TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

IS YOUR NETWORK FAST ENOUGH? p. 9

3 TIPS TO CAFFEINATE PRESENTATIONS p. 26 thejournal.com Proven Strategies

Volume 42, No. 2 Volume for Winning Ed Tech Grants

March 2015 | March p. 12 #296e92 r: 41 g: 110 b: 146

0315the_Composite.indb 1 2/17/15 1:50 PM IT’S NOT JUST TECHNOLOGY YOU’RE PUTTING IN STUDENTS’ HANDS. IT’S POSSIBILITY.

When the nation’s second-largest union high school district decided to equip 6,500 7th graders (and 44,000 over the next six years) with iPads, they needed to pair those iPads with the best LMS available. A great 1:1 program–where every student gets their own device–demands an LMS that’s intuitive, user-friendly, with uber-responsive support and a seamless implementation process. That’s why Sweetwater Union High School District decided to partner with Canvas. It’s 21st Century education on a 21st Century device with a 21st Century LMS.

See how Canvas can help you transform learning and find out more about Sweetwater Union High School’s experience with Canvas at CanvasLMS.com/k-12 or by calling 800.203.6755.

© 2015, Instructure, Inc. All rights reserved.

Untitled-1 1 2/12/15 12:59 PM thejournal.com MARCH 2015 | Volume 42, No. 2

shutterstock.com 9 9 DEPARTMENTS 4 Editor’s Note A Laptop in Every Backpack 6 Funding What the New E-Rate Means to You 9 Networking & Wireless Network Speed: How Fast Is Fast Enough? 19 21st Century Learning 5 Tech Tools That Support Common Core 21 Assistive Technology Helping Students With Learning Disabilities Transition to College 24 Mobile Computing A Class Full of Geniuses 26 AV & Presentation 3 Tips to Caffeinate Presentations Andrew Marcinek Andrew 24 28 Tech Update 12 COVER STORY New Hardware and Software 7 Proven Strategies for Winning Ed Tech Grants 33 Index In the fierce competition for funding, here’s how you can make your 34 Innovator application — whether it’s in writing or on video — rise to the top of the Ryan Imbriale, Baltimore County heap. By John K. Waters Public Schools

MARCH 2015 | 3

0315the_Composite.indb 3 2/17/15 1:50 PM Editor’sNote Christopher Piehler, Editor-in-Chief

thejournal.com March 2015 : Volume 42, No. 2 A Laptop in Every Backpack Editorial Advisory Board Geoffrey H. Fletcher AS I SAT DOWN to write about kids. (But since this world hasn’t arrived Deputy Executive Director, State Educational Technology Directors schools’ ongoing struggle to pay for yet, check out our cover story on page#296e92 12 for some nuts-and-bolts tips on howr: to win41 Association classroom technology, I got a great assist g: 110 from the news when U.S. Sen. Tammy ed tech grants.) b: 146 Ann Flynn Baldwin, D-WI, introduced legislation that Baldwin is not the only federal leader Director of Education Technology & State Association Services, National School would reactivate the Enhancing Educa- whose actions could help schools navigate Boards Association tion Through Technology (EETT) Act. a changing technological landscape. In Phil Hardin Baldwin’s bill would authorize a billion a recent editorial on Wired, FCC Chair- Director of Project IMPACT, dollars a year to fund the use of technol- man Tom Wheeler said that broadband Iredell-Statesville School System (NC) ogy for learning. Money would be avail- networks should be regulated as a public A Christopher Harris utility able to help districts acquire “digital tools, — an important recognition that In- Coordinator, School Library System, devices and content” and ternet access is now as fun- Genesee Valley Educational support the work of technol- damental to American life Partnership (NY) ogy coordinators in gaining as electricity — certainly for Cathy Hutchins “the skills and knowledge” schools, a decent broadband Principal, South Woods Elementary they need to manage digital connection has become an School, St. John’s County School learning programs. absolute necessity. District (FL) Now, EETT may never But connectivity isn’t Thomas C. Murray become a law, but it’s enough. The Internet is State and District Digital Learning Director, Alliance for Excellent Education heartening to see a fed- merely a river of informa- eral legislator act on the tion. In order to drink from Alice E. Owen Educational Consultant need to earmark funding specifically for it, each student needs his or her own cup, educational technology. Without this so I believe we should add “access to a Mark Stevens targeted spending, schools and districts mobile device” to the list of basic, funded General Manager, NEA Academy will continue to invest precious time and requirements for education. With a combi- Donna Teuber Team Leader for Technology Integration, Connectivity is an absolute necessity, but it Richland School District Two (SC) isn’t enough. The Internet is merely a river of information. In order to drink from it, each student needs his or her own cup.

money writing grants, managing crowd- nation of EETT funding and thoughtfully sourcing campaigns and having bake sales managed BYOD environments, universal in a never-ending effort to cobble together 1-to-1 should be an achievable goal. enough money to provide their students with the basic equipment of 21st century learning. I, for one, would love to live in

a world where educators spent less time To continue the conversation, e-mail me raising money and more time teaching at [email protected].

4 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 4 2/17/15 1:50 PM GRADUATE TO A BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE EDUCATING TOMORROW’S LEADERS REQUIRES TODAY’S BEST TECHNOLOGY. With Common Core State Standards helping to spark a digital revolution in schools, your students need the right technology to prepare them for digital learning, online testing and the development they’ll need to get to the next educational stage. They need devices, applications, digital content and a reliable network to access it all quickly. 9/10 69% TEACHERS OF TEACHERS say that the Internet has a major say educational technology enables them to do impact on their ability to access “much more than ever before” for students.1 important teaching materials.2

ONLY 28% OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS have the broadband speed necessary to reliably access the Internet. 3

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1PBS Learning Media Survey, pbs.org, Feb. 2013 2Pew Internet, How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in eir Classrooms, pewinternet.org, 2013 3Washington Post, Getting Schools Up To 21st Century Speed , washingtonpost.com, 2013 ©2014 CDW Government LLC. CDW®, CDW•G® and PEOPLE WHO GET IT™ are trademarks of CDW LLC. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Core, and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Untitled-10 1 2/6/15 3:31 PM FUNDING Christopher Piehler

to receive support for “Managed Internal Broadband Services,” which is reflected in the FCC Form 470 as an internal connec- tions service type. From a process perspective, applicants still must wait at least 28 days from the time their FCC Form 470 is posted before selecting a service provider and must use price as the primary factor in selecting the winning bid. The online FCC Form 471 has many new features intended to make the form more user-friendly and to save time. Schools that are part of a school district must now calculate their discounts on a districtwide basis. Form 471 Block Four also includes a tool for calculating each school or library’s five-year category two budget. Item 21 is now embedded in the Form 471, and applicants may no longer file separate Item 21 attachments.

THE Journal: Are there are any specific services that E-rate might fund that were

shutterstock.com not funded before? Eberle: As mentioned above, the E-rate Modernization Order added Managed In- What the New E-Rate ternal Broadband Service (managed WiFi) and caching functionality to the E-rate This is printable size Means to You program’s Eligible Services List (ESL). An FCC adviser explains what districts should expect from a These services are consistent with the modernized application process and updated funding priorities. FCC’s goal of ensuring that schools have affordable access to high-speed broadband has Eberle is an attorney adviser in the Telecommunications Access Policy sufficient to support digital learning. Division of the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau, where he works on Though the FCC is not currently consider- modernization of the E-rate program. THE Journal asked him to share some ing adding or removing other services, the practical tips for districts tackling their new E-rate applications. FCC revises the ESL annually. As part of that process, we release a Public Notice THE Journal: How will the new E-rate application process differ from the old one? with a draft ESL and seek comment. Any - Chas Eberle: The E-rate Modernization Order took several steps to simplify the one interested in advocating for funding E-rate application process for funding year 2015 (FY2015). The overall process remains for additional services should review the the same, though there are some significant changes to the forms. First, the FCC Form draft ESL — typically released in the fall 470, which is used to seek competitive bids for E-rate supported services, and the FCC — and file comments. Form 471 must be submitted electronically. Over the next two funding years, all E-rate It’s also important to note that the forms will transition to be electronic-only forms. Applicants and service providers can E-rate Modernization Order focused on find all forms and instructions on the website of the Universal Service Administrative expanding funding for WiFi in schools Company website. USAC administers the E-rate program for the FCC. and libraries. Though internal connec- Applicants must seek competitive bids for E-rate supported services by posting an tions and basic maintenance of internal FCC Form 470. There are a few changes to the FCC Form 470, which reflect changes connections had been eligible for E-rate the FCC made to the E-rate program. For example, the FCC now allows applicants discounts, there was no funding available

6 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 6 2/17/15 1:50 PM Untitled-1 1 2/17/15 12:37 PM FUNDING

for what were previously called “priority If an applicant’s discount rate changes The E-rate Modernization Order took two” services in FY2013 and FY2014. between funding years, the applicant’s several steps to improve cost-effective The Commission has now set a $1 billion reduced voice services discount will be purchasing in the E-rate program. annual target for internal connections based on the applicant’s discount rate for Increased pricing transparency will give funding (now designated as “category the current year. Once the phaseout is schools more information and allow them two”) and established a five-year, $150 complete, there will no longer be E-rate to make informed purchasing decisions. (pre-discount) per-student budget for support for any voice services. USAC will make pricing information category two services. These steps are from Form 471, Block 5, Item 21 publicly designed to provide more predictable and THE Journal: What kinds of recommen- available on its website. equitable funding for WiFi networks. dations is the FCC making to schools in Though technology plans are no longer terms of migrating their voice services? required to receive E-rate discounts, we

“Anyone interested in advocating for funding for additional services should review the draft ESL — typically released in the fall — and file comments.” —Chas Eberle

THE Journal: On the other side of the Eberle: The Commission does not strongly encourage all schools to review coin, what services will not be funded this recommend specific services or vendors. their existing technology plans in light of year or in years to come? Schools are encouraged to consider all the program changes in the E-rate Mod- Eberle: The E-rate Modernization Order responses to the Form 470 in a techno- ernization Order. eliminated funding for several legacy logically neutral manner and select the services in order to focus funding on most cost-effective bid. THE Journal: What network evaluations high-speed broadband. The following should districts do to make sure they are will no longer be supported beginning in THE Journal: If FCC evaluations at the getting the most out of the new E-rate? FY2015: 1) components of telephone ser- end of the funding year show that enough Eberle: That’s a good question. Later vice, including directory assistance, text schools have been adversely affected by the this year we are hoping to start some messaging, custom calling services, direct new structure, do you foresee the possibil- public discussions about best practices inward dialing, 900/976 blocking, inside ity of waivers for funding voice services? for school districts and libraries when wire maintenance plans and voicemail; Eberle: After consideration of a fulsome it comes to network purchases. Because 2) e-mail; 3) web hosting; and 4) paging. record, which included substantial sup- E-rate pricing will now be publicly avail- Support for voice services will be phased port from stakeholders for refocusing the able, schools and libraries will now be out over five years. Applicants will not program on broadband services, the FCC able to see what their cohorts across the receive E-rate support for newly ineligible decided to phase out support for voice country are purchasing and how much services that are part of pre-existing mul- services over five years. At the same time, they are paying. tiyear contracts. the FCC focused more attention on WiFi services and raised the cap so that all THE Journal: What application deadlines THE Journal: Can you explain how the phase- schools and libraries should be posi- do districts need to know about? out of voice services will work and what the tioned to get full support for connections Eberle: Applicants must have posted all net effect will be for schools that fund their to and within their buildings. The FCC is Form 470s no later than Feb. 26, 2015, voice services primarily through E-rate? committed to refocusing the program on though we strongly encouraged applicants Eberle: Discount rates for voice services broadband, but will continue to monitor to post their Form 470 early to allow will be reduced by 20 percentage points the impacts of all changes resulting from ample time for bid evaluation, entering every year beginning in FY2015, until the E-rate Modernization Order. into a contract with a service provider support is completely phased out in and completing an E-rate application. The FY2019. THE Journal: What are some resources you Form 471 application-filing window for For example, a school district with an can suggest to help districts make decisions FY 2015 opened on Jan. 14, 2015, and 80 percent category one discount rate about their E-rate priorities? will close at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Thursday, will receive a 60 percent discount on Eberle: The USAC Schools and Libraries March 26, 2015. Again, we very strongly voice services in FY2015, 40 percent in Division website has many tools that encourage applicants not to wait until the FY2016, 20 percent in FY2017, and no can assist districts with every step in the last minute to file their applications for discount beginning in FY2018. E-rate process. E-rate support.

8 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 8 2/17/15 1:50 PM NETWORKING & WIRELESS Dian Schaffhauser

Reality Meets Recommendations Dysart Unified School District (AZ) recently completed a long-term project to make all of the schools in the entire 140-square-mile sys- tem capable of sustaining wireless inside and out. According to CIO John Andrews, that process began in 2010 when the district was able to apply E-rate funds to infrastructure up- grades at five schools. He has used bandwidth guidance from SETDA as a jumping-off point in E-rate applications to help determine how much to request and “how much is enough.” The external connection at Dysart has grown from 400 Mbps to 4 Gbps over the years, and is on track to be 10 Gbps in its next expansion. Only when that next iteration is in place will the district, with 26,000 students, shutterstock.com actually meet the current SETDA target. In the meantime, the WAN doesn’t come Network Speed: How close. With an average school size of 1,130 students, SETDA would recommend at Fast Is Fast Enough? least 1 Gbps for each school. And that’s the goal that Dysart’s IT department has set: to Three years ago, SETDA published capacity targets for both upgrade every single internal connection to external and internal connections. Here’s what districts are a gig. But right now, the reality is that some doing to get up to speed. schools within Dysart have 400 Mbps con- nections and others have 100 Mbps. hen the State Educational Technology Directors Association Is that sufficient? Andrews has found that (SETDA) released “The Broadband Imperative” in 2012, the most every network-related improvement results in attention-grabbing part of the 37-page report was a small box contain - increased technology use in the classrooms. ing four numbers: minimum bandwidth targets for both external and And despite the gap between the recom- internal connections. The report stated that by the 2014–2015 school mendations and real life, the network is just year — this year — districts should have an external Internet connection dandy. In fact, a recent “stress test,” in which to the service provider of at least 100 megabits per second for every thousand users. users attempted to bring the network down by The target for the internal wide area network that connects the district offices and simultaneously streaming video from Teach- schools was at least a gigabit. The goals for the 2017–2018 school year were an order of erTube and YouTube for Education, showed magnitude higher. that, as Andrews reported, schools with According to Christine Fox, SETDA’s director of educational leadership and research, to internal connections of at least 400 Mbps come up with those recommendations, a working group decided that capacity should sup- experienced “zero issues with connectivity,” port a 1-to-1 program where “students and teachers really wanted to work seamlessly without and schools with 100 Mbps connections had worrying about planning a lesson [and wondering] if everyone was going to have enough “some slowness once they surpassed 400 access to participate in a particular activity.” SETDA’s broadband numbers have since been devices online.” adopted, endorsed and cited as a viable standard by districts, states and education organiza- The results of the stress test don’t concern tions such as the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the United States Department Andrews much because he knows that the on- of Education and even the White House. line assessments students are taking this spring To see whether SETDA’s four famous numbers have become a reality in schools around won’t be media-heavy. “We wanted to use ... the country, we asked district leaders how they have built capacity to meet their broadband this test to identify the limits of our current in- needs both now and in the future. frastructure,” he said. “We are pretty confident

MARCH 2015 | 9

0315the_Composite.indb 9 2/17/15 1:50 PM NETWORKING & WIRELESS

that we will be able to address all the network ages its districts to move in that direction, weren’t to the level that would support 10 needs for our upcoming online ... tests.” Jasa is hoping to go after E-rate funding to Gbps, so in some cases we’re having to That said, network upgrades will continue upgrade the network “from end to end” in replace fiber at the school level.” apace. The holdup is money — or, rather, time to sustain an infrastructure that will “What we have today serves today,” Jasa lack of it. “We are not a high ‘free-and- support not just digital curriculum, but other acknowledged, adding, “We don’t believe it reduced’ district,” Andrews noted. Because forms of cloud-based digital delivery. will serve tomorrow.” E-rate will now distribute funds based on As he pointed out, under the new format the district’s overall free-and-reduced lunch for E-rate, districts have a five-year cap with Moore’s Law Applies to count instead of by school, he hopes to par- a pre-E-rate discount of $150 per student. Broadband Capacity, Too lay the district’s next E-rate windfall into an “We think we’re going to have to consume Calling St. Lucie’s broadband aspirations upgrade for those internal connections and all of that in the coming year in order to in- a “moving target,” Jasa relies on specifica- a refresh of network equipment including stall everything we need in order to support tions from various “trusted organizations” switches and UPSes that are now covered as digital content, not only for next year but the to guide the district’s goals. In particular, he eligible Category Two services. four years beyond that,” he said. uses CoSN’s Smart Education Networks by In preparation, IT has restructured its Design (SEND), which actually references Upgrade as Needed contract with its broadband carriers so it the SETDA broadband benchmarks. St. Lucie Public Schools (FL), with 40,000 can order the speeds it wants when the time As SEND Project Director Marie Bjerede, students, has been doubling its broadband comes. “The contracts we had before didn’t who was also a reviewer of the SETDA report, connectivity just about every year for as long even have 10 Gbps connections in them,” observed, the numbers “sounded outrageous as wireless has been in place, said David Jasa said. “So we put an RFP out this year to people back then.” Yet, she added, even the Jasa, Information Technology Services for our WAN, for example. In that we specifi- highest recommendations from SETDA are Program Manager. He expects that growth cally state, ‘You need to provide us with 10 an order of magnitude less than what most of to continue. Like Dysart, however, St. Lucie gig speed,’ so that we’re not having to stop us have per user in our homes. hasn’t reached SETDA’s recommendations. at the time of needing it and we don’t have a The saving grace for schools, Bjerede “It’s not that we’re behind,” Jasa explained. contract or a price point that we can rely on. pointed out, is that “not everybody will be “We have a network that supports us for We’re doing these things now to prepare.” doing the same thing at the same time.” So, today, and it’s working and it’s fine.” The upgrade will require replacing 15-year- she explained, if the guidance from SETDA But possibly not for long. By law, Florida old fiber between the district and its schools and CoSN suggests 10 Gbps, which could districts must devote at least half of their to take advantage of the higher-speed be “very, very expensive,” you could prob- classroom instruction to the use of digital switches it’s also going to need. “When you ably get away with half of that, because, for content by this fall. While the state encour- have fiber that old, the design specifications example, “While one class is using iPads for reading, another class might be using them to watch a video.” 4 TIPS FOR PLANNING In general, Bjerede said, a variation of Moore’s law applies to broadband capacity. YOUR BROADBAND “When you look at the aggregate numbers,” CoSN’s SEND Project Director Marie Bjerede offered this advice to she said, “it’s 60 percent year-over-year calibrate your district’s broadband strategy: growth.” This means that districts should 1) Get smart about investing in wiring and fiber, both of which are “incredibly expensive assume that “capacity demand is going to to install and incredibly cheap with respect to materials.” Her guidance: “You absolutely double every 18 months.” want to get the highest capacity wiring within your building and within your WAN within your district.” The best way to plan and build capacity for your own district, advised Bjerede, is to 2) Get your network topology right from the beginning. Some topologies are fragile, Bjerede said. “If there’s a break in one place, then the whole district is out of commission.” “observe for yourself how capacity is affected by different kinds of usage.” 3) When buying network hardware, compare the cost break points (10 Mbps vs. 1 Gbps vs. 10 Gbps vs. 40 Gbps) against how long you expect that appliance to survive, how So how fast is fast enough? For Dysart’s much you anticipate capacity demand to grow and how much you expect the price to Andrews, the answer is easy: “If I don’t get drop over the lifetime of the gear. Then, she suggested, ask yourself, “Is it more cost- any calls every day from my users that they efficient to replace it in three years’ time, even if you need it for seven?” cannot connect to the Internet, I’m okay. 4) If your district isn’t big enough to have access to professional network architects, That’s fast enough.” engineers and designers to help you lay out your network plans, pursue an “aggregation strategy,” such as joining a state education network or a buying consortium. It’s “totally valid,” Bjerede declared, “to decrease the cost of your Internet Dian Schaffhauser is a senior contribut- and devices by doing collective buying.” ing editor based in Nevada City, CA.

10 | MARCH 2015

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In the fierce competition for funding, here’s how you can make your application rise to the top. BY JOHN K. WATERS shutterstock.com

12 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 12 2/17/15 1:50 PM FEATURE | grants & awards

Proven Strategies for Winning Ed Tech Grants

IN THIS ERA OF LIMITED BUDGETS, K-12 educators looking to add technology to their classrooms often have to find creative ways to pay for their projects. Fortunately, there has never been a wider range of ed tech funding sources. Joining the lineup of traditional federal, state and private foundation grants is a new generation of donor programs and contests. “Writing a grant” today can mean anything from stating your case in a Word document to producing a video or making a direct pitch on a website. Whatever the medium, it’s how you tell your story that sets you apart from the competition. Whether you’re writing a traditional grant, entering a contest or reaching out online to a potential benefactor, you’ll increase your chances of success by applying these seven strategies.

MARCH 2015 | 13

0315the_Composite.indb 13 2/17/15 1:50 PM FEATURE | grants & awards

Start With Your Need District (TX), she led grant projects that floundering. Maybe your ninth-graders Because they can get funding for telecom secured $3 million to $4 million for her desperately need support to improve their and infrastructure through E-rate, educa- district. algebra scores. According to Owen, “You tors write ed tech grants primarily for end- Once you’ve identified your commu- can always find a need and way to tie it to user equipment. So you might be tempted nity’s need, Owen said, make a list of the the progress of students’ current perfor- to start your grant proposal talking about barriers this problem creates for your mance or future careers, but the technol- the tech, but that would be a mistake, said students. Then explain how the technol- ogy always comes in as a support resource, Alice E. Owen, executive director of the ogy you’re asking for will help them to not as the main objective of the grant.” In Texas K-12 CTO Council, the state chapter overcome those barriers. short, put your students first in your narra- of CoSN that supports school district chief “It’s truly in your best interest to make tive and keep the focus on them. technology officers. Always begin your this need you’ve identified seem very dire Students were literally in the spotlight story, Owen said, with your need. and very sad,” she said. “You are compet- for the Compass Learning Classroom “Look at your community,” she said. ing for this money, so your need has to Refresh Contest. The applications for this “Maybe there’s a high rate of poverty in seem greater than someone else’s. You grant took the form of student-and-teacher- your district and the kids are not achiev- want it to be clearly understood that, if you produced music videos that aimed to dem- ing. Maybe you have a large number of don’t get this help, your kids are going to onstrate how technology could enhance non-English-speaking students who are not continue to do worse, and not achieve.” classroom instruction. Grants of $185,000 doing well. You can get together with your worth of personalized learning software, colleagues and brainstorm a list, and then Keep the Students Front hardware and professional development pick one that you feel very attached to. and Center packages from Compass Learning and That’s where you focus first.” Always remember: You don’t need this other vendors were awarded to classrooms Owen, a sometime trainer, is a former technology; your students do. Talk about in grades K-5, 6 to 8, and 9 to 12. principal, staff development director and their problems. Maybe you have kids in Eileen Shihadeh, vice president at technology director. More importantly, your district who reach high school and Compass Learning, said, “We were look- she’s a savvy veteran of the grant-writing then have no clue what they want to do ing for folks who were very motivated. The wars. During her time as executive director when they graduate. Maybe you have a fact that they were willing to put the sweat of technology at Irving Independent School high dropout rate, or graduates who are equity into making these videos was strong evidence of the buy-in, both of the students and the teachers, which we felt was es- sential. But to be honest, it was always the students who sold it.” It’s not all about sad-eyed kids asking for help, though. Shihadeh counseled, “You really want to think about what your vision is for how technology can enhance your teaching and learning. Get that vision focused, and then express it in the video. Really put your heart into it. The combina- tion of those two things — a thoughtful vision about what you’re trying to achieve (and what you believe technology will help you achieve) with a heartfelt appeal — is a recipe for success.”

Don’t Go It Alone One way to make your application Mathematics teacher Mary Wilson talks to students about the more appealing is to partner with other Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Lab (SMALLab) in Elizabeth organizations: other school districts, a Forward Middle School. The lab was equipped using funds from a local university, a public library or a local $20,000 grant to the district from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. business. Also consider a local commu- nity college or private charities that work

14 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 14 2/17/15 1:50 PM • Control and prioritize network access to educational and classroom applications • Deliver high-density, high availability wired/wireless services transparently to faculty, sta
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Untitled-1 1 2/17/15 11:59 AM FEATURE | grants & awards

in your community. This team approach Owen said, “If you’re a wealthier school teachers and parents with staff develop- is especially useful if you are trying for a district, there are definite advantages to ment. The visual element, not surprisingly, large federal grant, Owen said. “The fed- partnering with a smaller district with was a star, each point of which represented eral government likes to see partnerships. greater needs.” one of the stakeholder groups who were There can be a lot of money at stake, so there to support the students. “We felt they’re definitely looking for a broader Chose a Memorable Name that the graphic helped to present a good coalition in a community. This is a key to and Graphic visual that kind of boiled down what the winning federal grants.” When you reach out for classroom tech- project was all about,” Owen said. “I think “Look around your community for any- nology grants, you’re not selling laundry it worked, because we won that grant and one who might help,” she added, “keep- detergent or breakfast cereal, but you several more.” ing in mind that their part in the grant are selling, and you have a great chance If you’re working on an atypical grant project doesn’t need to be very big. Maybe of making a sale when the product has a application — say, a video — this kind they’re just lending the project their name compelling brand. Owen advised, “Nam- of aesthetic consideration becomes or their expertise, or they’re just there to ing your project provides a hook and a even more important. When judging the help disseminate the information after the quick way for people to understand what Classroom Refresh contestants, Shiha- project is over.” it’s all about.” And, she added, “If you can deh said, “The overall quality of the vid - Smaller districts interested in federal marry that name with something visual, eos was definitely something we looked grants almost certainly have to partner even better.” for. The technology for producing video with larger districts. But they don’t have One example Owen pointed to is the is so accessible now to students that it to come to the project hat in hand. Not STAR Project, which she helmed during really shouldn’t be a problem.” only do they add to the overall number of her time at Irving ISD. First implemented Just like in the classroom, though, the coalition members, which plays to the feds’ in 1995, STAR’s objective was to get vet- tech itself is less important than how it is preference, they’re often needier than the eran teachers to use technology to benefit used. Shihadeh emphasized “the creativity larger districts, which makes the overall students, and then to mentor new teachers and spirit of the students and teachers, and package more appealing. To put it bluntly, to use it. The project connected students, the way they expressed how this technol- ogy would enrich the classroom and enhance personalized learning.”

Start Small to Win Big As the saying goes, nothing succeeds like success. The people and organiza - tions that provide ed tech grants want to know that their money will be well spent. Providing them with evidence that the grants you have won in the past were ef - fective is a powerful argument for giving you another one. Todd E. Keruskin, assistant superin- tendent at the Elizabeth Forward School District in rural Pennsylvania, uses an “all of the above” strategy when it comes to winning funding for his district. “We go after every single grant,” he said. “If it’s a $1,000 grant, nine times out of 10, we’re going to go after it. In fact, we just got an- Elizabeth Forward Middle School students engage in “embodied other grant last week from an organization learning” by using wands to interact physically with images pro- in Pittsburgh for $1,000, and we’re going to jected onto a floor mat by a short-throw projector. Subjects range use it to reach out and open our [fabrica- from language arts to mathematics. tion] lab to our community free of charge. People see that we have success with these

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0315the_Composite.indb 16 2/17/15 1:50 PM little grants and they’re more likely to give ly, you should be able to find plenty of have to read them closely. You can’t help us a bigger one.” examples of funded grants in nearly every but pick up a lot.” If it doesn’t seem worth it to spend form online. (For example, you can watch your time and energy writing a grant for the winning videos from the Classroom Hire a Grant Writer a couple of thousand bucks, Owen added, Refresh contest on YouTube.) Look at It may seem counterintuitive to advise bud- you should think of such a project as a what successful applicants have done, and get-strapped districts to invest in a profes- starter grant that lets you flesh out your use their strategies or ideas to help you sional grant writer, but tackling hundreds idea. From there, you can think bigger. present your own ideas. of pages of paperwork for a large project Irving’s STAR Project, for example, began Another way to get a broad perspec- can be time-consuming and resource- as a $1,500 grant. A year later, Owen used tive on what other districts are doing is to intensive. To get a leg up in the fierce the same concept to apply for a state grant volunteer to read grants. Granting institu- competition for ed tech dollars, Owen said, and won $250,000. tions often want two or three set of eyes “Districts hire professional grant writers To build your reputation as a worthy on the applications they consider. Readers because, in the long run, they’re worth it. grantee, you need to provide an evaluation rank them based on a rubric the institu- They do the research, compile the relevant of your project. Any large grant will prob- tions provide, and the grantors then weigh data and shape the grant application into a ably require it, but it’s in your best interest the scores from the different readers as competitive document.” to plan for an evaluation of even a small they consider which proposals to approve. According to Owen, adding a writer to project, Keruskin suggested. “It can be Often, especially at the state level, granting your staff is an investment that can pay something as simple as a pre-survey/post- institutions ask for volunteer readers from enormous dividends. “I’m not exaggerating survey,” he said, “but you need to show the district. when I say that they can earn their salary that you did what you said you were going “Early on, I volunteered to read a lot 10 times over,” she said. to do and that you had a positive impact. of grants,” Owen said. “It’s a great way That’s critical to getting the next grant.” to learn how to write them. You have to John K. Waters is a freelance journalist Keruskin helped Elizabeth Forward evaluate them and score them, so you and author based in Mountain View, CA. win hundreds of thousands of dollars in educational technology grants over a three-year period during which the district transformed the high school and middle school into cutting-edge learning centers and began offering computer program- ming classes at the elementary level. His personal tip for success: Once you’ve com- pleted the project, don’t forget to follow up with the funders. The district has posted at least half a dozen videos on YouTube, but Keruskin goes beyond that. “We have kindergarten kids 3D print- ing,” he said. “We send pictures of that to the funders out there. We invite them to the grand openings. We send them data, even if they don’t require us to. The people who are funding and giving away their money want to see that it was worth it. We make sure they do.”

Learn From Previous Winners Elizabeth Forward Middle School students play a language arts While you definitely want your applica- game called Prefix Pagoda in the SMALLab. The game software tion to stand out, you don’t need to rein- runs on a PC, and motion-capture cameras installed around the vent the wheel. Once a grant is awarded, it room pick up reflections from the wands. goes into the public records. Consequent-

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Untitled-10 1 2/6/15 3:18 PM 21ST CENTURY LEARNING Leila Meyer

an inquiry-based approach to provide differ- entiated instruction to help special education students fill in gaps in their learning. Fax-Huckaby focuses on universal design for learning in her training for special and general educators. UDL suggests that teach- ers provide multiple means of representation, expression and engagement to facilitate learning, “and I think so many of those things involve technology and inquiry,” she said. Ac- cording to Fax-Huckaby, Learning Upgrade uses the technology that kids love to motivate them. It lets them continue working on a concept until they’ve mastered it, and she said the district’s assessment data shows that special education students are doing better as a result. Leslie Hunter, a second-grade teacher at C.T. Sewell Elementary School, uses myON to help give a lesson in close reading. Addressing Close Reading The Common Core requires students to read deeply and extract meaning from complex texts in subjects such as science and social 5 Tech Tools That studies. To support close reading skills, teachers at C.T. Sewell Elementary School Support Common Core in Henderson, NV, are using myON and Ac- With online assessments around the corner, we look at the celerated Reader MyON is an interactive, digital library of hardware and software that districts are using to teach to the more than 4,000 books for K-12 that integrates new standards. with Accelerated Reader, an online assessment tool for reading comprehension. Holli Ratliff, CCORDING TO the 4th Annual Principals’ Assessment of Public Educa- principal of C.T. Sewell Elementary, said, tion, 95.7 percent of schools in states that have adopted the Common Core State “Students can read the books on myON, and Standards (CCSS) have implemented or are in the process of implementing the then can link directly to Accelerated Reader standards. Many of those schools are also getting ready to administer the Partner- to take their comprehension quiz to measure ship for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and their understanding of what they just read.” Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium assessments for the first time. To The school chose myON because it has get a sense of what is working in districts around the country, we asked educators to share such a large collection of nonfiction books the technology tools that they are using to help implement CCSS and prepare students for to support close reading across subject areas. the upcoming assessments. Elizabeth Stuflick, an instructional coach at the school, said teachers select texts that are Preparing Special Ed Students for CCSS about one grade level above the class they are The Common Core standards emphasize an inquiry-based approach to learning, encourag- teaching. The texts are also related to science ing students to ask questions and persevere through challenges. According to Christine or social studies units, so students are deepen- Fax-Huckaby, a special education academic support teacher in Sweetwater Union High ing their knowledge in those subject areas. School District (SUHSD) in Chula Vista, CA, that inquiry-based approach can be difficult In the primary grades, students can wear for special education teachers because “we don’t want our kids to struggle. We don’t want headphones and listen to the stories read to lose them.” aloud, and they can then be assessed on In an effort to help special education students in SUHSD succeed, the district has deployed their listening comprehension. “They’re a tool called Learning Upgrade, an online math and English language arts curriculum that uses hearing good reading modeled for them, and songs, video and games to engage students. According to Fax-Huckaby, Learning Upgrade uses then we’re building that print-to-speech

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0315the_Composite.indb 19 2/17/15 1:51 PM 21ST CENTURY LEARNING

connection,” said Ratliff. For older stu- and listen. It gives me such insight into their calculations, to drawing their own backpack dents, the teachers turn the sound off, so learning, and helps me as a teacher know design, to actually creating the backpack. the students are assessed on their actual where to go next.” “That’s the assessment — the backpack reading comprehension. Schulz has found that the system helps is done,” said McKnight. The sunglasses keeps students on task when working in manufacturing project requires launching a Managing Small Group small groups because they know she may be PR campaign to market the product, so the Instruction listening in at any time. “It’s really awesome students can practice and get assessed on The Common Core standards expect to hear and just step back and listen to the standards across disciplines. students to demonstrate effective speaking way that their brains work, because in the The tool also offers multiple paths and listening skills in 1-on-1, small-group and past, as I would walk up to a group, they through the projects, so each project can be whole-class discussions. Ashleigh Schulz, would shut down,” said Schulz. “And that customized so that students with learn- a gifted teacher at Calcasieu Parish Public doesn’t happen now.” ing challenges through to more advanced Schools in Lake Charles, LA, uses an audio learners can all complete the project. The system called Flexcat to monitor and sup- Embedding Assessments to different levels built into each project are all port students during group work. Support CCSS Mastery aligned with Common Core standards. Schulz describes Flexcat as a management Phoenixville Area School District (PA) is us- and monitoring system for group instruction. ing a curriculum tool called Defined STEM, Conducting Formative The system supports up to six communica- which embeds assessments within the Assessments tion “pods.” Each group of students has its curriculum and asks students to complete To monitor student progress and adjust own pod. Wearing a microphone, earpiece multi-disciplinary projects to demonstrate lesson plans accordingly, Clear Lake Middle and remote control, Schulz can move freely mastery of standards. Preston McKnight, School (IA) is using three formative assess- around the classroom to monitor the groups. K-12 supervisor of curriculum for the ment tools: Skills Iowa, My Access and “When my students are outside of the district, said, “The beautiful thing about Naiku. Educators use Skills Iowa to assess classroom, I can communicate with them, Defined STEM is that it’s aligned to national math and reading, My Access to assess writ- and it’s two-way communication,” said standards on multiple levels. The language ing and Naiku to gauge students’ progress in Schulz. “If they’re in the classroom, under arts and science pieces are all in play.” multiple subject areas. the tables or outside in the hallway working Defined STEM projects include, for exam- In Naiku, each question can be linked to — even across the hall in another classroom ple, designing a backpack or manufacturing a specific standard to help teachers assess — they can take these mobile pods and I can sunglasses. The backpack project guides stu- student progress. The tool integrates with the hear everything that’s going on. I can allow dents through a series of activities that span school’s Infinite Campus learning manage- them to know that I’m there by jumping in multiple lessons, from understanding the ment system, so when a teacher gives an to their conversation, or I can just sit back elements of design and the necessary math assessment in Naiku, the students’ scores are logged in the LMS’s gradebook. According to Steve Kwikkel, principal at Online Assessment Clear Lake, some of the teachers use Naiku’s “exit tag” feature almost daily. An exit tag is Infrastructure Checklist a quick check for understanding at the end To help you prepare to give Web-based tests this spring, here’s a quick review of the of a lesson to see if the students met the minimum technology requirements for PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments, learning target for that day. “It gives teachers as provided by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). real data right now,” he said, so they can use Internet speed (per student): 50 kbps (PARCC); 20 kbps (Smarter Balanced) that information to develop and refine their School network speed (per student): 1 Gbps (PARCC); 20 kbps (Smarter Balanced) lesson plans. Computers: Windows: Windows XP SP3 (PARCC and Smarter Balanced) with 512 MB RAM Using the data from Skills Iowa, My Ac- (PARCC) or 128 MB RAM (Smarter Balanced) cess and Naiku to assess student progress Mac: Mac OS X 10.6 with 1 GB RAM (PARCC); Mac OS X 10.4.4 with 256 MB RAM and develop quality lessons and units linked (Smarter Balanced) to the Common Core makes it unneces- C hrome OS: version 33 (PARCC); version 31 (Smarter Balanced) sary to teach to the CCSS tests, Kwikkel Tablets concluded. “You really don’t have to tell the Apple iOS: iPad 2 with iOS 6 Android: Android 4.0 (Smarter Balanced) kid, ‘This is the Common Core standard that Windows: Windows 8 we’re working on,’ because they’re operating External keyboard, pointing device and headphones from that already.” 9.5-inch or larger screen with 1,024 x 768 resolution You can see a complete list of technology recommendations on SETDA’s online Leila Meyer is a freelance writer based in Guide to Technology Requirements. British Columbia, Canada.

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0315the_Composite.indb 20 2/17/15 1:51 PM ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY Dennis Pierce shutterstock.com

from adaptive papers and portable word Helping Students With processors to operating system accessibil- ity features, word-prediction software and screen reader technology. Learning Disabilities Alachua County serves more than 29,000 students, and while Wern doesn’t Transition to College know how many of these have a learning Although assistive technologies and other supports can help, disability in particular, about 14 percent of the district’s population — or more than too few students who need them take advantage once they 4,000 students — are entitled to some kind leave high school. Here’s what K-12 schools can do to help. of support under an IEP. That’s a signifi- cant number. S AN OCCUPATIONAL therapist and assistive technology specialist But if any of these students go on to for Florida’s Alachua County Public Schools, Elisa Wern works every day college, the chances are high that the sup- with students who have learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia ports they had in high school won’t exist or a lack of executive functioning. Assistive technology “plays a critical for them in higher education. A national role” in these students’ success, Wern said. Students with a documented longitudinal study from the United States learning disability are eligible for a variety of supports and services, and Department of Education found that 87 Wern collaborates with each student’s individualized education program (IEP) team percent of students with learning disabili- to identify the accommodations he or she needs to be successful. These can range ties received some kind of support at the

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0315the_Composite.indb 21 2/17/15 1:51 PM ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

K-12 level, but when these students moved be singled out.” As a result, many college Incorporating technology across the on to college, only 19 percent continued to students choose not to self-identify as hav- curriculum and helping students identify get support. ing a learning disability. the right tool for the task is a large part of Sam Johnston, a research scientist for This problem is made worse by the fact helping them succeed after they leave the CAST, a nonprofit organization that works that many college students do not live at K-12 environment.” to expand learning opportunities for all home and therefore no longer have their Alachua County schools provide a students, said, “It’s shocking to see such a parents advocating for their education. variety of assistive technologies for huge change” from high school to college. What’s more, the scope of services that students with learning disabilities. These “These are the same students, but for colleges and universities offer to students include text-to-speech software, such as whatever reason, they’re not being served with learning disabilities varies widely. Kurzweil 3000-firefly, to help students in higher education.” While the Higher Education Opportunity understand printed content, as well Students who have learning disabilities Act of 2008 requires colleges to support as word-prediction software, such as often face steep challenges in making the students with learning disabilities, colleges Co:Writer, to help them communicate jump from high school to higher ed, and differ in terms of the resources they have their ideas in writing. these challenges go well beyond the shift devoted to this challenge. Wern said, “We have really zeroed in on to more intensive, college-level work. Ac- Describing colleges’ focus on the issue, the students” and their needs by looking cording to Tracy Gray, managing research- Gray said, “It’s still a bit of the Wild West first at what tasks they are being asked to er for education at the American Institutes out there. Some colleges and universities complete and the nature of their struggles, for Research, transitioning students with learning disabilities from high school to college “is a very important issue, and it According to researcher Tracy Gray, as often gets overlooked.” students get older, “they don’t necessarily While assistive technologies can help with this transition, Johnston, Gray and want people to know they have a disability.” other disability specialists warned that too few college-level students are taking have been more responsive to the needs and then matching them with tools that advantage of these tools. There are a of students with disabilities, but we hear can help them with these tasks. number of reasons for this, but they said from many students that the kinds of Giving students a set of tools, she that K-12 schools can play a critical role in supports they had in the K-12 system just explained, isn’t a solution unless each stu- preparing students with learning disabili- aren’t there.” dent knows why he or she needs each tool. ties for a successful transition to college “This could mean to say, ‘I use Kurzweil and beyond. What K-12 Schools Can Do software to access my textbook and take Gray urges high school guidance counsel- notes, and here’s what I need to do that.’ ‘A Bit of the Wild West’ ors to know which colleges and universi- Or to say, ‘I need to take my test in the dis- Although many students arrive at college ties are most responsive to the needs of ability resource center,’ or ‘I need a peer after having had an IEP in high school, students with learning disabilities — and note taker.’ ” “the process is very different for getting which are not. Directing students with While these tools are certainly impor- services in K-12 compared with higher edu- learning disabilities to a campus where tant, Wern said that the most important cation,” Johnston said. At the K-12 level, there is not as much awareness on the thing educators can do to help students the onus for identifying learning disabili- issue “doesn’t really make a lot of sense,” with learning disabilities transition to ties and providing the right kinds of sup- she said. college “isn’t giving them technology, but port is on the school or district, Johnston Wern said he believes K-12 schools can empowering them to be advocates for said. When students move on to college, help students with learning disabilities themselves. It’s critically important, and the responsibility shifts over to them and, prepare for college success by teaching needs to start early.” she added, “it often falls apart somewhere them to be 21st century learners. “Today’s along the line.” students are digital natives, and we need to Dennis Pierce is a freelance writer with As students get older, “they don’t neces- teach to them with technology,” she said. 17 years of experience covering educa- sarily want people to know they have a “This is true for all students, but particu- tion and technology. He can be reached disability,” Gray said. “They don’t want to larly true for students with disabilities. at [email protected].

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0315the_Composite.indb 22 2/17/15 1:51 PM Untitled-10 1 2/6/15 3:17 PM MOBILE COMPUTING Andrew P. Marcinek

As part of a half-year elective, students at Grafton HIgh School can work on the Tech Force, which offers support to fellow high schoolers, middle schoolers and staff members.

standing of Apple OS, Microsoft Windows A Class Full of Geniuses OS, Chrome OS and iOS. This course seeks students who are self-motivated learners and For many districts, having students do tech support as use inquiry to drive their exploration and ex- part of their classwork has helped create a culture of trust periments in order to reach greater discovery. and innovation. It is the one course where failing is an option on occasion.” N THE SUMMER of 2011, I was handed an opportunity to design and teach a course loosely based on Apple’s in-store Genius Bar. The driving force behind Looking for Troubleshooters this course was the impending launch of our 1-to-1 iPad environment. That summer, Initially, we opened the course to any student the Burlington Public Schools (MA) tech team was preparing to deliver iPads to every who wanted to sign up for it, but then we student in the high school. We were a five-person team, and three of those positions implemented an interview process. Students covered every school and device in the district. We were taking on these additional could sign up for the course, but had to go devices without additional support. through a formal interview process and par- The key in all of our 1-to-1 planning was developing a way to integrate tier one support on ticipate in a battery of tests that assessed their a daily basis. We knew there would be a demand for consistent support from both students awareness when troubleshooting a problem and teachers. We also knew that our standard ticketing system would get backlogged very on the spot. We didn’t seek out the most quickly — not to mention that we would still have to attend to other tickets districtwide. tech-savvy students: We wanted students who The solution was to create a student Help Desk as part of a graded, half-year elective. Stu- could easily grasp the idea of self-directed dents could opt to take the course, called Student Technology Integration, twice. The course learning, were well-organized and could main- description was the following: “The Student Technology Integration course is a hands-on tain composure in an interrupted learning study of technology integration in an educational context. Students will be required to assess environment. problem sets throughout the day and define the best approach to addressing or solving the During the first few weeks that the course problem. In addition to solving problems for students and teachers, students will be required was operating, we had significant traffic to complete and maintain several running projects that address problems or solutions in coming down for support. Many of the issues educational technology integration. The course also asks students to have a prior under- had to do with tier one support issues like a

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0315the_Composite.indb 24 2/17/15 1:51 PM forgotten password or WiFi issues. Eventu- by Daniel Downs and Grafton High School It’s driven by inquiry and curiosity, and it ally, this traffic subsided and the course has the Tech Force run by Cyndy Engvall yields creative, innovative experiences and needed a new direction. I developed a course and Neil Harrigan. outcomes that align with many of our Com- outline that was deliberately novel. I wanted The exciting part for me is to see what mon Core standards (and those standards the students to be engaged in the course and the students ultimately contribute to their not so common). working on both individual passion projects schools and communities. It’s gratifying Ultimately, this course was part of a and collaborative research projects. In short, to be on the forefront of designing such a broader initiative to create a shared culture I asked students to serve as a Genius at the course, but the real excitement is seeing how of learning and trust. Innovation in schools Genius Bar, a journalist for Mashable and a many schools have leveraged the creative begins with trust. School leaders must TED talk presenter. genius of their students. embrace this concept if they want their tech- Students also started developing resources nology initiatives to thrive for years to come. for our staff. They would look at the applica- Innovation Begins With Trust One of the biggest mistakes a school leader tions we were using and break them down When I began my new role as director or district technology director can make into video training modules and scripts. of technology for Grafton Public Schools is to think that they can honestly control Many students used AirServer to mirror (MA), I was elated to hear that the high every aspect of a students’ digital life. It’s an their iPad on to a Mac and then used Snagit school was using my student Genius Bar impossible task. Instead of working within a to produce a screencast of their application. model. I have had several opportunities to culture of restrictions and redactions, school They created storyboards for each segment speak with students and work with them leaders should develop and design paradigms and then posted to the help desk blog, which throughout the course of this school year, that empower students to use technology. had a global following. Some schools even and what I see are students eager to solve This is not to say that district leaders wrote to us saying that they were using our problems and help their school commu- should be cavalier with filtering and privacy student tutorials in their faculty professional nity. I also see engaged, active learners policies. We should all put forth our best ef- development. I’d say that’s a pretty authen- seeking out answers and asking all the forts to close off the dark corners of the Web tic, purposeful learning experience. right questions. and ensure student privacy, but students We recently opened up our ticketing sys- and teachers should be trusted to work in Spreading the Word tem to our Tech Force students so that they a culture of openness and have access to I wanted the original course outline to be can help address logged help tickets at both resources that will empower, educate and simple so that other districts could take it our high school and middle school (which amplify students’ voices. and remix it and make it their own. When are on the same campus). Within a few days, I encourage everyone who reads this I eventually handed the course off to Jenn I received this e-mail from our middle school article to take the philosophy of the student Scheffer at Burlington, I told her to adhere principal: “In the past 24 hours since Tech help desk course and design a space custom-

Some schools even wrote to us saying that they were using our student tutorials in their faculty professional development. I’d say that’s a pretty authentic, purposeful learning experience.

to the founding philosophy and principles Force has been able to come over, they have ized for your school and for your students. I of the course, but to make it her own. And, addressed issues quicker than ever! The stu- can’t quantify how lucky I am that I had the since 2011, I have shared this course outline dents have been cordial and courteous when opportunity to not only design a course, but with many schools and districts around the trying to help. Job well done!” to launch a movement around student-driven world in hopes that there is a student help When schools I consult with ask why technology courses. Every day as students desk course in every school in the world. A they should consider offering this course, left my class, I asked them simply to reflect lofty goal, but this course is very important I don’t really elaborate too much, defer- on this quote, “Did I make a dent in the to me, and equally important to schools that ring instead to the students. Designing this universe today?” My hope is that they walked integrate it. course was never about me getting credit for away each day thinking that they did. I have also witnessed the growth of this it or about the technology, but rather about course throughout the state of Massachusetts giving students a place that allowed them to Andrew P. Marcinek is and beyond. Reading Memorial High School be active participants in their learning and the director of technology has the Rockets Help Desk run by Kerry make a difference in their school communi- for Grafton Public Schools Gallagher, Andover High School has the ties. This is a course I would have signed up and author of the book The Andover Innovation Lab & Help Desk run for immediately when I was in high school. 1:1 Roadmap.

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0315the_Composite.indb 25 2/17/15 1:51 PM AV & PRESENTATION Lynell Burmark shutterstock.com

share, answer questions, discuss what they just learned or project what’s coming next. 3 Tips to Caffeinate At Grimmer Elementary School in Fremont, CA, after each 10-minute chunk of teacher- Teacher and Student driven content, students have two minutes of discussion with a partner. The school calls Presentations this “10:2” and teachers observe the practice An award-winning teacher and author shares her secrets almost religiously. for transforming slide shows into interactive learning Video Breaks experiences.

N A SEMINAR I ATTENDED, media analyst Tad Simons once esti- mated that 30 million PowerPoint presentations are given every day. Multiply that by an average of 30 people in each presentation, and you are looking at 90 million people a day who are at best in a daze — at worst dying from boredom. On the education stage, the classic example of the talking-head syndrome is actor Ben Stein as the dorky high school economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Breaks might be used to show illustrative Day Off. (Watch the clip one more hilarious time on YouTube: “Anyone, anyone….”) videos. For example, when discussing career A big part of the problem for teachers and presenters in general is that there is a limit options, it might be fun to see how talents to the time humans can just “sit and get” (what deluded teachers have been calling for manifest at a young age, as in the charming years “listen and learn”). In his multimedia book Brain Rules, cognitive psychologist and YouTube video of the precocious Casanova University of Washington professor John Medina records this time limit as 10 minutes. shown above. Yup. Even when listening to someone as entertaining as John Medina, students start Teachers and older students alike can also tuning out like clockwork as lectures approach the 10-minute mark. Schools are beginning be swept away by the passion of violinist Drew to take this timing to heart, with teachers stopping to give students the opportunity to pair Tretick playing Time to Say Goodbye. As I

26 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 26 2/17/15 1:51 PM recently wrote to Drew, not only has he given For easier comparisons, make sure the im- relationship? 3) What is the event? the world exquisitely beautiful music, but he ages are juxtaposed on the same slide rather 4) Why are they laughing? has also inspired many listeners to “find their than stacked in sequential slides. Let the You would be amazed at the range of own violin.” viewers discover the changes rather than lis- stories that emerge! After several small Access to videos such as these was tening to the presenter lecture about them. groups tell their tales to the whole group, I the reason I moved from PowerPoint to Use your annotation tools to draw attention tell them what was actually occurring in the Keynote. Apple allows me to embed videos to specific points the participants mention. photo. (You have to come to one of my live in Keynote slideshows. I use at least four to sessions to find out, or e-mail meyour story five video clips in an hourlong presentation The Power of Pictures and I’ll tell you mine. You can reach me at and love the security of knowing I can plug For example, by making a list of everything [email protected].) my Keynote (backed up onto a flash drive) that changes in the résumé at right, you will You can use your own photo and story into any Mac’s USB port and all the video create editing points for text-laden slides: for this activity. Just make sure there are clips will play flawlessly. Of course, the fact two people in the photo. that Keynote will open existing PowerPoints Other photos can serve to introduce topics has made the transition a lot easier! in the curriculum, like this well-known poster. Toward the end of a Compare and Contrast class period, project the More image and then assign subtle as homework to find out changes everything students can of pace about it, including who flow out using upper vs. lower case letters; the woman was and of small adding a background; what she represents in the image. group adding a picture; discussion of juxtaposed images. In his classic color vs. black and white; Free Resources publication What Works in Schools, Robert left justifying text; Dozens (maybe hundreds) more ideas to Marzano ranked “identifying similarities and leading, grouping and white space; and awaken the somnolent are explained in my differences” as the No. 1 strategy for effective removing superfluous and redundant text. latest book, They Snooze, You Lose: The Edu- teaching and learning. With that knowledge, The eye will go to images before it goes cator’s Guide to Successful Presentations. The armed with LCD projectors and overlay to text, to color before black and white. So, book also includes a DVD with full-color writing devices, we can display (and annotate) think of your full-screen, full-color images images (sized for your slide shows) that are images side-by-side while small groups of as magnets to draw viewers’ attention. copyright-free for educational use. Publisher students discuss those similarities and In a way, an image puts viewers on the Jossey-Bass/Wiley has graciously offered a differences. You can access my YouTube same page and lets them share a common free evaluation copy for educators consider- video “Teaching the Teacher to Use Visuals experience. But I like to remind presenters ing adopting the book for their courses. and Music” to see groups observing the maple that images also elicit different prior knowl- You can also visit YouTube and search leaf and the daffodil shown above. edge and experience for each viewer. A fun for “Lynell Burmark” to access related vid- activity to make this point experientially eos, and go to my website educatebetter.org (rather than lecturing about it) involves for articles and additional videos as well as displaying the following full-screen, full- descriptions of presentations that I would color image and then asking small groups be delighted to deliver at your conference or to answer a series of questions: other educational venue.

Lynell Burmark’s teach- ing experience spans kindergarten through Or you can elicit laughter every time as graduate school. Her book you invite discussion of options for toilet Visual Literacy: Learn to paper orientation. See, See to Learn won the book of the On a more serious note, teachers can year award for publisher ASCD. Her latest increase interactivity by encouraging small book is They Snooze, You Lose: The Edu- group discussion of before-and-after slides. 1) Who are these women? 2) What is their cator’s Guide to Successful Presentations.

MARCH 2015 | 27

0315the_Composite.indb 27 2/17/15 1:51 PM TechUpdate The latest hardware, software and services

BENQ MX723 PROJECTOR BenQ’s new MX723 projector features 1,024 x 768 resolution with 3,700 lumens and a 13,000-to-1 high-contrast ratio. It offers vertical and horizontal keystone correction as well as zoom functionality. With its SmartEco mode, the projector can automatically adjust lamp power by up to 70 percent in brightness, resulting in as much as 5,000 hours of lamp life.

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28 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 28 2/17/15 1:51 PM Untitled-4 1 2/9/15 12:29 PM PEAK SPECIAL ED PLATFORM PresenceLearning and Fuel Education (FuelEd) have partnered CHRISTIE H SERIES PROJECTORS to deliver a live, online solution designed to provide schools and Christie has announced the H Series: two 1DLP projectors that districts with greater access to service providers for K-12 special boast 12,000 lumens and weigh in at 52.5 pounds. Designed for education students. Using PEAK, FuelEd’s personalized learning large auditoriums, the dual-lamp Christie D12HD-H and Christie platform, therapists can now access PresenceLearning’s Web- D12WU-H are about half the size of other devices in their class, based videoconferencing to provide evidence-based therapeutic according to the company. The Christie H Series will be available activities for their special-needs students. in April with a three-year parts and labor warranty.

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0315the_Composite.indbUntitled-4 1 29 2/17/152/9/15 12:29 1:51 PM TechUpdate The latest hardware, software and services

ACER C910 CHROMEBOOK Acer’s new C910 Chromebook has a 15.6-inch display designed for environments where the computer needs to be viewed by multiple users. The display comes in two resolutions: 1,920 x 1,080 and 1,366 x 768. The machine weighs less than 5 pounds. The C910 also features reinforced covers and hinges as well as corners that allow the device to tolerate drops of up to 18 inches without damage.

BUILD

VIDEOCLOUD 365 VIDEOCON- EBSCO ONLINE THE VERNIER STRUCTURES AND FERENCING SERVICE RESEARCH INTERFACE MATERIALS TESTER VideoCentric, a video EBSCO has launched a new interface for The Vernier Structures and Materials communications integra- its EBSCOhost online research database. Tester is designed to help high school tor, has launched Video- Explora, designed specifically for K-12 FUTURE students understand key engineering Cloud 365, a new cloud-based videoconfer- schools and public libraries, is based on concepts such as load and stress levels. encing service based on the Pexip Infinity the results of user studies and comes in The VSMT has a force sensor that can virtualized meeting platform. The system multiple versions for students, teachers, measure up to 1,000 N, and a displace- supports any professional videoconferenc- librarians and library patrons. All versions Meet the challenge of integrating technology into education with The Chicago ONLINE ED.D. PROGRAM School’s online Ed.D. in Educational Psychology and Technology program. ment sensor that can measure with a pre- ing endpoint, including any standards-based are compatible with mobile devices and EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY Graduates will be prepared to take on the task of building technology- cision of 0.1 mm resolution. With these video system, Microsoft Lync, Office 365 have a single search box, browsable topic based curriculums, infrastructure, networks, and student management A NONPROFIT INSTITUTION two tools, students can record maximum clients, Skype, WebRTC clients, desktop categories arranged by popularity, topic systems in the constantly changing field of education. breaking loads as well as the characteris- software clients, smartphone and tablet overviews and the ability to limit results 866-810-0417 THECHICAGOSCHOOL.EDU tics of force and stress. applications and Web browsers. by source type.

30 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 30 2/17/15 1:51 PM Untitled-9 1 2/6/15 3:08 PM KURZWEIL TEXT- TABPILOT ASUS BUNDLE TO-SPEECH Cloud-based management system TabPilot has created an ASUS- SOFTWARE Enhanced version of its Tablet Manager software. The company Kurzweil Education is is offering the special edition as part of a bundle rolling out Kurzweil that sells for $449 and includes 1000 Version 14, the the ASUS Transformer Pad latest version of its TF103C tablet (pictured), a text-to-speech soft- keyboard and protective sleeve. ware. The technology TabPilot features on the ASUS- combines scanning, Enhanced edition include image-processing and remote, silent app distribu- text-to-speech tools tion, the ability for to make printed or teachers to electronic text accessible to people who are blind or visually monitor impaired. The software also boasts organizational features such or freeze as note-taking, bookmarks, content summaries and an appoint - student screens ment calendar with audible reminders. The company is offering and the ability to re- a free 30-day trial. strict students to a single app.

BUILD THE FUTURE

Meet the challenge of integrating technology into education with The Chicago ONLINE ED.D. PROGRAM School’s online Ed.D. in Educational Psychology and Technology program. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY Graduates will be prepared to take on the task of building technology- based curriculums, infrastructure, networks, and student management A NONPROFIT INSTITUTION systems in the constantly changing field of education. 866-810-0417 THECHICAGOSCHOOL.EDU

0315the_Composite.indbUntitled-9 1 31 2/17/152/6/15 3:081:51 PM TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

Editor-in-Chief Christopher Piehler Vice President, Art and Brand Design Scott Shultz #296e92 r: 41 g: 110 Graphic Designer Erin Horlacher b: 146 SALES CONTACT INFORMATION Director, Print Production David Seymour Print Production Coordinator Lee Alexander DIRECTOR OF SALES, EASTERN/CENTRAL Chief Revenue OfficerDan LaBianca David Tucker (515) 256-0156 Director of Sales, Eastern/Central David Tucker [email protected] Director of Sales, CA/WA/OR Navid Davani Senior Sales Account Executive Jean Dellarobba DIRECTOR OF SALES, CA/WA/OR Navid Davani 949-265-1512 [email protected] Marketing Chief Marketing OfficerCarmel McDonagh SENIOR SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Vice President, Marketing Emily Jacobs Jean Dellarobba Chief Operating Officer & Director, Custom Events Nicole Szabo (949) 265-1568 Public Sector Media Group President Audience Development Manager Becky Fenton [email protected] Henry Allain Senior Director, Audience Development & Data Procurement Annette Levee Co-President and Chief Content Officer SALES DIRECTOR, Custom Editorial Director John Monroe Anne A. 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For more Senior Graphic Designer Alan Tao information, please contact our list manager, Merit Direct. Graphic Designer Erin Horlacher Washington Technology Phone: (914) 368-1000 Senior Web Designer Martin Peace Editor-in-Chief Nick Wakeman E-mail: [email protected] Senior Staff Writer Mark Hoover Web: meritdirect.com/1105 Print Production Staff Director, Print Production David Seymour SUBSCRIPTIONS #296e92 Print Production Coordinator Lee Alexander r: 41 For questions on subscriptions or circulation, Online/Digital Media (Technical) contact: 866-410-1321 g: 110 Vice President, Digital Strategy Becky Nagel Chief Executive Officer REACHING THE STAFF b: 146 Senior Site Administrator Shane Lee Rajeev Kapur Site Administrator Biswarup Bhattacharjee Staff may be reached via e-mail, telephone, fax or mail. Senior Front-End Developer Rodrigo Munoz Chief Operating Officer A list of editors and contact information is also available Junior Front-End Developer Anya Smolinski Henry Allain online at thejournal.com, or editors can be reached at [email protected]. Executive Producer New Media Michael Domingo Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Site Associate James Bowling Richard Vitale E-mail: To e-mail any member of the staff, please use the following form: [email protected]. Lead Services Executive Vice President Corporate Office Vice President, Lead Services Michele Imgrund Michael J. Valenti Weekdays 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. PST Senior Director, Audience Development & Data Vice President, Information Technology Telephone (818) 814-5200; fax (818) 936-0496 Procurement Annette Levee & Application Development 9201 Oakdale Avenue, Suite 101 Director, Audience Development & Lead Generation Erik A. Lindgren Chatsworth, CA 91311 Marketing Irene Fincher Director, Custom Assets & Client Services Mallory Bundy Chairman of the Board Editorial Director Ed Zintel Jeffrey S. Klein Project Manager, Client Services Jake Szlenker Project Manager, Client Services Michele Long Project Coordinator, Client Services Olivia Urizar Manager, Lead Generation Marketing Andrew Spangler Coordinators, Lead Generation Marketing Naija Bryant, Jason Pickup, Amber Stephens

32 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 32 2/17/15 1:51 PM index shutterstock.com

ADVERTISER/URL PAGE SCHOOL INDEX COMPANY INDEX

Aerohive Networks ...... 7 Alachua County Public Schools (FL) ...... 21-22 Acer ...... 30 www.aerohive.com Andover High School (MA) ...... 25 Apple ...... 20, 24, 27 ASUS ...... 31 CDW-G ...... 5 Baltimore County Public Schools (MD) ...... 34 www.CDWG.com/commoncore BenQ ...... 28 Burlington Public Schools (MA) ...... 24-25 Christie ...... 29 Extreme Networks ...... 15 Calcasieu Parish Public Schools (LA) ...... 20 Compass Learning ...... 14 www.extremenetworks.com/k-12/ Clear Lake Middle School (IA) ...... 20 EBSCO ...... 30 FETC 2016 ...... C3 C.T. Sewell Elementary School (NV) ...... 19 Extron Electronics ...... 28 www.fetc.org Fuel Education ...... 29 Dysart Unified School District (AZ) ...... 9-10 HP ...... 34 Full Compass Systems...... 29 Elizabeth Forward Middle School (PA) ...... 14-17 www.fullcompass.com Infinite Campus ...... 20, 34 Elizabeth Forward School District (PA) ...... 16-17 Jossey-Bass/Wiley ...... 27 Gov Connection ...... C4 Grafton High School (MA) ...... 25 Kurzweil Education ...... 22, 31 www.govconnection.com Grafton Public Schools (MA) ...... 25 Learning Upgrade ...... 19 Instructure ...... C2 Iredell-Statesville School System (NC) ...... 4 Mashable ...... 25 Microsoft ...... 24, 30 www.CanvasLMS.com/k-12 Irving Independent School District (TX) ...... 14-17 Naiku ...... 20 NetSupport, Inc...... 11 Phoenixville Area School District (PA) ...... 20 Pexip ...... 30 www.netsupport-inc.com Reading Memorial High School (MA) ...... 25 PresenceLearning ...... 29 TCSPP ...... 31 Richland School District Two (SC) ...... 4 TabPilot ...... 31 www.thechicagoschool.edu Rowan-Salisbury School System (NC) ...... 4 Vernier ...... 30 VideoCentric ...... 30 THE Journal Newsletters ...... 18 South Woods Elementary School (FL) ...... 4 YouTube ...... 9, 17, 26-27 www.thejournal.com/newsletters St. John’s County School District (FL) ...... 4

THE Journal Subscriptions ...... 23 St. Lucie Public Schools (FL)...... 10 This index is provided as a service. The publisher www.thejournal.com/subscriptions Sweetwater Union High School District (CA) ..... 19 assumes no liability for errors or omissions.

T/H/E JOURNAL (ISSN 0192-592x) is published 7 times POSTMASTER: Send address changes to T/H/E JOUR- The information in this magazine has not undergone any a year, monthly except for Feb, May, Jul, Sept and Dec NAL, 9201 Oakdale Avenue, Chatsworth, CA 91311. Cana- formal testing by 1105 Media, Inc. and is distributed by 1105 Media, Inc., 9201 Oakdale Avenue, Ste. 101, da Publications Mail Agreement No: 40612608. Return Un- without any warranty expressed or implied. Implementation Chatsworth, CA 91311. Complimentary subscriptions are deliverable Canadian Addresses to 9201 Oakdale Avenue, or use of any information contained herein is the reader’s sent to qualifying subscribers. Subscription inquiries, Chatsworth, CA 91311. © Copyright 2015 by 1105 Media, sole responsibility. While the information has been reviewed back issue requests, and address changes: Mail to: Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Reproductions for accuracy, there is no guarantee that the same or similar T/H/E JOURNAL, 9201 Oakdale Avenue, Chatsworth, CA in whole or part prohibited except by written permission. results may be achieved in all environments. Technical 91311, E-mail [email protected] or call 818 814- Mail requests to “Permissions Editor,” c/o T/H/E JOURNAL, inaccuracies may result from printing errors and/or new 5223, fax number 818 936-0267. 9201 Oakdale Ave., Ste. 101, Chatsworth, CA 91311. developments in the industry.

MARCH 2015 | 33

0315the_Composite.indb 33 2/17/15 1:51 PM BY DAN GORDON INNOVATOR RYAN IMBRIALE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INNOVATIVE LEARNING, BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (MD)

In a K-12 district with 173 schools and come after them can benefit from all of the MY TOP 3… 110,000 students, former high school lessons learned, whether it’s infrastructure STRATEGIES FOR principal Ryan Imbriale is leading Students or instructional practice. IMPLEMENTING A and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow (STAT), DIGITAL CONVERSION a multiyear transformation into what the THE Journal: Why did you choose 1) It’s about teaching and learning. district calls a “21st century technology to start at the elementary school level? Districts must put curriculum first and learning environment to prepare globally Imbriale: A few reasons. If we’re starting in have the foundational structures including pedagogy in place to support learning. competitive graduates.” The cornerstone first, second and third grade, these students of the conversion is a 1-to-1 program that, will be with us for multiple years as they 2) Professional learning is key. Professional learning must be job- within five years, will put an HP Revolve progress through elementary school, into embedded, ongoing and driven by student notebook/tablet in every student’s hand. middle school and into high school. And evidence that considers both system needs so they are going to be the drivers of the and individual needs. THE Journal: What’s the key to a changes we’re going to see in our upper 3) It’s not about the device. However, 1-to-1 rollout in a large district? elementary grades, in our middle school when you are selecting a device, involve students through a thoughtful process of Ryan Imbriale: When we were going through grades and finally in high school. Also, as field-testing and feedback. the planning around this, there were lots we looked at revising curriculum, we wanted of conversations about how we take on an to start that work at the elementary level, THE Journal: What has pleased you initiative like STAT in a way that’s scalable, with our English Language Arts, and we felt about the way it’s gone in this first year? and in a way that helps us learn from that if we were going to be doing this Imbriale: These schools have given us an our own stumbles so that we can conversion of our curriculum, it opportunity to really perfect our craft and make sure that we do things also made sense that students ensure that when we scale up we have stories better with each iteration. at that level would go to tell — people who have lived through the So we did this through through the conversion experience and can share that experience. a “Lighthouse Schools” as well. We’re converting And what that creates for us are professional program. You can think all of our curricula to a learning communities. of the Lighthouse Schools digital platform called This spring we’re aligning each of the 10 as pilots. We see them as BCPS One, which is an Lighthouse elementary schools with another opportunities for reflection, integration of two com- subset of elementary schools that haven’t opportunities to document mercial products (Engrade gone down this road yet. That Lighthouse the journeys that are happen- and Infinite Campus), and so elementary school can help walk those el- ing in these schools and to really the curriculum rollout is in align- ementary schools through what this process understand what kind of learning environ- ment with the rollout of the devices. looks like. It’s a place for them to visit, it’s ments need to be in place to be successful. a place for them to [have a] dialogue, it’s a This year we’re in 10 elementary schools. THE Journal: How did you select safe space to have conversations about what Next year, in addition to rolling out the rest the Lighthouse Schools? this looks like. of our elementary schools, we’ll be selecting Imbriale: It wasn’t enough for just the prin- The other thing we’ve done that’s been five middle-school Lighthouse Schools. cipal to express an interest. We chose only very helpful is to ask a subset of constitu- The following year, as we expand to the schools that had at least 80 percent faculty ents in each of the schools to blog about rest of the middle schools, we will have buy-in, because we believed the demands their stories and about the journeys that high schools as Lighthouse Schools. The on being a Lighthouse School were high they’re having. It gives us an opportunity to concept is that we have this lighthouse the enough that we wanted to make sure we had share those stories, to hear about successes year prior to the rest of the district rolling both an administration and a faculty who and failures and to learn from all those out, so that we can ensure that those that were willing to go down this path together. processes.

Do you know a K-12 technology leader or tech-savvy administrator or teacher we should profile? Tell us! E-mail [email protected].

34 | MARCH 2015

0315the_Composite.indb 34 2/17/15 1:51 PM 36th Annual National Conference

SAVE THE DATE! Mark your calendars and plan to join your peers and colleagues at FETC 2016! Fuel your inspiration for innovative teaching, and join the growing FETC community to connect, collaborate, create and improve teaching and learning in the 21st century!

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