GulbisICE599 3
DeSales University
Instructional Technology Specialist Certificate Program –
Final Internship Report Form
This final report summarizes my Internship experiences at Southern Lehigh School District (SLSD). It contains my reflections upon the learning outcomes described by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) for Instructional Technology Specialist in K-12 achieved throughout this Internship experience.
My mentor was Mr. Ken Jordan, the District’s Director of Instructional Technology. We met formally on four occasions to discuss the Internship proposal, progress of the Internship, and the conclusion of the Internship. Two of those meetings included my mentor from DeSales University, Dr. Tonya Amankwatia. Mr. Jordan and I communicated via emails throughout the Internship. Since I am not associated with SLSD, Mr. Jordan coordinated District-based activities needed to fulfill PDE requirements. His interest in and enthusiasm about the Internship were encouraging and inspiring. The teaching staff and technology team I worked with were dedicated, talented, and helpful.
My mentor from DeSales University was Dr. Tonya Amankwatia. We met on five occasions for the initial and final meeting with Mr. Ken Jordan and for three observations. We communicated throughout the Internship utilizing emails. I benefited from her depth of knowledge about Instructional Technology and careful attention to the Internship process.
My Internship experiences began by attending two School Board meetings. In these meetings, I learned about budgeting processes from the board members’ perspectives as they discussed and voted on the high school’s 1:1 initiative, science textbooks for K – 8, and refinancing of the District’s AA bonds of 1.28 million to lower the district’s debts--a $541,000 savings. The board approved these financial measures. Although the debt was substantially lowered and other budgetary cuts had been made, the board debated raising taxes to cover expenses. The boards’ discussion about the 1:1 initiative was of special interest since integrating technology is one of the responsibilities of an Instructional Technology Specialist. Their discussions focused on whether or not to add 500 MacBook laptops to 1500 already in the budget so the high school could be brought to a 1:1 ratio. The board members’ discussions revealed that they are making decisions based upon the needs of students, the needs of the community, and their personal research. I recommend that Administration offer to the board members researched-based and other appropriate data to assist them in making well-informed decisions.
I researched and evaluated technology in a variety of ways. Since the high school is just beginning its 1:1 initiative this coming school year (2012 – 2013), one of my activities was to research and report about the “Implementation of a Ubiquitous Computing Environment.” Based upon this report, I created a video presentation for administrative staff. In addition, this past March the District had conducted surveys of their teachers (one for K – 8 and the other for 9 – 12) on how they used technology to support learning. From this data, I analyzed teacher and student use of technology. The survey results showed that 55% of all the teachers felt their technology skills were somewhat up-to-date, 40% felt their technology skills were very up-to-date, and 5% felt they were not up-to-date. Based upon this and other survey findings, I recommended staff training to help teachers in specific areas to be better prepared to utilize available technology. I created two PowerPoint presentations--one for each group surveyed--with graphs and data to accompany the survey summary. Another activity was to research scholarly literature about an emerging technology, eBooks. From this data, I reported the advantages and disadvantages of eBooks to assist Administration with future decisions. Since the district is just initiating a 1:1 environment in the high school, the use of eBooks is a vision for the future. Another way I evaluated technology was by developing a plan for charging laptops and reporting technical issues. Since the high school is increasing from 500 to about 1000 MacBook laptops in their 1:1 initiative, planning for and reporting technical issues is critical to the success of the initiative. My final experience in this area was meeting with the Director of Special Education. She shared the process of how the needs of special education students are evaluated and how technology supports those needs. We also discussed how all students and teachers can benefit from Universal Design of Learning. I shared with her my findings on Universal Access features available on Apple computers. As an outcome of our discussion, I created for teachers and students two videos and tutorial guides on assistive technology and educational tools available in MacBooks. These varied experiences gave me a better understanding of how technology enriches students’ learning experiences and that staff support is a vital aspect of that process.
Another Internship experience involved staff development and technology in-service programs. I attended a daylong staff training session and observed how the Technology Coach supported teachers to learn existing and new technology. One of my projects was to make recommendations for improving staff development. I shared insights about professional development as I observed and listened to several the teachers’ comments and suggestions. Another project for staff development was to research and create teacher guides on how to utilize some Web 2.0 tools--wikis and blogs--in the classroom. In addition, I created three staff-training guides and videos to use Google calendar, various assistive technology features in Apple computers, and literacy and learning tools in Apple computers. I indirectly learned about staff development needs when I analyzed two school-wide teacher surveys on technology use within the district. Teachers’ responses about the extent and type of technology use, gave me a clearer understanding of what kind of professional development is needed to better utilize existing technology to support and enrich lessons. Another experience was shadowing two technology facilitators as they showed how teachers used technology and how they supported their technology needs. Those experiences were productive because I utilized two reliable and valid observation tools to guide my observations. These observations and projects gave me a better understanding of the strengths and needs of SLSD teachers. I gained insights on how professional development and technology facilitators and coaches can support those needs.
I learned more about media design and production by utilizing production software to create various tutorial guides and videos for professional development. I created three video tutorials utilizing two kinds of screen-capturing software: Screencast-o-Matic, cloud-based software, and Snapz, software compatible with Mac OS. With Snapz, I also was able to take high quality screen shots for two of my tutorial guides. I created a narrated PowerPoint for Administration using Screencast-o-Matic to share my research on implementing a ubiquitous environment. Once I recorded these four videos, I saved them to my YouTube and/or Screencast-o-Matic accounts. All of these videos are available as resources for the District. I developed a cyber safety webpage and a wiki and blog guide that will be posted to the District’s website. I utilized Wikispaces for Teachers to create a wiki to communicate with Mr. Ken Jordan, my SLSD mentor. In this wiki, I recorded my Internship progress, made individual pages for every activity, and provided links to all documents and videos. He appreciated the ease and convenience with which he could access my Internship progress and information from anywhere using any device. I also created an ePortfolio utilizing Mahara software to display my Internship projects and relevant files. By utilizing a variety of media production software and other technology tools, I produced quality Internship projects and documents.
During my Internship, I helped with software installation and troubleshooting. For a day, I worked with the technology team imaging new computers that replaced aged laptops and brought the high school to a 1:1 ratio. Another experience was with trouble shooting. I proposed a plan for charging laptops and reporting technical issues for the high school’s 1:1 initiative. I searched the Internet to find out what other districts were doing to solve similar issues with implementation. One useful suggestion was to involve a student tech team to trouble shoot simple problems thus providing them with real-life experiences in problem solving and other 21st Century Skills. These new experiences gave me a better understanding of how the technology team prepares for and supports a 1:1 environment.
Another PDE requirement is networking. While spending the day imaging computers we identified the laptops with the District’s network so the technology team can remotely solve problems and locate lost or stolen laptops, keep track of technology, and for backup purposes. These hands-on experiences in networking were beneficial.
Another goal of PDE is to assist teachers with the application of instructional technology in the curriculum. To accomplish this, I developed an “Annotated Resource List” on assistive technology, Help Desk, 1:1 initiative, Internet safety, and professional development. As teachers utilize this list, they can enrich and enhance lessons using instructional technology. In addition, I analyzed two district-wide surveys on technology use to support learning. I learned that although most teachers utilized a variety of technology, students’ use of technology often lagged behind. Moreover, I discovered that many teachers were not regularly evaluating data to make changes in teaching priorities and strategies to benefit the needs of students. In addition, teacher collaboration to support professional growth needs to be further developed and supported. These learning experiences showed teachers and students would benefit from an increased use of instructional technology. I would recommend continued use of surveys and observation tools to assess where the District is in terms of instructional technology use, what its educational technology goals are, and what needs to be accomplished to reach those goals.
One of SLSD’s Educational Technology goals is to have highly qualified teaching staff that are engaged in professional development experiences, promote 21st century skills, and provide student-centered, technology rich lessons. A goal for administrators is to model NET Standards and utilize professional development to attain proficiency in a variety of technology skills. To help with this, I created two surveys in Google Docs. One was for administrators to evaluate teacher use of technology in order to guide professional development. The second survey was for administrators to evaluate their own technology use to guide professional development, model technology use, and effectively fulfill their administrative duties.
I participated in strategic planning for current and future initiatives. I assisted in current initiatives by developing a plan for charging laptops and reporting computer issues. To assist administrators in their 1:1 high school initiative, I researched and reported about implementing a ubiquitous computing environment and created a video presentation of the report. Moreover, by evaluating the teachers’ technology surveys and by creating a survey to assess Administrators use of technology helps the District plan for professional development needs. I assisted in a future initiative by reporting on eBooks, an emerging technology, and shared the pros and cons of such an initiative.
My Internship provided many opportunities to implement instructional technology to enrich and support students and teachers’ educational experiences in Southern Lehigh School District. I utilized technology in a variety of ways to complete my projects and enrich my own Internship learning experiences. I drew upon experiences and lessons learned from my DeSales’ M.Ed. courses in Technology in K – 12. I consulted with my University mentor Dr. Amankwatia, my SLSD mentor, Ken Jordan, and professional peers. Finally, I extensively utilized the Internet and other professional resources to support all of my PDE projects/activities. These Internship experiences in the Instructional Technology Specialist Certificate Program have given me a solid foundation and strong beginning in Instructional Technology.
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Student’s Printed Name Signature Date
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School in which internship will take place School District Date
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School District Internship Supervisor Signature Date
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Title of School District Internship Supervisor
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DeSales University Internship Supervisor Signature Date
GulbisICE599 8
DeSales University
Instructional Technology Specialist Certificate Program
Time Sheet/Log
Week: 4-30-2012 / Tasks / Time on TaskSchool Board Meeting / ¾ hr.
Summary of School Board Meeting / 1 hr.
Research for Ubiquitous Implementation Presentation / 2 hr.
Wikis and Blogs Guide / 7 hr.
Universal Access Using Macs / 3 hr.
Emerging Technology: eBooks / 10 hr.
Weekly Total 23.75 hr.
Cumulative 23.75 hr.
Week: 5-7-12 / Tasks / Time on Task
School Board Meeting / 1 hr.
Summary of Board Meeting / 1 hr.
Research for Ubiquitous Implementation / 5 hr.
Research Classroom Observation Tools / 5 hr.
Weekly Total 12 hr.
Cumulative 35.75 hr.
Week: 5-14-12 / Tasks / Time on Task
Classroom Observation of Teacher & Student Technology Use @ Hopewell E.S. / 6 hr.
Hopewell Observation Report / 3 hr.
Design a Needs Assessment for Teachers / 5 hr.
Cyber Safety Research / 5 hr.
Research for Ubiquitous Implementation / 3 hr.
Weekly Total 22 hr.
Cumulative 57.75 hr.
Week: 5-21-12 / Tasks / Time on Task
Design a Needs Assessment for Teachers / 3 hr.
Classroom Observation of Teacher & Student Technology Use at Intermediate School / 5.5 hr.
Design a Needs Assessment for Administrative Team / 1 hr.
Weekly Total 9.5 hr.
Cumulative 67.25 hr.
Date First Interim Report Filed: May 24, 2012
Week: 5-28-12 / Tasks / Time on Task
Intermediate School Observation Report / 4.5 hr.
Analyzing Data from K-8 and 9-12 Surveys / 10 hr.
Design a Needs Assessment for Administrative Team / 3 hr.
Weekly Total 17.5 hr.
Cumulative 84.75 hr.
Week: 6-3-12 / Tasks / Time on Task
Analyzing Data from K-8 and 9-12 Surveys / 15 hr.
Observation of Academy (PD) at High School / 5.5 hr.
Academy (PD) Observation Report / 3 hr.
PD Worksheet to Use Google Calendar / 3 hr.
Weekly Total 26.5 hr.
Cumulative 111.25 hr.
Week: 6-10-12 / Tasks / Time on Task
PD Tutorial Video Google Calendar / 3 hr.
Rubric to Evaluate iTunes Apps / 7 hr.
Presentation for Ubiquitous Implementation / 5hr.
Weekly Total 15 hr.
Cumulative 126.25 hr.
Date Second Interim Report Filed: June 18, 2012
Week: 6-17-12 / Tasks / Time on Task
Presentation for Ubiquitous Implementation / 10 hr.
Reimaging Computers at SLSD / 6 hr.
Report on Reimaging Computers / 2 hr.
Plan for Charging Laptops & Reporting Problems / 2 hr.
Weekly Total 20 hr.
Cumulative 146.25 hr.
Week: 6-24-12 / Tasks / Time on Task
Plan for Charging Laptops & Reporting Problems / 3 hr.
Meeting with Director Special Education, Andria Buchman / ½ hr.
Report of Meeting with Director Special Education, Andria Buchman / 3 hr.
Assistive Technology PD tutorials and screencasts / 15 hr.
Annotated Resource List / 5 hr.
Weekly Total 26.5 hr.
Cumulative 172.75 hr.
Date Third Interim Report Filed: June 30, 2012