2011+IT630+Module+5


 * Module 5/Week 8 **
 * How has technology impacted or changed your classroom assessment and evaluation? Has your data collection methodology changed with technology? If technology has not impacted your assessment and evaluation, what would you like to change? Discuss technology and your own productivity and professional practice. **

1. **Description.** The Media Center doesn't evaluate students, but, we are constantly evaluating the way we manage information and implement technology. Instead of posting about student evaluations, I am submitting a real life project I have been working on for a few months. As I have mentioned in previous posts, we are building a new middle school in our district. The Superintendent asked that I assemble a group of people from the district to discuss what types of technology we would like to include in the new building. It is a daunting task. I assembled the following: Our IT department (two people), maintenance supervisor, high school principal, middle school assistant principal, curriculum director, high school teacher and public communications person, two middle school teachers, ESC representative, superintendent, and myself. The high school is only 4 years old and we are seeking both cautionary tales and suggestions from the members of the high school staff.

Our mission is to decide what kinds of technology and ultimately, what kind of network, wiring, and equipment we need to create an environment that will allow our learning community to grow and be relevant in a changing world.

Our superintendent purchased 5 iPads for this group to test and evaluate. We received some training from our ESC and were given no funding for purchasing apps.

I created a Google Docs prior to the meeting and began to write goals for the meeting and invited everyone to add to the information prior to the meeting. If we are going to talk about technology, I want to select the best tool for the purpose. Google Docs allows us to work on a document when we have time and updates every three seconds for everyone who is invited to that document. Two people can work on the document at the same time. Any time the document is opened, it is the latest version. Only one person (one of the IT department) logged in and added information right away. The day before the meeting, a middle school teacher joined the conversation. So, I knew I would spend the first part of the meeting with a little "how to". Here is a perfect opportunity to introduce some of the tools we are offering up to the staff.

I arranged for the meeting to take place in our high school netbook computer lab, where students complain about the slow speed of the netbooks. I asked the participants to log in and showed everyone how to open a shared document in Google Docs. The document was projected, and everyone was invited to add information as the meeting progressed. It was interesting. At first, people had a hard time with the idea that anyone sitting there could just change or add to the notes posted. Once a few people became comfortable with it, they really enjoyed recording items as they were discussed.

I decided to post the notes from the meeting in an online magazine form. Here they are: [|Technology Committee Recommendations and Notes]

2. **Impact.** I learned how to post items in Issuu, which is a good online publisher. I think students would love to use a tool like this. It's very creative and the presentation can have music added to it as well. I'm working on creating a resource comic book for online library resources.

3. **Intent.** I intend to make a recommendation to the Board of Education based on our decisions at this meeting. Our input will help the Board make good choices when planning for technology in the new middle school.