As part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, fellows
were asked to create a Digital Learning Environment Profile specific for our
school district. In the following
document, I examine the systems BHUSD currently has in place. I also identified opportunities for growth in
the hopes that we may ultimately better serve our community. What follows are the questions that were
asked and my responses.
What tools,
software, operating systems, and equipment are available in your school
and classroom? (Including but not limited to: videoconferencing,
streaming, photos sharing sites, video sharing sites, document sharing
sites, podcasts, blogs, wikis, social networking sites, etc.)
Existing Hardware: The Beverly Hills Unified
School District has provided all district staff with hardware, electronic
learning resources, networking, a telecommunication infrastructure, physical
plant modifications, and technical support.
According to our annual computer count as of January
2013, the District currently has 1552 computers being used for
instruction-related purposes, for a district-wide student-to-computer ratio of
2.88:1. All schools use a combination of district and site funds to procure
computers, peripherals and software. Evaluating computer resources is an
essential component of the Beverly Hills Unified School District’s technology
program. The number and age of BHUSD’s computers are relevant considerations.
The District has upgraded network infrastructure and
developed standards for classroom technology. The classroom technology
standards have been implemented in High School science and math classrooms, and
are being implemented in many other classrooms as site funds become available. These classroom standards include projection, sound amplification, remote
control, interactive software and document cameras. As the District's
modernization project continues, these standards will be revisited and updated.
The District has recently upgraded most of the technology
infrastructure components, including; 100Mbps (BHHS) and1Gbps (K-8 sites) local
area networks, 1Gbps wide-area network connections, and a 100Mbps connection to
the Internet.
The Information Technology Services Department has
established minimum specifications for gifts of new equipment and donations of
used equipment as follows. New technology purchases reflect current technology
equipment standards and are able to both support the district’s current
software platforms and accommodate future upgrades.
All schools have two centralized PC authentication/file
servers per site to provide student data storage, e-mail, and print sharing
capabilities. All staff and students in the District have available their own
secure network folder on a centralized district server. The District has an
e-mail server for staff use. All staff members have an active e-mail account. Each staff member who has primary office
or classroom location has his or her own voice mail account. The district has
an automated library system in place at all school sites. All sites have a
librarian and/or clerical staff and adequate computers for research. All schools
have at least one multimedia computer in each classroom for teacher use and at
least one telephone in each classroom; most classrooms also have at least one
multimedia computer for student use. Each school has at least one multimedia PC
computer lab and one multimedia Macintosh computer lab, each with a networked
laser printer. The high school has 4 desktop labs that teachers can use for their
classes during the school day, and 8 classroom labs designed to support
specific curriculum. Each elementary site has a variety of resources, including
mini-labs within library facilities, mobile computer carts, and various
peripherals, including some iPad carts. All administrative offices throughout
the district have networked multimedia computers.
The district is in compliance with software licensing
agreements.
All computers in the district’s computer labs have
lock-down devices installed.
Existing Internet Access: All computers have
Internet connectivity, online learning resources, and basic software
applications. The District provides access to district-wide e-mail, student
information, and business services to the appropriate users. A joint powers
agency between the City of Beverly Hills and the District provides the District
access to the City’s Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). All school sites are
connected to the District Office via the MAN at 1Gbps. The high school connects
to the district office with a direct fiber optic cable. The City of Beverly
Hills also provides the district’s Internet access via the MAN at 100Mbps. All
schools have newly upgraded data communications equipment (switches and
routers) upgrading their classroom capabilities to 100Mbps.
All sites throughout the District connect to the Internet
through the district’s Internet content filter for usage logging.
Existing Electronic Learning Resources: All
current textbooks in Mathematics, History/Social Science, and Science have an
electronic component. Students can access their textbooks online. Supplementary
and intervention resources can be accessed online, and formative and summative
assessments can be taken online. Teachers can give assignments and communicate
with students and their families online as well. All teachers can utilize
web-based gradebook software to provide current progress information and to
communicate about daily assignments, classroom activities, and other relevant
information.
Existing Technical Support: The district has
designated a teacher on special assignment to provide technical leadership and
a professional development program has been initiated. The technology TOSA has
developed a forum for communicating uses of technology resources. All K-8
schools have at least one full-time teacher who also serves as the school’s
technology educator. The district needs additional resources and resource time
to support professional development components. The current resources are
limited in their ability to provide services to all sites.
The district's IT Services Department consists of one
Systems Administrator and three information technology specialists. The
District also utilizes the services of two consultants who work as a Systems
Engineer and a Network Engineer.
Computer Labs and stations: Every classroom is equipped
with one computer for the teacher.
Additionally, we currently have two functioning computer labs that will
allow up to 30 students to work at the same time and a dedicated Foreign Language Lab. Teachers reserve computer labs in
advance and there is often heavy demand.
Teachers cannot always reserve a lab when it is most needed for students.
The computer labs are in a poor state though our trusty
technology consultants are doing everything that they can to keep them alive. Often, teachers enter the labs to find keys
missing from keypads, computers locked or not turning on at all and rollers
missing from mice.
Our library has a
good number of student computer stations.
These are well maintained due the constant supervision and diligence of
our library staff.
Next year, there will be a roll out of a computer cart
system for teachers on the third floor patio. I am fortunate enough to be a participant in this pilot program. In this pilot program, I believe that we
will be able to participate in video conferencing.
We have a number
of data bases which are useful to students, particularly as they must
write a research paper during their junior year as well as in Sophomore Honors
English classes. These include Literature Resource Center and Pro quest.
Many teachers use Google Drive and Dropbox for sharing
documents and for sharing and evaluating student work.
We are all required to use Jupitergrades and one aspect
of this is Juno which allows students to share documents with the teacher and
with other students for feedback.
Jupitergrades is a fabulous means by which to communicate with parents
and students.
Availability
of Websites. Many websites are blocked
by BHUSD. There is a timed sign-on for
teachers that can grant them limited access to sites. This is helpful for when demonstrating or
viewing something from the Internet to the whole class as in Prezi.com. Students cannot access blocked sites.
The District has
unblocked many web sites which are useful to educators including Youtube and
Pinterest. I’m particularly enamored of
using The Daily Show and Jon Stewart
when I teach satire. We use
turnitin.com for checking and stopping plagiarism. The only social networking
site to which we can get from school is Schoology and Edmondo; these are specific to education. I do use
turnitin.com and Junoed.com for document sharing but I think that I could
improve. It is not easy to get to blogs:
it’s cumbersome. We have to get them
unblocked one by one. The District
office frequently controls our access to web sites that could be useful to
students and teachers. Sites that I
would like to use include Blogspot and Weebly.
Both would be great to use for kids to blog about literature.
How does your
school make use of school and/or teacher websites? Some teachers have web sites, but most do
not. We do use our school web site all
the time for everything from getting the news out to parents to getting our
ever changing bell schedule. We have
teacher contracts and paperwork available on the web site.
How are you currently utilizing technology for
learning? I’m using a lot of technology
for accessing learning (Juno for tests and papers, Turnitin.com for reading papers
and scanning for plagiarism). I use
Prezi/Powerpoint nearly every day and always infuse my lessons with art. I NEVER use my white board. I have been using Youtube since it’s been unblocked
for showing scenes of plays. I have also
used ITunes U for sharing dramatic readings with the kids. Students use Iphones, Androids and the
computer lab in order to take tests. I’m
really proud of mastering the test taking application for tests. For objective tests, students enjoy receiving
an immediate response.
From the list of
global e-learning sites included below, which are available and which sites are
blocked by your firewall?
All sites listed below are available to me at my high school.
I have annotated some of the sites that I find to be the
most helpful with my particular classes.
http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/index.html: CNN Student News is a CNN Student
News is a ten-minute, commercial-free, daily news program designed for middle
and high school classes produced by the CNN journalists and educators. I have
found a wealth of teacher materials
presented free of charge, including Daily Transcripts for each show, Daily
Curriculum and additional support materials to help my students understand the
news. Common Core Standards and other education
standards are kept in mind when producing the show and Daily Curriculum. The
show, along with its curriculum, offers an excellent way to address the Common Core
Speaking and Listening Standards for secondary students. I am looking forward to using this web site
when I work with Macbeth and focus on
tyranny around the world.
http://www.choices.edu/ Choices Program: The
Choices Program is a non-profit organization based at Brown University that
develops curricula on current and historical international issues. Course
materials place special emphasis on the importance of educating students in
their participatory role as citizens. I
imagine using this site when I teach Tale
of Two Cities and examine revolutionary hot spots around the world.
http://www.globalschoolnet.org/) The Global
SchoolNet aims to improve academic performance through content driven
collaboration. Global SchoolNet Links teachers and K-12 students in meaningful
project learning exchanges worldwide. I
am looking forward to collaborating next year with teachers from around the
world as I teach Macbeth and Canterbury Tales and the Romantic Poets.
http://www.omprakash.org/classroomportal Omprakash.org creates educational experiences
by connecting grassroots social impact organizations around the world with an
audience of volunteers, donors, and classrooms that can learn from and support
their work. Omprakash Foundation facilitates communication, collaboration, and
mutual learning within a diverse international network of social actors. I can
see using Omprakash in order to volunteer in other countries around the world. My experience in Russia was so rich that I look forward to visiting more of
Asia and volunteering to teach English through Omprakash.
www.primarysource.org Primary Source connects
educators with other cultures and peoples to promote the incorporation of
global content into schools and curriculum. Programs include seminars,
institutes, and study tours for educators. Primary Source also produces
resources and curricula available for use by educators.
http://worldsavvy.org/
:World Savvy: World Savvy prepares students to learn, work and thrive as
responsible global citizens in the 21st century. They seek to provide content knowledge,
skills, values and attitudes to be leaders and change makers in their diverse
communities, locally and globally. 21st
century skills for global competency include: Critical thinking, Teamwork and
collaboration, media Literacy, research and presentation. World Saavy teaches
Global Awareness, understanding of historical connection to current events,
Association between rights and responsibilities of global citizenship; Value
for and willingness to seek out diversity of thought and experience; Understanding
of historical context of events, and interconnectedness; Fundamental commitment
to social justice; empathy for others and respect for different religious,
political and cultural viewpoints. I
will use World Saavy for their educator resources and their free online
educators network that provides up-to-date resources and opportunities for
incorporating global strategies into my already global literature.
Connect All Schools: http://www.connectallschools.org/
Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/
Pulitzer Center: http://pulitzercenter.org/
iEARN: http://www.iearn.org/
What sites and
tools are colleagues in your building using?
I hear a lot about Edutopia from my main techy colleague. They are using Schoology, Facebook, and Youtube. Some use Pinterest. I’m one of the few in my department to use
Juno and I think it’s a game changer. We
use Jupiter Grades for grade reporting, but we have a long way to go.
Is there a system
for evaluating student technology literacy in your school? If so, how effective
or helpful have you found the assessment? There are multiple systems for evaluating student technology literarcy in our schools. Until doing this work with TGC, I didn't know that they existed which tells me that they're not very helpful or well advertised. I would like to add that there are far more resources and goals available that I could find for evaluating teachers--not students. The goals that I found for students were primarily for up to fifth grade.
Goal
3e.1: GOAL 2: ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS ACQUIRE TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION
LITERACY SKILLS THROUGH THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF
TECHNOLOGY INTO THE CORE CURRICULUM IN GRADES K‑5.
Objective
3e.1.1: Objective 1: By June 2016, 95% of 5th grade students will demonstrate
proficiency in technology and information literacy skills appropriate to their
grade level.
Benchmarks:
•
Year
1: By end of May 2013, the district will bring teachers together to identify
proficiency levels for technology skills at Kindergarten through 5th grade.
They will create a 5th grade summative technology assessment. Throughout the
2013‑2014 school year the Committee will continue to reflect on the 5th grade
summative technology assessment.
•
Year
2: By June 2015, 75% of 5th grade students will demonstrate proficiency in
technology skills, via the summative assessment process.
•
Year
3: By June 2016, 95% of 5th grade students will demonstrate proficiency in
technology skills, via the summative assessment process.
Implementation
Plan
|
||||
Activity
|
Timeline
|
Person(s)
Responsible
|
Monitoring
& Evaluation
|
Evaluation
Instrument
|
Technology
Teachers will review the existing technology summative assessments and new
Common Core Standards to create a new summative 5th grade summative
assessment and scoring rubric. (Spring 2013)
|
Spring 2013
|
Tech. Teachers
|
The Technology
Committee will monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving this activity
and as needed, make recommendations to the Tech Teachers and Educational
Services Departmentto revise the assessment by the Spring 2014.
|
District 5th
grade technology summative assessment and scoring rubric.
|
Technology
teachers and Classroom teachers will review the K‑5 technology curriculum and
the Common Core standards. They will
ensure that all students participate in learning activities that integrate
technology into the core curriculum and support mastery of technology standards
by the completion of fifth grade (2013‑2016).
|
(2013‑2016)
|
Tech.
Teachers, Classroom Teachers, Educational Services, Principals
|
The Technology
Committee will monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving this activity
and will work with Educational Services Department to revise the plan as
needed.
|
Course
Descriptions, student work samples, SBAC results.
|
Technology
Teachers at each K‑8 school will administer the 5th grade Technology
Summative Assessment. (Spring 2014).
|
Spring 2014
|
Tech Teachers
|
The Technology
Committee will monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving this activity
and work with Educational Services Department to revise the plan as needed.
|
Student
scores/results on the district 5th grade technology summative assessment.
|
The Technology
Committee will review students' assessment results and suggest further
revisions as needed to the technology summative assessment and/or
instructional program (Fall 2014).
|
Fall 2014
|
Technology
Advisory Committee
|
The Technology
Committee will monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving this activity
and will work with Educational Services Department to revise the plan as
needed.
|
District 5th
grade technology summative assessment and scoring rubric.
|
Technology Teachers
at each K‑8 school will administer the revised technology summative
assessment to 5th grade students on an annual basis, using assessment results
as a basis for revising their curricular program (2014‑2016).
|
(2014‑2016)
|
Tech Teachers
|
The Technology
Committee will monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving this activity
and will work with Educational Services Departmentto revise the plan as
needed.
|
District 5th
grade technology summative assessment results and scoring rubric.
|
BHUSD has organized its
technology plan to incorporate maximum exposure to technology for all teachers
and students. Implementation of standards, infusion of technology into all
classrooms, and supported standards and outcomes for all students will create a
learning environment that will increase student achievement in all areas of the
curriculum. The district technology committee has examined all research and has
concluded that these models represent the best in educational thinking for
implementing all technology integration strategies and professional
development. This provides a basis for professional development and integration
strategies that will maximize impact of technology on student achievement. These findings are a basis of implementation discussion with the district’s
Technology Use Plan development.
District
support for improved access to technology resources will continue to enhance
the integration of technology into the curriculum throughout the district. Teachers have been actively integrating technology into their curriculum for
the past three years through individual and department programs developed as a
result of the BHUSD Technology Use Plan and, more specifically at the High
School, the WASC accreditation self-study. As state and district resources have
expanded, innovative strategies for utilizing technology to deliver rigorous
curriculum have been embraced.
Each
teacher in the BHUSD has storage space on school servers to upload created
materials and can create web access to share student work or communicate class
information and assignments with parents. Teachers can collaborate with
colleagues via e‑mail and network collaboration sites (e.g., OOVOO) to share
resources and ideas, and they may also access the Internet to research
curricular topics to prepare for instruction. Teachers take attendance daily
from their classroom computers, and every teacher in grades 6‑12 maintains an
electronic grade-book which can be accessed by teachers, students, and parents. This practice enables parents and staff members to monitor student performance
and provides access to information on student progress throughout each grading
period. All students have signed the Acceptable Use Policy contract, which
provides them with access to the Internet and to district‑issued e‑mail
accounts, reinforcing a rigorous learning experience. Every student in the
district receives instruction in the use of technology on a weekly basis in
grades one through five. The High School library has laptops available for
checkout, providing students with research options; students and teachers also
have access to library databases from school and home. Throughout the district,
students and teachers use a variety of approaches to utilize technology to
engage in rich academic experiences. Some specific examples of such usage
include:
•
High
School: 2 online courses permitted to extend course options; CRS experiences to
allow students and teachers immediate assessment feedback; wiki and blog
assignments to enrich student collaboration; multimedia course offerings that
meet A‑G "F" Visual and Performing Arts requirement; other technology‑embedded
courses (AP Computer Science, Robotics, Yearbook, and Journalism).
•
Middle
School: iPad pilot to extend student learning projects and increase engagement;
Fall STEM Initiative in all four middle schools (Design and Modeling;
Engineering) to increase integrated technology‑embedded programs. Middle School
technology elective offering (e.g., Yearbook).
•
K‑5:
Alignment to the Common Core Standards and the Next Generation Science
Standards, which require multimedia integration of student assignments and
projects; District STEM initiative extended to K‑5 in Fall 2014; web‑based
intervention programs (English in a Flash, Study Island, Math Facts in a Flash,
MangaHigh, and Lexia) to support students with additional learning needs.
Dedicated technology instruction by technology teachers for all K‑5 students.
•
K‑12:
web‑based intervention programs to support students with additional learning
needs; online programs to support data collection and analysis to inform
instruction (Jupitergrades Analytics); online programs to increase literacy
(Accelerated Reader, K‑8).
As
the current plan is implemented, the BHUSD Technology Advisory Committee will
use resources from several technology providers to continue to expand the
technology offerings that are available to students and teachers to improve
teaching best practices and learning options.
In addition, the BHUSD Technology Advisory Committee will continue to
find ways to support increased team teaching and collaborative
interdisciplinary integration of technology at all grade levels. As the BHUSD
moves toward alignment to the Common Core Standards and the Next Generation
Science Standards, an integrated instructional program that effectively embeds
technology tools and resources will be an essential component of the curricular
program over the next three years.
Gather suggestions
from students on their ideas for integrating technology into their learning.
Students report wanting to use Ipads and computers during class. Even if they have a computer and are able to bring them,
students would not have the ability to access the wireless network.
This is supposed to change in the next year. One student suggested using more art as part
of the technology. I did receive the
following letter from Kayla in period 7. She’s my little Sarah Bernhardt:
I would find it useful to be able to complete
homework assignments, i.e. grammar, vocabulary, or reading questions on my
phone so as to not waste paper. This way, when we correct in class, we can
directly edit our information and add in key notes since I, for one, find
typing much faster than physically writing on paper. In addition, I think it
would be beneficial and convenient for students to be able to take class notes
on their phones! I think this because students spend extraneous amounts of
class time finishing copying down information on a slide, when they could
easily jot the information down on their phones in less time to leave more time
for thought provoking class discussion.
I have seen
technology used effectively through the use of emails, online research, and
PowerPoint presentations. Furthermore, I find Prezi to be extremely effective
as its visual appeal catches the viewer's eye as if one were watching a movie. Prezi involves the students' imagination and stimulates the students'
creativity in any topic much more fully than a simple PowerPoint slide show would.
Technology helps students with the obvious use of the internet for online
research. The internet enables us to possess a library at our fingertips, which
has become a much valued and essential tool.
I would love to see
teachers incorporate presentations to further engage the class, as I am a
visual learner.
Lastly, an idea to
integrate technology into our studies would be to incorporate online art
projects! The objective would be to connect any loose dots students may
mentally have about a subject. I love art, and online art projects involving
Adobe Photoshop perhaps to paste one's artistic perspective on the occurrences
in a scene or reading could assist other students in the understanding of the
material.
Thanks for getting
our feedback, Ms. Goler, and valuing what we think!
What tools that are
not presently available, would help to achieve district objectives?
Reference:
Technology Plan. Beverly Hills Unified School District. 2013.
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