a supplement to notes written on the board. We also have a digital microscope that I have taught the students to use, so that they can take pictures to put in their labs, instead of making confusing and messy drawings of small structures. We also use Vernier software and probes to collect data from our experiments, which requires the integration of computers and the sensors.

Out of the classroom, I use my Moodle site to share links and forms with my students, as well as several other programs to create homework assignments, tests, quizzes, and labs. I am attempting to incorporate a barcode system into my assignments, whereby each student would simply scan their assignment in, enabling me to see instantly who has handed in an assignment, and who has not. This would also make keeping track of labs much easier. I have not successfully used it in my classes yet, but I anticipate it being exciting and time-saving.

  1. Provide an explanation of your teaching practices and your beliefs about how students learn best.

All students can learn, but not all students learn in the same way. Further, it is a personal maxim of mine that learning something new is never boring; only a teacher can make it so. We must remember, however, that in teaching as in science, nothing is impossible. Only improbable. And it is often the most improbable things that stick in our minds the longest. So we face the task of becoming improbable teachers; those that break the mold to stick in the minds of students.

Again, the best way to do this varies from student to student, but in order to allow students to achieve their full potential, we must keep learning exciting and engaging. The best way to do this, I find, is to be passionate about the content. The facts of our universe are exciting, and don’t need dressing up or showing off – a good teacher can make any concept pop off the page and into life. However, to show off some of the more complex ideas in the world around us, we need to have assistance from a variety of sources, such as technology. Showing a group of students the actual sequence of a gene that causes cancer, or playing a video of a chemical reaction that couldn’t possibly be done in the classroom is a wonderful and engaging way to show students the majesty of the world around them.

To make a short story long, teachers need to have a contagious excitement about their topic and about learning in general. We need to make sure that students are not asking “Why are we doing this”, but “What are we going to do next?”

  1. Describe your vision for how you could work with your grade level, your building, and the district to use technology in meaningful ways that enhance learning.

The ways to apply technology in a classroom setting are as varied and delightful as life itself. In my subject area (I teach several grade levels), we could easily develop websites that parallel each other in content and style. This would allow students to learn the format in one class, and then to continue using the website as they move on in their studies, without having to learn the format again.

In our building, we could use technology to create and share presentations with other grade levels or subject areas. Even in the most high-achieving schools, the sad fact still remains that all too often “English” class is only ever “English,” and “science” is only ever “science.” Why not integrate the two, and have the science class teach the English class about the digestive system, then have the English class write a story on it? Why not have the science class research the various genes that control the human body, then pass on the sequence to the music classes to write a song on? Technology can make learning more meaningful, by showing that it can apply far beyond just one classroom.

The district could help enhance student learning by providing a forum for students to teach their parents and other community members about the technology in our classrooms. What better way to learn something than to teach it to someone else? And what a smashing way to get parents involved in something about which many adults can be apprehensive. When applied properly, technology has the ability to turn a school into a true, interdependent community.

  1. What strategies and/or traits do you have to help you teach other teachers?

Whenever I interact with other teachers, I know that I am talking to a caring, understanding person whose goal is to help children. Any advice, then, that I give to another teacher is always couched in student-centered language and theory. I understand that while we are all here to create a good educational experience for students, that we all have – and are entitled to – a different view of how that experience should be shaped.

I know that change, no matter who you are or what you do, can be difficult, and with technology I am sensitive to this fact. I understand that many teachers are apprehensive about even using an online grading system. This is natural. How can we trust something that we can neither see nor feel with our grades for an entire year? I feel that by bearing this thought in mind, and approaching teachers with a student-centered, positive and sensitive attitude, I can help them use technology to the best of their ability.

  1. What would you need to be successful as a TTL?

In order to be a successful TTL, I would need the support of a well-trained computer coordinator who would help with any technical issues that come up (e.g. printer won’t work, blue screen-o-death, need a different cable). These are things that I, as a teacher, should not have to worry about. Knowing that a knowledgeable and approachable person has “got my back,” so to speak, on the technical side of things, would make it far easier to do more with the technology that I would have.

I would also need the support of my colleagues in directing students to web pages for review, and understanding that while some students do learn well with the assistance of technology, some do not, and that we need to account for these students as well.

  1. What questions do you have about being a TTL?

I would like to know if the meetings must be held during school, or if it might not be better off to hold them on a Saturday or during a superintendent’s conference day. This would keep us in the classroom with our students. Other than that, I am pretty clear about the position and excited about the changes that are bringing our district in great new directions.