Internship Proposal

Purposeful PD for Technology

Kaelii Stout

Rationale
I have worked at Williamsport Elementary for 5 years, all of which have been as
a classroom teacher. During my time at the school, I have seen many changes in the
curriculum, staffing, and materials/technology we have access to. Williamsport
Elementary is a school located in Washington County serving grades PreK-5. We have
about 550 students with a wide range of services to different socioeconomic statuses,
ethnicities, and cultural experiences. Our school is a one-to-one device school, which
gives our students in grades 2nd grade magnet and 3-5 direct access to using
technology daily in their learning. Students in the primary grades have access to
two-to-one iPad usage in the classroom as well. Four years ago, our school was very
effective in providing technology professional development on how to purposefully use
different programs and apps in the classrooms. In the past few years, I have noticed
that as new technologies or programs are introduced, we typically do not receive
introductory professional development in order to implement it immediately and
purposefully as much as we used to in the past. As a result, teachers are not being
provided with the opportunities to discuss, engage, and plan for purposeful uses of
technology in their classroom. This results in staff members on varying levels on the
SAMR model, as well as various comfort levels with how and when technology is used.
This also results in inconsistencies throughout the building, which makes it difficult for
providing staff with the appropriate professional development in order to assist them to
grow and develop as a professional. By working collaboratively and providing staff with
the comfort, knowledge, and skills that they need, we can help staff to plan more
purposeful technology integrated learning experiences in order to meet the needs of
their students.

Proposal
For my educational technology internship, I plan to participate in the Technology
committee, iTeam, at my school. The purpose of the committee will be to analyze
teachers current levels of the SAMR model as far as purposeful integration and then
create technology professional development experiences for teachers to gain skills in
order to apply them in their classroom. The committee will meet monthly and work
together to address the technology needs of staff and students. As a team, we will
design professional development courses that help staff dig deeper into the tools that
are available so that they are more comfortable with utilizing them in their instruction.
The team would also help staff to see how students can use the tools to further their
learning to foster a community of collaborative and inquisitive learners.
 At the first meeting of the Technology committee, we will discuss our vision and
mission for the school year. Within the first few weeks of school, I will survey the staff to
determine their feelings on using technology and where they feel they fall on the SAMR
model for purposeful integration in instruction. After collecting the data, we will meet as
a committee to determine a plan of action for the year with purposeful technology
professional development opportunities based on the teacher’s needs and personal
goals for the year. We will create a schedule and timeline for coordinating the different
sessions depending on the needs for the year. Our professional development will be in
an EdCamp format where teachers can look to their colleagues as experts. We will work
with other staff members to create lessons and learning experiences for teachers based
on the needed skills. Many of these sessions will take place during “Tech Thursdays”, in
which we will hold hour long professional development sessions. Throughout the year,
staff will reflect on their learning and progress with the implementation of technology
tools. These reflections will be viewed through different formats, Google Forms and
collaborative goal-setting documents with check-in partners using Google Docs. The
reflection results will be viewed during Technology Committee meetings that will be held
once a month to help us reflect upon the sessions and teaching and give us our next
steps. All of the results will be displayed in a shared document so that members can
continue to view and reflect on the teacher’s learning progress.
Part of the committee will also focus on taking care of the uses of the technology
as far as how to troubleshoot, report issues and malfunctions, and promoting digital
citizen lessons during media time. The responsibilities of the other focuses will be
delineated amongst the other members.

Learners
The number of learners for this internship total about 50 possible participants,
which include classroom teachers in grades PreK-5, as well as support staff, special
educators, and special area teachers. Staff will have the opportunity to get to know
technology tools that are available to them, as well as brainstorm and develop materials
to use in their classrooms right away. Providing opportunities for hands-on, interactive
sessions will help staff feel more comfortable and supported as they continue their
journey of purposeful change with technology.

Objectives
The overarching learning objective for the internship is, ​I will be skilled at
differentiating between the different purposes and uses of technology with the SAMR
model in the classroom in order to create and design purposeful learning experiences
for my students.​ Each session will have its own set of objectives as the technology
development will be different each time. These objectives will be developed with the
presenter and the Technology Committee based on the needs of the teachers.
However, there are some objectives that will apply to the entirety of the internship.
 ● Teachers will be able to reflect on their current technology use through the
SAMR model.
● Teachers will be able to assess and analyze their professional development
needs with purposeful technology integration.
● Teachers will utilize the Technology Committee throughout the school year as a
means of support to help with their personal and professional growth.
● Teachers will be able to rate their use of technology tools and their comfort level
in their ability to maximize student engagement, learning, and purposeful
technology integration.

Change Research
Throughout the various courses within my Masters Program at Loyola University,
I have gained an understanding of the characteristics of adult learners and the process
of change. In order to become an effective leader, who encourages productive change, I
must provide a level of comfort and understanding that will make the transition to
change purposeful and effective. The teachers have to see value in the change before
they will feel empowered to implement it into their classrooms and teaching
experiences.
Ely proposed eight conditions of change, stating that these are the conditions
that would need to be met or overcome to allow for the change to be successful (Ely,
1990). Our school currently has sufficient​ knowledge and skills ​when it pertains to
using technology in the classroom. We are constantly being introduced to new tools and
changes are constantly being made, however we are not given the time to deepen our
understanding and strengthen the tools within our teacher tool-kit. This means that
teachers are aware and familiar with various technological tools, however they are not
given adequate time to plan purposeful learning experiences and therefore they typically
are not able to implement them as intended. Their comfort level for implementing the
various purposes of technology becomes very surface level, which causes technology
to only be used as a substitution device and not to its fullest potential. There are
however several teachers with the knowledge and skills to adopt these changes and
implement them into their practice right away. The PD sessions will cover an overview
of the technological tool, but will mostly be used to allow teachers with the opportunity to
plan and collaborate different learning experiences with colleagues. We need to have
the availability of ​time​ in order to share and discuss how we can purposefully use the
various technological tools in order to create meaningful learning experiences for our
students. Setting aside professional development time after school will allow teachers
the time and opportunities to explore purposeful use of technology within the classroom.
Otherwise, it is left to us to use our own planning time to discuss and share personal
experience. Our school is very susceptible to embracing change because we have an
availability of ​resources​, however we need to encourage experiences to explore the
change and begin to think of different ways to implement the change. As a 1:1 school,
meaning that every staff member has access to a Macbook device, as well as every
student in grades 3-5 has access to an iPad, we have the ​resources​ to make this
change impactful. As a technology ​leader​, I will be sure that there are opportunities for
participants to reflect on their learning and be able to have the time to create and
develop purposeful learning experiences with the integration of technology. I will
encourage all staff members to take ​time​ outside of the regular school day to attend our
technology PDs and participate in discussions and collaborative experiences. The PD
sessions will be held after school. In the event that one session is not enough to
thoroughly explore and plan, we can continue an extension during the next PD session.
As a technology ​leader​, I will also devote my personal time to meet with participants at
flexible times in small groups or in one-on-one discussions. At the end of each session,
I will encourage participants to set a goal that they would like to implement right away
and I will offer ​incentives​ and rewards for those who take the risk. This will encourage
teachers to transfer their knowledge and want to implement the new learning in their
classroom right away as they see fit.
In relation to the ACOT model (2007), WES staff would fall in between the
adoption​ and ​adaptation​ stages. Some staff members are extremely comfortable with
integrating technology into their learning experiences while others use technology as a
means of just having the iPads in the student’s hands but aren’t really sure how to
purposefully facilitate it. The overall use of technology puts us past the entry level,
however I would strive for staff members to move towards the appropriation stage
where they can begin using technology to individually meet the needs of the students
and providing students with individualized instruction. This would include providing staff
with technological tools that allow students to take more ownership for their learning
such as through goal setting and providing more of the flipped classroom approach to
instruction with interactive presentations and real-time collaboration and feedback
opportunities. With a continued focus of advancing the purposeful use of technology as
well as continuous reflection on our practice, I think this goal can be met.

Overview of Learning Activities

At the beginning of the school year, teachers will be completing a survey that will
provide the iTeam committee members and myself with insight as to where they feel
they are on the SAMR model, as well as how comfortable they are with utilizing the
technology. After staff members complete the survey, I will meet with the iTeam
committee and formulate an overall plan of how we will meet the technology needs of
our teachers within PD sessions this fall. iTeam committee will meet once a month, on
the third Monday of each month, to discuss upcoming professional development as well
as next steps. We will discuss both learning and coaching opportunities and begin to
develop a timeline of sessions. I will then communicate with the staff via email with what
technology sessions will be offered this fall so they can plan to attend based on their
individual needs.
 Technology PD Thursdays will be held one to two times per month starting in
early October. Sessions will be held after school for one hour. We will forumate each
session as an EdCamp. There will be about four sessions offered for each Tech
Thursday. The goal is that each Thursday will have a session that focuses around
substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition. For example, this will help
staff that feel that are not as comfortable with substitution at the beginning of the year
be able to attend the other sessions for the other levels of the model to build their
sequential knowledge of how they all lead to each other. Staff will choose which
sessions they would like to attend. Each session will have a video or powerpoint
presentation connected with it that can also be posted to our school Google Classroom
page for other staff members to access at a later time. This will also provide
opportunities for individualized learning at later times and coaching opportunities.
Sessions will be led by me and other staff members. Following each session, staff
members will be given a goal that they would like to implement before the next session.
The individual goals will be posted on our Technology Padlet for teachers to record and
reference throughout the year. This will also provide opportunities for colleagues to
collaborate and share experiences based on their own personal comfort levels of
different technological tools. Participants will then begin each session reflecting on their
goal and sharing out the success or area of growth of their implementation. There will
also be a Google Doc that will be accessible by all staff that will have the different
technology tools that are explored as well as how they can access them, similar to a
“cheat sheet”. I will send out another survey around the end of November where staff
can reflect on their learning through the Tech PDs thus far in the year and their
improved comfort level of their intended improvement target area for technology
integration.
At the end of my internship, staff will be provided with a survey to rate
themselves on the SAMR model as well as rating the overall success with the
technology sessions and where they feel the sessions should lead to next.
While I am aware that due to time constraints, there may only be two to three
sessions that are able to be held, I will use the Padlet to check-in with a few
participant’s goals and offer next step suggestions based on their individualized needs.

TPACK/SAMR
This internship is designed to help staff realize where they fall on the SAMR
model so that they can continue their professional growth. The design of this plan will
help staff review how they previously viewed and used technology to then help them
create new learning opportunities for their students. This plan will also help teachers to
redesign their teaching in a way that makes it run smoothly and seem effortless when
purposeful technology integration becomes a focus.
All elements of TPACK will be met through this plan as well. The ​technological
aspect will be met through the uses of the devices and various technological tools that
will be explored and presented to staff. The ​pedagogical​ aspect is met through my
teaching experience, other staff presentations, as well as through my Master's Program
at Loyola. The ​content​ aspect is met because these tools will be utilized in enhancing
the teaching of their content areas through collaboration and planning sessions.

Evaluations & Documentation

While I have a template for a timeline of how I would like to implement my plan of
change, I must take into account the reflections and feedback that are provided through
the staff surveys in order to guide our learning. After each session, participants will have
the opportunity to reflect on the learning in a variety of ways (informal sharing, reflection
surveys). This input will then help me to adjust my instruction and my timeline as
needed. For example, if more time is needed for a particular session, that could be
continued and offered again through the next Edcamp. Staff will also participate in two
major surveys: one at the beginning of the year and one at the end of my internship. I
will be documenting my progress through reflections, timelines, and surveys, which I will
keep in a folder on my device, which is also linked to my Google Drive. I will also make
sure to keep any created documents, such as Google Slides presentations, pictures,
and this proposal, in that folder as well. This allows me to keep my data organized and
all in one place.
All participants will have access to any presentation or resources that are shared
in the school-wide Google Classroom.

Conclusion
It is my hope that my internship experience will lead staff into continuing to grow
as professionals and develop the drive and motivation to deeper their understanding of
technology and how it can be a crucial component in the education field. I look forward
to seeing staff engage in a journey of collaboration and change, as well as the positive
impact it will have on student growth and achievement and confidence in both students
and staff.

References

ACOT. (2007). Apple classrooms of tomorrow. Retrieved September 2019, from

www.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/​.

Ely, D. (1990). Conditions that facilitate the implementation of educational technology

innovations. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 23(2), 298-306.

Rogers, E. M. (2003). ​Diffusion of innovations: 5th ed​. New York: Free Press.