Process and Products
Who?
All faculty, students, and parents will be trained on how to use the technology tools for distance learning.
Teachers knowledgeable with Google Suite will be assigned as team leaders for the K-3, 4-7, and 8-12 grades and assist in individual training.
I will work with the preschool teachers in setting up their program which is different from the K-12 grade program.
When?
The professional development trainings began in March 2020.
The second full staff training will begin in August 2020.
Individual training sessions are ongoing.
My plan is that this will help mobilize my position as Technology Coordinator and a leader at my school.
Why?
The COVID 19 pandemic has closed schools in Maryland beginning in March 2020. While some public and private schools are returning to face-to-face learning in their school buildings, our school building is going to remain closed.
With the school already having a Google for Education account and Chrome books in the elementary classrooms, Google Classroom and Google Meet is a clear choice for use during Distance Learning.
Staff will attend group PD and individual coaching to inspire and enable teachers to feel confident with using these innovative technologies.
What?
Distance learning strategies and tools centered around Google Suite, including Classroom, Meet, Drive, Docs, and Forms.
Additional training on EDpuzzle, Quizlet, and other tech tools as needed.
Staff will improve learning outcomes for students in the 21st century by incorporating technology into their lessons.
Where?
Training will initially occur at New Hope Academy in Landover Hills, MD.
The second all staff training will occur synchronously online through Google Meet.
There will be opportunities for the staff to grow and learn synchronously and asynchronously.
How?
The projected timeline is outlined in my internship proposal.
Staff PD sessions will occur in March and August.
Additional staff PD will be scheduled as needed.
Individual coaching sessions will be ongoing as needed.
March 1 - 15, 2020
Planning for Distance Learning
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March 12, 2020
Web Tools for Teachers
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Heading 6
Web Tools for Parents and Students
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March 16 & 17, 2020
Staff Professional Development
Two all day Staff Training days to prepare the teachers for remote learning. Topics included:
- A Virtual School Day - Hours, Procedure, Software
- How to access Google Classroom, and Hangouts/Meet
- How to set up classes, communicating, assignments and grading
- Setting up Hangouts/Meet, inviting, presenting, monitoring
March 17, 2020
Student & Parent Distance Learning Guides
A Student Distance Learning Guide was emailed to all students and a Parent Distance Learning Guide was emailed to all parents. These guides provided helpful information concerning the procedures, schedule, Google Classroom and Meet, setting up a learning environment at home, and self care during the school day.
March 30 & 31, 2020
Teacher Inservice Days
After teaching synchronous classes online for two weeks with Google Classroom and Google Meet, the staff was ready for learning about other technology tools that they could use. During the two day Inservice, we covered Chrome extensions, recording and archiving online classes, EDpuzzle, Quizlet, Kahoot, SeeSaw, Help Teaching, tools to use in Math classes, and communicating with parents.
May 5, 2020
Required Resources
Students were experiencing some difficulty scanning their Math homework and submitting it through Google Classroom. I created a document which included how to scan a document on an Android or IOS device and emailed it to all of the students and teachers.
March - June 2020
Individual Coaching
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August 17 - 27, 2020
Teacher Tech Training
New Hope Academy requires all of the teachers to attend two weeks of inservice meetings prior to the first day of school with the students. This year the in-service days were synchronous using Google Meet. The Teacher Tech Training was held for one hour each day for the first eight days of the inservice. During the summer, I worked with one of my colleagues at the school who had just passed the Google Educator Level 2 test. The tech training covered Distance Learning, Google Classroom, Meet, Drive, Forms, EDpuzzle, and Quizlet.
August 18, 2020
Engaging Students
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August 26, 2020
NHA Technology Google Group
I created a forum for New Hope staff on Google Groups as an avenue for posting questions or sharing knowledge with staff.
August 26, 2020
Student Digital Learning Pledge
Heading 6
Sneak-A-Peak Night
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August - December, 2020
Individual Coaching
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Process and Products
Who?
All faculty, students, and parents will be trained on how to use the technology tools for distance learning.
Teachers knowledgeable with Google Suite will be assigned as team leaders for the K-3, 4-7, and 8-12 grades and assist in individual training.
I will work with the preschool teachers in setting up their program which is different from the K-12 grade program.
When?
The professional development trainings began in March 2020.
The second full staff training will begin in August 2020.
Individual training sessions are ongoing.
My plan is that this will help mobilize my position as Technology Coordinator and a leader at my school.
What?
Distance learning strategies and tools centered around Google Suite, including Classroom, Meet, Drive, Docs, and Forms.
Additional training on EDpuzzle, Quizlet, and other tech tools as needed.
Staff will improve learning outcomes for students in the 21st century by incorporating technology into their lessons.
Where?
Training will initially occur at New Hope Academy in Landover Hills, MD.
The second all staff training will occur synchronously online through Google Meet.
There will be synchronous and asynchronous opportunities for the staff to grow and learn.
Why?
The COVID 19 pandemic has closed schools in Maryland beginning in March 2020. While some public and private schools are returning to face-to-face learning in their school buildings, our school building is going to remain closed.
With the school already having a Google for Education account and Chrome books in the elementary classrooms, Google Classroom and Google Meet is a clear choice for use during Distance Learning.
Staff will attend group PD and individual coaching to inspire and enable teachers to feel confident with using these innovative technologies.
How?
The projected timeline is outlined in my internship proposal.
Staff PD sessions will occur in March and August.
Additional staff PD will be scheduled as needed.
Individual coaching sessions will be ongoing as needed.
March 1 - 15, 2020
Planning for Distance Learning
Prior to the school closing, I met daily with the principal for over two weeks, going over my ideas and plans for moving instruction over to distance learning. It was during these meetings that the entire program was developed and implemented.
March 12, 2020
Web Tools for Teachers
I created a webmix on Symbaloo for the teachers to be able to access multiple technology tools. The webmix was placed on the school start page on Sharepoint, so that teachers only had to got to one place to access any of the tools.
March 16 & 17, 2020
Staff Professional Development
Two all day Staff Training days to prepare the teachers for remote learning. Topics included:
- A Virtual School Day - Hours, Procedure, Software
- How to access Google Classroom, and Hangouts/Meet
- How to set up classes, communicating, assignments and grading
- Setting up Hangouts/Meet, inviting, presenting, monitoring
March 17, 2020
Student & Parent Distance Learning Guides
A Student Distance Learning Guide was emailed to all students and a Parent Distance Learning Guide was emailed to all parents. These guides provided helpful information concerning the procedures, schedule, Google Classroom and Meet, setting up a learning environment at home, and self care during the school day.
March 19, 2020
Videotaping Your Lessons
Several teachers were uncomfortable conducting live instruction via Google Meet. There was however, a five minute limit for recording lessons that they would post in Google Classroom for students to watch. After researching the available tools, I determined using Loom was the best choice to Record Your Lesson if you needed up to thirty minutes recording time. I created a video using Loom and shared this information with all of the teahers.
March 26, 2020
Staff Tech Survey
After the first full week of teaching online, I created and sent a Staff Tech Survey to all of the teachers. The responses provided the data for me to analyze and determine what was working and what the teachers needed more help with. I also used the data to plan additional training sessions to be held during an all-staff meeting or during individual coaching. Grading assignments and classroom management were areas that caused some frustrations for the teachers. Google Meet did not offer all of the features that were available in Zoom and several teachers wanted to use Zoom instead of Meet. The teachers wanted more training on how to present their screen on Meet and using videos and other tech tools to make their classes more engaging.
March 30 & 31, 2020
Teacher Inservice Days
After teaching synchronous classes online for two weeks with Google Classroom and Google Meet, the staff was ready for learning about other technology tools that they could use. in teaching virtually. Using the data I gathered from the Staff Tech Survey, I worked with the principal in creating a training schedule for the two days. During the two days of Inservice, I covered Chrome extensions, recording and archiving online classes, presenting your screen in Google Meet. Google Forms, communicating with parents, EDpuzzle, and tools to use in Math classes. The assistant to the principal presented Quizlet, Kahoot, and Help Teaching and I asked the kindergarten teacher to present SeeSaw, and the first-grade teacher presented Zoom. Individual coaching was requested by several teachers after they had explored working with these tools following the inservice.
March - April, 2020
Sharing Resources
The teachers who I had placed on the Entry Level of ACOT were still struggling with using Google Classroom. Through my PLN, I found a resource created by Alice Keeler, a Google Certified Innovator, titled How to Use Google Classroom. I shared this Google Slideshow with all of the staff.
The Math teachers were having their students scan their handwritten homework and upload it in Google Classroom. To encourage these teachers to have their students use Google Forms for submitting their homework, I created a Doc which contained Digital Math Tools.
I kept the staff appraised of useful extensions that could be used with Google Meet.
April 2, 2020
Web Tools for Parents and Students
Following the parent tech training session, parents requested having a central location to allow them to access technology tools that New Hope would be using. I had a Student/Parent Resource page created for the school's website and uploaded a Symbaloo Webmix I created for the students and parents to use.
May 5, 2020
Required Resources
Students were experiencing some difficulty scanning their Math homework and submitting it through Google Classroom. I created a document which included how to scan a document on an Android or IOS device and emailed it to all of the students and teachers.
June 3, 2020
Parent Survey
At the end of the school year, I worked with the principal in creating a Parent Survey to have the parents report on their experiences with distance learning. Overall, the parents were extremely happy with the comprehensive curriculum the school provided. The students were happy and felt connected with their teachers and friends. However, there were concerns about changing classes when some teachers were using Zoom instead of Meet. Parents struggled with working at home and having to support their children's learning. The overall complaint was the amount of homework that the students were assigned. I used these results to reflect on what went well with the program and what could be improved.
June 9, 2020
Student Survey
At the end of the school year, I created and distributed a Student Survey to have the students report on their experience with distance learning. The teachers decided to customize their surveys. They were asked to distribute the survey to their students and report the results during our last staff meeting. Included here is a copy of the original survey that I had my students complete. The students adapted to distance learning but felt there was too much homework and needed some time to socialize. They enjoyed working on group projects and liked when their teacher used tools like Kahoot and videos. Using both Zoom and Meet was confusing for them and they would prefer only using one virtual meeting platform. I used the results to reflect on what went well with the program and what could be improved.
March - June 2020
Individual Coaching
Any staff member who was experiencing difficulties with any of the technology tools was given individual coaching. The one-on-one tutelage inspired and enabled the teachers to feel confident in using these innovative technology tools in their classrooms with their students. I coached eleven teachers individually on different issues they were experiencing. The teachers would usually ask me to stay after a staff meeting to explain their problem and schedule a one-on-one coaching session. Most of the time, the teacher needed me to walk them through a procedure or they wanted help in learning what tool to use for a particular lesson and how to use the tool. These individual sessions were extremely helpful in making the teacher feel empowered and successful in navigating distance learning.
August 17 - 27, 2020
Teacher Tech Training
New Hope Academy requires all of the teachers to attend two weeks of inservice meetings prior to the first day of school with the students. This year the in-service days were synchronous using Google Meet. The Teacher Tech Training was held for one hour each day for the first eight days of the inservice. During the summer, I worked with one of my colleagues at the school who had just passed the Google Educator Level 2 test. The tech training covered Distance Learning, Google Classroom, Meet, Drive, Forms, EDpuzzle, and Quizlet. The more advanced learners were taken to the Appropriation level of ACOT with the introduction of Breakout Rooms for small group collaborative work using Google Docs and Slides.
August 18, 2020
Engaging Students
Teaching remotely was very stressful for a number of teachers. I created Bitmoji Headers for Google Classroom a a Bitmoji Google Slide with a link to a Google Meet for my virtual office hours. This helped motivate some teachers into the Adaptation level of ACOT. Several teachers were inspired and created their own Bitmoji Headers and included them in Docs as an aid in SEL with their students.
August 26, 2020
NHA Technology Google Group
I created a forum for New Hope staff on Google Groups as an avenue for posting questions or sharing knowledge with staff. Only a handful of teachers utilized this tool. The majority of staff members felt inundated with emails and were dealing with a higher than normal stress level. This appeared to be just one more tech tool too many at this time.
August 26, 2020
Parent Tech Training
All New Hope Academy parents were required to attend the Parent Tech Training session which was a synchronous Google Meet. The sessions were divided into lower school, K-7, and upper school. 8-12, to address the differentiation of grade level requirements. The principal greeted the parents and introduced me as the distance learning technology leader. In my slideshow, the parents were shown how their child would receive the Class invites, find assignments, and turn in work. Fewer than ten families missed these trainings and were trained individually by the High School IT teacher and myself.
August 26, 2020
Student Digital Learning Pledge
Addressing Digital Citizenship prior to school beginning was deemed an important step at this time. I found a Student Digital Learning Pledge and Agreement on the Common Sense Education website. that the staff modified to fit NHA Grades K-5 and NHA Grades 6-12. The pledge/agreements were in English and Spanish. Our Spanish teacher translated the changes we made for the Spanish version.
September 1, 2020
Student Tech Training
On the first day of school, the upper school students meet as a group with the teachers. Various activities are planned as a meet and greet experience and to cover rules and procedures. A Student Tech Training was scheduled for me to train the students in tools they would use for distance learning. The training covered Google Classroom, Chrome Extensions, and Google Meet. Accessing and turning in assignments was covered in depth as was scanning and submitting homework.
September 1, 2020
Scanning and Submitting Assignments
I created and emailed a Google Doc for step by step instructions for Scanning and Submitting Assignments. This Doc could be easily accessible for students if they forgot how to scan and submit assignments or if they were experiencing any difficulties.
September 17, 2020
Sneak-A-Peak Night
New Hope held a virtual Back to School Night for the lower school. Specialty teachers provided Google Slides presentations for the classroom teachers to present during their synchronous Google Meet sessions. I have included the Welcome to Art and Welcome to Music presentations. The second/third grade teacher shared her Google Slide with Bitmoji Header on her Google Classroom page with directions for accessing Google Classroom.
August - December, 2020
Individual Coaching
I asked two teachers with knowdedge in G Suite, and the High School IT teacher to be technology leaders and work one-on-one with staff. Each leader was assigned to with lower school, middle school, or high school. I monitored these tech leaders and coached individuals who requested to work with me or when I was needed to step in and assist. Most of my attention was given to working extensively with the preschool teachers in developing the online version of the in school preschool that is happening concurrently. My goal was to provide the training necessary to move the learner into the Adaptation level of ACOT, integrating Google Classroom and Meet into traditional practice through the use of Google Docs and Forms.
