Case+Study+Document


 * The More Things Stay the Same the More We Need to Change Them**

by Cindy Jenkins, Adam Swetz, Emily Snow, Julie Frank, Lorna Carter-Johnson

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in the winter that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the flickering lights that struggled against the darkness. Mr. Bright had stayed up much later than he intended, but just couldn't get those thoughts out of his head. The school faculty meeting was over and he was left holding the bag once again! Bright has a degree in Educational Technology yet that didn't translate much into the kind of transfer that the principal and other administrators expected from him. Few of the programs he recommended be put on the computer network for instruction, remedial instruction and grading were being used by any of the other teachers in the high school and what is worse, he was being looked to for leadership in changing this situation. Now he had to figure out why nothing was happening and what he was going to do to change things. This was really unexpected because no one had said anything to him about this situation before the meeting. He thought to himself, "Things have got to change—but how?"

[[image:01-frustrated.jpg width="200" height="110" caption="frustrated"]] Mr Bright wants to make a difference, but how?
Standing in the shower the next morning trying to will himself awake after a fitful night’s sleep, the first hint of a working solution came to his mind. He shouted to his wife, who was putting on the last touches of her make-up, “I need to figure out why the teachers aren’t using the technology before anything else can happen and I know just how to do that: a survey.”

With an extra kick in his step, Mr. Bright finished getting ready for work all the while formulating the survey in his head. He needed to make sure the questions he asked would help him determine whether the teachers: 1) just did not know the technology was available to them 2) did not know how to use the technology or 3) did not think the technology was worthwhile and had other ideas for technology purchases.

 When he arrived at school that morning, he quickly set to work creating the questionnaire with [|SurveyMonkey]. Then he emailed the survey link to the entire staff requesting that it be completed by the end of the week. He also mentioned that anyone not completing th e survey on their own time by Friday afternoon would be called to the media center during their planning period on Monday to complete the survey as it was imperative to get everyone’s input. Thankfully, the principal agreed to fully back him on this data collection endeavor.

The //SurveyMonkey// results were very surprising. Teachers felt as if they were not supported in using new teaching methods. As a whole those surveyed realize the benefits of technology use. They also understand that the student of today has a life that is dependent upon technology. The responders want to use technology, but are afraid of time constraints and are apprehensive about if something does not work out. Mr. Bright was full of brilliant ideas in the classroom but this challenge was one unlike he had ever experienced. Mr. Bright was not worried though as he knew an answer was out there!

[[image:lightbulb-idea.jpg width="160" height="160" caption="idea"]] Mr. Bright would share his success with technology at faculty meetings
In sharing the findings of the survey with the administration a few days later, it became clear to him that there was a need for the staff to be illuminated to the idea that technology can enhance course content. So, at the next staff meeting when there was a lot of discussion regarding low test scores in classes, Mr. Bright turned on his charisma and touted the importance of formative assessments. "We have technology that can make this easier for you!" said Mr. Bright. Within ten minutes Mr. Bright shared how he uses Senteos to assess student knowledge in small chunks in the weeks before a test. He talked about the importance of identifying weaknesses and strengths before his unit tests. Success breeds success was a central theme of his story. As his students attained mastery on the formative Senteo assessments they became more confident and improved their test scores over the marking period.

"So it works? but is it easy?" said the English Department Chairperson in a condescending tone. I know it seems like loads more work, but there are a number of teachers here that can help you get your classes set up and help you if anything difficult occurs. Over time, the enthusiastic few were able to light the pathway to success for those new to the idea and in the weeks that followed, Mr. Bright took time to continue helping the staff with their questions. When all was said and done, the staff became very creative with using the Senteos, which led Mr. Bright to another question. "What other technology can I share?"

Not satisfied with simply sharing technology at weekly faculty meetings, Mr. Bright still suffered from the occasional sleepless night as he racked his brain for more answers. It was during one such late night that Mr. Bright decided that his next plan of action would be to train teachers in using programs for instruction, remediation, and grading. Mr. Bright devised a training and support plan for teachers so that they wouldn’t feel too overwhelmed with the new technology and would successfully use it.

At the next staff meeting, Mr. Bright implemented his plan. He presented a step-by-step tutorial of the instructional software, a remediation program, and the grading program. After this, the reaction from the staff was discouraging. Mr. Bright overheard comments such as, “How am I ever going to find time to use these programs and still teach the curriculum?” “What’s wrong with the way I do things now? My students are doing just fine.” “What if the program crashes? Will I lose all of my work? Will I lose records of student’s grades?” Mr. Bright left the meeting feeling overwhelmed himself. He thought to himself, “How am I going to convince the staff that these programs really will improve teaching and learning at our school?”

**Mr. Bright Narrows His Focus**
After the meeting, Mr. Bright invited his friend, Mr. Smart, out for dinner at a brand new German restaurant in town. They were seated at the best table in the restaurant and handed menus which were all in German. Mr. Bright and Mr. Smart knew enough German to understand the drink offerings, but had no idea what a 'Vorspeise' was and couldn't read a single word of the descriptions under each one to figure out what they were.



"You know," Mr. Smart started, "if this menu had German names but described the menu items in English, we could actually understand it. At this point, I'm so frustrated, I'd rather just hit a fast food joint on the way home. What do you think?"

"Of course you're frustrated. But let's ask for some help and I'm sure we can find something to eat here." said Mr. Bright. He thought about his training and support plan for the various software programs he had selected for the professional development. Then he thought about how frustrated the teachers must have been when he tried to implement three different types of software all at the same time.

That night, he decided to select one program to focus on.

It was also during his dinner with Mr. Smart at the German restaurant that Mr. Bright got to thinking about his colleague Mr. Lowenbrau. Mr. Lowenbrau taught German and was constantly talking about using slide shows with his recorded voice. He remembers him saying that his voice combined with visuals was way more effective than written text with the visuals. He kept mentioning Modality and Redundancy in his fragmented ramblings. "Maybe these are ideas or concepts that could help me." It then dawned on him that a variety of media, a consistent message, and clear formatting are going to be important in his battle to get his colleagues to accept an increased role of technology in their classroom.

Mr. Bright's Idea
Mr. Bright was determined to make a difference, so he sought help from his friends and colleagues who he thought would provide some creative and useful ideas. Wham! There it was. “If I ask all my technology friends for input in presenting a technology training for teachers this may produce enough enthusiasm for improving the use of technology in the classroom. This is what I’ll do”.



He snatched a used notepad from his crowded desk and sat down to make plans for organizing this training. He made a list of all his technology friends and associates who he thought would be of some help to him. He thought, “I must be certain they can relate to the coherence principle and make a meaningful presentation.”

It may have cost him more than a few sleepless nights and he may have worked harder in the past month than in his entire teaching career put together, but as Mr. Bright leaned back in his desk chair and let out a big sigh, he thought to himself, "For the children. For the children."

Mr. Bright's Idea (which I think should go right after where he says he needs one program to focus on)
 * Emily's Alternate Ending** *

The next morning, Mr. Bright went to his school and observed three of the teachers he knew were well-versed in technology. From the very beginning of each class period, the teachers each used the Interactive White Boards (IWBs) in their classrooms. They had the objectives displayed at the beginning of the lesson, various activities for the lesson which included graphics, text and even sound, and the classes even had sample exercises and classwork built right into the presentations.

During the last hour of the day, Mr. Bright observed another teacher who had over 30 years of teaching experience. He watched as the teacher rolled in an overhead projector and ran through a series of transparencies so old they had yellowed and some were even cracked. Although all classrooms had an IWB, his was never turned or used.

That's when Mr. Bright decided that the best technology to focus first on were IWBs and instruction. Mr. Bright decided that instead of using outside teachers and presenters. he would only use in-house teachers to provide trainning to their peers during the next In-service day. He knew that the teachers in his school would be more likely to learn from another teacher than from an outsider.

So he planned the training for the end of the quarter inservice. He set up ten different training sessions for the teachers at his school. Each training session had a different focus, from basic use of the IWB to advanced applications for various subject areas. Teachers signed up a week in advance for the sessions and each session was run by a teacher who was also an expert user of the IWB.

After the Inservice, he asked that the teachers fill out a feedback form to discuss what they had learned and what they thought of the sessions. The results were positive and the teachers really liked the fact that they were able to choose their sessions. Even that experienced teacher was excited to finally stop rolling in the overhead and turn on the projector.

By focusing only on one technology at a time, allowing teachers to have a choice and asking for timely feedback, Mr. Bright was able to reach his teachers and to help them to incorporate the existing technology into their every-day lessons. Instead of doing too much, Mr. Bright has learned that focusing on one thing at a time really enables teachers to use it without feeling overwhelmed.